Campaign Finance Timeline
Evolution of Current Policy
The following is a list of the major laws and court decisions that have contributed to the development of the current legal framework governing Federal campaign finance practices. 1867 — The Naval Appropriations bill, the first Federal attempt to regulate campaign finance, prohibited officers and employees of the government from soliciting money from naval yard workers. 1883 — The Civil Service Reform Act extended the above rule to all Federal civil service workers. Previously, government workers were expected to make campaign contributions in order to keep their jobs. 1905 — President Theodore Roosevelt proposed that “all contributions by corporations to…
