Campaign finance reform wins in Montana
The Supreme Court takes a pass on how much political givers can spend, ending a campaign finance saga
Topics: Supreme Court, Campaign Finance, Citizens United, Montana, Corruption, Politics News
At least for this election cycle, the last shots have been fired in one of the biggest under-the-radar campaign finance battles of the post-Citizens United era — the fight over Montana’s robust campaign finance regime — when the Supreme Court decided yesterday to leave the state’s contribution caps in place. Amid a few high-profile victories for interests bent on dismantling campaign finance laws, this is one of a handful of smaller but important wins for reformers.
For decades, Montana has had unusually strong campaign finance regulations, including a low cap on contributions from individuals and political committees ($600 for governor and lieutenant governor, $300 for other statewide offices). But last year, a group of Republican lawyers and businessmen challenged the state’s laws as a violation of free speech, a similar argument to the one used in the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which blew away limits on corporate political giving. They challenged various pieces of Montana’s law, including a ban on corporate contributions, the contribution limits, and political speech disclaimer requirements.This summer, the Supreme Court sided with the conservatives and overturned the ban on corporate donations, saying it didn’t comply with Citizens United.
Then, at the beginning of October, the contribution limit came before a federal district court judge in Helena. Without issuing an opinion explaining why, the judge enjoined the law, essentially eliminating all contribution limits — just a month before an election. With the limits gone, the state party gave $500,000 to Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill, a contribution that would have been illegal just a few days earlier. Ironically, Hill’s opponent is Democrat Steve Bullock, the state’s attorney general who has defended Montana’s campaign finance laws in federal court.
Continue Reading CloseAlex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.



Comments
0 Comments