2010 Arkansas Code
Title 7 - Elections
Chapter 6 - Campaign Practices
Subchapter 2 - Campaign Financing
§ 7-6-203 - Contributions -- Limitations -- Acceptance or solicitation -- Use as personal income -- Disposition.

7-6-203. Contributions -- Limitations -- Acceptance or solicitation -- Use as personal income -- Disposition.

(a) (1) (A) It shall be unlawful for any candidate for any public office, except the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, Attorney General, and Commissioner of State Lands, or for any person acting on the candidate's behalf to accept campaign contributions in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000) per election from any person.

(B) A candidate may accept a campaign contribution or contributions up to the maximum amount from any prospective contributor for each election, whether opposed or unopposed.

(2) (A) It shall be unlawful for any candidate for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, Attorney General, and Commissioner of State Lands, or for any person acting on the candidate's behalf to accept campaign contributions in excess of two thousand dollars ($2,000) per election from any person.

(B) A candidate may accept a campaign contribution or contributions up to the maximum amount from any prospective contributor for each election, whether opposed or unopposed.

(b) (1) (A) It shall be unlawful for any person to make a contribution to a candidate for any public office, except the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, Attorney General, and Commissioner of State Lands, or to any person acting on the candidate's behalf, which in the aggregate exceeds two thousand dollars ($2,000) per election.

(B) A person may make a contribution or contributions up to the maximum amount to a candidate for each election, whether opposed or unopposed.

(2) (A) It shall be unlawful for any person to make a contribution to a candidate for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, Attorney General, and Commissioner of State Lands, or to any person acting on the candidate's behalf, which in the aggregate exceeds two thousand dollars ($2,000) per election.

(B) A person may make a contribution or contributions up to the maximum amount to a candidate for each election, whether opposed or unopposed.

(c) The limitation shall not apply to loans made by a candidate from his or her own personal funds to the campaign, contributions made by a candidate from his or her personal funds to the campaign, or to personal loans made by financial institutions to the candidate and applied to his or her campaign.

(d) However, an organized political party as defined in 7-1-101 may contribute up to two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) to each of the party's candidates per election.

(e) (1) It shall be unlawful for any candidate for any public office or any person acting in the candidate's behalf to accept any contribution from a prohibited political action committee for any election.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any prohibited political action committee to make a contribution to a candidate for public office in an election.

(3) It shall be unlawful for any ballot question committee, legislative question committee, political party, county political party committee, or political action committee to accept any contribution from a prohibited political action committee.

(4) It shall be unlawful for any prohibited political action committee to make a contribution to a:

(A) Ballot question committee;

(B) Legislative question committee;

(C) Political party;

(D) County political party committee; or

(E) Political action committee.

(f) It shall be unlawful for any candidate for public office, any person acting in the candidate's behalf, or any exploratory committee to solicit or accept campaign contributions more than two (2) years before an election at which the candidate seeks nomination or election. This subsection shall not prohibit the solicitation or acceptance of a contribution for the sole purpose of raising funds to retire a previous campaign debt.

(g) (1) A candidate shall not take any campaign funds as personal income. This subdivision (g)(1) shall not apply to campaign funds that were:

(A) Accumulated prior to the passage of Initiated Act 1 of 1990; or

(B) Disposed of prior to July 28, 1995.

(2) A candidate shall not take any campaign funds as income for his or her spouse or dependent children, except that:

(A) This subsection shall not prohibit a candidate who has an opponent from employing his or her spouse or dependent children as campaign workers; and

(B) Any candidate who has an opponent and who, during the campaign and before the election, takes a leave of absence without pay from his or her primary place of employment shall be authorized to take campaign funds during the campaign and before the election as personal income up to the amount of employment income lost as a result of such leave of absence.

(3) A candidate who takes campaign funds during the campaign and before the election under a leave of absence pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (g)(2) of this section may elect to treat the campaign funds as a loan from the campaign fund to the candidate to be paid back to the campaign fund by the candidate.

(4) (A) For purposes of this subsection, a candidate who uses campaign funds to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist regardless of the candidate's campaign shall be deemed to have taken campaign funds as personal income.

(B) The use of campaign funds to purchase a cake or other perishable item of food at a fund-raising event held by a volunteer agency, as defined in 16-6-103, shall not be considered a taking of campaign funds as personal income.

(C) The use of campaign funds to purchase advertising prior to the date the final report is due to be filed thanking voters for their support shall not be considered a taking of campaign funds as personal income.

(h) (1) Within thirty (30) days following the end of the month in which the general election is held, a candidate shall turn over surplus campaign funds to either:

(A) The Treasurer of State for the benefit of the General Revenue Fund Account of the State Apportionment Fund;

(B) A political party as defined in 7-1-101 or a political party caucus of the General Assembly, the Senate, or the House of Representatives;

(C) A nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;

(D) Cities of the first class, cities of the second class, or incorporated towns; or

(E) The contributors to the candidate's campaign.

(2) (A) If an unopposed candidate agrees not to solicit further campaign contributions by filing an affidavit declaring such an agreement, the candidate may dispose of any surplus campaign funds prior to a general election as soon as the time has passed to declare an intent to be a write-in candidate pursuant to 7-5-205.

(B) For unopposed candidates for nonpartisan judicial office, the affidavit may be filed after the deadlines have passed to declare as a filing fee candidate, petition candidate, or write-in candidate under 7-10-103.

(C) The affidavit shall be filed in the office in which the candidate is required to file reports of contributions received and expenditures made.

(D) Unopposed candidates and defeated candidates who file the affidavit are exempt from further reporting requirements provided that the affidavit contains:

(i) All campaign activity not previously reported; and

(ii) A statement that the candidate's campaign fund has a zero ($0.00) balance.

(3) (A) Carryover funds may be expended at any time for any purpose not prohibited by this chapter and may be used as campaign funds for seeking any public office. Nothing shall prohibit a person at any time from disposing of all or any portion of his or her carryover funds in the same manner as for surplus campaign funds. However, the candidate shall not take the funds as personal income or as income for his or her spouse or dependent children.

(B) (i) When a person having carryover funds files as a candidate for public office, his or her carryover funds shall be transferred to the person's active campaign fund. Once transferred, the funds will no longer be treated as carryover funds.

(ii) This subdivision (h)(3)(B) shall not apply to carryover funds from an election held prior to July 1, 1997.

(iii) This subdivision (h)(3)(B) shall not apply to a campaign debt.

(C) (i) If carryover funds are expended prior to transferring the funds to an active campaign fund, the expenditures shall be reported pursuant to this subdivision (h)(3)(C). A person shall file an expenditure report concerning carryover funds if since the last report concerning the carryover funds, the person has expended in excess of five hundred dollars ($500). The report shall be filed at the office in which the candidate was required to file his or her campaign contribution and expenditure reports for the previous campaign not later than fifteen (15) days after a calendar quarter in which a report becomes required. No report is required in any calendar quarter in which the cumulative expenditure limit has not been exceeded since the person's last report.

(ii) The person shall also file an expenditure report for the calendar quarter in which he or she transfers the carryover funds to an active campaign fund.

(iii) A person who retains carryover funds shall file an annual report outlining the status of the carryover fund account as of December 31 unless the person has filed a quarterly report during the calendar year pursuant to subdivisions (h)(3)(C)(i) and (ii) of this section. The annual report shall be due by January 31 of each year.

(iv) The carryover fund reports of a candidate for school district, township, municipal, or county office shall be filed with the county clerk of the county in which the election was held.

(v) The carryover fund reports of a candidate for state or district office shall be filed with the Secretary of State.

(D) (i) Carryover funds may be retained by a person for not more than ten (10) years after the last election at which he or she was a candidate, or if applicable, not more than ten (10) years after the last day that the person held office, and any remaining carryover funds shall be disposed of in the same manner as for surplus campaign funds.

(ii) (a) The officer with whom the person last filed a final campaign report shall provide the person timely notice of the requirements of this subdivision (h)(3)(D) prior to the expiration of the ten-year period.

(b) However, failure to provide the notice does not relieve the person of his or her obligation under this subsection.

(4) After the date of an election at which the person is a candidate for nomination or election, the person shall not accept campaign contributions for that election except for the sole purpose of raising funds to retire campaign debt.

(5) Surplus campaign funds or carryover funds given to a political party caucus shall be segregated in an account separated from other caucus funds and shall not be used:

(A) By the political party caucus to make a campaign contribution; or

(B) To provide any personal income to any candidate who donated surplus campaign funds or carryover funds.

(i) A candidate may maintain his or her campaign funds in one (1) or more campaign accounts. Campaign funds shall not be placed in an account containing personal or business funds.