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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6663
January Session, 2021
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 Section 9-611 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1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
(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 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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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
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 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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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
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 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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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
internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time 114
amended. 115 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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(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
(C) a political committee established by an organization, or for the 147
benefit of such committee pursuant to its authorization or request, [or 148 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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(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] A business entity shall not make any contributions or 172
expenditures (1) to, or for the benefit of, any candidate's campaign (A) 173
for election to any public office or position subject to this chapter, or (B) 174
for nomination at a primary for any such office or position, or (2) to 175
promote the defeat of any candidate for any such office or position. [No] 176
A business entity shall not make any other contributions or 177
expenditures to promote the success or defeat of any political party. [, 178
except as provided in subsection (b) of this section. No] A business 179 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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entity shall not establish more than one political committee. A political 180
committee shall be deemed to have been established by a business entity 181
if the initial disbursement or contribution to the committee is made 182
under subsection (b) of this section or by an officer, director, owner, 183
limited or general partner or holder of stock constituting five per cent or 184
more of the total outstanding stock of any class of the business entity. 185
(b) A business entity may make reasonable and necessary transfers or 186
disbursements to or for the benefit of a political committee established 187
by such business entity, for the administration of, or solicitation of 188
contributions to, such political committee. Nonmonetary contributions 189
by a business entity which are incidental in nature and are directly 190
attributable to the administration of such political committee shall be 191
exempt from the reporting requirements of this chapter. 192
(c) The provisions of this section shall not preclude a business entity 193
from making contributions or expenditures to promote the success or 194
defeat of a referendum question. 195
(d) A political committee organized by a business entity shall not 196
make a contribution or contributions to or for the benefit of any 197
candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or any candidate's 198
campaign for election to the office of: (1) Governor, in excess of five 199
thousand dollars; (2) Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, 200
Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney General, in excess of three thousand 201
dollars; (3) state senator, probate judge or chief executive officer of a 202
town, city or borough, in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars; 203
(4) state representative, in excess of seven hundred fifty dollars; or (5) 204
any other office of a municipality not included in subdivision (3) of this 205
subsection, in excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars. The limits 206
imposed by this subsection shall apply separately to primaries and 207
elections and contributions by any such committee to candidates 208
designated in this subsection shall not exceed one hundred thousand 209
dollars in the aggregate for any single election and primary preliminary 210
thereto. Contributions to such committees shall also be subject to the 211
provisions of section 9-618, as amended by this act, in the case of 212 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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committees formed for ongoing political activity or section 9-619, as 213
amended by this act, in the case of committees formed for a single 214
election or primary. 215
(e) [No] A political committee organized by a business entity shall 216
not make a contribution or contributions to (1) a state central committee 217
of a political party, in excess of seven thousand five hundred dollars in 218
any calendar year, (2) a town committee of any political party, in excess 219
of one thousand five hundred dollars in any calendar year, (3) an 220
exploratory committee in excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars, 221
or (4) any other kind of political committee, in excess of two thousand 222
dollars in any calendar year. 223
(f) As used in this subsection, "investment services" means 224
investment legal services, investment banking services, investment 225
advisory services, underwriting services, financial advisory services or 226
brokerage firm services. [No] A political committee established by a 227
firm which provides investment services and to which the State 228
Treasurer pays compensation, expenses or fees or issues a contract shall 229
not make a contribution to, or solicit contributions on behalf of, an 230
exploratory committee or candidate committee established by a 231
candidate for nomination or election to the office of State Treasurer 232
during the term of office of the State Treasurer who does business with 233
such firm. 234
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of [this section, a corporation, 235
cooperative association, limited partnership, professional association, 236
limited liability company or limited liability partnership, whether 237
formed in this state or any other, acting alone,] subsections (a) to (f), 238
inclusive, of this section, (1) a business entity may make independent 239
expenditures, and (2) an independent expenditure political committee 240
organized by a business entity shall not make any contribution unless 241
such contribution is to another independent expenditure political 242
committee. 243
Sec. 8. Section 9-614 of the general statutes is repealed and the 244 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 245
An organization may make contributions or expenditures, other than 246
[those made to promote] for the purposes of promoting the success or 247
defeat of a referendum question, only by first forming its own political 248
committee. [The] Unless such political committee is an independent 249
expenditure political committee, the political committee shall then be 250
authorized to (1) receive funds (A) exclusively from the organization's 251
treasury or from voluntary contributions made by its members, but not 252
both, (B) from another political committee, or [,] (C) from a candidate 253
committee distributing a surplus, and [(1) to] (2) make (A) contributions 254
or expenditures to, or for the benefit of, a candidate's campaign or a 255
political party, or [(2) to make] (B) contributions to another political 256
committee. [No] An organization shall not form more than one political 257
committee. A political committee shall be deemed to have been 258
established by an organization if the initial contribution to the 259
committee is made by the organization's treasury or an officer or 260
director of the organization. 261
(b) A political committee established by an organization may elect to 262
alter the manner in which it is funded if it complies with the 263
requirements of this subsection. The committee chairperson shall notify 264
the repository with which the committee's most recent statement of 265
organization is filed, in writing, of the committee's intent to alter its 266
manner of funding. [Within] Not later than fifteen days after the date of 267
receipt of such notification, the treasurer of such political committee 268
shall return any funds remaining in the account of the committee to the 269
organization's treasury after payment of each outstanding liability. 270
[Within] Not later than seven days after the distribution and payments 271
have been made, the treasurer shall file a statement with the same 272
repository itemizing each such distribution and payment. Upon such 273
filing, the treasurer may receive voluntary contributions from any 274
member of the organization which established such committee subject 275
to the limitations imposed in subsection (b) of section 9-612, as amended 276
by this act. 277 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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(c) The chairperson of each political committee established by an 278
organization on or after July 1, 1985, shall designate the manner in 279
which the committee shall be funded in the committee's statement of 280
organization. 281
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of [this section, an organization, 282
acting alone,] subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section, an 283
organization may make independent expenditures and contributions to 284
an independent expenditure political committee. 285
Sec. 9. Section 9-615 of the general statutes is repealed and the 286
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 287
(a) [No] A political committee established by an organization shall 288
not make a contribution or contributions to, or for the benefit of, any 289
candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or for election to the 290
office of: (1) Governor, in excess of five thousand dollars; (2) Lieutenant 291
Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney 292
General, in excess of three thousand dollars; (3) chief executive officer 293
of a town, city or borough, in excess of one thousand five hundred 294
dollars; (4) state senator or probate judge, in excess of one thousand five 295
hundred dollars; (5) state representative, in excess of seven hundred 296
fifty dollars; or (6) any other office of a municipality not previously 297
included in this subsection, in excess of three hundred seventy-five 298
dollars. 299
(b) [No] Any such committee shall not make a contribution or 300
contributions to, or for the benefit of, an exploratory committee, in 301
excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars. Any such committee may 302
make unlimited contributions to a political committee formed solely to 303
aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question. 304
(c) The limits imposed by subsection (a) of this section shall apply 305
separately to primaries and elections and no such committee shall make 306
contributions to the candidates designated in this section which in the 307
aggregate exceed fifty thousand dollars for any single election and 308 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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primary preliminary thereto. 309
(d) [No] Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, a political 310
committee established by an organization shall not make contributions 311
in any one calendar year to, or for the benefit of, (1) the state central 312
committee of a political party, in excess of seven thousand five hundred 313
dollars; (2) a town committee, in excess of one thousand five hundred 314
dollars; or (3) any political committee, other than an exploratory 315
committee or a committee formed solely to aid or promote the success 316
or defeat of a referendum question, in excess of two thousand dollars. 317
(e) Contributions to a political committee established by an 318
organization for the purpose of making contributions shall be subject to 319
the provisions of section 9-618, as amended by this act, in the case of a 320
committee formed for ongoing political activity or section 9-619, as 321
amended by this act, in the case of a committee formed for a single 322
election or primary. 323
(f) An independent expenditure political committee established by an 324
organization shall not make any contribution unless such contribution 325
is to another independent expenditure political committee. 326
Sec. 10. Subsection (a) of section 9-618 of the general statutes is 327
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 328
1, 2021): 329
(a) (1) A political committee organized for ongoing political activities 330
may make unlimited contributions to, or for the benefit of, any national 331
committee of a political party [;] or a committee of a candidate for 332
federal or out-of-state office. Except as provided in subdivision (3) of 333
subsection (d) of this section, no such political committee shall make a 334
contribution or contributions in excess of two thousand dollars to 335
another political committee in any calendar year. No political committee 336
organized for ongoing political activities shall make a contribution in 337
excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars to an exploratory 338
committee. If such an ongoing committee is established by an 339 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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organization or a business entity, its contributions shall be subject to the 340
limits imposed by sections 9-613 to 9-615, inclusive, as amended by this 341
act. A political committee organized for ongoing political activities may 342
make [contributions] donations to a charitable organization which is a 343
tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 344
Code, as from time to time amended, or make memorial [contributions] 345
donations. 346
(2) An independent expenditure political committee organized for 347
ongoing political activities shall not make any contribution unless such 348
contribution is to another independent expenditure political committee. 349
Sec. 11. Subsection (a) of section 9-619 of the general statutes is 350
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 351
1, 2021): 352
(a) (1) No political committee established for a single primary or 353
election shall make contributions to a national committee, or a 354
committee of a candidate for federal or out-of-state office. If such a 355
political committee is established by an organization or a business 356
entity, its contributions shall also be subject to the limitations imposed 357
by sections 9-613 to 9-615, inclusive, as amended by this act. Except as 358
provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (d) of this section, no political 359
committee formed for a single election or primary shall, with respect to 360
such election or primary make a contribution or contributions in excess 361
of two thousand dollars to another political committee, provided no 362
such political committee shall make a contribution in excess of three 363
hundred seventy-five dollars to an exploratory committee. 364
(2) An independent expenditure political committee established for a 365
single primary or election shall not make any contribution unless such 366
contribution is to another independent expenditure political committee. 367
Sec. 12. Section 9-620 of the general statutes is repealed and the 368
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 369
(a) A political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success 370 Substitute Bill No. 6663
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or defeat of a referendum question shall not make contributions to, or 371
for the benefit of, a party committee, a political committee, a national 372
committee, a committee of a candidate for federal or out-of-state office 373
or a candidate committee, except in the distribution of a surplus, as 374
provided in subsection (e) of section 9-608, as amended by this act. 375
(b) A political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success 376
or defeat of a referendum question shall not receive contributions from 377
a national committee or from a committee of a candidate for federal or 378
out-of-state office. 379
(c) [No] A person, other than an individual or a committee, shall not 380
make a contribution to a political committee formed solely to aid or 381
promote the success or defeat of a referendum question, or to any other 382
person, to aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question, 383
in excess of ten cents for each individual residing in the state or political 384
subdivision thereof in which such referendum question is to be voted 385
upon, in accordance with the last federal decennial census. 386
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, 387
of this section, an independent expenditure political committee formed 388
solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question 389
shall not make any contribution unless such contribution is made to 390
another independent expenditure political committee. Unless otherwise 391
restricted or prohibited by law, an independent expenditure political 392
committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of a 393
referendum question may accept contributions from an entity. 394
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) Substitute Bill No. 6663
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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 Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 7(a), (d) and (e), "Except as provided in subsection (g) of this
section" was deleted for clarity because the existing notwithstanding
provision at Subsec. (g) makes such deleted language unnecessary; and
in Section 7(g), the language was restructured for accuracy and clarity.
GAE Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO