RI Raises Matching Funds Limit for Campaigns

The Providence Journal reports that the Rhode Island Board of Elections has raised the limit of public matching funds available to candidates for state offices:

Pointing to a 7.9-percent increase in the consumer price index since 2006, the state Board of Elections on Wednesday approved new limits for a “matching public funds” program that attempts to level the financial playing field in races for governor and four general state offices.  Gubernatorial candidates from each of the three recognized parties — Democrats, Republicans and Moderates — are now eligible for up to $1,058,000 in taxpayer dollars after primaries have been held, as are independents who meet thresholds for donations and number of donors.

And major-party candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, general treasurer and attorney general, as well as qualifying independents, can receive up to $264,300. The new caps and the presence of three recognized parties raise the possibility that the program could cost more than $6.3 million this year — if candidates from each party seek the money in each race and qualify for the maximum public match. And the number could go higher with independent candidates.