Part D. Contribution Limitations.

§ 1–1163.33. Contribution limitations.

(a) 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:

(1) In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for Mayor or for the recall of the Mayor, $2,000;

(2) In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for Attorney General or for the recall of the Attorney General, $1,500;

(3) 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;

(4) 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;

(5) 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;

(6) 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

(7) In the case of a contribution in support of a candidate for a member of an Advisory Neighborhood Commission, $25.

(b) 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.

(c)(1) Repealed.

(2) 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.

(d) 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.

(e)(1) 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.

(2) 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.

(f)(1) No person may make contributions to any one political committee or political action committee in any one election that in the aggregate exceed $5,000.

(2) Contributions to a political action committee that are designated for a non-contribution account shall not be subject to the contribution limitations of this subsection.

(f-1) Limitations on contributions under this section shall apply to political action committees during nonelection years.

(g) 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.

(h) 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.

(h-1) The contribution limitations in this section shall not apply to independent expenditure committees.

(i) 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.

(j)(1) 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.

(2) 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.

(k) No contributions made to support or oppose initiative or referendum measures shall be affected by the provisions of this section.

(l) The provisions of subsections (a), (b), (d), (e)(2), (j)(2), and (m) of this section shall not apply to the Fair Elections Program established by § 1-1163.32a.

(m) A candidate may make expenditures to reimburse the candidate for the candidate's childcare expenses incurred for campaign purposes.

§ 1–1163.34. Partnership contributions.

(a) A contribution by a partnership shall be attributed to each partner:

(1) In direct proportion to his or her share of the partnership profits, according to instructions that shall be provided by the partnership to the political committee, political action committee, or candidate; or

(2) By agreement of the partners, as long as:

(A) Only the profits of the partners to whom the contribution is attributed are reduced (or losses increased); and

(B) These partners’ profits are reduced (or losses increased) in proportion to the contribution attributed to each of them.

(b) A contribution by a partnership shall not exceed the limitations on contributions pursuant to this part. No portion of such contribution may be made from the profits of a corporation that is a partner.

(Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 334, 59 DCR 1862; Feb. 22, 2014, D.C. Law 20-79, § 2(r), 61 DCR 153.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 1-1162.31.

Effect of Amendments

The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-79 added “political action committee” in (a)(1).

Applicability

Section 7009 of D.C. Law 21-160 repealed § 3 of D.C. Law 20-79. Therefore the changes made to this section by D.C. Law 20-79 have been given effect.

Editor's Notes

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.

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).

§ 1–1163.34a. Covered contractor contributions.

(a) No agency or instrumentality of the District government, including an independent agency, shall enter into or approve a contract with a covered contractor if the covered contractor has contributed to a prohibited recipient during the prohibited period.

(b) No covered contractor shall contribute to a prohibited recipient during the prohibited period. This prohibition shall not include a contribution by a covered contractor who is also a prohibited recipient to finance his or her own election.

(1) Each contracting authority shall:

(A) Require that covered contractors report their principals to the contracting authority;

(B) Maintain a publicly-available list on its website of all covered contractors, including their principals, for the contracts of that contracting authority;

(i) The prohibited recipients or, if the value of the contract is estimated, the likely prohibited recipients for the contract based on its estimated value; and

(ii) Any other relevant provisions of this chapter;

(D) With the Director of Campaign Finance, identify, for each covered contractor, whether the covered contractor has contributed to a prohibited recipient during the prohibited period;

(E) Enforce the provisions of subsection (e)(1) of this section against covered contractors who have violated this section and provide their names to the Campaign Finance Board for the purposes of subsection (e)(2) of this subsection; and

(F) For contracting authorities other than the Office of Contracting and Procurement, notify the Office of Contracting and Procurement of any enforcement actions taken pursuant to subsection (e)(1) of this section; and

(2) The Director of Campaign Finance shall:

(A) Check the publicly-available lists of covered contractors maintained pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection against the reports of receipts and expenditures submitted to the Director of Campaign Finance pursuant to § 1-1163.09 to identify any unlawful contributions, and then notify the covered contractor, the prohibited recipient who accepted the contribution, and the relevant contracting authority in order to allow the covered contractor and the prohibited recipient to cure the violation; and

(B) Notify prohibited recipients and campaign treasurers of the relevant provisions of the Campaign Finance Reform Amendment Act of 2018.

(d) The Director of Campaign Finance shall make available any necessary information to the contracting authorities and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to facilitate compliance with this section.

(e)(1) A covered contractor that violates this section may be considered to have breached the terms of any existing contract with the District. At the discretion of the relevant contracting authority, any existing contract of the covered contractor may be terminated. The covered contractor may also be disqualified from eligibility for future District contracts, including the extension or modification of any existing contract, for a period of 4 calendar years after the date of determination that a violation of this section has occurred.

(2) The names of any prohibited recipients or covered contractors found to be in violation of this section shall be prominently displayed on the webpage of the Campaign Finance Board.

(f) Within 180 days after March 13, 2019, the Office of Contracting and Procurement, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, shall issue rules to implement the provisions of this section.

(Apr. 27, 2012, D.C. Law 19-124, § 334a; as added Mar. 13, 2019, D.C. Law 22-250, § 6(pp), 66 DCR 985.)

Applicability

Section 2 of D.C. Law 24-328 provided that this section shall not apply to: (1) Any inaugural or transition committee organized in 2022; and (2) Contracts, as defined in § 1-1161.01(10C)(A)(ii), including those contracts' option periods or similar contract extensions or modifications, sought, entered into, or executed before November 9, 2022.

Section 2 of D.C. Act 25-33 provided that this section shall not apply to: (1) Any inaugural or transition committee organized in 2022; and (2) Contracts, as defined in § 1-1161.01(10C)(A)(ii), including those contracts' option periods or similar contract extensions or modifications, sought, entered into, or executed before November 9, 2022.

Section 2 of D.C. Act 24-676 provided that this section shall not apply to: (1) Any inaugural or transition committee organized in 2022; and (2) Contracts, as defined in § 1-1161.01(10C)(A)(ii), including those contracts' option periods or similar contract extensions or modifications, sought, entered into, or executed before November 9, 2022.

Section 7183 of D.C. Act 24-159 repealed section 10(a) of D.C. Law 22-250 removing the applicability provision impacting this section. Therefore the creation of this section by Law 22-250 has been implemented.

Section 10(b) of D.C. Law 22-250 required that this section, created by D.C. Law 22-250, (1) Apply as of November 4, 2020; and (2) Not apply to contracts, as defined in D.C. Official Code § 1-1161.01(10C)(A)(ii)), including those contracts' option periods or similar contract extensions or modifications, sought, entered into, or executed before November 4, 2020.

Editor's Notes

Section 7183 of D.C. Law 24-45 provided that this section shall not apply to contracts, as defined in § 1-1161.01(10C)(A)(ii), including those contracts' option periods or similar contract extensions or modifications, sought, entered into, or executed before November 9, 2022.

Section 7183 of D.C. Act 24-159 provided that this section shall not apply to contracts, as defined in § 1-1161.01(10C)(A)(ii), including those contracts' option periods or similar contract extensions or modifications, sought, entered into, or executed before November 9, 2022.