Connecticut Amends Campaign Finance Law

Connecticut recently passed amendments to its Citizens' Election Program (CEP) in response to the Second Circuit's decisions in Green Party v. Garfield, two related decisions that we discussed here. In response to the Second Circuit's finding that the ban on lobbyist contributions was unconstitutional, Connecticut law now allows lobbyists to make campaign contributions up to $100 and permits solicitation of contributions by lobbyists and state contractors. Additionally, under the old law, participating gubernatorial candidates received public funding up to $3 million but could have qualified for an additional $3 million in funds if they were widely outspent by a non-participating opponent (the so-called "excess expenditure" provision).   Indeed, a similar provision under Florida law was recently struck down by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Scott v. Roberts citing in part to Green Party.  The amendments to the CEP now double the amount of the grant to participating candidates to $6 million, which is payable without regard to the opponent's spending.