Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey will delay the enforcement of new campaign finance limits approved by nearly 75% of Maine voters to allow time for a lawsuit to work its way through the courts.

Frey agreed to delay enforcement until May 30, according to a court order announced by the Institute for Free Speech. The national conservative advocacy group sued the state in U.S. District Court in Portland on behalf of two political action committees connected to a Republican state lawmaker.

“We’re extremely pleased that the state has agreed to postpone enforcement of Question 1,” said Institute for Free Speech Senior Attorney Charles “Chip” Miller. “The agreement avoids expense necessary to obtain a temporary restraining order, an expense that Maine would ultimately bear when we prevail.”

Maine voters approved a citizen initiative in November to limit the amount of money that can be donated to political action committees seeking to influence candidate elections. The limit does not apply to PACs operated by political parties or that seek to influence referendum campaigns.

The institute says the $5,000 contribution limit is unconstitutional and directly contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission. That ruling said the 1st Amendment in the U.S. Constitution allows PACs to spend as much money as they want in elections.

Advocates, including Citizens to End Super-PACs, expected the lawsuit to be filed. They are hoping the case will make it to the nation’s highest court, which has not yet ruled whether or not the 2010 decision also allows individuals and corporations to donate unlimited sums to PACs.

After Citizens United was decided, a federal appeals court ruled that limits could not be placed on donations to PACs, but the decision was never appealed to the Supreme Court.

In Friday’s ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Wolf said the new state law was originally slated to take effect on Dec. 25, but the state agreed to postpone enforcement for five months “to allow time to resolve this case and avoid the need for the plaintiffs to seek a temporary restraining order.”

The order sets deadlines for each party to file their legal briefs in the coming months, with a hearing anticipated for March.

According to the schedule, the state must file its answer to the lawsuit by Jan. 6. Deadlines for additional briefs are Jan. 15, Feb. 14 and Feb. 28.

The two Maine-based PACs named as plaintiffs are Dinner Table Action PAC and For Our Future, which are controlled by Alex Titcomb and connected to Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn.

Over the last two years, For Our Future has raised nearly $406,000 — $375,000 of which came from the Concord Fund, which is connected to Leonard Leo, a major conservative donor and activist who played a central role in establishing a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court. Leo owns a home in Maine.

The institute says the citizens’ referendum will force PACs to disclose the names of all donors, including small-dollar donors, who are currently exempt.

Dinner Table Action has raised nearly $502,000, with about $25,500 coming from small donors giving less than $50.

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