Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 410 - Board of Elections › Chapter 10 - Campaign Finance › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 4 - Matching Public Funds - Contribution Exemption and Additional Expenses (410-RICR-10-00-4) › Section 410-RICR-10-00-4.3 - Contribution Exemption for R.I. Gen. Laws Section 17-25-20

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Note: The regulation to be adopted by the
				  Board of Elections ("Board") appears in §
										4.3(C) of
				  this Part beneath the specific section of the Rhode Island General Law which
				  the Board is seeking to address with the adoption of said regulation.
B.
										§17-25-20 - Eligibility criteria for
				  matching public funds. - In order to receive matching public funds under
				  §17-25-19, a qualifying candidate must comply with the following
				  requirements:
(1) The candidate must sign a
				  statement under oath, as provided for in §17-25-19; pledging to comply
				  with the limitations on contributions and expenditures for election purposes
				  and with all the terms and conditions set forth in this chapter. Upon the
				  filing of the statement, a candidate for general office shall be bound to abide
				  by the limitations on contributions and expenditures set forth in this chapter
				  and may not withdraw from his or her obligation to abide by these
				  restrictions.
(2) Subject to the
				  provisions of paragraph (ii) of this subdivision, no participating candidate
				  shall either receive or expend for election purposes more than a total of
				  public and private funds in the sum of one million five hundred thousand
				  dollars ($1,500,000) in an election cycle. No participating candidate for
				  general office other than governor shall receive or expend for election
				  purposes more than a total of public and private funds in the sum of three
				  hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($375,000) in an election cycle.
(ii) The limitations on contributions
				  received from private sources, matching funds available from the state, and
				  total permitted expenditures shall apply in the 1994 general election and,
				  subject to appropriations by the general assembly, shall increase by a
				  percentage to be determined by the Board of Elections in January of each
				  year-in which a general election involving general offices is held, beginning
				  in 1998. In no case shall the increase exceed the total increase in the
				  consumer price index since the month in which the previous general election
				  involving general offices was held.
(3) Only the first two thousand dollars
				  ($2,000) of the aggregate private monetary contributions from a single private
				  source within an election cycle shall be eligible for matching public funds for
				  candidates for governor; provided, that the entire amount contributed shall be
				  considered toward the dollar limits provided in subdivision (2) of this
				  section.
(ii) Only the first one thousand
				  dollars ($1,000) of the aggregate private monetary contributions from a single
				  private source within an election-cycle shall be eligible for matching public
				  funds for candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney
				  general, and general treasurer; provided, that the entire amount contributed
				  shall be considered toward the dollar limits provided for in subdivision (2) of
				  this section.
(iii) Any private
				  funds lawfully contributed during the current election cycle shall be eligible
				  for matching public funds subject to the terms and conditions of this section,
				  and private funds donated during a preceding election cycle shall not be
				  eligible for matching public funds.
(4) The direct costs incurred in connection
				  with raising campaign funds on behalf of a candidate-shall not be deemed to be
				  expenditures for the purposes of the limitations on expenditures set forth in
				  subdivision (2) of this section. Direct costs-shall include costs of printing
				  and mailing invitations to fundraising events, solicitations for contributions,
				  costs of hosting fundraising events, and travel to those events, but shall not
				  include any portion of the salary or wages of campaign employees, nor the cost
				  of any radio, television, or printed advertisement. The cost of a fundraising
				  event must be less than the amount of money realized from the gross proceeds
				  generated by the fundraising event in order to qualify for this
				  exclusion.