2012 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 9 - Elections
Chapter 155 - Elections: Campaign Financing
Section 9-611 - (Formerly Sec. 9-333m). Limits on contributions made by individuals to candidate committees, exploratory committees. When contributions by personal check or credit card required. Contributions by individuals less than eighteen years of age.

(a) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, for the benefit of, or pursuant to the authorization or request of, a candidate or a committee supporting or opposing any candidate’s campaign for nomination at a primary, or any candidate’s campaign for election, to the office of (1) Governor, in excess of three thousand five hundred dollars; (2) Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney General, in excess of two thousand dollars; (3) chief executive officer of a town, city or borough, in excess of one thousand dollars; (4) state senator or probate judge, in excess of one thousand dollars; or (5) state representative or any other office of a municipality not previously included in this subsection, in excess of two hundred fifty dollars. The limits imposed by this subsection shall be applied separately to primaries and elections.

(b) (1) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for the benefit of, an exploratory committee, in excess of three hundred seventy-five dollars, if the candidate establishing the exploratory committee certifies on the statement of organization for the exploratory committee pursuant to subsection (c) of section 9-604 that the candidate will not be a candidate for the office of state representative. No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for the benefit of, any exploratory committee, in excess of two hundred fifty dollars, if the candidate establishing the exploratory committee does not so certify.

(2) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for the benefit of, a political committee formed by a slate of candidates in a primary for the office of justice of the peace, in excess of two hundred fifty dollars.

(c) No individual shall make contributions to such candidates or committees which in the aggregate exceed fifteen thousand dollars for any single election and primary preliminary thereto.

(d) No individual shall make a contribution to any candidate or committee, other than a contribution in kind, in excess of one hundred dollars except by personal check or credit card of that individual.

(e) No individual who is less than eighteen years of age shall make a contribution or contributions, in excess of thirty dollars to, for the benefit of, or pursuant to the authorization or request of: (1) A candidate or a committee supporting or opposing any candidate’s campaign for nomination at a primary to any office; (2) a candidate or a committee supporting or opposing any candidate’s campaign for election to any office; (3) an exploratory committee; (4) any other political committee in any calendar year; or (5) a party committee in any calendar year. Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision (2) of section 9-7b, any individual who is less than eighteen years of age who violates any provision of this subsection shall not be subject to the provisions of subdivision (2) of section 9-7b.

(P.A. 86-99, S. 14, 34; 86-240, S. 6, 12; P.A. 91-351, S. 13, 28; P.A. 92-246, S. 1, 5; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-5, S. 13, 19; P.A. 00-99, S. 34, 154; P.A. 02-130, S. 10; P.A. 03-241, S. 13; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5, S. 30; P.A. 07-1, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 86-240 limited contributions by individuals to candidates for nomination or election to any municipal office other than chief executive officer to $250; P.A. 91-351 inserted new Subsec. (b) re additional allowable contributions to candidate committee which is solely financing convention delegate slate and relettered former Subsecs. (b) and (c) as (c) and (d); P.A. 92-246 added Subsec. (e) requiring certain contributions by individuals to be by personal check; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-5 added Subsec. (f) re restrictions on contributions by individuals less than 16 years of age, effective July 1, 1997, and applicable to elections and primaries held on or after January 1, 1998; P.A. 00-99 deleted reference to sheriff in Subsec. (a), effective December 1, 2000; P.A. 02-130 amended Subsec. (e) to allow a contribution in excess of $100 to be made by credit card, effective January 1, 2003, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after said date; P.A. 03-241 deleted former Subsec. (b) re convention delegate primaries, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (f) as Subsecs. (b) to (c), and amended redesignated Subsec. (b) by substituting “office of justice of the peace” for “position of delegate to the same convention”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5 amended Subsec. (a) by increasing contribution limit for office of Governor from $2,500 to $3,500, for other state offices from $1,500 to $2,000, and for office of state senator or probate judge from $500 to $1,000, and amended Subsec. (b) by dividing existing provisions into Subdivs. (1) and (2), amending Subdiv. (1) to increase limit on contributions to exploratory committee from $250 to $375 for candidate certifying that candidate will not be candidate for office of state representative, and making a conforming change in Subdiv. (2), effective December 31, 2006, and applicable to elections held on or after that date; Sec. 9-333m transferred to Sec. 9-611 in 2007; P.A. 07-1 amended Subsec. (e) to change “sixteen” to “eighteen” years of age, effective February 8, 2007.