Campaign public finance in 2013? Don't bank on it.
The United States Supreme Court has granted a stay(.pdf) preventing the distribution of public matching funds in the Arizona gubernatorial election, pending their decision to hear an appeal from a 9th Circuit opinion upholding the law. Some commentators think it’s likely that the law will be declared unconstitutional as the appellate court decision was pretty firm and the Court didn't need to intervene -in the middle of the campaign- unless there was support for reversing.
The basis of the appeal is an attack on a section increasing public campaign subsidies when a self-funded candidate exceeds a certain spending threshold. The theory is that the statute has a chilling effect on the political speech of that self-funded candidate who might be afraid to spend money for fear of giving their publicly-funded opponent a boost.
This could very well doom the New York City Campaign Finance Law, or at least the section that bumps up the matching funds provided by the Campaign Finance Board when a non-participating candidate spends above certain levels. If another Mike Bloomberg emerges in 2013, candidates for Mayor may have to cast their nets more widely to be competitive. Of course, the Mayor's $105 million campaign barely held its own against his less well-funded opponent Bill Thompson.
The key New York provisions are after the jump (emphasis added).
§3-706 Expenditures limitations; additional financing and limits.
3. (a) If any candidate in any covered election chooses not to file a certification as a participating or limited participating candidate pursuant to this chapter, and where the campaign finance board has determined that such candidate and his or her authorized committees have spent or contracted or have obligated to spend, or received in loans or contributions, or both, an amount which, in the aggregate, exceeds half the applicable expenditure limit for such office fixed by subdivision one of this section, then:
(i) such expenditure limit applicable to participating candidates and limited participating candidates in such election for such office shall be increased to one hundred fifty percent of such limit; and
(ii) the principal committees of such participating candidates shall receive payment for qualified campaign expenditures of five dollars for each one dollar of matchable contributions, up to one thousand two hundred fifty dollars in public funds per contributor (or up to six hundred twenty five dollars in public funds per contributor in the case of a special election); provided, however, that (A) participating candidates in a run-off election shall receive public funds for such election pursuant to subdivision five of section 3-705 and shall not receive any additional public funds pursuant to this section, and (B) in no case shall a principal committee receive in public funds an amount exceeding two-thirds of the expenditure limitation provided for such office in subdivision one of this section.
(iii) for elections occurring after January first, two thousand eight, the campaign finance board shall promulgate rules to provide that the principal committees of such participating candidates shall receive payment for qualified campaign expenditures that will provide the highest allowable matchable contribution to be matched by an amount up to one thousand two hundred fifty dollars in public funds per contributor (or up to six hundred twenty five dollars in public funds per contributor in the case of special election); provided, however, that (A) participating candidates in a run-off election shall receive public funds for such election pursuant to subdivision five of section 3-705 and shall not receive any additional public funds pursuant to this section, and (B) in no case shall a principal committee receive in public funds an amount exceeding two-thirds of the expenditure limitation provided for such office in subdivision one of this section.
(ii) the principal committees of such participating candidates shall receive payment for qualified campaign expenditures of six dollars for each one dollar of matchable contributions, up to one thousand five hundred dollars in public funds per contributor (or up to seven hundred fifty dollars in public funds per contributor in the case of a special election); provided, however, that (A) participating candidates in a run-off election shall receive public funds for such election pursuant to subdivision five of section 3-705 and shall not receive any additional public funds pursuant to this section, and (B) in no case shall a principal committee receive in public funds an amount exceeding one hundred twenty-five percent of the expenditure limitation provided for such office in subdivision one of this section.
(iii) for elections occurring after January first, two thousand eight, the campaign finance board shall promulgate rules to provide that the principal committees of such participating candidates shall receive payment for qualified campaign expenditures that will provide the highest allowable matchable contribution to be matched by an amount up to one thousand five hundred dollars in public funds per contributor (or up to seven hundred fifty dollars in public funds per contributor in the case of special election); provided, however, that (A) participating candidates in a run-off election shall receive public funds for such election pursuant to subdivision five of section 3-705 and shall not receive any additional public funds pursuant to this section, and (B) in no case shall a principal committee receive in public funds an amount exceeding one hundred twenty-five percent of the expenditure limitation provided for such office in subdivision one of this section.
