Political Reform Act of 1974: contribution limits.

The Political Reform Act of 1974 comprehensively regulates campaign finance, including by limiting contributions that may be made to or received by certain candidates or committees, as specified. This bill would allow a committee that receives a contribution, or portion thereof, in excess of specified limits to return the contribution, or portion thereof, or to attribute the portion of the contribution that exceeds the limit to another election, without the contribution violating those limits, provided that the committee returns or attributes the amount in excess within 14 days of receipt, the committee does not deposit or allow deposit of the contribution with actual knowledge that the contribution exceeds the applicable limit, and the committee does not make use of the contribution prior to returning or attributing it, as specified. If the committee deposits or allows deposit of the contribution with actual knowledge that the contribution exceeds the applicable limits, the bill would allow the committee to return the contribution, or portion thereof, or to attribute the portion of the contribution that exceeds the limit to another election, without violating those limits if the committee returns or attributes the amount in excess of the contribution limit within 72 hours of receipt or on or before the date of the election, whichever is sooner, and provided that the committee does not make use of the contribution prior to returning or attributing it, as specified, and does not deposit or allow deposit of the contribution with actual knowledge that the contribution is more than 2 times the applicable limit. The bill would require the committee to notify the contributor by the deadline for returning or attributing the contribution that the contribution exceeded the applicable limit. The bill would specify the manner by which a committee may attribute a contribution or portion thereof to another election. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.