Without limitations, campaing cash spent freely in Oregon

The Oregonian's Ryan Kost reports that Oregon lawmakers chose not to place limitations on how campaign money could be spent despite promised campaign finance ethics reforms. Two proposed laws limiting how campaign contributions could be spent were never passed, thus it remains legal to spend campaign monies on other things - from candy to airfare. "The Oregonian reviewed the more than 2,000 self-reported expenses legislators made between Jan. 8 and June 28, when the Legislature was in session. About one-fourth of the money spent -- $160,000 -- went to campaign-related expenses such as ads, mailers and polling; the remaining $415,000 went to expenses that seemed to be more closely tied to their legislative duties."