Campaign finance regulator closes ‘union loophole’
New limit on candidate contributions is $1,000
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
UNIONS AND NON-PROFITS will be limited to contributing $1,000 a year to a candidate for public office starting next month after the Office of Campaign and Political Finance submitted a new rule Thursday closing the controversial “union loophole” in state regulation.
The rule holds unions to the same contribution limits applied to individual donors, wiping away the past practice of allowing labor groups to contribute up to $15,000 before they must register as a political action committee, even if the whole sum was given to just one candidate.
Starting May 31, contribution limits for unions will be set at $1,000 to a candidate, $500 to a political action committee, and $5,000 to a political party. Any union or non-profit that exceeds the $15,000 threshold will have to register as a PAC, though contributions to super PACs will not count toward that trigger.
“We are pleased to see it reduced but disappointed it wasn’t eliminated altogether,” Craney said in a statement.