Judge Bloch of Multnomah, Oregon County Circuit Court ruled contribution limits do not violate free speech and are constitutional.

The ruling allows for a $500 limit on individual campaign donations.

This limit was put into place by voters in 2016, along with spending limits and disclosure requirements for contributions in political ads.

Oregon is one of the five states that do not have limits on political contributions.

State courts historically invalidated contribution limits, but an April Oregon Supreme Court decision reversing a ruling barring limits have heralded new conversations within the state.

The Oregon Supreme Court, reversing its longstanding ban on strict campaign finance limits, ruled in favor of a voter approved Multnomah County law putting a $500 limit on campaign donations.

The court concluded contribution limits are not invalid under the state constitution.

The case has been sent back to a lower court to decide whether Multnomah County’s dollar limits themselves are too low, while tossing out the limits Multnomah County voters set on campaign expenditures.

The ruling could lead to new campaign finance limits throughout the state.

Oregon voters will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment this fall allowing limits on the flow of big money into political campaigns.

Oregon has been one of only a handful of states in the country with no limits on political donations and spending.

House Democrats introduced a bill putting the 2006 voter approved campaign contribution limits on hold until at least July 2021.

House Bill 4124 would give lawmakers more time to pass new campaign contribution limits to replace those approved by voters.

The bill would allow the Legislature to appoint a task force to study campaign finance and make recommendations on how to best establish effective political contribution limits.

Currently, Oregon has no campaign contribution limits because courts have repeatedly struck down or suspended them, including the initiative voters passed almost two decades ago.

The Oregon Supreme Court is expected to rule on Multnomah County’s voter approved campaign finance limits at some point this year.

A ruling in favor of the campaign finance limits would likely revive statewide donation caps as well.

Akasha Lawrence-Spence was selected by the Multnomah County Commissioners in Oregon to fill the unexpired term of Rep. Jennifer Williamson.

Rep. Williamson resigned from the House District 36 seat in late December to run for secretary of state.

The unexpired term ends in January 2021.

Lawrence-Spence will serve through the remainder of the upcoming 2020 legislative session.

Candidates will vie for the District 36 seat in this year’s primary election.

Rep. Jennifer Williamson resigned from her Oregon House of Representatives District 36 seat to focus on her campaign for secretary of state.

Multnomah County Democrats can forward three to five names to the Multnomah County Commission for a replacement.

The commissioners will hold a public hearing on January 16 to decide which of the Democratic Party’s several nominees to select to fill the vacancy.

At a meeting of the Senate Campaign Finance Committee, Sen. Jeff Golden proposed new regulations that would place ceilings on the amount of money individuals and various types of political committees could give to candidates, campaigns, and one another.

Oregon is currently one of only a few states that has no campaign contribution limits.

Under this new proposal, individual donors would be limited to giving $2,000 per election for statewide races and $750 per election for House and Senate races.

Those same restrictions would apply to candidates contributing to other campaigns and multi-candidate committees, which would be similar to current special-interest PACs.

State political parties and committees associated with party members in the House or Senate could contribute up to $40,000 per election to statewide candidates and $15,000 per election to legislative candidates.

The same limits would also be applied to new small-donor committees. In exchange for being able to donate larger sums, those committees could only support a single candidate for a single election.

The committees could accept no more than $200 per election from individuals and many PACs.

In November 2020, Oregon voters will decide whether to modify the state’s constitution to explicitly allow campaign finance limits.

The Oregon Supreme Court is also considering whether to overturn a two-decade-old decision that struck down the state’s voter-approved campaign finance limits.

The court is considering the constitutionality of a 2016 ordinance passed by Multnomah County voters that places a $500 per person limit on campaign donations.

Given all that, lawmakers hope to have a framework ready should the legal landscape shift.

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners adopted campaign finance disclosure regulations aimed at changing how money influences politics.

Beginning December 7, 2019, all county candidates will be required to disclose funding sources on campaign communications funded with more than $300.

The disclosure requirements also apply to individuals and entities such as political organizations, corporations, and nonprofits that fund communications in support of or opposition to county candidates.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Bloch struck down voter-approved limits on campaign donations to candidates running for county offices.

Judge Bloch’s ruling stated the $500 limit on donations violates Oregon’s expansive free expression guarantees in the Oregon Constitution.

The decision mirrors one the judge issued in March 2018 striking down limits for Multnomah County races, citing a 1997 Oregon Supreme Court decision.

Judge Bloch upheld portions of the voter-approved campaign rules that require Portland political advertisements to prominently disclose their top five financial backers.

Supporters of the law say they will appeal the decision.

In Oregon, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge found county campaign finance reforms unconstitutional.

Judge Eric Bloch ruled the voter-approved limitations on campaign contributions and independent expenditures were impermissible under the free speech guarantees within the Oregon Constitution, citing a related Oregon Supreme Court opinion.

He ruled they also cannot force disclosure of the largest contributors to political mailers and other forms of communication.

The Multnomah County voters adopted the reforms with an 89 percent “yes” vote in November 2016. An appeal of the judge’s decision is expected.

Campaign finance ballot measure 26-184 passed on November 8 with an 88 percent to 11 percent tally. The measure seeks to limit campaign expenditures and contributions and promote transparency by requiring heightened advertisement funding disclosures.

Measure 26-148 prohibits candidates from receiving more than $500 from any individual or political committee per election cycle and puts an independent expenditure cap at $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for political committees per county candidate race. This ballot measure comes as a response to the recent increase in big money spending in Multnomah County elections.

Oregon is one of only six states in the country with no campaign contribution limits. The measure is set to be implemented by county ordinance no later than September 1, 2017.

The Multnomah County Charter Review Committee voted Wednesday to add a campaign reform ballot measure to the November ballot.

Voters will decide whether the county should amend its charter to limit campaign contributions from individuals to $500 per person per cycle for county races. The measure would also require candidates to disclose their five largest contributors on political advertisements.