"FEC Was Right to Allow Soft Money In Calif. Initiatives"

FEC Commissioner Michael Toner writes this Guest Observer column (paid subscription required) in today's Roll Call. A snippet:

The plain meaning of the statute is that the soft-money ban applies to elections for public office, but does not apply to non-candidate political activity, such as ballot initiatives and referenda. Any other interpretation would render the statutory reference to “office” a nullity. The FEC correctly followed the plain meaning of the law and rejected efforts for the Commission to go beyond its statutory authority.

The legislative history is consistent with the FEC’s interpretation of the statute. In debating the McCain-Feingold law, not a single Member of Congress, including the legislation’s sponsors, indicated that the soft-money ban would apply to initiatives and referenda. Revealingly, several Members of Congress who voted for McCain-Feingold, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), informed the FEC last month that this was their understanding of the law.

The FEC’s ruling also advances important policy interests. Had the FEC concluded that McCain-Feingold applied to the California initiatives, a vast fundraising imbalance may have resulted. Schwarzenegger and his allies are permitted under California law to raise unlimited corporate and individual contributions, and published reports indicate that the governor plans to raise $50 million or more on behalf of the initiatives.

Posted by Rick Hasen at September 13, 2005 05:52 AM