Oregon business and labor groups have quietly begun negotiating a deal that could result in campaign contribution limits in state races for the first time in decades.
The surprising development, confirmed to OPB by four people with direct knowledge of the talks, is an attempt to avoid a potentially costly ballot fight in November. If the two sides are able to find a workable proposal 鈥� a tall order in the compressed timeline of a five-week short session 鈥� it could be an opportunity for lawmakers to act.
Oregon is one of just five states with no limits on political giving.
Details of a tentative deal are being closely guarded, but talks between business groups like Oregon Business & Industry and representatives of large labor unions have been going on for nearly a week, one participant said. Even that is notable: The two sides often oppose one another in political campaigns and policy matters, and in the past have disagreed about what a system of contribution limits should look like.
The meetings come as both business and labor interests warily watch a campaign finance proposal by good government groups that appears to stand a chance of qualifying for the November ballot. The proposal, currently known as Initiative Petition 9, combines strict contribution limits for individuals, political parties and interest groups with new rules forcing more disclosure about who is backing campaigns.
The initiative鈥檚 supporters include Honest Elections Oregon, Common Cause Oregon, and the League of Women Voters of Oregon. Backers say they have collected roughly 100,000 signatures to date. To qualify for the ballot, they must secure 117,173 valid signatures by July.
鈥淎t our current clip, I feel pretty confident,鈥� said Jason Kafoury of Honest Elections Oregon, one of the proposal鈥檚 architects.
The state鈥檚 largest labor unions have that they oppose the good government groups鈥� effort. They are particularly critical of a provision that would allow private citizens to sue over election law infractions.
So the labor groups 鈥� representing a wide array of government employees, teachers, grocery workers and more 鈥� have put forward their own proposed ballot measure that would include looser contribution regulations while creating a system offering public funding to candidates who limit the size of individual donations. The plan has been panned by Honest Elections Oregon, which says it includes massive loopholes.
The prospect of a multimillion-dollar, confusing fight between two ballot measures has both labor and business groups rushing to see if they can find a compromise that鈥檚 palatable to lawmakers before the session ends in March.
None of the groups involved in talks were keen on offering specifics when asked.
鈥淟egislative leadership doesn鈥檛 particularly enjoy the idea of competing ballot measures,鈥� said Joe Baessler, interim executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 75. 鈥淔olks have asked us if we鈥檇 be willing to think about a referral instead. It all just depends on the details.鈥�
Melissa Unger, executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 503, said Friday the union was participating in 鈥渙verall conversations about how campaign finance is coming to Oregon some way or another.鈥�
Any success would amount to a head-snapping change of course in Salem, where the Legislature has failed time and again to pass contribution limits, despite the issue being a stated priority for many top Democrats.
Last year, Gov. Tina Kotek called on lawmakers to find a path forward on the issue, after pledging action during a gubernatorial race where she spent roughly $30 million. But a campaign finance bill never got attention in a session that was consumed by other top priorities and a six-week walkout by Senate Republicans.
House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, has repeatedly attempted to pass contribution limits during his time as a lawmaker, even succeeding on .
Rayfield will end his legislative career in January, and is running for attorney general. And while people involved in negotiating a potential campaign finance deal said Rayfield and other top lawmakers are aware of their discussions, he suggested to reporters Thursday that the Legislature is unlikely to take up campaign finance in this year鈥檚 session.
鈥淣o matter when you leave any job that you have, there are always going to be things that you look back and you鈥檙e like, 鈥楬ey, that鈥檚 something that鈥檚 unfinished business,鈥欌�� Rayfield told reporters. 鈥淐ampaign finance reform is one of those things.鈥�
Business and labor have long used Oregon鈥檚 permissive campaign finance laws to suit their interests. With no limits on political giving, businesses 鈥� and 鈥� routinely pour big money into conservative causes and candidates, while unions like the Oregon Education Association and Service Employees International Union do the same for Democrats and progressive efforts.
But voters have signaled they are eager to enact contribution limits, ending Oregon鈥檚 place among states that don鈥檛 limit political giving. A 2020 ballot measure that modified the state constitution to explicitly allow contribution limits passed with more than 78% support.
Attempts to institute limits in the past have often drawn objections along partisan lines 鈥� particularly proposals that would grant higher limits to 鈥渟mall-donor committees,鈥� entities that accept only small donations and theoretically suit labor鈥檚 existing model of generating political cash.
How business and labor representatives might find agreement on that and other issues remains to be seen. It鈥檚 also unclear whether any proposal could win over the groups behind IP 9.
鈥淕ood government groups are open to working with stakeholders and legislators to put a real campaign finance reform package together,鈥� said Kafoury. 鈥淭his is something we鈥檝e been working on for many decades as a state, and now is the time to make real reforms happen.鈥�
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