Last week, in a 5-4 ruling on McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court struck down the aggregate limit an individual can donate to political candidates and parties in an election cycle. The Court's decision struck down a $46,200 ceiling on contribution for federal candidates and a $70,800 aggregate limit to entities such as political parties or committees. Legal Bisnow interviewed Venable partners Ron Jacobs and Larry Norton in an April 10, 2014 article about what is next after the decision.
Jacobs and Norton "agree the courts are going to be busy: a lot of provisions in federal campaign finance laws are called into question." They also expect things to be active at the state level with requests for the Court to review the soft money ban on McCain-Feingold, state party spending limits on federal campaigns, and an effort to overturn the ban on corporate contributions. According to Norton, "Base limits may be more vulnerable than they were before this decision… but that's not likely to be the next challenge." Both also expect to see challenges to current disclosure rules.
Jacobs and Norton "agree the courts are going to be busy: a lot of provisions in federal campaign finance laws are called into question." They also expect things to be active at the state level with requests for the Court to review the soft money ban on McCain-Feingold, state party spending limits on federal campaigns, and an effort to overturn the ban on corporate contributions. According to Norton, "Base limits may be more vulnerable than they were before this decision… but that's not likely to be the next challenge." Both also expect to see challenges to current disclosure rules.