ANCHORAGE, Alaska — With high-stakes gubernatorial, legislative and local elections looming, Alaska candidates can now collect unlimited campaign donations after the commission charged with enforcing the state’s campaign finance laws chose to eliminate the state’s contribution limits rather than update them to satisfy a federal court order.
The politically appointed members of the Alaska Public Offices Commission said their decision on March 3 puts the onus on the state Legislature to reinstitute limits higher than the $500-per-year rejected as unconstitutional by a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in July.
But it’s far from certain that lawmakers will have time to act before the end of this year’s legislative session. And any new caps would only take effect without a veto by GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who said in a phone interview Friday that he thinks political donors should be able to contribute as much as they want — provided that candidates also have to disclose where their money comes from.
