43-page sneaker amendment before hearing (campaign finance)

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

There is a huge bill scheduled for a hearing on Friday at Noon in the House Rules Committee at the State Capitol HB 4024 a giant campaign finance measure.

Here are some facts:

– The day before the Friday hearing a 43-page amendment to a placeholder bill (Hb 4024) is introduced.

– It is 43-pages that radically change Oregon’s ability to fund candidates.

– As of near 5:00pm the day before the Friday hearing there was no official state analysis of the bill, leaving citizens in the dark on what the amendment would actually do.   The official Staff Measure Summary appeared later that evening.   This is 100% anti-transparency antics when politicians hide a surprise 43-page amendment until the night before a hearing so people like you and I can’t participate or know what is going on.

– HB 4024 prohibits certain candidates from accepting donations to their campaigns from a person that are over $3,300.  A PAC can contribute $5,000.  So, organizations are now more important than people.

– A politicians political party and the politicians political Legislative Caucus are also allowed higher limits of $10,000 and $15,000 in certain circumstances.

The problem with campaign finance regulations:

Donating to your favorite candidate is SPEECH.

When you limit donations you limit SPEECH.

When you limit donations too far you have a system where everyone has free-speech poverty.   Progressives love this because it takes power away from everybody and makes them equally powerless and that to them is equality.   Just like when progressives overtax everybody, everyone becomes poor — like in Cuba, Russia.

The people who benefit from such over-restrictions are …

#1 The rich. Wealthy candidates are not held to the same standards on contributions when they make a contribution to themselves. The United States Supreme Court has blocked efforts to limit contributions when people donate to themselves but has allowed limits on when people donate to other people.  It is unclear how the 43-page amendment fixes this discrepancy where the rich can finance themselves without limits that others are held by.

#2 Incumbent politicians already in power.  These already-in-office candidates already have name ID# in the district, taxpayer funded salaries, taxpayer funded PR staff for their office and privileges for media-attention not afforded to the same level as a challenger candidate not holding office.

#3. Unions. Unions often have loopholes in campaign finance laws that allow them to operate in ways other organizations cannot.

There may be some common ground from different political stripes on the need for campaign finance laws, but dropping a 43-page amendment the day before a hearing to shut out the public is a sign that the process is stacked against taxpayers and that a proper debate is compromised.

*** If you want to voice your opinion on HB 4024, then follow this link.   This will be open until the day after the hearing.