Landmark campaign finance rules approved by Oregon lawmakers in 2024 might be pushed back by four years, amid widespread concerns the state won鈥檛 be ready to enact them by their planned 2027 start date.
The proposed delay, set to get a hearing Wednesday morning, would mean Oregon can expect another two gubernatorial elections with no limits on how much donors can funnel to candidates. The 2022 gubernatorial election included more than $70 million in contributions, the most expensive in state history.
The change was put forward in filed by House Minority Christine Drazan, R-Canby, on Tuesday. That doesn鈥檛 guarantee success in a Capitol controlled by Democrats, but delaying campaign finance rules has support from some influential entities, including elections officials and the state鈥檚 largest labor union, SEIU Local 503.
Meanwhile, its emergence infuriated some people who helped spur lawmakers to act last year.
鈥淲e appear to be confronted with a secret, literally last-minute backroom deal to avoid all campaign contribution limits 鈥� and requirements for disclosure of the sources of campaign funds鈥攗ntil 2031, if not forever,鈥� said Jason Kafoury, of the group Honest Elections Oregon. 鈥淭his is against what the vast majority of Oregonians have voted for at every opportunity.鈥�
by a pair of dueling ballot measures, lawmakers last year passed House Bill 4024, which for how much individuals and political committees can give to candidates and causes beginning in 2027. The bill also laid out new provisions to help Oregonians track 鈥渋ndependent expenditures,鈥� payments made to support or oppose a candidate that aren鈥檛 affiliated with a campaign.
But the law has been tricky to implement, according to Secretary of State Tobias Read. Last week, Read sent top lawmakers a rundown of problems his employees have encountered as they try to put HB 4024 into practice.
鈥淲hile we will move forward as directed, the law in its present form will create a system that is not only difficult to enforce, but potentially inaccessible to the very Oregonians it aims to serve,鈥� Read wrote, adding that 鈥渁mbiguities and structural challenges鈥� within the law would create chaos if not addressed.
鈥淲ithout intervention from the legislature, we risk creating a system in which legal advice becomes a prerequisite for civic participation, which would be a profound step backwards for our democracy.鈥�
Read wrote that beyond a lack of clarity for how some pieces of the law should be interpreted 鈥� for instance, whether the state may need to track more data from donors to ensure they aren鈥檛 skirting limits 鈥� his office will need more funding to create a system that can track and report campaign finance transactions as required.
But Read says he can鈥檛 order up such a system without knowing exactly how the law works.
鈥淓ven an experienced vendor will be taking on a new challenge because Oregon鈥檚 campaign finance reporting system is already vastly different than most around the country,鈥� he wrote. And Oregon鈥檚 checkered history bringing new tech systems online 鈥渟trongly cautions against鈥� assuming a new system can be created quickly, Read wrote.
While Read鈥檚 letter doesn鈥檛 outright ask for a delay to campaign finance rules, it strongly suggests that the existing timeline could be cataclysmic.
鈥淕iven the daunting circumstances articulated in this letter, if you decide an extension is appropriate, my office will work with you to provide a project plan that reduces risk, offers a reliable schedule, and earns public trust,鈥� he concludes.
Lawmakers have been planning all year to take up technical changes to HB 4024, reasoning that a complex and major bill passed in relatively rushed fashion would need fixes. But the bill intended to carry out those fixes, House Bill 3392, sat dormant until it was scheduled for a hearing early Tuesday.
Drazan鈥檚 amendment would push back implementation of campaign finance laws until 2031. It does not make more nuanced technical fixes advocates say are necessary for the program.
The proposal did not sit well with Dan Meek, an attorney with Honest Elections Oregon who helped craft HB 4024.
鈥淚s Oregon government so incompetent that it cannot manage it, even when already given 3 years to prepare for the contribution limits and 4 years to prepare for the disclosure requirements?鈥� he wrote in an email. 鈥淎nd isn鈥檛 that asserted incompetence convenient for politicians who want to continue to take unlimited campaign contributions?鈥�
Neither Drazan鈥檚 office nor House Speaker Julie Fahey鈥檚 office immediately responded to a request for comment Tuesday.
