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State Legislators Still Trying To Revise Campaign Finance Law

Amanda Falcone

March 23, 2010

HARTFORD — - Lawkers have yet to agree on a plan to revise the state's campaign finance law, state Rep. James Spallone said Monday.

Legislators are trying to change the law because of a U.S. District Court decision.

The judge said that the law's voluntary public financing provision would put minor-party candidates at an unconstitutional disadvantage against better-financed major-party candidates.

The state appealed the decision to the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals and is awaiting a response.

If the appeals court upholds the federal judge's ruling, the state will have seven days to make the campaign finance law constitutional. If the state does not act, it will revert to campaign finance laws that were in place prior to 2005.

In the past week, three bills that deal with the Citizens Election Fund have been passed by the government administration and elections committee, and Spallone, D-Essex, the committee's chairman, said that he plans to get the General Assembly to pass a bill that addresses the judge's concerns this session.