Currently, there are no limits on individual contributions to candidates in Alaska.
Reps. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan; Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage; and Bart LeBon, R-Fairbanks, talk during a break on Monday in the Capitol. The House of Representatives was considering amendments to House Bill 234, which would reinstitute limits on campaign contributions in the state. Josephson had proposed an amendment that would have set a lower limit than the bill.
The Alaska House of Representatives is debating a bill that would bring limits to campaign contributions back to the state.There are no limits on individual donors currently. Anchorage Democratic Rep. Andy Josephson supports reinstituting limits. On Monday, he proposed amending the bill to lower the individual limit to $1,500. Adjusting for inflation, that would be similar to a limit approved by 73% of Alaska voters in 2006.things do Alaskans agree on by 73%? Not that many.”
Homer Republican Rep. Sarah Vance opposed the amendment, as well as broader limits on contributions to candidates. She noted that courts have found that contributions are a form of speech.Vance also noted that contributions to independent expenditure groups aren’t limited. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated limits to these groups in the Citizens United decision in 2010.
Josephson’s amendment failed by a vote of 16 to 22. Majority-caucus Reps. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage, and Kelly Merrick, R-Eagle River, as well as House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, voted against the amendment. Rep. Sara Rasmussen, an Anchorage Republican who isn’t a member of either caucus, also voted against it.
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