Hot Topics at OLR: 2011 Campaign Finance Legislation Affecting Candidates

OLR Report 2011-R-0246 summarizes PA 11-48, which made several changes to campaign finance laws, the Citizens Election Program (CEP), and the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC). Concerning campaign finance, the act, among other things:

1. authorizes testimonial affairs in honor of a candidate, statewide officer, or General Assembly member to raise funds for a party committee, not just the candidate or public official;

2. authorizes campaign treasurers to use a bank or cashier's check to pay a television company for advertising costs, provided the treasurer maintains documentation showing the payment came from the candidate committee's funds; and

3. specifies that, for campaign finance purposes “candidate committee” means one for a candidate who participates or does not participate in the CEP, unless a provision clearly indicates otherwise.

With respect to the CEP, the act, among other things:

1. revises the grant application and payment schedule, giving the SEEC more time to review applications; and

2. revises the schedule for submitting supplemental campaign finance statements and reporting excess expenditures.

Concerning the SEEC, the act (1) reduces term lengths for members and prohibits consecutive terms, (2) requires the commission to keep certain information about complaints and preliminary investigations confidential and restricts the number of legislative candidates it may audit after an election, and (3) requires the commission to list organization expenditures on its homepage.

Elections and primaries held on or after January 1, 2012, are subject to the new laws. Other portions of the law, including provisions covering lobbyist forms and eliminating duplicate campaign finance statements for town committees as well as provisions about payments to television stations took effect July 1, 2011.

For more information on the new law, read the report.