Oregon Lawmakers Divided Over Campaign Finance Bill

Good governance groups say the bill guts 2024 campaign finance reform law, while supporters say it's needed for timely implementation.

Published on Feb. 23, 2026

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A bill meant to provide technical fixes to Oregon's 2024 campaign finance reform law has become a battleground, with good governance groups accusing business and union groups of using it to gut the law's contribution limits. Supporters say the bill is necessary to ensure the limits are enacted as scheduled in 2027 and to give the Secretary of State's Office time to implement the changes. The dispute has led to a standoff in the state legislature, with the bill's future uncertain.

Why it matters

The 2024 campaign finance reform law was a landmark achievement for good governance groups in Oregon, imposing new limits on political spending. The current dispute over the technical fix bill highlights the ongoing struggle between reform advocates and business/union interests over the best approach to money in politics in the state.

The details

The technical fix bill, House Bill 4018, contains several changes that reform advocates say would render the 2024 law's contribution limits meaningless. These include striking "coordinated expenditures" from the definition of contributions, allowing donors to create multiple LLCs to donate up to the limit, and changing in-kind contribution limits. Supporters of the bill say these changes are needed to ensure smooth implementation, but reform groups argue they are unnecessary and amount to gutting the law.

  • The 2024 campaign finance reform law is scheduled to take effect in January 2027.
  • House Bill 4018 is currently in the Joint Ways and Means Committee and is expected to receive a rapid committee vote before going to the House and Senate floors for final votes by March 8.

The players

Honest Elections Oregon

A campaign finance reform advocacy group that was involved in passing the 2024 law and is now opposing the technical fix bill.

Oregon Business and Industry

A business trade group that has been involved in negotiations over the technical fix bill.

Our Oregon

A coalition of labor unions that has also been involved in negotiations over the technical fix bill.

Julie Fahey

The Oregon House Speaker who introduced the technical fix bill, House Bill 4018.

Tobias Read

The Oregon Secretary of State, whose office is responsible for implementing the campaign finance reforms.

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What they’re saying

“We've negotiated with them for two years in good faith and now they're shutting us out.”

— Jason Kafoury, Leader, Honest Elections Oregon (salemreporter.com)

“This is not an honest bill. That it merely deals with implementation problems is wrong.”

— Jeff Golden, Oregon State Senator (salemreporter.com)

“We were trying to figure out how to make sure that this bill could be implementable on the right timeline, knowing that the most important thing to voters is that we implement limits.”

— Julie Fahey, Oregon House Speaker (salemreporter.com)

What’s next

The Senate Rules Committee will host an informational meeting on Monday to discuss the implications of House Bill 4018 before the legislature takes final votes on the bill by March 8.

The takeaway

The dispute over the technical fix bill highlights the ongoing tension between campaign finance reform advocates and business/union interests in Oregon. The outcome of this bill will have significant implications for the implementation and effectiveness of the state's 2024 campaign finance reform law.