Sec. 2-303. - Contribution limitations.

(a)

County Candidates. Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall make, and no county candidate or treasurer of any controlled committee of any county candidate shall solicit or accept, any contributions which would cause the total amount contributed by such person to such candidate or to his or her controlled committee, to exceed three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500.00) during any election cycle for any county office. No contributions shall be accepted by any candidate before the beginning of the election cycle related to the election for which the person is a candidate. Contributions accepted for campaign expenses and for officeholder expenses shall be aggregated for purposes of the limitation set forth in this section.

(b)

Elective County Officers With Outstanding Debt From Prior Election. No person shall make, and no elective county officer, or treasurer of any controlled committee of any elective county officer, shall solicit or accept, any contributions for the purpose of retiring outstanding debt from a prior county election which would cause the total amount contributed by such person to such elective county officer or to his or her controlled committee, to exceed three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500.00) for the election in which the outstanding debt was incurred, regardless of when the contribution(s) is made or received. This restriction shall not apply to indebted former candidates who are not elective county officers.

(c)

Recall Elections. The contribution limitations set forth in Section 2-303(a) shall also apply to any candidate controlled committee which collects contributions for the purpose of making expenditures in support of or opposition to the recall of an elective county officer, and to contributions received by such elective county officer, during a recall election cycle as defined in Section 2-305 of this article.

(d)

Candidate's Personal Funds. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a county candidate's contribution of his or her personal funds to his or her own controlled committee. Contributions by the spouse of a county candidate from such spouse's separate property shall be subject to the contribution limitations set forth in Section 2-303(a).

(e)

Special Circumstances Permitting Increased Contribution Limits. In any election cycle where independent expenditures totaling more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) are made to support or oppose any candidate for county office, the three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500.00) limit imposed by this section shall be increased to seven thousand dollars ($7,000.00) for all candidates running for the same seat. In such an instance, no person shall make, and no county candidate, elective county officer or treasurer of any controlled committee of any county candidate or elective county officer shall solicit or accept, any

contributions which would cause the total amount contributed by such person to such candidate or to his or her controlled committee, to exceed seven thousand dollars ($7,000.00).

(f)

Escalator. Contribution limits shall be increased biannually using the change in California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Bay Area, rounded up to the nearest hundred dollars, with the first escalation to take place on January 1, 2025.

(Ord. No. 6389, § I, 8-30-2022)