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      FEC Record: Outreach
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      Contribution limits for 2009-2010

FEC Record: OutreachContribution limits for 2009-2010March 1, 2009 Under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), certain contribution limits are indexed for inflation every two years, based on the change in the cost of living since 2001, which is the base year for adjusting these limits. [FN1] The inflation-adjusted limits are: The limits on contributions made by persons to candidates and national party committees (2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(1)(A) and (B));The biennial aggregate contribution limits for individuals (2 U.S.C. § 441a(a)(3)); andThe limit on contributions made by certain political party committees (2 U.S.C. § 441a(h)). Please note the chart on this page for the contribution amount limits applicable for 2009-2010. The inflation adjustments to these limits are made only in odd-numbered years, and—except for the biennial limit—the limits are in effect for the two-year election cycle beginning on the day after the general election and ending on the date of the next general election. The biennial limit covers the two-calendar-year period beginning on January 1 of the odd-numbered year and ending on December 31 of the even-numbered year.
 
 Please note, however, that these limits do not apply to contributions raised to retire debts from past elections. Contributions may not exceed the contribution limits in effect on the date of the election for which those debts were incurred. 11 CFR 110.1(b)(3)(iii). The BCRA also introduced a rounding provision for all of the amounts that are increased by the indexing for inflation. [FN2] Under this provision, if the inflation-adjusted amount is not a multiple of $100, then the amount is rounded to the nearest $100. 1 The applicable cost of living adjustment amount is 1.216. 2 This provision also affects the indexing of coordinated party expenditure limits and presidential expenditure limits in 2 U.S.C. §§ 441a(b) and 441a(d), as well as the disclosure threshold for lobbyist bundled contributions in 2 U.S.C. § 434(i)(3)(A).
 Author
          Elizabeth Kurland


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This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


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