Campaign Reform Enacted Elsewhere

 

The following are examples of campaign finance reform enacted in other cities and counties.

 

Benton Foundation Richard M. Neustadt Center for Communications in the Public Interest

    highlights
    • State and Local Overview
    • Limits on Contributions
    • Spending Limits
    • Independent Expenditures
    links (note: this site is temporarily unavailable due to funding cuts)

 

Miami-Dade, Florida

Miami-Dade is the only county in Florida which has its charter imbedded in the Florida State constitution. It is also the only county in Florida that has been expressly granted the authority to enact local campaign regulations as set forth in the state constitution. Miami-Dade has enacted several campaign reform measures since 1998; all of which were enacted by ordinance of the Metro-Dade Commission.
    highlights
    • bans corporate contributions
    • caps contribution amount at $250
    • public financing
    links

 

Sarasota County, Florida

Sarasota County is a charter county as is Alachua County. In 1990, the Sarasota County Charter Review Board placed several amendments to their charter regarding local campaign regulation on the ballot. The voters of Sarasota adopted those amendments and they first took effect in the 1992 election. Sarasota, like all other regular charter counties in Florida, is not authorized by State constitution or statute to address campaign regulation in its charter. In 1999, their charter amendments relating to campaign regulation were challenged and a circuit court threw out all but one measure. The court ruled that the cap their charter placed on contributions was not in conflict with State statute. Other legal opinion suggests that if the issue were to be reviewed by a higher court, the remaining cap on contributions might also be thrown out due to lack of authority.
    highlights
    • caps contribution amount at $200
    links

 

National Civic League

 

City of Austin, Texas

    highlights
    • defines small donor PAC
    • caps contribution amount at $100 except from small donor PACs
    • caps aggregate contribution total for election
    • time restrictions on candidate fund-raising
    • spending limits for candidates
    • contribution limits for non-candidate political committees
    • prohibition on political expenditures By businesses
    • campaign expense statement (required to publish in newspaper)
    links

 

New York City

    highlights
    • Campaign Finance Board (CFB) established
    • contributions to citywide candidates are limited to $4,500 per donor
    • corporate contributions are banned, as are contributions from political action committees that have not registered with the NYC CFB
    • public matching funds program
    • spending limits have been established and vary based on the specific office being sought
    • requires disclosure which of their contributors conducts business with the city
    • CFB maintains a computerized contribution database that is searchable and accessible to the public.
    links

 

Los Angeles

    highlights
    • caps contribution amounts (varies)
    • caps contribution amounts from persons other than individuals
    • caps aggregate contribution total for election (varies)
    • sets effect of violation on outcome of election
    • establishes public matching funds and campaign expenditure limitations
    links

Other Related Information

Brennan Center for Justice, New York University

    Writing Reform: A Guide to Drafting State and Local Campaign Finance Laws

 

The State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG)

    What the Courts are Saying about Low Contribution Limits

 

United States Supreme Court

    Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976)

 

The Brookings Institution, Washington DC

    The Brookings Campaign Finance homepage
Alachua County Citizens for Campaign Reform 9/29/2002