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Committee reviews bill to automate state campaign contribution updates to match federal FEC adjustments
Summary
House Bill 13‑69 would exempt the periodic automatic adjustment of Arkansas campaign contribution limits from the administrative rulemaking process and direct the Arkansas Ethics Commission to implement the updated limit within 30 days of an FEC change; the committee adopted an amendment and the sponsor moved the bill to pass as amended.
Representative David Ray presented House Bill 13‑69 to the House State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee as amended. The bill would streamline the process by which Arkansas’s maximum campaign contribution limits are updated: instead of going through the state rule‑making process every time a federal limit is adjusted for inflation, the Arkansas Ethics Commission would update the state limit within 30 days of the Federal Election Commission’s change.
Ray said the current process leaves a multi‑month period in which federal and state contribution limits differ, which causes confusion. The amendment adopted in committee restores the statutory ‘‘base amount’’ of $2,000 as of January 1, 2015, after drafters discovered changing the base number would alter the statutory calculation of the maximum contribution.
Graham Sloane, director of the Arkansas Ethics Commission, answered technical questions about how the commission certifies and posts adjusted limits; he said the commission would calculate the cumulative total and publish the current limit on its website. Representative Mayberry asked about the bill’s emergency clause; Ray said the amendment’s timing is intended to align state limits with recent FEC updates and that the emergency clause argues the change preserves public order.
Representative Ray closed by saying the change would reduce confusion during election cycles. The sponsor moved the bill ‘‘do pass as amended’’ during the committee meeting; no roll‑call vote on final passage is recorded in the transcript excerpt provided.
