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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6663
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 4980
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT REVISING CERTAIN CAMPAIGN FINANCE STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-611 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
(a) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, for 3
the benefit of, or pursuant to the authorization or request of, a candidate 4
or a committee supporting or opposing any candidate's campaign for 5
nomination at a primary, or any candidate's campaign for election, to 6
the office of (1) Governor, in excess of three thousand five hundred 7
dollars; (2) Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, 8
Comptroller or Attorney General, in excess of two thousand dollars; (3) 9
chief executive officer of a town, city or borough, in excess of one 10
thousand dollars; (4) state senator or probate judge, in excess of one 11
thousand dollars; or (5) state representative or any other office of a 12
municipality not previously included in this subsection, in excess of two 13
hundred fifty dollars. The limits imposed by this subsection shall be 14
applied separately to primaries and elections. 15
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(b) (1) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or 16
for the benefit of, an exploratory committee, in excess of three hundred 17
seventy-five dollars, if the candidate establishing the exploratory 18
committee certifies on the statement of organization for the exploratory 19
committee pursuant to subsection (c) of section 9-604 that the candidate 20
will not be a candidate for the office of state representative. No 21
individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for the 22
benefit of, any exploratory committee, in excess of two hundred fifty 23
dollars, if the candidate establishing the exploratory committee does not 24
so certify. 25
(2) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for 26
the benefit of, a political committee formed by a slate of candidates in a 27
primary for the office of justice of the peace, in excess of two hundred 28
fifty dollars. 29
[(c) No individual shall make contributions to such candidates or 30
committees which in the aggregate exceed thirty thousand dollars for 31
any single election and primary preliminary to such election.] 32
[(d)] (c) No individual shall make a contribution to any candidate or 33
committee, other than a contribution in kind, in excess of one hundred 34
dollars except by personal check or credit card of that individual. 35
[(e)] (d) No individual who is less than eighteen years of age shall 36
make a contribution or contributions, in excess of thirty dollars to, for 37
the benefit of, or pursuant to the authorization or request of: (1) A 38
candidate or a committee supporting or opposing any candidate's 39
campaign for nomination at a primary to any office; (2) a candidate or a 40
committee supporting or opposing any candidate's campaign for 41
election to any office; (3) an exploratory committee; (4) any other 42
political committee in any calendar year; or (5) a party committee in any 43
calendar year. Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision (2) of 44
section 9-7b, any individual who is less than eighteen years of age who 45
violates any provision of this subsection shall not be subject to the 46
provisions of subdivision (2) of section 9-7b. 47
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Sec. 2. Section 9-601 of the general statutes is amended by adding 48
subdivision (32) as follows (Effective October 1, 2021): 49
(NEW) (32) "Independent expenditure political committee" means a 50
political committee that makes only (A) independent expenditures, and 51
(B) contributions to other independent expenditure political 52
committees. 53
Sec. 3. Subdivision (3) of section 9-601 of the general statutes is 54
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 55
1, 2021): 56
(3) "Political committee" means (A) a committee organized by a 57
business entity or organization, (B) persons other than individuals, or 58
two or more individuals organized or acting jointly conducting their 59
activities in or outside the state, (C) an exploratory committee, (D) a 60
committee established by or on behalf of a slate of candidates in a 61
primary for the office of justice of the peace, but does not mean a 62
candidate committee or a party committee, (E) a legislative caucus 63
committee, [or] (F) a legislative leadership committee, or (G) an 64
independent expenditure political committee. 65
Sec. 4. Subdivision (1) of subsection (g) of section 9-607 of the general 66
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 67
(Effective October 1, 2021): 68
(g) (1) As used in this subsection, (A) "the lawful purposes of the 69
committee" means: (i) For a candidate committee or exploratory 70
committee, the promoting of the nomination or election of the candidate 71
who established the committee, except that after a political party 72
nominates candidates for election to the offices of Governor and 73
Lieutenant Governor, whose names shall be so placed on the ballot in 74
the election that an elector will cast a single vote for both candidates, as 75
prescribed in section 9-181, a candidate committee established by either 76
such candidate may also promote the election of the other such 77
candidate; (ii) for a political committee, other than an independent 78
expenditure political committee described in subparagraph (A)(iv) of 79
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this subdivision, the promoting of (I) a political party, including party 80
building activities, (II) the success or defeat of candidates for 81
nomination [and] or election to public office or position subject to the 82
requirements of this chapter, or (III) the success or defeat of referendum 83
questions, provided a political committee formed for a single 84
referendum question shall not promote the success or defeat of any 85
candidate, and provided further a legislative leadership committee or a 86
legislative caucus committee may expend funds to defray costs for 87
conducting legislative or constituency-related business which are not 88
reimbursed or paid by the state; [and] (iii) for a party committee, the 89
promoting of the party, party building activities, the candidates of the 90
party and continuing operating costs of the party; and (iv) for an 91
independent expenditure political committee, the promoting of (I) a 92
political party, (II) the success or defeat of candidates for nomination or 93
election to public office or position subject to the requirements of this 94
chapter, or (III) the success or defeat of referendum questions, provided 95
an independent expenditure political committee shall act entirely 96
independently of a candidate, candidate committee, party committee or 97
political committee that is not an independent expenditure political 98
committee, or any agent of such candidate or committee, and (B) 99
"immediate family" means a spouse or dependent child of a candidate 100
who resides in the candidate's household. 101
Sec. 5. Subparagraph (C) of subdivision (1) of subsection (e) of section 102
9-608 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted 103
in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 104
(C) (i) Each political committee formed solely to aid or promote the 105
success or defeat of any referendum question, which does not receive 106
contributions from a business entity or an organization, shall distribute 107
its surplus to a party committee, to a political committee organized for 108
ongoing political activities, to a national committee of a political party, 109
to all contributors to the committee on a prorated basis of contribution, 110
to state or municipal governments or agencies or to any organization 111
which is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the 112
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding 113
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internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time 114
amended. 115
(ii) Each political committee formed solely to aid or promote the 116
success or defeat of any referendum question, which receives 117
contributions from a business entity or an organization, and each 118
independent expenditure political committee other than an 119
independent expenditure political committee formed for ongoing 120
political activities, shall distribute its surplus to all contributors to the 121
committee on a prorated basis of contribution, to state or municipal 122
governments or agencies, or to any organization which is tax-exempt 123
under said provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. 124
(iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a committee 125
formed for a single referendum shall not be required to expend its 126
surplus not later than ninety days after the referendum and may 127
continue in existence if a substantially similar referendum question on 128
the same issue will be submitted to the electorate within six months after 129
the first referendum. If two or more substantially similar referenda on 130
the same issue are submitted to the electorate, each no more than six 131
months apart, the committee shall expend such surplus within ninety 132
days following the date of the last such referendum; 133
Sec. 6. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 9-612 of the general statutes 134
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 135
October 1, 2021): 136
(a) (1) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions in any 137
one calendar year in excess of ten thousand dollars to the state central 138
committee of any party, or for the benefit of such committee pursuant 139
to its authorization or request; or two thousand dollars to a town 140
committee of any political party, or for the benefit of such committee 141
pursuant to its authorization or request; or two thousand dollars to a 142
legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee; [,] or 143
one thousand dollars to any other political committee other than [(1)] 144
(A) a political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or 145
defeat of a referendum question, [(2)] (B) an exploratory committee, [(3)] 146
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(C) a political committee established by an organization, or for the 147
benefit of such committee pursuant to its authorization or request, [or 148
(4)] (D) a political committee formed by a slate of candidates in a 149
primary for the office of justice of the peace of the same town, or (E) an 150
independent expenditure political committee. 151
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this 152
subsection and unless otherwise restricted or prohibited by law, an 153
individual may make contributions to an independent expenditure 154
political committee. 155
(b) (1) No individual shall make a contribution to a political 156
committee established by an organization which receives its funds from 157
the organization's treasury. With respect to a political committee 158
established by an organization which has complied with the provisions 159
of subsection (b) or (c) of section 9-614, as amended by this act, and has 160
elected to receive contributions, no individual other than a member of 161
the organization may make contributions to the committee, in which 162
case the individual may contribute not more than seven hundred fifty 163
dollars in any one calendar year to such committee or for the benefit of 164
such committee pursuant to its authorization or request. 165
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this 166
subsection and unless otherwise restricted or prohibited by law, an 167
individual may make contributions to an independent expenditure 168
political committee established by an organization. 169
Sec. 7. Section 9-613 of the general statutes is repealed and the 170
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 171
(a) [No] Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, a 172
business entity shall not make any contributions or expenditures (1) to, 173
or for the benefit of, any candidate's campaign (A) for election to any 174
public office or position subject to this chapter, or (B) for nomination at 175
a primary for any such office or position, or (2) to promote the defeat of 176
any candidate for any such office or position. [No] A business entity 177
shall not make any other contributions or expenditures to promote the 178
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success or defeat of any political party. [, except as provided in 179
subsection (b) of this section. No] A business entity shall not establish 180
more than one political committee. A political committee shall be 181
deemed to have been established by a business entity if the initial 182
disbursement or contribution to the committee is made under 183
subsection (b) of this section or by an officer, director, owner, limited or 184
general partner or holder of stock constituting five per cent or more of 185
the total outstanding stock of any class of the business entity. 186
(b) A business entity may make reasonable and necessary transfers or 187
disbursements to or for the benefit of a political committee established 188
by such business entity, for the administration of, or solicitation of 189
contributions to, such political committee. Nonmonetary contributions 190
by a business entity which are incidental in nature and are directly 191
attributable to the administration of such political committee shall be 192
exempt from the reporting requirements of this chapter. 193
(c) The provisions of this section shall not preclude a business entity 194
from making contributions or expenditures to promote the success or 195
defeat of a referendum question. 196
(d) [A] Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, a political 197
committee organized by a business entity shall not make a contribution 198
or contributions to or for the benefit of any candidate's campaign for 199
nomination at a primary or any candidate's campaign for election to the 200
office of: (1) Governor, in excess of five thousand dollars; (2) Lieutenant 201
Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney 202
General, in excess of three thousand dollars; (3) state senator, probate 203
judge or chief executive officer of a town, city or borough, in excess of 204
one thousand five hundred dollars; (4) state representative, in excess of 205
seven hundred fifty dollars; or (5) any other office of a municipality not 206
included in subdivision (3) of this subsection, in excess of three hundred 207
seventy-five dollars. The limits imposed by this subsection shall apply 208
separately to primaries and elections and contributions by any such 209
committee to candidates designated in this subsection shall not exceed 210
one hundred thousand dollars in the aggregate for any single election 211
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and primary preliminary thereto. Contributions to such committees 212
shall also be subject to the provisions of section 9-618, as amended by 213
this act, in the case of committees formed for ongoing political activity 214
or section 9-619, as amended by this act, in the case of committees 215
formed for a single election or primary. 216
(e) [No] Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, a political 217
committee organized by a business entity shall not make a contribution 218
or contributions to (1) a state central committee of a political party, in 219
excess of seven thousand five hundred dollars in any calendar year, (2) 220
a town committee of any political party, in excess of one thousand five 221
hundred dollars in any calendar year, (3) an exploratory committee in 222
excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars, or (4) any other kind of 223
political committee, in excess of two thousand dollars in any calendar 224
year. 225
(f) As used in this subsection, "investment services" means 226
investment legal services, investment banking services, investment 227
advisory services, underwriting services, financial advisory services or 228
brokerage firm services. [No] A political committee established by a 229
firm which provides investment services and to which the State 230
Treasurer pays compensation, expenses or fees or issues a contract shall 231
not make a contribution to, or solicit contributions on behalf of, an 232
exploratory committee or candidate committee established by a 233
candidate for nomination or election to the office of State Treasurer 234
during the term of office of the State Treasurer who does business with 235
such firm. 236
(g) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of [this section, a corporation, 237
cooperative association, limited partnership, professional association, 238
limited liability company or limited liability partnership, whether 239
formed in this state or any other, acting alone,] subsections (a) to (f), 240
inclusive, of this section, a business entity may make independent 241
expenditures. 242
(2) An independent expenditure political committee organized by a 243
business entity shall not make any contribution unless such contribution 244
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is to another independent expenditure political committee. 245
Sec. 8. Section 9-614 of the general statutes is repealed and the 246
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 247
An organization may make contributions or expenditures, other than 248
[those made to promote] for the purposes of promoting the success or 249
defeat of a referendum question, only by first forming its own political 250
committee. [The] Unless such political committee is an independent 251
expenditure political committee, the political committee shall then be 252
authorized to (1) receive funds (A) exclusively from the organization's 253
treasury or from voluntary contributions made by its members, but not 254
both, (B) from another political committee, or [,] (C) from a candidate 255
committee distributing a surplus, and [(1) to] (2) make (A) contributions 256
or expenditures to, or for the benefit of, a candidate's campaign or a 257
political party, or [(2) to make] (B) contributions to another political 258
committee. [No] An organization shall not form more than one political 259
committee. A political committee shall be deemed to have been 260
established by an organization if the initial contribution to the 261
committee is made by the organization's treasury or an officer or 262
director of the organization. 263
(b) A political committee established by an organization may elect to 264
alter the manner in which it is funded if it complies with the 265
requirements of this subsection. The committee chairperson shall notify 266
the repository with which the committee's most recent statement of 267
organization is filed, in writing, of the committee's intent to alter its 268
manner of funding. [Within] Not later than fifteen days after the date of 269
receipt of such notification, the treasurer of such political committee 270
shall return any funds remaining in the account of the committee to the 271
organization's treasury after payment of each outstanding liability. 272
[Within] Not later than seven days after the distribution and payments 273
have been made, the treasurer shall file a statement with the same 274
repository itemizing each such distribution and payment. Upon such 275
filing, the treasurer may receive voluntary contributions from any 276
member of the organization which established such committee subject 277
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to the limitations imposed in subsection (b) of section 9-612, as amended 278
by this act. 279
(c) The chairperson of each political committee established by an 280
organization on or after July 1, 1985, shall designate the manner in 281
which the committee shall be funded in the committee's statement of 282
organization. 283
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of [this section, an organization, 284
acting alone,] subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section, an 285
organization may make independent expenditures and contributions to 286
an independent expenditure political committee. 287
Sec. 9. Section 9-615 of the general statutes is repealed and the 288
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 289
(a) [No] A political committee established by an organization shall 290
not make a contribution or contributions to, or for the benefit of, any 291
candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or for election to the 292
office of: (1) Governor, in excess of five thousand dollars; (2) Lieutenant 293
Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney 294
General, in excess of three thousand dollars; (3) chief executive officer 295
of a town, city or borough, in excess of one thousand five hundred 296
dollars; (4) state senator or probate judge, in excess of one thousand five 297
hundred dollars; (5) state representative, in excess of seven hundred 298
fifty dollars; or (6) any other office of a municipality not previously 299
included in this subsection, in excess of three hundred seventy-five 300
dollars. 301
(b) [No] Any such committee shall not make a contribution or 302
contributions to, or for the benefit of, an exploratory committee, in 303
excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars. Any such committee may 304
make unlimited contributions to a political committee formed solely to 305
aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question. 306
(c) The limits imposed by subsection (a) of this section shall apply 307
separately to primaries and elections and no such committee shall make 308
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contributions to the candidates designated in this section which in the 309
aggregate exceed fifty thousand dollars for any single election and 310
primary preliminary thereto. 311
(d) [No] Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, a political 312
committee established by an organization shall not make contributions 313
in any one calendar year to, or for the benefit of, (1) the state central 314
committee of a political party, in excess of seven thousand five hundred 315
dollars; (2) a town committee, in excess of one thousand five hundred 316
dollars; or (3) any political committee, other than an exploratory 317
committee or a committee formed solely to aid or promote the success 318
or defeat of a referendum question, in excess of two thousand dollars. 319
(e) Contributions to a political committee established by an 320
organization for the purpose of making contributions shall be subject to 321
the provisions of section 9-618, as amended by this act, in the case of a 322
committee formed for ongoing political activity or section 9-619, as 323
amended by this act, in the case of a committee formed for a single 324
election or primary. 325
(f) An independent expenditure political committee established by an 326
organization shall not make any contribution unless such contribution 327
is to another independent expenditure political committee. 328
Sec. 10. Subsection (a) of section 9-618 of the general statutes is 329
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 330
1, 2021): 331
(a) (1) A political committee organized for ongoing political activities 332
may make unlimited contributions to, or for the benefit of, any national 333
committee of a political party [;] or a committee of a candidate for 334
federal or out-of-state office. Except as provided in subdivision (3) of 335
subsection (d) of this section, no such political committee shall make a 336
contribution or contributions in excess of two thousand dollars to 337
another political committee in any calendar year. No political committee 338
organized for ongoing political activities shall make a contribution in 339
excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars to an exploratory 340
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committee. If such an ongoing committee is established by an 341
organization or a business entity, its contributions shall be subject to the 342
limits imposed by sections 9-613 to 9-615, inclusive, as amended by this 343
act. A political committee organized for ongoing political activities may 344
make [contributions] donations to a charitable organization which is a 345
tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 346
Code, as from time to time amended, or make memorial [contributions] 347
donations. 348
(2) An independent expenditure political committee organized for 349
ongoing political activities shall not make any contribution unless such 350
contribution is to another independent expenditure political committee. 351
Sec. 11. Subsection (a) of section 9-619 of the general statutes is 352
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 353
1, 2021): 354
(a) (1) No political committee established for a single primary or 355
election shall make contributions to a national committee, or a 356
committee of a candidate for federal or out-of-state office. If such a 357
political committee is established by an organization or a business 358
entity, its contributions shall also be subject to the limitations imposed 359
by sections 9-613 to 9-615, inclusive, as amended by this act. Except as 360
provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of this section, no political 361
committee formed for a single election or primary shall, with respect to 362
such election or primary make a contribution or contributions in excess 363
of two thousand dollars to another political committee, provided no 364
such political committee shall make a contribution in excess of three 365
hundred seventy-five dollars to an exploratory committee. 366
(2) An independent expenditure political committee established for a 367
single primary or election shall not make any contribution unless such 368
contribution is to another independent expenditure political committee. 369
Sec. 12. Section 9-620 of the general statutes is repealed and the 370
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 371
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(a) A political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success 372
or defeat of a referendum question shall not make contributions to, or 373
for the benefit of, a party committee, a political committee, a national 374
committee, a committee of a candidate for federal or out-of-state office 375
or a candidate committee, except in the distribution of a surplus, as 376
provided in subsection (e) of section 9-608, as amended by this act. 377
(b) A political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success 378
or defeat of a referendum question shall not receive contributions from 379
a national committee or from a committee of a candidate for federal or 380
out-of-state office. 381
(c) [No] A person, other than an individual or a committee, shall not 382
make a contribution to a political committee formed solely to aid or 383
promote the success or defeat of a referendum question, or to any other 384
person, to aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question, 385
in excess of ten cents for each individual residing in the state or political 386
subdivision thereof in which such referendum question is to be voted 387
upon, in accordance with the last federal decennial census. 388
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, 389
of this section, an independent expenditure political committee formed 390
solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question 391
shall not make any contribution unless such contribution is made to 392
another independent expenditure political committee. Unless otherwise 393
restricted or prohibited by law, an independent expenditure political 394
committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of a 395
referendum question may accept contributions from an entity. 396
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 9-611
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 9-601
Sec. 3 October 1, 2021 9-601(3)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2021 9-607(g)(1)
Sec. 5 October 1, 2021 9-608(e)(1)(C)
Sec. 6 October 1, 2021 9-612(a) and (b)
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Sec. 7 October 1, 2021 9-613
Sec. 8 October 1, 2021 9-614
Sec. 9 October 1, 2021 9-615
Sec. 10 October 1, 2021 9-618(a)
Sec. 11 October 1, 2021 9-619(a)
Sec. 12 October 1, 2021 9-620
Statement of Purpose:
To implement federal court rulings regarding independent expenditure
political committees and aggregate contribution limits for individuals.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]