On February 2, thirteen Maryland State Senators introduced SB 546, to establish public funding for legislative candidates. Like the public funding laws in Arizona and Maine (and like the one that existed in Massachusetts until the legislature repealed it), SB 546 does not discriminate for or against any candidate based on that candidate’s party affiliation.
The bill requires candidates who seek public funding to raise contributions of at least $5 from 350 residents of their district. The total amount of such contributions must equal at least $6,750.
Connecticut’s public funding law does discriminate on the basis of party affiliation. The ACLU is currently challenging the discriminatory aspect of Connecticut’s law in federal court.
Thanks to Howard Wilson for the Maryland news.
The “clean” Maryland bill discriminates in a different way: Requiring raising nearly $7K from a single state legislative district. Many minor parties struggle to raise that much money statewide! It certainly discriminates against parties that seek to represent the interests of the poor.
We (IOWA) currently have a clean elections bill underway. It also has some bias for the two major parties, but it is still better than no bill at all. I also think that if you get a bill passed that you can tolerate that is at least a start. Without ballot initiative these reforms move in baby steps.