Arizona’s Court of Appeals ruled against a new state law which would allow candidates to receive larger campaign donations. The Court ruled in favor of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and blocked the new campaign contribution limits from HB2593 from going into effect.
The three-judge panel issued a very brief ruling and noted that an opinion would be offered at a later date. The justices did order Secretary of State Ken Bennett to not to enforce the law. Candidates may have to return contributions that were made at the new higher level.
The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief in Maricopa County Superior Court against Ken Bennett in his official capacity as Secretary of State. The complaint challenged the constitutionality of House Bill 2593 (HB2593).
The complaint argues that HB2593 repeals and amends parts of the Citizens Clean Elections Act, which the Commission is sworn to uphold, and by doing so, the challenged bill violated the Voter Protection Act, which is part of the Arizona Constitution.
The dispute concerns campaign-contribution limits, which Arizona voters first enacted through an initiative in 1986. Those limits constrain the dollar amounts that Arizona candidates for public office can accept in political donations. In 1998, the Clean Elections Act – another voter initiative – set new and lower campaign-contribution limits, subject to inflation adjustments for future election cycles.