Alaska House votes to limit cash campaign donations, but restrictions still need approval by Senate and governor

JUNEAU — The Alaska House of Representatives voted Wednesday night to limit the amount of money that individuals and groups can donate to candidates for public office.

The proposal needs approval from the Alaska Senate and Gov. Mike Dunleavy to become law, and without their action, there will be no restrictions on the amount of money that can be donated to candidates in Alaska elections. The state’s prior limits were ruled unconstitutional by a federal court last year.

“Are we just going to give everything up to the courts? We can’t do that,” said Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, who proposed new limits in legislation at the start of the year.

The final vote was along caucus lines, with the 21 members of the House’s coalition majority in favor and 18 minority Republicans opposed. Rep. Laddie Shaw, R-Anchorage, was excused absent.

Schrage’s House Bill 234, which now advances to the Senate, would limit individuals to donations of $2,000 per candidate per election and groups (such as political parties and special-interest organizations) to $4,000 per candidate per election.

If signed into law, the bill would also limit the amount of money a candidate can receive from Outside. No more than 25% of a candidate’s total donations could come from out-of-state donors.

The limits would apply to state and municipal elections but not elections for federal office.

Supporters of the proposal called it necessary to fight corruption and reduce the influence of Outside money.

“Right now, today, if we don’t pass this bill, a billionaire latte-sipper from San Francisco could drop a hundred grand into a single House race, effectively buying an entire House campaign. What would the effect of that be?” said Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage.

Forty of the 50 states have some kind of limit, though the amounts vary and many are higher than the proposal approved by the House.

Several members of the House referenced the 2006 ballot measure that installed Alaska’s prior campaign contribution limits. That measure, which included an individual donation limit of $500 per candidate per year, passed with the support of 73% of participating voters.

“Without some limit, it’s limitless,” said Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage. “The Alaskan people have said, ‘We don’t want that.’”

Many of the Republicans opposed to the limit cited the the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United. That ruling allows individuals, corporations, unions and other groups to contribute unlimited amounts of money to third-party groups, which can spend that money on campaigns.

“The campaign limits need to be put on these organizations, not on private individuals,” said Rep. Ron Gillham, R-Soldotna.

Changing Citizens United would require a new ruling from the Supreme Court or a federal constitutional amendment; Alaska cannot unilaterally impose a limit, the Alaska Supreme Court has ruled.

Because of that fact, it may be counterproductive to limit individual donors, said Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski.

“This hurts people’s ability to compete with that dark money,” he said.

Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, said she believes the impact of unlimited donations is limited by public disclosure.

“If there is a million-dollar latte-sipper that buys a House race, the public will get to see it, and that district will get to determine if they find that acceptable in that candidate,” she said.

The bill’s progress in the Senate is uncertain. Similar campaign finance bills have been introduced there but have not yet been heard in committee.

Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, is the chair of the Senate State Affairs Committee, which is slated to consider those bills. But he said this month that given other priorities, he is uncertain when they will receive a hearing.

The governor’s support is also uncertain. Earlier this month, Dunleavy said his tendency “is to just let people do what they want in campaign finance law, as long as it’s disclosed and it’s accurate.”