Montana Code 13-37-216. Limitations on contributions — adjustment
13-37-216. Limitations on contributions — adjustment. (1) (a) Subject to adjustment as provided for in subsection (3) and subject to 13-35-227 and 13-37-219, aggregate contributions for each election in a campaign by a political committee or by an individual, other than the candidate, to a candidate are limited as follows:
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-37-216
- Candidate: means :
(a)an individual who has filed a declaration or petition for nomination, acceptance of nomination, or appointment as a candidate for public office as required by law;
(b)for the purposes of chapter 35, 36, or 37, an individual who has solicited or received and retained contributions, made expenditures, or given consent to an individual, organization, political party, or committee to solicit or receive and retain contributions or make expenditures on the individual's behalf to secure nomination or election to any office at any time, whether or not the office for which the individual will seek nomination or election is known when the:
(i)solicitation is made;
(ii)contribution is received and retained; or
(iii)expenditure is made; or
(c)an officeholder who is the subject of a recall election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of political practices created by 13-37-102. See Montana Code 13-37-101
- Contribution: means :
(i)the receipt by a candidate or a political committee of an advance, gift, loan, conveyance, deposit, payment, or distribution of money or anything of value to support or oppose a candidate or a ballot issue;
(ii)an expenditure, including an in-kind expenditure, that is made in coordination with a candidate or ballot issue committee and is reportable by the candidate or ballot issue committee as a contribution;
(iii)the receipt by a political committee of funds transferred from another political committee; or
(iv)the payment by a person other than a candidate or political committee of compensation for the personal services of another person that are rendered to a candidate or political committee. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Election: means a general, special, or primary election held pursuant to the requirements of state law, regardless of the time or purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- General election: means an election that is held for offices that first appear on a primary election ballot, unless the primary is canceled as authorized by law, and that is held on a date specified in 13-1-104. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Individual: means a human being. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Person: means an individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership, cooperative, committee, including a political committee, club, union, or other organization or group of individuals or a candidate as defined in subsection (8). See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Political committee: means a combination of two or more individuals or a person other than an individual who receives a contribution or makes an expenditure:
(i)to support or oppose a candidate or a committee organized to support or oppose a candidate or a petition for nomination;
(ii)to support or oppose a ballot issue or a committee organized to support or oppose a ballot issue; or
(iii)to prepare or disseminate an election communication, an electioneering communication, or an independent expenditure. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- primary election: means an election held on a date specified in 13-1-107 to nominate candidates for offices filled at a general election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Public office: has the meaning provided in 13-1-101. See Montana Code 13-37-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(i)for candidates filed jointly for the office of governor and lieutenant governor, not to exceed $1,000;
(ii)for a candidate to be elected for state office in a statewide election, other than the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, not to exceed $700;
(iii)for a candidate for any other public office, not to exceed $400.
(b)Except as provided in 13-37-211 and subsection (5) of this section:
(i)a contribution to a candidate includes contributions made to any political committee organized on the candidate’s behalf; and
(ii)a political committee that is not independent of the candidate is considered to be organized on the candidate’s behalf.
(2)All political committees except those of political party organizations are subject to the provisions of subsection (1). Political party organizations may form political committees that are subject to the following aggregate limitations, adjusted as provided for in subsection (3) and subject to 13-37-219, from all political party committees:
(a)for candidates filed jointly for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, not to exceed $100,000;
(b)for a candidate to be elected for state office in a statewide election, other than the candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, not to exceed $75,000;
(c)for a candidate for public service commissioner, not to exceed $15,000;
(d)for a candidate for the state senate, not to exceed $3,000;
(e)for a candidate for any other public office, not to exceed $2,000.
(3)(a) The commissioner shall adjust the limitations in subsections (1) and (2) by multiplying each limit by an inflation factor, which is determined by dividing the consumer price index for June of the year prior to the year in which a general election is held by the consumer price index for June 2021.
(b)The resulting figure must be rounded up or down to the nearest:
(i)$10 increment for the limits established in subsection (1); and
(ii)$50 increment for the limits established in subsection (2).
(c)The commissioner shall publish the revised limitations as a rule.
(4)A candidate may not accept any contributions, including in-kind contributions, in excess of the limits in this section.
(5)For the purposes of applying the limits in this section if the contributions were received by a joint fundraising committee, a contribution must be construed to be:
(a)from the person who originally contributed funds to the joint fundraising committee; and
(b)received by the candidate participant to whom the funds were allocated by the joint fundraising committee as provided in 13-37-211.
(6)For purposes of this section, “election” means the general election or a primary election that involves two or more candidates for the same nomination. If there is not a contested primary, there is only one election to which the contribution limits apply. If there is a contested primary, then there are two elections to which the contribution limits apply.