Beaver State News

SALEM — Governor Tina Kotek signed historic campaign finance legislation into law today and is set to sign additional priority bills aimed at strengthening democracy in the coming weeks.

One of the most significant bills passed this year, HB 4024, will reinstate Oregon limits on campaign contributions for the first time in decades and aims to make campaign spending more transparent.

Common Cause, Honest Elections, the League of Women Voters, and other good government groups have advocated for this change for decades. Previously, good government advocates successfully passed campaign contribution limits at the ballot twice, but these were struck down as unconstitutional.

Starting in 2015, Common Cause collaborated with Governor Kate Brown to clarify the constitutional authority for campaign finance reform. This effort led to the 2019 legislature referring the question to voters on the 2020 ballot, where it passed with a 78% landslide approval. Common Cause and Honest Elections also led successful campaigns in 2016 and 2018, passing model local-level reforms in Portland that included limits, transparency measures, and a small-dollar public match program. Honest Elections had a state-level reform measure headed to the ballot this year.

This year's legislative session saw significant wins for Oregonians. In addition to campaign finance reform, other bills set to be signed into law include:

- SB 1571 and HB 4153: Addressing misleading use of artificial intelligence in campaign communications.

- HB 4019: Clarifying rules for casting Oregon state electoral votes to protect against fake elector schemes.

- SB 1533: Expanding translation of the voters’ pamphlet into more languages spoken in Oregon.

- SB 1502: Making public school board meetings more accessible by requiring online streaming and remote participation.

- SB 5701: A budget bill that includes funding for Oregon elections administration priorities.

Kate Titus, Executive Director of Common Cause Oregon stated:

“We don’t have to sell our democracy to the highest bidder. When we organize and come together in common cause, we build power and a democracy that truly works for us all."

She added:

“It’s taken a Herculean effort to get where we are today. Goliath always works to maintain power, but when the Davids of the world join forces, we can speak truth to power."

Titus concluded:

“This is a historic moment. Our work is not over — but Oregon is making a giant leap forward.”