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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6910
AN ACT RESTORING THE CITIZENS' ELECTION PROGRAM.
SUMMARY
This bill makes several changes affecting the Citizens’ Election
program (CEP), the state’s voluntary public campaign financing system
available to legislative and statewide office candidates. It (1) doubles,
from $6 million to $12 million, the general election grant for
participating gubernatorial candidates and (2) beginning with the 2030
election, shortens the look-back period for making inflationary
adjustments for gubernatorial primary and general election grants.
With respect to qualifying contributions (QCs) raised by candidates
participating in the CEP, the bill caps the inflation adjustments to the
maximum QC by an individual at the broadly applicable contribution
limits for the relevant office set in state campaign finance law. It also
requires that participating statewide office candidates receive QCs from
a minimum number of contributors.
Beginning with the 2026 election cycle, the bill moves up, from
January 15 in the year of the election to October 31 in the year preceding
the election, the deadline by which the State Elections Enforcement
Commission (SEEC) must adjust various CEP grant, contribution, and
limit amounts for inflation (e.g., QC and grant amounts). It also makes
the inflation calculation period for each of these amounts October 1-
September 30, rather than January 1-December 31 as under current law.
Additionally, the bill allows participating candidates to receive a CEP
grant for a new election or primary ordered by a court or for adjourned
elections and primaries (i.e., a tie). It aligns the deadlines for candidate
committees’ final campaign finance statements before a state election or
primary by requiring nonparticipating candidates who are (1) 2023HB-06910-R000628-BA.DOCX
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unopposed or (2) opposed only by another nonparticipating candidate
to file a supplemental campaign finance statement on the Thursday
before the election, rather than current law’s requirement that they file
a statement seven days before the election.
Beginning in FY 26, the bill requires that the deposit of unclaimed
property funds into the Citizens’ Election Fund (CEF) for any fiscal year
before the fiscal year of a gubernatorial election be the amount deemed
necessary by SEEC to pay grants to CEP candidates. It also eliminates a
provision in current law requiring that transfers from the unclaimed
property fund to the CEF be reduced in the subsequent fiscal year by the
amount of any corporation business tax revenue deposited in the CEF.
Additionally, the bill transfers an unspecified amount from the
General Fund to the CEF in FY 24 (§ 6). Lastly, the bill makes technical
and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
§ 2 — GUBERNATORIAL GRANT S
Base Amount and Inflation Adjustments
Current law sets a CEP general election base grant amount of $6
million for participating gubernatorial candidates and requires SEEC to
quadrennially adjust it for inflation. In 2022, the full grant amount for a
participating gubernatorial candidate in a general election was
$7,746,000.
The bill doubles the base grant amount to $12 million and, beginning
with the 2030 election, changes the timeframe for which SEEC must
calculate an inflation adjustment. The bill retains existing law’s base
grant amount ($1.25 million) for a participating gubernatorial candidate
in a primary, but it similarly changes the timeframe for calculating the
inflation adjustment starting in 2030. In 2022, the grant amount for a
gubernatorial candidate in a primary was $1,613,750.
Inflation Adjustment. Existing law requires SEEC to adjust CEP
grant amounts based on changes in the consumer price index for all
urban consumers (CPI-U) as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, 2023HB-06910-R000628-BA.DOCX
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Bureau of Labor Statistics. Currently, SEEC must base the gubernatorial
grant inflation adjustment on the CPI-U change from January 1, 2010,
through December 31 in the year before the applicable election.
For both primary and general election grants to gubernatorial
candidates, the bill (1) retains this adjustment calculation for the 2026
gubernatorial election and (2) beginning with the 2030 election, shortens
the inflation look-back period to October 1, 2023 (reducing the amount
of the adjustment). Relatedly, it requires SEEC, beginning with the 2030
election, to (1) base the adjustment on CPI-U changes from this date
through September 30 in the year before the adjustment must be made
(presumably, the year before the election) and (2) publish the
adjustment by October 31 in the year before the election, rather than by
January 15 in the year of the election as current law provides.
The bill makes parallel changes to other CEP inflation adjustments
beginning with the 2026 election, but it does not shorten the look-back
period for these adjustments (see INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS below).
Changes to Other Gubernatorial Grant Amounts
Existing law sets several circumstances in which participating
candidates may receive only a portion of the full CEP grant amount for
a general election (e.g., if running unopposed or applying for a grant 70
or fewer days before the election). In doubling the base grant to $12
million for gubernatorial candidates, the bill correspondingly doubles
each of these reduced grant amounts, as shown in the table below. As
under current law and the bill, SEEC must adjust each of these amounts
for inflation (see above).
The grant adjustments are described in more detail following the
table.
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Table: General Election Grants for Gubernatorial Candidates*
Grant Current
Law
The Bill Reductions to the Bill’s Grant Amounts
Based on Application Date
75%
Grant
65%
Grant
55%
Grant
40%
Grant
Major
party,
full grant
(full
opposition)
$6,000,000 $12,000,000 $9,000,000 $7,800,000 $6,600,000 $4,800,000
Major
party, 60%
grant
(limited
opposition)
3,600,000 7,200,000 5,400,000 4,680,000 3,960,000 2,880,000
Major
party, 30%
grant
(unopposed)
1,800,000 3,600,000 2,700,000 2,340,000 1,980,000 1,440,000
Minor and
Petitioning,
full grant
6,000,000 12,000,000 9,000,000 7,800,000 6,600,000 4,800,000
Minor and
Petitioning,
2/3 grant
4,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 5,200,000 4,400,000 3,200,000
Minor and
Petitioning,
1/3 grant
2,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,600,000 2,200,000 1,600,000
*
Must be adjusted for inflation
Major Party Candidates. By law, major party candidates receive the
following grant amounts:
1. the full grant amount if they are opposed by another major party
candidate, or if they are opposed by a minor or petitioning party
candidate who qualifies for a grant (see below);
2. 60% of the full grant amount if they are opposed only by a minor
party or petitioning candidate who has not qualified for a grant;
and
3. 30% of the full grant amount if they are unopposed.
Minor Party and Petitioning Candidates. By law, minor party 2023HB-06910-R000628-BA.DOCX
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candidates may receive a general election grant equal to the grant for a
major party candidate only if the candidate for the same office
representing the same minor party at the last regular election received
at least 20% of the votes cast for that office. Similarly, an eligible
petitioning candidate may receive a full grant for the general election
only if his or her petition is signed by a number of qualified electors
equal to at least 20% of the number of votes cast for the same office at
the last regular election. (Both receive a one-third grant by meeting a
10% threshold or a two-thirds grant by meeting a 15% threshold.)
Reductions Based on Application Date. Existing law has a four-
step grant reduction schedule under which candidate committees that
submit their applications 70 or fewer days before the election receive
reduced general election grants. These reduced amounts are as follows
and apply to major and minor party and petitioning candidates:
1. 75% of the full grant amount (application submitted 70 through
57 days before the election),
2. 65% of the full grant amount (application submitted 56 through
43 days before the election),
3. 55% of the full grant amount (application submitted 42 through
29 days before the election), and
4. 40% of the full grant amount (application submitted 28 days
before the election through the last day that SEEC accepts grant
applications).
§ 1 — QUALIFYING CONTRIBUT IONS
Inflation Adjustment Cap: Individual QCs
By law, candidates qualify for the CEP by raising an aggregate
amount of QCs. QCs must come from individual donors, and SEEC
must adjust for inflation both the maximum individual QC amount as
well as the aggregate QC amounts.
Under existing law, individual QC amounts range from $5 to $250,
and the inflation-adjusted maximum for the 2022 election was $290. The
bill caps inflation adjustments to maximum QC amounts at the broadly 2023HB-06910-R000628-BA.DOCX
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applicable contribution limits by an individual for the relevant office set
in state campaign finance law. Under existing law, these limits are (1)
$3,500 for governor; (2) $2,000 for other statewide offices (i.e., lieutenant
governor, secretary of the state, state treasurer, state comptroller, and
attorney general); (3) $1,000 for state senator; and (4) $250 for state
representative (CGS § 9-611(a)).
Required Number of Contributors for Statewide Candidates
As noted above, existing law requires that participating candidates
raise an aggregate amount of QCs to qualify for a CEP grant. The bill
requires that CEP candidates for (1) governor receive QCs from at least
2,250 in-state residents and (2) other statewide offices receive QCs from
at least 675 in-state residents. Current law does not set a minimum
number of contributors for these offices.
§§ 1-3 — INFLATION ADJUSTMENT S
For the CEP, existing law (1) sets base amounts for grants to
participating candidates, maximum amount of a QC, aggregate amount
of QCs that must be raised, and organizational expenditures and (2)
requires that each of these base amounts be adjusted for inflation for
each election year they apply to.
Under current law, SEEC must (1) publish the adjusted amounts by
January 15 in the year of the applicable election and (2) base them on
inflationary changes from January 1 in a specified year through
December 31 in the year before the adjustment must be made (e.g.,
through December 31, 2021, for the 2022 election).
The bill instead requires SEEC to (1) publish the adjusted amounts by
October 31 in the year before the applicable election and (2) base them
on inflationary changes from October 1 in a specified year through
September 30 in the year before the adjustment must be made
(presumably, the year before the applicable election). As under existing
law, SEEC must base the adjustments on the change in the CPI-U over
the applicable time period.
The bill’s changes apply beginning with the 2026 election cycle,
except that they apply beginning with the 2030 election cycle for 2023HB-06910-R000628-BA.DOCX
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gubernatorial grant amounts (see above). As described above, the bill
also shortens the look-back period for gubernatorial grant adjustments
starting in 2030.
The table below shows each contribution, grant, or expenditure
amount subject to an inflation adjustment and the beginning date for the
inflation calculation under current law and the bill.
Table: CEP Inflation Adjustments*
Contribution, Grant,
or Expenditure**
Adjustment
Frequency
Inflation
Adjustment
Beginning Date:
Current Law
Inflation
Adjustment
Beginning Date:
The Bill
Primary and general
election grants for
governor
Quadrennial January 1, 2010 October 1, 2023*
Primary grant for
lieutenant governor
Quadrennial January 1, 2010 October 1, 2009
Primary and general
election grants for
secretary of the state,
state treasurer, state
comptroller, and
attorney general
Quadrennial January 1, 2010 October 1, 2009
Primary and general
election grants for
state senator and
state representative
Biennial January 1, 2008 October 1, 2007
QCs for statewide
offices: aggregate
amount required and
maximum QC amount
Quadrennial January 1, 2017
October 1, 2016
QCs for legislative
offices: aggregate
amount required and
maximum QC amount
Biennial January 1, 2017
October 1, 2016
Organization
expenditure limits***
Biennial January 1, 2010 October 1, 2009
*Beginning with the 2030 election for gubernatorial grant amounts and the 2026 election for the other
calculations
**Inflation adjustments also apply to a new election or primary ordered by a court or for adjourned
elections or primaries (see below).
***By law, organization expenditures are made by legislative caucus, legislative leadership, or party
committees for the benefit of candidates or their committees. They are not considered campaign
contributions, but the law places restrictions and limits on those made to benefit legislative candidates
participating in the CEP.
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§ 2 — COURT-ORDERED ELECTIONS AND PRIMARIES
The bill allows participating candidates to receive a CEP grant for a
new election or primary ordered by a court or for adjourned elections
and primaries (i.e., a tie). Currently, adjourned election and primary
grants are available only for participating legislative candidates.
For each office, the table below lists the contests for which a grant
may be awarded and the base grant amount, which must be adjusted
for inflation (see above).
Table: CEP Grants for New or Adjourned Elections or Primaries
Office Type of Contest Grant Amount*
Governor Adjourned election, or a new election or
primary ordered by a court
$250,000
Lieutenant governor A new primary ordered by a court, or an
adjourned primary where the candidate
is campaigning jointly with the governor
and there is no gubernatorial primary
75,000
Secretary of the state, state
treasurer, state comptroller,
and attorney general
Adjourned election, or a new election or
primary ordered by a court
75,000
State senator New election or primary ordered by a
court**
15,000
State representative New election or primary ordered by a
court**
5,000
*Must be adjusted for inflation (see above)
**Existing law allows grants for an adjourned election or primary in the same amounts as shown.
§§ 4 & 5 — SUPPLEMENTAL FILINGS
By law, the treasurer of a candidate committee in a primary or general
election with at least one candidate participating in the CEP must file
supplemental weekly campaign finance statements with SEEC
according to a specified schedule. For both primaries and general
elections, treasurers must file the last of these statements on the
Thursday before the applicable contest.
Currently, treasurers for candidate committees in a state election or
primary that are not subject to this requirement (i.e., nonparticipating
candidate committees unopposed or opposed only by another
nonparticipating candidate) must file their final campaign finance
statement for an election or primary on the seventh day (i.e., Tuesday) 2023HB-06910-R000628-BA.DOCX
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before the applicable contest. The bill instead requires them to file a
supplemental statement on the Thursday before the applicable contest,
aligning them with the other committees.
§§ 7-9 — CEF FUNDING
Gubernatorial Elections (§§ 7-9)
Deposits Before Gubernatorial Elections. By law, grants to
candidates participating in the CEP are made from the CEF. The CEF is
funded mostly by proceeds from the state’s sale of abandoned property
that escheats (reverts) to it (see BACKGROUND).
The law requires that a portion of unclaimed property funds be
annually credited to the CEF. Under current law, this deposit must
equal the amount deposited in the previous fiscal year, adjusted for
inflation by the state treasurer using the CPI-U (e.g., the deposit was
$12.6 million in FY 22).
Beginning in FY 26, the bill requires that the deposit for any fiscal
year before the fiscal year of a gubernatorial election be the amount
deemed necessary by SEEC to pay grants to CEP candidates (see below).
Under the bill, (1) this SEEC-determined amount also serves as the basis
for the subsequent year’s deposit (e.g., the FY 27 deposit) and (2)
corporation business tax revenue must be deposited in the CEF if the
unclaimed property fund does have sufficient funding to cover the
SEEC-determined amount (see below).
SEEC Determination. Current law requires SEEC to determine, by
January 1 in a state election year, whether the CEF has enough money
to provide grants to CEP candidates. The bill (1) requires SEEC to make
this determination only in years in which there is an election for
governor and (2) moves back the deadline to the
41st day before the
primary (i.e., June 28-July 4, depending on the August primary date).
Use of Corporation Business Tax Revenue (§ 9)
By law, revenue from the corporation business tax must be deposited
in the CEF if (1) there are insufficient unclaimed property funds in a
fiscal year to cover the required deposit into the CEF or (2) during an
election cycle, there are insufficient funds in the CEF to cover grants to 2023HB-06910-R000628-BA.DOCX
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qualified CEP candidates. In both cases, the deposit must equal the
amount of the insufficiency.
The bill eliminates a provision in current law requiring that transfers
from the unclaimed property fund to the CEF be reduced in the
subsequent fiscal year by the amount of corporation business tax
revenue deposited in the CEF.
BACKGROUND
Related Bills
sSB 226, reported favorably by the Government Administration and
Elections (GAE) Committee, (1) increases the primary and general
election grant amounts for gubernatorial candidates and (2) allows
gubernatorial candidates to receive a CEP grant before the party
convention if they raise the full aggregate amount of QCs.
sSB 1224, reported favorably by the GAE Committee, eliminates the
inflation adjustments for the aggregate amount of QCs that candidates
must raise.
CEF
The CEF is funded mostly by a statutorily determined amount of
proceeds from the sale of abandoned property that escheats to the
state. If there are not enough proceeds from escheated property in a
fiscal year to cover the required annual deposit, corporation business
tax revenues must be deposited into the fund to cover the shortfall. The
fund may also receive voluntary contributions, surplus donations from
candidate committees, and proceeds from its investment earnings. The
state treasurer administers the fund, which is a separate, nonlapsing
account in the General Fund.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 13 Nay 6 (03/27/2023)