2023 California Code › Government Code - GOV › TITLE 9 - POLITICAL REFORM › CHAPTER 5 - Limitations on Contributions › ARTICLE 3 - Contribution Limitations › Section 85319.5.

85319.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a committee that receives a contribution, or a portion thereof, that exceeds a contribution limit set forth in Section 85301, 85302, 85303, or 85316, may return the contribution, or a portion thereof, that exceeds the limit, or may attribute the portion of the contribution that exceeds the limit to another election in accordance with subdivision (d), without violating the applicable contribution limit, provided that the following conditions are met:
(1) The amount in excess of the contribution is returned or attributed within 14 days of receiving the contribution.
(2) The committee does not deposit or allow deposit of the contribution with actual knowledge that the contribution exceeds the applicable limit.
(3) The committee does not make use of the contribution prior to returning or attributing it.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) or any other law, a committee that receives a monetary contribution, or a portion thereof, that exceeds a contribution limit set forth in Section 85301, 85302, 85303, or 85316, and that deposits or allows deposit of the contribution with actual knowledge that the contribution exceeds the applicable limit, may return the contribution, or a portion thereof, that exceeds the limit, or may attribute the portion that exceeds the limit to another election in accordance with subdivision (d), without violating the applicable contribution limit, provided that the following conditions are met:
(1) The amount in excess of the contribution limit is returned or attributed within 72 hours of receipt, or is returned or attributed on or before the date of the election, whichever is sooner.
(2) The committee does not make use of the contribution prior to returning or attributing it.
(3) The committee does not deposit or allow deposit of the contribution with actual knowledge that the contribution is more than two times the applicable limit.
(c) By or before the applicable deadline for returning or attributing the contribution, or excess portion thereof, in subdivision (a) or (b), a committee that receives a contribution that exceeds a contribution limit set forth in Section 85301, 85302, 85303, or 85316 shall inform the contributor that their contribution was in excess of the applicable limit. If the contribution was attributed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d), the committee shall also inform the contributor that the contribution was attributed and that the contributor may request a refund.
(d) (1) A committee may, in accordance with any regulations adopted by the commission, request that the contributor attribute in writing a contribution to a different election.
(2) A committee may, in accordance with any regulations adopted by the commission, automatically attribute the portion of a contribution that is in excess of the applicable limit between the primary and general elections.
(e) For the purposes of this section, a committee makes use of a monetary contribution if, after receiving the contribution, it makes expenditures exceeding what the committee’s available cash balance would have been if the committee had not received the contribution and any other contributions that exceed the applicable contribution limit.
(f) For purposes of this section, a committee attributes a contribution when the committee designates the portion of the contribution in excess of the applicable limit to another election.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 816, Sec. 1. (SB 794) Effective January 1, 2023.)