The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance made the following statement today in response to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance’s (OCPF) initial draft regulations to codify the union loophole:

“We are pleased to see the union loophole get dramatically smaller. OCPF and MassFiscal came to complete agreement on one issue today: the $15,000 threshold should be eliminated. This will result in more competitive elections and more equality in campaign finance law. It’s refreshing to see years of work on this issue being validated today, but there’s still more work to be done. Even at the $1000 level, OCPF’s regulations still provide an unfair advantage to unions over others and we will continue to work to right that wrong,” stated Paul Diego Craney, spokesperson to Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

As currently written, the union loophole allows unions, including out of state unions, to donate up to $15,000 to state candidates, while individuals can only donate $1,000, political action committees can donate $500, and employers are prohibited in donating anything at all. The union loophole is being challenged and petitioned at the US Supreme Court by businesses owned by MassFiscal founder Rick Green and board member Mike Kane.

“The state legislature was very clear in their legislation on this issue. Unions can donate to candidates by forming a political action committee. That’s what’s written in the law, and that’s the position we will push OCPF to adopt at their next hearing. Any other position is lawlessness,” concluded Craney.