PRINTER'S NO. 2279
No. 1720 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY LEVDANSKY, RUBLEY, McCALL, STEIL, D. EVANS,
BRENNAN, CARROLL, DePASQUALE, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GERBER,
GODSHALL, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HORNAMAN, JOSEPHS, KORTZ,
LEACH, MUNDY, PETRONE, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SWANGER,
TANGRETTI, R. TAYLOR, VITALI, WAGNER AND WALKO, JULY 9, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JULY 9, 2007
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
1 common pleas or a county or local office, his authorized
2 committee or agent shall not exceed two hundred dollars ($200)
3 for each election. Furthermore, for each election, no such
4 candidate, his authorized committee or agent shall accept or
5 receive more than two hundred dollars ($200) in aggregate
6 contributions, including in-kind contributions from any person.
7 (b) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
8 contributions, from any person to any candidate for Statewide
9 office, his authorized committee or agent shall not exceed two
10 thousand dollars ($2,000) for each election. Furthermore, for
11 each election, no candidate, his authorized committee or agent
12 shall accept or receive more than two thousand dollars ($2,000)
13 in aggregate contributions, including in-kind contributions from
14 any person.
15 (c) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
16 contributions, from a single political action committee, its
17 affiliate or agent or candidate's political committee, its
18 affiliate or agent to any candidate for the office of Senator or
19 Representative in the General Assembly, court of common pleas or
20 a county or local office, his authorized committee or agent
21 shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each
22 election. Furthermore, for each election, no candidate for such
23 office, his authorized committee or agent shall accept or
24 receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in aggregate
25 contributions, including in-kind contributions, from a single
26 political action committee or agent or candidate's political
27 committee.
28 (d) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
29 contributions, from a single political action committee, its
30 affiliate or agent or candidate's political committee to any
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1 candidate for Statewide office, his authorized committee or
2 agent shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each
3 election. Furthermore, for each election, no candidate, his
4 authorized committee or agent shall accept or receive more than
5 ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in aggregate contributions,
6 including in-kind contributions, from a single political action
7 committee, its affiliate or agent or candidate's political
8 committee.
9 (e) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
10 contributions, from a single political party committee, its
11 affiliate or agent to any candidate for the office of Senator or
12 Representative in the General Assembly, court of common pleas or
13 a county or local office, his authorized committee or agent,
14 shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per election.
15 Furthermore, no candidate for the office of Senator or
16 Representative in the General Assembly, court of common pleas or
17 a county or local office, his authorized committee or agent,
18 shall accept or receive more than five thousand dollars ($5,000)
19 in aggregate contributions from any single political party
20 committee, its affiliate or agent.
21 (f) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
22 contributions, from a single political party committee, its
23 affiliate or agent to any candidate for Statewide office, his
24 authorized committee or agent, or any political action
25 committee, its affiliate or agent or political party committee,
26 its affiliate or agent, or any other political committee, its
27 affiliate or agent, shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars
28 ($20,000) per election. Furthermore, no candidate for Statewide
29 office, his authorized committee or agent or any political
30 action committee or political committee shall accept or receive
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1 more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in aggregate
2 contributions from any single political party committee, its
3 affiliate or agent.
4 (g) Aggregate contributions, including in-kind
5 contributions, from any person or a single political action
6 committee, its affiliate or agent or any single candidate's
7 political committee, its affiliate or agent to a single
8 political action committee, its affiliate or agent shall not
9 exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) during any calendar year.
10 Furthermore, for each election, no political action committee,
11 its affiliate or agent shall accept or receive more than five
12 thousand dollars ($5,000) in aggregate contributions, including
13 in-kind contributions, from a single political action committee,
14 its affiliate or agent during any calendar year.
15 (h) Aggregate contributions from any person, a single
16 candidate's political committee, its affiliate or agent or a
17 single political action committee, its affiliate or agent or any
18 other political committee to a single political party committee
19 shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in a calendar
20 year. Furthermore, no single political party committee shall
21 accept or receive more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in
22 aggregate contributions from any single candidate's political
23 committee or agent or a single political action committee, its
24 affiliate or agent or any political committee.
25 (i) No person shall make contributions in accordance with
26 this section aggregating more than twenty-five thousand dollars
27 ($25,000) in any calendar year.
28 (j) A gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money
29 or anything of value to a candidate shall be considered a
30 contribution both by the original source of the contribution and
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1 by any intermediary or conduit if the intermediary or conduit:
2 (1) exercises any direction over the making of the
3 contribution; or
4 (2) solicits the contribution or arranges for the
5 contribution made and directly or indirectly makes the candidate
6 aware of such intermediary or conduit's role in soliciting or
7 arranging the contribution for the candidate.
8 (k) For purposes of subsection (j), a contribution shall not
9 be considered to be a contribution by an intermediary or conduit
10 to the candidate if:
11 (1) the intermediary or conduit has been retained by the
12 candidate's committee for the purpose of fundraising and is
13 reimbursed for expenses incurred in soliciting contributions;
14 (2) in the case of an individual, the candidate has
15 expressly authorized the intermediary or conduit to engage in
16 fundraising, or the individual occupies a significant position
17 within the candidate's campaign organization; or
18 (3) in the case of a political committee, the intermediary
19 or conduit is the authorized committee of the candidate.
20 (l) No candidate for Statewide office who accepts public
21 funding, if a system of public funding of campaigns is in
22 effect, may contribute more than $25,000 per election from his
23 personal funds. No candidate for the offices of Senator or
24 Representative in the General Assembly who accepts public
25 funding, if a system for public funding of campaigns is in
26 effect, may contribute more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
27 per election from his personal funds.
28 (m) The provisions of this section are applicable to any
29 contribution made for the purpose of influencing any election to
30 all public offices except Federal offices.
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1 (n) For purposes of this section, any contribution made to a
2 candidate in a year other than the calendar year in which the
3 election is held with respect to which such contribution is
4 made, is considered to be made during the calendar year in which
5 such election is held.
6 Section 2. The dollar figures contained in section 1627.1 of
7 the act shall be adjusted annually at a rate equal to the
8 average percentage change in the All-Urban Consumer Price Index
9 for the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Scranton standard
10 metropolitan statistical areas as published by the Bureau of
11 Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, or
12 any successor agency, occurring in the prior calendar year. The
13 base year shall be 2003. The average shall be calculated and
14 certified annually by the Pennsylvania State Board of Elections
15 by adding the percentage increase in each of the three areas and
16 dividing by three. The calculation and resulting new figures
17 shall be published for the dollar figures contained in section
18 1627.1 of the act in March in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
19 Section 3. The provisions of this act are severable. If any
20 provision of this act or its application to any person or
21 circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect
22 other provisions or applications of this act which can be given
23 effect without the invalid provision or application.
24 Section 4. This act shall take effect in 120 days.
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