Connecticut General Statutes 9-615 – Limits on contributions made by political committees established by organizations
(a) No political committee established by an organization shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for the benefit of, any candidate‘s campaign for nomination at a primary or for election to the office of: (1) Governor, in excess of five thousand dollars; (2) Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney General, in excess of three thousand dollars; (3) chief executive officer of a town, city or borough, in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars; (4) state senator or probate judge, in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars; (5) state representative, in excess of seven hundred fifty dollars; or (6) any other office of a municipality not previously included in this subsection, in excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 9-615
- Candidate: means an individual who seeks nomination for election or election to public office whether or not such individual is elected, and for the purposes of this chapter and chapter 157, an individual shall be deemed to seek nomination for election or election if such individual has (A) been endorsed by a party or become eligible for a position on the ballot at an election or primary, or (B) solicited or received contributions, other than for a party committee, made expenditures or given such individual's consent to any other person, other than a party committee, to solicit or receive contributions or make expenditures with the intent to bring about such individual's nomination for election or election to any such office. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-601
- Committee: means a party committee, political committee or a candidate committee organized, as the case may be, for a single primary, election or referendum, or for ongoing political activities, to aid or promote the success or defeat of any political party, any one or more candidates for public office or the position of town committee member or any referendum question. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-601
- contribution: means :
(1) Any gift, subscription, loan, advance, payment or deposit of money or anything of value, made to promote the success or defeat of any candidate seeking the nomination for election, or election or for the purpose of aiding or promoting the success or defeat of any referendum question or the success or defeat of any political party. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-601a
- Election: means any electors' meeting at which the electors choose public officials by use of voting tabulators or by paper ballots as provided in section 9-272. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Exploratory committee: means a committee established by a candidate for a single primary or election (A) to determine whether to seek nomination or election to (i) the General Assembly, (ii) a state office, as defined in subsection (e) of section 9-610, or (iii) any other public office, and (B) if applicable, to aid or promote such candidate's candidacy for nomination to the General Assembly or any such state office. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-601
- Municipality: means any city, borough or town within the state. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Organization: means all labor organizations, (A) as defined in the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, as from time to time amended, or (B) as defined in subdivision (9) of section 31-101, employee organizations as defined in subsection (d) of section 5-270 and subdivision (6) of section 7-467, bargaining representative organizations for teachers, any local, state or national organization, to which a labor organization pays membership or per capita fees, based upon its affiliation or membership, and trade or professional associations which receive their funds exclusively from membership dues, whether organized in or outside of this state, but does not mean a candidate committee, party committee or a political committee. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-601
- Political committee: means (A) a committee organized by a business entity or organization, (B) persons other than individuals, or two or more individuals organized or acting jointly conducting their activities in or outside the state, (C) an exploratory committee, (D) a committee established by or on behalf of a slate of candidates in a primary for the office of justice of the peace, but does not mean a candidate committee or a party committee, (E) a legislative caucus committee, or (F) a legislative leadership committee. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-601
- Probate: Proving a will
- Referendum: means (1) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters of a municipality at any regular or special state or municipal election, as defined in this section, (2) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters, as the case may be, of a municipality at a meeting of such electors or voters, which meeting is not an election, as defined in subsection (d) of this section, and is not a town meeting, or (3) a question or proposal which is submitted to a vote of the electors or voters, as the case may be, of a municipality at a meeting of such electors or voters pursuant to section 7-7 or pursuant to charter or special act. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-1
- Referendum question: means a question to be voted upon at any election or referendum, including a proposed constitutional amendment. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-601
- Treasurer: means the individual appointed by a candidate or by the chairperson of a party committee or a political committee to receive and disburse funds on behalf of the candidate or committee. See Connecticut General Statutes 9-601
(b) No such committee shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for the benefit of, an exploratory committee, in excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars. Any such committee may make unlimited contributions to a political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question.
(c) The limits imposed by subsection (a) of this section shall apply separately to primaries and elections and no such committee shall make contributions to the candidates designated in this section which in the aggregate exceed fifty thousand dollars for any single election and primary preliminary thereto.
(d) No political committee established by an organization shall make contributions in any one calendar year to, or for the benefit of, (1) the state central committee of a political party, in excess of seven thousand five hundred dollars; (2) a town committee, in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars; or (3) any political committee, other than an exploratory committee or a committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question, in excess of two thousand dollars.
(e) Contributions to a political committee established by an organization shall be subject to the provisions of section 9-618 in the case of a committee formed for ongoing political activity or section 9-619 in the case of a committee formed for a single election or primary.