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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 1533
AN ACT CONCERNING CHANGES TO THE CITIZENS' ELECTION
PROGRAM.
SUMMARY
The Citizens’ Election Program (CEP) is the state’s voluntary public
campaign financing system, available to candidates for legislative and
statewide office. This bill makes several changes to the CEP, including
(1) changing when certain inflationary adjustments must be made, (2)
modifying the procedures for gubernatorial convention campaign
grants, (3) changing when certain grant restrictions take effect, and (4)
amending the definition of “organization expenditure.”
The bill also makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except that provisions changing
the timeline for certain CEP adjustments are effective July 1, 2025, and
provisions on when a convention campaign grant may be applied for
and when CEP grant restrictions take effect are effective January 1, 2028.
§ 2 — CPI ADJUSTMENTS FOR CITIZENS’ ELECTION PROGRAM
The CEP is the state’s voluntary public campaign financing system,
available to candidates for legislative and statewide office. By law,
candidates qualify for the CEP by raising at least an aggregate amount
of funds through qualifying contributions (QCs) from individual
donors. The State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) must
adjust the aggregate and QC amounts every two years for legislative
office candidates and every four years for statewide office candidates
based on the change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers (CPI-U).
Beginning with the 2028 election cycle, the bill shifts the timing of
these adjustments from January of an election year to January of the
prior year. For the 2026 election cycle, it also authorizes SEEC to make 2025SB-01533-R000660-BA.DOCX
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an early inflationary adjustment to these amounts by July 3, 2025, based
on the CPI-U, as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, during the
period beginning on January 1, 2017, and ending on December 31, 2024.
By law, the statutory aggregate contribution amounts and QC
amounts are set based on the elected office. The statutory aggregate
amounts are $250,000 for the governor, $75,000 for the lieutenant
governor or other statewide office, $15,000 for a state senator, and $5,000
for a state representative. The maximum QC amount under state law is
$250.
§ 3 — INELIGIBILITY FOR CEP GRANTS
Once a candidate files an affidavit to abide by the CEP’s
requirements, current law makes the candidate ineligible for a CEP
grant if he or she changes status as a major party, minor party, or
petitioning party candidate or becomes a candidate of a different party.
The bill shifts when this prohibition begins from the affidavit’s filing to
the CEP grant application’s filing (which is generally after the candidate
has met his or her fundraising requirement and qualified for ballot
access, unlike when the affidavit has been filed).
§§ 3 & 4 — GUBERNATORIAL CONVE NTION CAMPAIGN GRANT
Under existing law, a major party gubernatorial candidate who
participates in the CEP may apply for and receive a “convention
campaign grant” before the party’s nominating convention. The law
allows candidates to apply for this grant at any time after filing the
affidavit of intent to participate in, and abide by, the CEP’s spending
limits and requires SEEC to approve or disapprove the application
within 10 business days after receiving it. The bill specifies that a major
party candidate for nomination to the office of governor in 2030 or after
may apply for this grant beginning in the January preceding the election
after filing the affidavit.
Additionally, under the bill, if a gubernatorial candidate is approved
for a convention campaign grant, but the upcoming grant amount has
not yet been determined through the CPI adjustment process described
above, similar to existing law for other CEP grants, SEEC must approve 2025SB-01533-R000660-BA.DOCX
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the initial grant amount the candidate is eligible for. Once the CPI
adjustment has been made, SEEC must approve and pay the remaining
portion of the candidate’s grant.
Relatedly, any candidate committee that applies for a grant before
July 3, 2025 (see above), may only be approved for the unadjusted
amount.
§ 1 — ORGANIZATION EXPEND ITURES
By law, organization expenditures are made by legislative caucus,
legislative leadership, or party committees to benefit 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.
The bill modifies the definition of organizational expenditure to
include a campaign event at which a candidate or candidates are
present. (Prior law included this language until 2023.) Current law only
defines this as an event with campaign materials but at which no
contribution may be received, solicited, or bundled.
BACKGROUND
Related Bills
SB 515 (File 478), favorably reported by the Government Oversight
Committee, makes changes to the inflationary adjustment procedures
for QCs.
SB 1405 (File 489), favorably reported by the Government Oversight
Committee, makes changes to the inflationary adjustment procedures
for QCs and amends the definition of “organization expenditure.”
HB 7089 (File 512), favorably reported by the Government Oversight
Committee, makes identical changes as this bill, among others.
sHB 7222, favorably reported by the Government Administration
and Elections (GAE) Committee, makes identical changes to this bill,
among others. 2025SB-01533-R000660-BA.DOCX
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sHB 7246, favorably reported by the GAE Committee, amends the
definition of “organization expenditure.”
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 17 Nay 2 (03/26/2025)