Home/DC Code/§ 1-1163.33
§ 1-1163.33Title 1

Contribution limitations.

No person, including a business contributor, may make any contribution, and no person may receive any contribution from any contributor, that when aggregated with all other contributions received from that contributor relating to a campaign for nomination as a candidate or election to public office, including both the primary and general election or special elections, exceeds: In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for Mayor or for the recall of the Mayor, $2,000; In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for Attorney General or for the recall of the Attorney General, $1,500; In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for Chairman of the Council or for the recall of the Chairman of the Council, $1,500; In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for member of the Council elected at-large or for the recall of a member of the Council elected at-large, $1,000; In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for member of the State Board of Education elected at-large or for member of the Council elected from a ward or for the recall of a member of the State Board of Education elected at-large or for the recall of a member of the Council elected from a ward, $500; In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for member of the State Board of Education elected from an election ward or for the recall of a member of the State Board of Education elected from an election ward or for an official of a political party, $200; and In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for a member of an Advisory Neighborhood Commission, $25. A business contributor shall certify for each contribution that it makes that no affiliated entities have contributed an amount that when aggregated with the business contributor's contribution would exceed the limits imposed by this chapter. No person, including a business contributor, may make any contribution in any one election for Mayor, Attorney General, Chairman of the Council, each member of the Council, and each member of the State Board of Education (including primary and general elections, but excluding special elections), that when combined with all other contributions made by that contributor in that election to candidates and political committees exceeds $8,500. All contributions to a candidate's principal political committee shall be treated as contributions to the candidate and shall be subject to the contribution limitations contained in this section. Any entity, whether or not considered distinct under Title 29 of the District of Columbia Official Code, may be an affiliated entity for purposes of this chapter. No political committee or political action committee may receive in any one election, including primary and general elections, any contribution in the form of cash or money order from any one person that in the aggregate exceeds $100. No person may make any contribution in the form of cash or money order which in the aggregate exceeds $100 in any one election to any one political committee or political action committee, including primary and general elections. No person may make contributions to any one political committee or political action committee in any one election, including primary and general elections, but excluding special elections, that in the aggregate exceed $5,000. No contributor may make a contribution or cause a contribution to be made in the name of another person, and no person may knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person. An independent expenditure is not considered a contribution to or an expenditure by or on behalf of the candidate for the purposes of the limitations specified in this section. All contributions made by a person directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of a particular candidate or that candidate's political committee that are in any way earmarked, encumbered, or otherwise directed through an intermediary or conduit to that candidate or political committee shall be treated as contributions from that person to that candidate or political committee and shall be subject to the limitations established by this chapter. No candidate or member of the immediate family of a candidate may make a loan or advance from his or her personal funds for use in connection with a campaign of that candidate for nomination for election, or for election, to a public office unless a written instrument fully discloses the terms, conditions, and parts to the loan or advance. The amount of any loan or advance shall be included in computing and applying the limitations contained in this section only to the extent of the balance of the loan or advance that is unpaid at the time of determination. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “immediate family” means the candidate's spouse, domestic partner, parent, brother, sister, or child, and the spouse or domestic partner of a candidate's parent, brother, sister, or child. No contributions made to support or oppose initiative or referendum measures shall be affected by the provisions of this section. A certification dated February 4, 2015, that the fiscal effect of the Campaign Finance Reform and Transparency Amendment Act of 2013, D.C. Law 20-79, has been included in an approved budget and financial plan was published in the D.C. Register on March 13, 2015 (62 DCR 2988). Applicability of D.C. Law 20-79: Section 3 of D.C. Law 20-79 provided that the act shall apply upon the latest of: (1) The inclusion of the fiscal effect of the act in an approved budget and financial plan, as certified by the Chief Financial Officer to the Budget Director of the Council in a certification published by the Council in the District of Columbia Register; or (2) January 31, 2015. Applicability of D.C. Law 20-60: Section 401(b) of 20-60 provided that § 302 of the act shall apply as of December 13, 2013.

Annotations

Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 333, 59 DCR 1862
Dec. 13, 2013, D.C. Law 20-60, § 302(d), 60 DCR 15487
Feb. 22, 2014, D.C. Law 20-79, § 2(q), 61 DCR 153
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 3(d) of the Election Code Conforming Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-143, July 31, 2013, 60 DCR 11799, 20 DCSTAT 1990).
The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-79 would have rewritten this section.
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 20-60 added (a)(1A); and substituted “for Chairman of the Council, each member of the Council, Mayor, Attorney General” for “for Mayor, Chairman of the Council, each member of the Council” in (b)(1).
This section is referenced in § 1-1162.31, § 1-1163.20, and § 1-1163.38.
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