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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 392
AN ACT CONCERNING TREASURERS OF CANDIDATE
COMMITTEES AND STATE ELECTIONS ENFORCEMENT
COMMISSION COMPLAINTS.
SUMMARY
This bill makes several changes to campaign finance laws. It requires
contributions that do not meet the law’s criteria for being a qualifying
contribution (QC) for the Citizens’ Election Program (CEP) to be
returned by treasurers to their contributors. It correspondingly
eliminates the option to deposit them into the Citizens’ Election Fund
(CEF) (§§ 1 & 2).
The bill also allows individuals to make contributions to candidate
committees through mobile application electronic payment services
(e.g., PayPal). Current law generally requires that contributions be made
by personal check or credit card (§§ 3 & 4).
Lastly, the bill requires the State Elections Enforcement Commission
(SEEC) to issue a decision on or dismiss complaints before the day of an
election if the complaint relates to that election and is received within 90
days before it (§ 5).
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
§§ 1 & 2 — RETURN OF CONTRIBUTI ONS
The law allows candidates for legislative and statewide office to seek
public campaign financing by participating in the CEP. To qualify, a
candidate must raise an aggregate amount of QCs and apply to SEEC
for a grant. QCs must come from an individual donor and meet certain
other criteria (see below).
If a candidate committee receives a contribution that does not meet
the QC criteria, current law authorizes treasurers to either (1) return it 2024SB-00392-R000430-BA.DOCX
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to the contributor or (2) submit it to SEEC for deposit in the CEF (which
funds the CEP). The bill eliminates the option to deposit it in the fund
and instead requires that the contribution be returned to the contributor.
For contributions submitted to SEEC as part of a CEP grant
application, the bill similarly requires the commission to (1) notify the
candidate committee of any contribution that does not meet the QC
criteria and (2) return any disqualified contributions to the committee.
Under the bill, SEEC must also cite the applicable statutory reason for
the determination.
By law and unchanged by the bill, a contribution is not a QC if (1) it
is from a principal of a state contractor or prospective state contractor,
(2) it is less than $5, (3) the contributor does not provide his or her full
name and address, (4) it is from an out-of-state resident to a candidate
for statewide office and exceeds the applicable limit on out-of-state
contributions, or (5) the contributor is younger than 12 years old.
§§ 3 & 4 — CONTRIBUTIONS MADE T HROUGH MOBILE
APPLICATIONS
Under current law, individuals who contribute more than $100 to
candidate or other committees (e.g., political committees) must do so by
personal check or credit card. The bill creates an exception for candidate
committees by allowing them to accept contributions through mobile
application electronic payment service accounts (e.g., PayPal) as long as
the source of the contribution is a personal checking account or credit
card.
Under the bill, the contributions must also comply with certain
campaign finance reporting requirements. For example, existing law
requires individuals making contributions exceeding $50 in the
aggregate to a candidate or exploratory committee for legislative or
statewide office, a political committee that may contribute to these
committees, or a party committee to disclose to the treasurer:
1. the contributor’s employer;
2. the contributor’s status as a communicator lobbyist, immediate 2024SB-00392-R000430-BA.DOCX
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family of a communicator lobbyist, a state contractor, a
prospective state contractor, or a state contractor’s or prospective
state contractor’s principal; and
3. a certification that they are not prohibited from contributing.
The law prohibits the treasurer from depositing these contributions
without this certification.
§ 5 — SEEC COMPLAINTS
By law, SEEC receives complaints from the secretary of the state,
registrars of voters, town clerks, and individuals under oath about
alleged election law violations. Generally, SEEC must dismiss a
complaint for which it has not issued a decision within one year after
receiving it, and the law sets various procedural requirements and
deadlines that the commission must follow when investigating
complaints (see BACKGROUND).
The bill creates an exception for complaints filed in the 90 days
immediately before an election alleging a violation relating to that
election. It requires SEEC to issue a decision on or dismiss these
complaints before the day of the election.
BACKGROUND
SEEC Complaints
The law requires SEEC to conduct and complete a preliminary
examination within 14 days after receiving a complaint. At that time,
SEEC may (1) dismiss the complaint, (2) attempt to speedily resolve the
matter with the respondent, or (3) investigate and docket the complaint
for a probable cause determination.
If a complaint cannot be resolved within 45 days after receipt, then
SEEC must docket it for a probable cause determination. If the
commission fails to issue a decision or make a probable cause
determination within 60 days after receiving the complaint, the
complainant or respondent may apply to Hartford Superior Court for
an order to show cause as to why the complaint has not been resolved
and to provide evidence that SEEC has unreasonably delayed action. 2024SB-00392-R000430-BA.DOCX
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Generally, SEEC must dismiss a complaint for which it has not issued
a decision within one year after receiving it. This deadline may be
extended under certain circumstances (e.g., an investigation by or
consultation with certain law enforcement entities).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/26/2024)