In General

The Secretary of State’s office said Tuesday it will seek to beef up enforcement of Oregon’s campaign finance laws after a report by The Oregonian/OregonLive last week that showed minimal investigation into alleged violations.

The weak investigation into allegations of illegal campaign finance activity by former Rep. Deborah Boone show that not only is the elections division unable to enforce laws that currently exist, but it may not be able to handle campaign contribution limits that Oregonians want to enact. Although the secretary of state's office has made some changes, other reforms are needed as well.

The top three Democrats vying for the state’s second-highest office are all planning their own proposals for limiting money. 

Rep. Jennifer Williamson (D-Portland) says she’ll go her own way.

Oregon Supreme Court justices pepper attorneys with questions about whether the court should uphold a Multnomah County ordinance allowing strict limits on donations.

This month Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler donated $16,000 to charities that originally came as campaign donations from the man at the center of last week's impeachment inquiry hearings, Gordon Sondland. One KATU News Viewer wanted to know why Wheeler didn’t give the money back. Turns out, politicians have a lot of freedom in what they can do with campaign donations in Portland and Oregon.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown told reporters on Friday that the state Legislature should not pass campaign contribution limits during the short session that begins in February. She did not cite any specific benefits of waiting until at least 2021. Voters will decide in November whether to amend the state Constitution to allow contribution caps.

The Oregon Capitol (Salem Reporter archives) Rep. Dan Rayfield, D- Corvallis, wants to keep the campaign field for candidates level this year as courts and legislators untangle campaign finance reforms but he wants to short circuit a voter-approved measure to do that. Dan Meek, a longtime campaign finance reform advocate,[Read More...]

Oregon is among a handful of states with no limits on campaign contributions in elections. The 2020 session offers lawmakers another chance to change that.

New legislation would delay voter-approved campaign finance limits if Oregon Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of donor caps.

Will Oregon lawmakers appoint a campaign contribution limits task force likely to propose keeping political money flowing freely in the state?

House Bill 4124 would most likely ensure that a key campaign finance reform measure passed by Oregonians in 2006 will never go in effect, writes attorney Dan Meek. If the current walkout mirrors last year's and Republicans return with a few days remaining, the bill could be one of many passed in the rush to sine die.

House Bill 4124 would most likely ensure that a key campaign finance reform measure passed by Oregonians in 2006 will never go in effect, writes attorney Dan Meek. If the current walkout mirrors last year's and Republicans return with a few days remaining, the bill could be one of many passed in the rush to sine die.

Oregon is one of just five states with no limits at all.

 The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a voter-approved Multnomah County law putting a $500 limit on campaign donations. It could lead to new campaign finance limits throughout the state.

The Oregon Supreme Court ruled on April 23 that campaign contribution limits do not violate the constitution, making them now legal in the state of Oregon. What that means, however, is not yet certain, as Oregon’s Secretary of State and Attorney General review to see if the ruling means a 2006 ballot measure would now take effect – the court had stayed the measure earlier.   Possible impact: This ruling means controls could now be legal on campaign donations in local and […]

The Oregon Supreme Court has dropped a bomb into the middle of the 2020 election, ruling on Thursday that campaign contribution limits do not violate the Oregon Constitution. The most immediate effect...

Backers of strict curbs on campaign money in Oregon lost twice Friday in their attempt to quickly impose limits on donations to candidates for public office.  

Oregon's voter approved campaign contribution limits still do not apply to state level races, the secretary of state announced Friday citing an opinion from the attorney general. That's despite a state Supreme Court ruling last week that such limits are allowed under the Oregon Constitution.

“Polluted by Money,” a four-part series published in 2019, exposed how Oregon’s lack of campaign finance limits led to an easy tolerance of polluters by lawmakers who benefited from campaign contributions.

The campaign to legalize political contribution limits in Oregon is heading into election season with less than $10,000 on hand, after spending heavily during the summer on staff salaries and a statewide poll by a Washington, D.C. firm. The poll found voters of every age, party and region of Oregon overwhelmingly favor campaign finance limits and disclosure requirements.

Oregon lawmakers are considering whether to adopt limits on how much individuals and groups can contribute to political candidates, after voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment in November to make clear such limits are allowed.

People who want Oregon to adopt campaign contribution limits on Tuesday acknowledged it looks increasingly unlikely the Legislature will pass limits this year, after a key lawmaker suggested scrapping limits and instead focusing on a public match program.

Oregon lawmakers’ interest in capping political money was never particularly high this session — no Democratic leaders listed it as a priority — and now appears to be withering.

House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, convened a group of Democratic lawmakers this spring to hammer out limits on political spending. But Tony Lapiz, Rayfield’s legislative director, told a House committee June 8 that the legislators couldn’t agree on a proposal during that process.

This year’s 160-day Oregon legislative session featured a 42-day walkout by conservative senators, all Republican except our own Brian Boquist, a longtime Republican ...

Despite headlines over the past several months showing why campaign contribution limits are so critical, legislators have been unable to pass a bill with robust, fair caps, the editorial board writes. Legislators need to focus on such a bill for the February short session, or voters will have to do it for them.