TRENTON – The Election Law Enforcement Commission this morning accepted adjusting campaign cost thresholds for 2013 gubernatorial candidates.
Contributors could give a maximum of $3,800 per election to gubernatorial candidates in 2013 under the new inflation-adjusted limits and thresholds established today by ELEC.
The limit in 2009 was $3,400.
Also under the changes, gubernatorial candidates who qualify for public funding could spend a maximum of $5.6 million in primaries, and $12.2 million in general elections. According to ELEC Executive Director Jeffrey Brindle, those campaigns could receive up to $3.5 million in public funds for primaries, and $8.2 million for general elections under the Gubernatorial Public Financing Program that began in 1977.
Following a public hearing, the commission must adopt today’s report by December to adopt the new regs, ELEC said.
The following is a chart furnished by ELEC that details the 2013 Gubernatorial Cost Index Adjustments from 2009 to 2013:
Contribution limit: $3,400 (2009) – $3,800 (2013)
Qualification Threshold: $340,000 – $380,000
Amount not matched: $109,000 – $122,000
Primary Public Fund Cap: $3,100,000 – $3,500,000
General Public Fund Cap: $7,300,000 – $8,200,000
General Expenditure Limit: $10,900,000 – $12,200,000.
ELEC today also considered new guidelines for non-gubernatorial election candidates running in 2013. The commission recommends increasing the non-gubernatorial contribution limit from $2,600 to $3,000.
Below are the other adjustments for non-gubernatorial candidates and committees as submitted by ELEC, which must be transmitted to the Legislaure by July 15, Brindle said.
Political Reporting Threshold: $2,100 (2009) – $2,400 (2013)
CPC Reporting Threshold: $4,900 – $5,500
Contribution Reporting Threshold: $300 – $300
48-hour notice contribution (and expenditure) threshold: $1,200 – $1,400
JCC Thresholds (2 candidates): $7,600 – $8,500
Form A-3 Threshold: $4,900 – $5,500
School Board Write-in Threshold: $4,000 – $4,500
Independent Expenditure Threshold: $1,200 – $1,400
