Committee on Elections signals agreement to lower party donation caps and reinstate $200 cash limit in draft of House Bill 2054

Members of the Committee on Elections discussed proposed amendments to House Bill 2054 on campaign finance, with members signaling agreement to lower party donation caps, tighten district limits and reinstate a cash contribution cap.

The chair of the meeting said the committee’s draft would reduce statewide party committee donation limits from $50,000 to $30,000 (later adjusted in discussion toward $35,000) and cut district and county caps to $10,000. “We would like to suggest ... we reduce the maximum from 50,000 to 30,000,” the chair said. Another committee member said, “I think we could live with 35,” when asked about using an inflation-based calculation to set the higher limit.

The committee also addressed the statute’s cash contribution limit, which had been removed earlier in drafting. The chair proposed reinstating a cash limit and raising it from $100 to $200. “We would reinstitute the cash limit, but raise it from a hundred dollars to $200,” the chair said, noting that restoring a cash cap would increase support for the measure in both…