On October 18, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments to keep or overturn the permanent injunctions prohibiting certain portions of state campaign finance and ethics law from being enforced.

In 2017, U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman ruled the prohibition on lobbyists providing gifts and campaign contributions to lawmakers was unconstitutional.

The Kentucky Registry of Election Finance and the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission argued the campaign finance revisions are critical and do not eliminate speech but merely channel speech.

The plaintiffs argued the judgement was proper because the Legislature determined restrictions based on who the speaker was.

In a 35-page order, a federal judge dismantled some of the toughest ethics laws in the country. U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman struck down Kentucky’s prohibitions on lawmakers accepting gifts from lobbyists and lobbyists making contributions to candidates for the state legislature.

Judge Bertelsman ruled the gift prohibition’s “anything of value” standard is too vague for an ordinary person to know what conduct is prohibited. Furthermore, the judge stated lobbying is a vital part of the political process and restricting what lobbyists can do in their interactions with a legislator is a violation of their freedom of association.

Republican state Sen. John Schickel, who filed the lawsuit, called the ruling a victory for freedom of speech.

The judge also took aim at caucus campaign committees, ruling the statutory definition restricting the committees to Republican or Democratic is unconstitutional. Former Libertarian House candidate David Watson challenged the law, saying third party candidates cannot compete with the amount of money generated by caucus campaign committees.

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance are still reviewing the order and are considering an appeal.

State Sen. John Schickel filed a federal lawsuit against the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance and the Legislative Ethics Board aimed at eliminating the state’s campaign contribution limits. The suit claims the $1,000 limit to individual candidates and the ban on corporate contributions are violations of free speech.

The suit also asks the court to strike down ethics rules prohibiting lobbyists from making contributions, prohibiting employers of lobbyists from making contributions while the Legislature is in session, and banning gifts from lobbyists to legislators.

Kentucky House candidate David Watson and Pendleton County judge candidate Ken Moellman Jr. have joined the suit. The state agencies have until October 6 to respond.