Judge Rejects NY Limit on Donations to Super PACs

A federal judge on Thursday struck down New York State’s limit on contributions to independent groups that spend money supporting political candidates, a move that could unleash large spending by so-called super PACs in state races.

Currently, New York imposes a $150,000 limit on an individual’s annual political contributions.  The judge, Paul A. Crotty of Federal District Court in Manhattan, ruled that such a limit was a violation of the First Amendment when it was applied to independent groups.

In a five-page opinion, Judge Crotty lamented the influence of outsize donations in today’s political system.  He wrote that the voices of regular citizens “are too often drowned out by the few who have great resources,” and disagreed with some of the Supreme Court’s analysis in the recent case, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission.

But despite his concerns, Judge Crotty wrote that he had no choice but to follow the Supreme Court’s lead in that case and in the landmark Citizens United campaign finance case, as well as the guidance of the Second Circuit.

“Our Supreme Court,” he wrote, “has made clear that only certain contribution limits comport with the First Amendment.”

The case in New York was brought last fall by New York Progress and Protection PAC, a conservative group that was supporting the Republican candidate for mayor of New York City, Joseph J. Lhota, who lost to Bill de Blasio.

The group said at the time that the same political donor who was at the center of the recent Supreme Court case, Shaun McCutcheon, an Alabama businessman, had pledged to contribute well over the $150,000 that was permitted by state law.

Matt Mittenthal, a spokesman for the New York State attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, expressed disappointment with the ruling on Thursday.  He said the state had not decided whether to appeal.  Similar limits have also been struck down in other states after the Citizens United decision.

The decision in New York raised the possibility that independent groups, not affiliated with specific candidates, could begin to play an even larger role in state political races, like the re-election bid of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat who will be on the ballot in November, and in the battle for control of the State Senate.

“I think the dam of campaign finance regulation is breaking,” said Jerry H. Goldfeder, a prominent New York election lawyer.  “This decision, like McCutcheon, is going to invite even further challenges to contribution limits.”

In an interview on Thursday, Craig Engle, the treasurer of New York Progress and Protection PAC, declined to discuss the group’s plans but said the end of the contribution limit would make it easier for independent groups to get their message out in New York, given its expensive media market.

“What this does,” he said, “is put governor candidates in New York on an equal footing with governor candidates across the United States — that the money that needs to be raised can be raised to support or defend their opinions or positions.”










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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NYC Mayoral Candidate will Challenge Campaign Finance Laws

George McDonald, the founder and president of the Doe Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting homelessness and addiction, said he doesn't plan to accept public matching funds as he builds a war chest for the 2013 mayoral race. McDonald has already switched his voter registration from Democratic to Republican, which would allow him to bypass a crowded Democratic party full of well-known, well-funded hopefuls, as was the case with Bloomberg back in 2001.

Other candidates for local office have also declined to participate in the city's campaign finance system, where small donations are matched with public funds at a rate of $6 to $1. But Mr. McDonald is the first to argue that he doesn't have to abide by the city's stringent contribution limits. Instead, Mr. McDonald maintains, he must abide by more lenient contribution limits set by the state.

The city's caps on contributions are intended to level the playing field and curtail the influence of money in politics. According to the city's Campaign Finance Board, a candidate for citywide office is prohibited from accepting an individual donation in excess of $4,950 for the primary and general elections combined.

But according to the state, the maximum individual contribution for mayor and other citywide offices is $19,700, in the Democratic and Republican primary and $41,100 in the general election.

In 2004, the City Council approved legislation that mandated every candidate for local office, not just those who voluntarily accept public matching funds, follow the city's contribution limits. But John Conklin, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said it's the state, not the city, that has the power to set limits for candidates who don't join the matching-fund system.

The state Board of Election's stance opens the door for other 2013 candidates to take their chances and sidestep the city's contribution limits, potentially flooding the campaigns for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president and City Council with significantly higher donations than city law stipulates.

Richard Briffault, a professor of law at Columbia University, said the issue is legally unresolved because nobody has ever challenged the city authority to set its own limits.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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