2021 Georgia Code
Title 21 - Elections
Chapter 5 - Ethics in Government
Article 2A - Contributions to Candidates for Public Office
§ 21-5-41. Maximum Allowable Contributions

1. No person, corporation, political committee, or political party shall make, and no candidate or campaign committee shall receive from any such entity, contributions to any candidate for state-wide elected office which in the aggregate for an election cycle exceed:
   1. Five thousand dollars for a primary election;
   2. Three thousand dollars for a primary run-off election;
   3. Five thousand dollars for a general election; and
   4. Three thousand dollars for a general election runoff.
2. No person, corporation, political committee, or political party shall make, and no candidate or campaign committee shall receive from any such entity, contributions to any candidate for the General Assembly or public office other than state-wide elected office which in the aggregate for an election cycle exceed:
   1. Two thousand dollars for a primary election;
   2. One thousand dollars for a primary run-off election;
   3. Two thousand dollars for a general election; and
   4. One thousand dollars for a general election runoff.
3. No business entity shall make any election contributions to any candidate which when aggregated with contributions to the same candidate for the same election from any affiliated corporations exceed the per election maximum allowable contribution limits for such candidate as specified in subsection (a) of this Code section.
4. Candidates and campaign committees may separately account for contributions pursuant to Code Section 21-5-43. Candidates and campaign committees not separately accounting for contributions pursuant to such Code section shall not accept contributions for any election in an election cycle prior to the conclusion of the immediately preceding election in such cycle; provided, however, that contributions may be accepted for a primary election at any time in the election cycle prior to and including the date of such primary election. Upon conclusion of each election, contributions remaining unexpended may be expended on succeeding elections in the election cycle, and contributions not exceeding the contribution limits of this Code section may continue to be accepted for repayment of campaign obligations incurred as a candidate in that election except as provided in subsection (h) of this Code section.
5. Candidates and campaign committees shall designate on their disclosure reports the election for which a contribution has been accepted. Any contribution not so designated shall be presumed to have been accepted for the election on or first following the date of the contribution.
6. A contribution by a partnership shall be deemed to have been made pro rata by the partners as individuals for purposes of this Code section, as well as by the partnership in toto unless the partnership by proper action under its partnership agreement otherwise directs allocation of the contribution among the partners. At such direction of the partnership, the contribution may be allocated in any proportion among the partners, including to one or some but not all. Such allocation shall be indicated on the face of any instrument constituting the contribution or on an accompanying document referencing such instrument.
7. The contribution limitations established by this Code section shall not apply to a loan or other contribution made to a campaign committee or candidate by the candidate or a member of the family of the candidate.
8. Any candidate or campaign committee who incurs loans on or after January 9, 2006, in connection with the candidate's campaign for election shall not repay, directly or indirectly, such loans from any contributions made to such candidate or any authorized committee of such candidate after the date of the election for which the loan was made to the extent that such loans exceed $250,000.00.
9. The contribution limits established by this Code section shall not apply to a bona fide loan made to a candidate or campaign committee by a state or federally chartered financial institution or a depository institution whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation if:
   1. Such loan is made in the normal course of business with the expectation on the part of all parties that such loan shall be repaid; and
   2. Such loan is based on the credit worthiness of the candidate and the candidate is personally liable for the repayment of the loan.
10. The contribution limitations provided for in this Code section shall not include contributions or expenditures made by a political party in support of a party ticket or a group of named candidates.
11. At the end of the election cycle applicable to each public office as to which campaign contributions are limited by this Code section and every four years for all other elections to which this Code section is applicable, the contribution limitations in this Code section shall be raised or lowered in increments of $100.00 by regulation of the commission pursuant to a determination by the commission of inflation or deflation during such cycle or four-year period, as determined by the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, and such limitations shall apply until next revised by the commission. The commission shall adopt rules and regulations for the implementation of this subsection.

(Code 1981, §21-5-41, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 922, § 6; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1075, § 8; Ga. L. 1994, p. 258, § 11; Ga. L. 1995, p. 8, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1491, § 4; Ga. L. 2005, p. 859, § 16/HB 48; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1173, § 15/SB 17.)

- Ga. L. 2000, p. 1491, § 5, not codified by the General Assembly, provides for severability.

Ga. L. 2000, p. 1491, § 6, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that for purposes of issuing rules and regulations, that Act became effective May 1, 2000.

Ga. L. 2005, p. 859, § 28/HB 48, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the Act shall not apply to any violation occurring prior to January 9, 2006.

Ga. L. 2010, p. 1173, § 1/SB 17, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act of 2010.'"

Ga. L. 2010, p. 1173, § 30/SB 17, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment to this Code section applies to all reports filed on and after January 10, 2011.

- Adjustment of contribution limits based upon inflation, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, Organization, Sec. 189-1-.07.

Disclosure reports, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, State Ethics Commission, Chapter 189-3.

- For article on the 2005 amendment of this Code section, see 22 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 119 (2005). For article, "An Intersection of Laws: Citizens United v. FEC: Rational Coercion: Citizens United and a Modern Day Prisoner's Dilemma," see 27 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 1105 (2011). For annual survey on administrative law, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (2018). For note on the 1992 amendment of this Code section, see 9 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 247 (1992). For comment, "Awakening a Slumbering Giant: Georgia's Judicial Selection System After White and Weaver ," see 56 Mercer L. Rev. 1035 (2005).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Commission decision finding reasonable grounds for violation not immediately appealable.

- Candidate had not shown irreparable harm justifying immediate appeal to a superior court under O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19(a) from an interim decision of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission because judicial review would be available after the final decision; the charges had been pending over eight years and alleged damage to the candidate's reputation was not irreparable harm. Oxendine v. Gov't Transparency & Campaign Fin. Comm'n, 341 Ga. App. 901, 802 S.E.2d 310 (2017).

Cited in Georgia State Conference of NAACP Branches v. Cox, 183 F.3d 1263 (11th Cir. 1999).

Campaign contributions prior to January 1, 2001, under the election year/non-election year format should not be counted against the new election cycle contribution limits set forth in the revised version of the statute which became effective on that date. 2001 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 2001-4.

Term "immediate family" in the campaign contributions portion of the Ethics in Government Act, O.C.G.A. § 21-5-1 et seq., refers to a candidate's spouse and children. 1995 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 95-42.

- A loan made to a candidate for public office, which is made in the ordinary course of business and not for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of the candidate, is not subject to the monetary limitations on contributions contained in the Ethics in Government Act, O.C.G.A. § 21-5-1 et seq.; any other type of loan, including one guaranteed by individuals other than the candidate, would be subject to that Act's limitation on contributions. 1992 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 92-26 (Subsection (c) codifies the conclusion and broadens the dollar limit exclusion to include contributions from candidate's family).

- Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission's existing rule that requires the contribution limits be adjusted every calendar year is in line with the requirement of contribution limits being adjusted "at the end of the election cycle," under O.C.G.A. § 21-5-41(k), since some election cycles end every calendar year. 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 20-3.

While the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission's rule permits the revisiting of setting contribution limits if the Commission fails to timely adjust the contribution limits at its first regularly scheduled meeting of the year, the language of the Ethics in Government Act, O.C.G.A. § 21-5-1 et seq., does not allow the Commission to revisit an affirmative vote that raises, lowers, or rejects an adjustment to contribution limits. Such an affirmative vote of the Commission locks the adjusted contribution limits into place for the duration of that election cycle. 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 20-3.

- Adjustment of a contribution limit should occur as close as practically possible to the end of an election cycle or every four years to avoid changes to limits during any subsequent election cycle. 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 20-3.

- The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, and not its staff, is the regulatory body under Georgia law granted the discretionary ability to determine whether and to what extent to adjust contribution limits. There is no express grant of authority by the General Assembly that would permit the delegation of this discretionary duty to Commission staff. Therefore, only the Commission, not the staff, can alter contribution limits pursuant to the discretionary authority granted to the Commission by statute. 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 20-3.

- For an office with a four-year term, a candidate may appear on the ballot several times during that period. The limits applicable to the primary, primary run-off, general, and general run-off, which will each occur at most once during that four year period, will be the limits set by the Commission at the conclusion of the last election cycle concluding with a general election or, if applicable, the general election run-off. Any special election, special election run-off, and recall election shall be governed by the contribution limits set once every four years by the Commission for all offices as to those types of elections. 2020 Op. Att'y Gen. 20-3.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Construction and application of Supreme Court's holding in Citizens United v. Federal Election Com'n, 130 S. Ct. 876, 175 L. Ed. 2d 753, 187 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2961, 159 Lab. Cas. (CCH) P 10166 (2010), that government may not prohibit independent and indirect corporate expenditures on political speech, 65 A.L.R.6th 503.