§ 14-203 — Eligibility

§ 14-203. Eligibility. 1. Terms and conditions. To be eligible for\npublic matching funds under this title, a candidate must:\n (a) be a candidate in a covered election;\n (b) meet all the requirements of law to have their name on the ballot,\nsubject to the requirements of subdivision three of section 1-104 and\nsubdivision one of section 6-142 of this chapter;\n (c) in the case of a covered general or special election, be opposed\nby another candidate on the ballot who is not a write-in candidate;\n (d) submit a certification in the form of an affidavit, in such form\nas may be prescribed by the PCFB, that sets forth their acceptance of\nand agreement to comply with the terms and conditions for the provision\nof such funds in each covered election and such certification shall be\nsubmitted at least four months before a primary election, or in the case\nof a substitution, no later than one week after a certificate of\nsubstitution is filed for the designation or nomination of such\ncandidate, and on the last day in which a certification of nomination is\nfiled in a special election pursuant to a schedule promulgated by the\nPCFB;\n (e) be certified as a participating candidate by the PCFB;\n (f) not make, and not have made, expenditures from or use their\npersonal funds or property or the personal funds or property jointly\nheld with their spouse, or unemancipated children in connection with\ntheir nomination for election or election to a covered office, but may\nmake a contribution to their authorized committee in an amount that does\nnot exceed three times the applicable contribution limit from an\nindividual contributor to candidates for the office that such candidate\nis seeking;\n (g) meet the threshold for eligibility set forth in subdivision two of\nthis section;\n (g-1) not owe any payments, repayments, or civil penalties pursuant to\nthis title or any regulations promulgated thereunder, or any similar\npayments, repayments, or civil penalties under any local public campaign\nfinance program within the previous ten years;\n (h) continue to abide by all requirements during the post-election\nperiod; and\n (i) not have accepted contributions in amounts exceeding the\ncontribution limits set forth for candidates in paragraphs a and b of\nsubdivision one of section 14-114 of this article during the election\ncycle for which the candidate seeks certification;\n (i) Provided however, that, if a candidate accepted contributions\nexceeding such limits, such acceptance shall not prevent the candidate\nfrom being certified by the PCFB if the candidate in a reasonable time,\nas determined by rule, pays to the fund or returns to the contributor\nthe portion of any contribution that exceeded the applicable\ncontribution limit.\n (ii) If the candidate is unable to return such funds in a reasonable\ntime, as determined by rule, because they have already been spent,\nacceptance of contributions exceeding the limits shall not prevent the\ncandidate from being certified by the PCFB if the candidate submits an\naffidavit agreeing to pay to the fund all portions of any contributions\nthat exceeded the limit no later than thirty days before the general\nelection. If a candidate provides the PCFB with such an affidavit, any\ndisbursement of public funds to the candidate shall be reduced by no\nmore than twenty-five percent until the total amount owed by the\ncandidate is repaid.\n (iii) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a\ncandidate who retains funds raised during any previous election cycle to\nforfeit such funds. Funds raised during a previous election cycle may be\nretained and used by the candidate for the candidate's campaign in the\nnext election cycle but funds shall not qualify for satisfying the\nthreshold for participating in the public campaign finance program\nestablished in this title nor shall they be eligible to be matched. The\nPCFB shall adopt regulations to ensure that contributions that would\nsatisfy the applicable contribution limits authorized in this title\nshall be transferred into the appropriate campaign account.\n (iv) Contributions received and expenditures made by the candidate or\nan authorized committee of the candidate prior to the effective date of\nthis title shall not constitute a violation of this title. Nothing in\nthis recommendation shall be construed to limit, in any way, any\ncandidate or public official from expending any portion of pre-existing\ncampaign funds for any lawful purpose other than those related to their\ncampaign.\n (v) A candidate who has raised matchable contributions but, in the\ncase of a covered primary, general or special election, is not opposed\nby another candidate on the ballot who is not a write-in candidate, or\nwho chooses not to accept matchable funds, may retain such contributions\nand apply them in accord with this title to the candidate's next\ncampaign, should there be one, in the next election cycle.\n (vi) The total amount of public matching funds available to a\nparticipating candidate and their authorized committee for a covered\ngeneral election pursuant to subdivision two of section 14-204 of this\ntitle shall be reduced by any unexpended public matching funds received\nby such candidate and their authorized committee for a covered primary\nelection.\n 2. Threshold for eligibility. (a) The threshold for eligibility for\npublic funding for participating candidates shall be in the case of:\n (i) governor and lieutenant governor (combined), not less than five\nhundred thousand dollars in contributions including at least five\nthousand matchable contributions shall be counted toward this qualifying\nthreshold;\n (ii) attorney general and comptroller, not less than one hundred\nthousand dollars in contributions including at least one thousand\nmatchable contributions shall be counted toward this qualifying\nthreshold;\n (iii) state senator, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of\nthis subdivision, not less than twelve thousand dollars in contributions\nincluding at least one hundred fifty matchable contributions shall be\ncounted toward this qualifying threshold; and\n (iv) member of the assembly, except as otherwise provided in paragraph\n(c) of this subdivision, not less than six thousand dollars in\ncontributions including at least seventy-five matchable contributions\nshall be counted toward this qualifying threshold.\n (b) For purposes of achieving the monetary thresholds and the\ncontributor thresholds in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the first\ntwo hundred fifty dollars of any contribution of more than two hundred\nfifty dollars to a candidate or a candidate's committee is deemed to be\na matchable contribution and shall count toward satisfying such\nthresholds.\n (b-1) The first two hundred fifty dollars of any contribution or\ncontributions totaling up to a maximum of one thousand fifty dollars in\nthe aggregate to a candidate or candidate's committee shall be\nconsidered a matchable contribution provided that such contribution is\notherwise determined to be valid for public matching funds by the PCFB;\nprovided, however, that only the portion of any such contribution which\nis in excess of two hundred fifty dollars in the aggregate shall not be\ndeemed matchable; and provided further, that any contributions totaling\nover one thousand fifty dollars in the aggregate shall not be matchable\nin any amount.\n (c) With respect to the minimum dollar threshold for participating\ncandidates for state senate and state assembly, in such districts where\naverage median income ("AMI") is below the AMI as determined by the\nUnited States Census Bureau three years before such election for which\npublic funds are sought, such minimum dollar threshold for eligibility\nshall be reduced by one-third. The PCFB shall make public which\ndistricts are subject to such reduction no later than two years before\nthe first primary election for which funding is sought.\n (d) Any participating candidate meeting the threshold for eligibility\nin a primary election for one of the foregoing offices shall be applied\nto satisfy the threshold for eligibility for such office in any other\nsubsequent election held in the same calendar year. Any participating\ncandidate who is nominated in a primary election and has participated in\nthe public financing program set forth in this title, shall not be\nrequired to participate in the public financing program for the general\nelection for such office should they choose to run in the general\nelection.\n