A bill that supporters say would close a campaign finance loophole made it past the Michigan Senate today.
The legislation would make contribution limits apply even when a candidate is facing a recall effort.
It would also require candidates to put money raised to fight a recall into its own account—and return any of that money that goes unspent.
Republican Senator Jim Runestad says that’s the most important part of his bill.
“Because if you’re under recall, maybe the other side’s going to have a lot of money. It’s not how much money is raised. To me, it is that if there is not a recall, the money gets returned—it’s in a separate account and gets returned back to those donors.”
Critics say the bill—as passed—would put incumbents at a fundraising disadvantage compared to recall efforts.