The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear oral arguments on February 6 from legal advocates challenging the Attorney General’s rejection of Initiative Petition 22-01 in two distinct lawsuits. The petition called for a ballot initiative that, if passed, would limit contributions to independent expenditure PACs, commonly called “super PACs,” to $5,000 per individual per calendar year.

The Attorney General’s office, then run by now-Gov. Maura Healey, rejected the petition. The Attorney General erred in concluding that the petition was inconsistent with the right to free speech, despite no applicable legal precedent supporting that interpretation. Massachusetts limited contributions to super PACs until 2014, when the legislature amended state law to remove such limits. Individual contributions to candidates remain limited to $1,000 per year.

Oral arguments will be open to the public and available via livestream, via a partnership with Suffolk University.

WHAT: Oral arguments in Herrmann v. Attorney General, seeking to reinstate Initiative Petition 22-01 to limit political contributions to Independent Expenditure PACs

WHEN: Monday, February 6, 2023, approximately 11:00 AM (court convenes at 9:00 AM, and Herrmann v. Attorney General is the fourth case on the court’s docket)

WHERE: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 3 Pemberton Square, Boston MA

WHO: Arguing on behalf of the plaintiffs:

• Professor Larry Lessig, Equal Citizen
• Ron Fein, Legal Director, Free Speech For People

LIVESTREAM ACCESS: https://boston.suffolk.edu/sjc/

BACKGROUND: Read the Reply Brief of Plaintiffs here.  For more information, visit Free Speech For People’s website at https://freespeechforpeople.org/massachusetts-ballot-initiative-to-end-super-pacs/