PRINTER'S NO. 2844
No. 2132 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY LEVDANSKY, BROWNE, DeWEESE, NAILOR, VEON, HARHART,
FREEMAN, GORDNER, STEELMAN, WOJNAROSKI, JOSEPHS, HANNA,
YUDICHAK, MANDERINO AND GRUCELA, NOVEMBER 13, 2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, NOVEMBER 13, 2001
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
2 "An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
3 special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
4 primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
5 and defining membership of county boards of elections;
6 imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
7 courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
8 imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
9 revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
10 repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
11 elections," providing for contribution limitations and
12 independent expenditures.
13 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14 hereby enacts as follows:
15 Section 1. The act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known
16 as the Pennsylvania Election Code, is amended by adding a
17 section to read:
18 Section 1627.1. Limitations on Certain Contributions.--
19 (a) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
20 contributions, from any person to any candidate for the office
21 of Senator or Representative in the General Assembly, court of
22 common pleas or a county or local office, his authorized
1 committee or agent shall not exceed two hundred dollars ($200)
2 for each election. Furthermore, for each election, no such
3 candidate, his authorized committee or agent shall accept or
4 receive more than two hundred dollars ($200) in aggregate
5 contributions, including in-kind contributions from any person.
6 (b) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
7 contributions, from any person to any candidate for Statewide
8 office, his authorized committee or agent shall not exceed two
9 thousand dollars ($2,000) for each election. Furthermore, for
10 each election, no candidate, his authorized committee or agent
11 shall accept or receive more than two thousand dollars ($2,000)
12 in aggregate contributions, including in-kind contributions from
13 any person.
14 (c) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
15 contributions, from a single political action committee, its
16 affiliate or agent or candidate's political committee, its
17 affiliate or agent to any candidate for the office of Senator or
18 Representative in the General Assembly, court of common pleas or
19 a county or local office, his authorized committee or agent
20 shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each
21 election. Furthermore, for each election, no candidate for such
22 office, his authorized committee or agent shall accept or
23 receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in aggregate
24 contributions, including in-kind contributions, from single
25 political action committee or agent or candidate's political
26 committee.
27 (d) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
28 contributions, from single political action committee, its
29 affiliate or agent or candidate's political committee to any
30 candidate for Statewide office, his authorized committee or
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1 agent shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each
2 election. Furthermore, for each election, no candidate, his
3 authorized committee or agent shall accept or receive more than
4 ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in aggregate contributions,
5 including in-kind contributions, from a single political action
6 committee, its affiliate or agent or candidate's political
7 committee.
8 (e) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
9 contributions, from a single political party committee, its
10 affiliate or agent to any candidate for the office of Senator or
11 Representative in the General Assembly, court of common pleas or
12 a county or local office, his authorized committee or agent,
13 shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per election.
14 Furthermore, no candidate for the office of Senator or
15 Representative in the General Assembly, court of common pleas or
16 a county or local office, his authorized committee or agent,
17 shall accept or receive more than five thousand dollars ($5,000)
18 in aggregate contributions from any single political party
19 committee, its affiliate or agent.
20 (f) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
21 contributions, from a single political party committee, its
22 affiliate or agent to any candidate for Statewide office, his
23 authorized committee or agent, or any political action
24 committee, its affiliate or agent or political party committee,
25 its affiliate or agent, or any other political committee, its
26 affiliate or agent, shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars
27 ($20,000) per election. Furthermore, no candidate for Statewide
28 office, his authorized committee or agent or any political
29 action committee or political committee shall accept or receive
30 more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in aggregate
20010H2132B2844 - 3 -
1 contributions from any single political party committee, its
2 affiliate or agent.
3 (g) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
4 contributions, from any person or a single political action
5 committee, its affiliate or agent or any single candidate's
6 political committee, its affiliate or agent to a single
7 political action committee, its affiliate or agent shall not
8 exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) during any calendar year.
9 Furthermore, for each election, no political action committee,
10 its affiliate or agent shall accept or receive more than five
11 thousand dollars ($5,000) in aggregate contributions, including
12 in-kind contributions, from a single political action committee,
13 its affiliate or agent during any calendar year.
14 (h) Aggregate contributions from any person, a single
15 candidate's political committee, its affiliate or agent or a
16 single political action committee, its affiliate or agent or any
17 other political committee to a single political party committee
18 shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in a calendar
19 year. Furthermore, no single political party committee shall
20 accept or receive more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in
21 aggregate contributions from any single candidate's political
22 committee or agent or a single political action committee, its
23 affiliate or agent or any political committee.
24 (i) No person shall make contributions in accordance with
25 this section aggregating more than twenty-five thousand dollars
26 ($25,000) in any calendar year.
27 (j) A gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money
28 or anything of value to a candidate shall be considered a
29 contribution both by the original source of the contribution and
30 by any intermediary or conduit if the intermediary or conduit:
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1 (1) exercises any direction over the making of the
2 contribution; or
3 (2) solicits the contribution or arranges for the
4 contribution made and directly or indirectly makes the candidate
5 aware of such intermediary or conduit's role in soliciting or
6 arranging the contribution for the candidate.
7 (k) For purposes of subsection (j), a contribution shall not
8 be considered to be a contribution by an intermediary or conduit
9 to the candidate if:
10 (1) the intermediary or conduit has been retained by the
11 candidate's committee for the purpose of fundraising and is
12 reimbursed for expenses incurred in soliciting contributions;
13 (2) in the case of an individual, the candidate has
14 expressly authorized the intermediary or conduit to engage in
15 fundraising, or the individual occupies a significant position
16 within the candidate's campaign organization; or
17 (3) in the case of a political committee, the intermediary
18 or conduit is the authorized committee of the candidate.
19 (l) No candidate for Statewide office who accepts public
20 funding, if a system of public funding of campaigns is in
21 effect, may contribute more than $25,000 per election from their
22 personal funds. No candidate for the offices of Senator or
23 Representative in the General Assembly who accepts public
24 funding, if a system for public funding of campaigns is in
25 effect, may contribute more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
26 per election from their personal funds.
27 (m) The provisions of this section are applicable to any
28 contribution made for the purpose of influencing any election to
29 all public offices except Federal offices.
30 (n) For purposes of this section, any contribution made to a
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1 candidate in a year other than the calendar year in which the
2 election is held with respect to which such contribution is
3 made, is considered to be made during the calendar year in which
4 such election is held.
5 Section 2. The dollar figures contained in section 1627.1
6 shall be adjusted annually at a rate equal to the average
7 percentage change in the All-Urban Consumer Price Index for the
8 Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Scranton standard metropolitan
9 statistical areas as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
10 of the United States Department of Labor, or any successor
11 agency, occurring in the prior calendar year. The base year
12 shall be 2001. The average shall be calculated and certified
13 annually by the Pennsylvania State Board of Elections by adding
14 the percentage increase in each of the three areas and dividing
15 by three. The calculation and resulting new figures shall be
16 published for the dollar figures contained in section 1627.1 in
17 March in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
18 Section 3. The provisions of this act are severable. If any
19 provision of this act or its application to any person or
20 circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect
21 other provisions or applications of this act which can be given
22 effect without the invalid provision or application.
23 Section 4. This act shall take effect in 120 days.
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