TITLE 21 ELECTIONS

Section 5. Ethics in Government, 21-5-1 through 21-5-76.

ARTICLE 2A CONTRIBUTIONS TO CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

21-5-43. Accounting for and expenditure of campaign contributions.

1. 1. A candidate or campaign committee may separately account for contributions for each election in an election cycle for which contributions are accepted. If no contributions are accepted for an election, no corresponding accounting shall be required. Subject to the contribution limits of this chapter, contributions so separately accounted for may be accepted at any time in the election cycle. Upon the conclusion of each election, contributions not exceeding such limits may continue to be accepted for repayment of campaign obligations incurred as a candidate in that election.
   2. A candidate who wishes to accept contributions for more than one election at a time shall separately account for such campaign contributions and shall file an "Option to Choose Separate Accounting" form with the commission prior to accepting contributions for any election other than the candidate's next upcoming election; provided, however, that a candidate shall only be required to file one such form which shall be utilized for all subsequent elections to the same elective office, regardless of whether an election occurs in a new election cycle.
   3. A candidate who accepts contributions for more than one election at a time may allocate contributions received from a single contributor to any election in the election cycle, provided that the contributions shall not violate maximum allowable contribution limits for any election; provided, however, that in order to allocate contributions to a past election, the candidate shall have outstanding campaign debt from the previous election.
2. Contributions separately accounted for shall not be expended on a prior election except in conformance with this Code section. Contributions separately accounted for in a primary election may be expended at any time during the election cycle prior to and including the date of the primary.
3. Contributions remaining unexpended after the date of the election may be expended for any future election in the same election cycle without regard to the limitations of Code Section 21-5-41. If there are no further elections in the election cycle or if the candidate or the candidate of the campaign committee is not on the ballot of a further election in the election cycle, such contributions may be used only as provided in Code Section 21-5-33.
4. Contributions accepted and separately accounted for in an election which does not occur or for which the candidate does not qualify, if unexpended, shall be returned to the contributors thereof pro rata without interest. Any portion thereof which cannot be returned to the original contributor thereof shall be expended only as provided in Code Section 21-5-33.
5. The commission shall adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Code section in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act."

(Code 1981, §21-5-43, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 922, § 6; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1075, § 10; Ga. L. 1994, p. 258, § 11; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1491, § 4; Ga. L. 2005, p. 859, § 17/HB 48.)