Supreme Court donation ruling has little effect on Minnesota
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling today that lifted overall campaign contribution limits for individual donors will have little effect on Minnesota, according to the state's top campaign finance expert.
Until today, wealthy donors risked hitting a cap on the total combined amount of money they gave to federal candidates, parties and political action committees. The cap changes with each election cycle.
But the decision won't affect giving in Minnesota because the state has never had aggregate limit, said Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board Executive Director Gary Goldsmith.
The changes will only affect Minnesota-based donors who contribute large amounts to federal candidates, including presidential candidates and congressional candidates.
Meanwhile, Democratic members of Minnesota's Washington delegation said that the court's decision was a bad one, and one state lawmaker said it should prompt the Legislature to pass a bill requiring more disclosure of campaign financing.
“Today’s decision in the McCutcheon case will not affect Minnesota’s campaign finance laws directly. But the decision does emphasize the need to close remaining disclosure loopholes in Minnesota’s campaign finance laws," said Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley.
“House file 1944 would address those loopholes by requiring corporations to disclose who is paying for campaign ads and literature in the weeks before an election," he said.
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