CONTRIBUTION LIMITS

The City of Sacramento has adopted local campaign finance regulations for public campaign financing (also referred to as matching funds). These regulations pertain to provisions for financial support for a candidate for elective office through payment of public "matching" dollars, restrict spending, and place limits on contributions. Due to budget constraints Campaign Reform Fund is no longer funded. Therefore, public financing is not available.  However, provisions regarding contribution limits remain in full force and effect.

The information below is provided as a general guideline to assist in understanding the provisions. Interested persons are strongly encourage to read the full content of City Code section 2.13 to ensure compliance with all provisions. Contribution limits were updated effective February 26, 2019 according to Ordinance 2019-0004. On March 21, 2023 the Sacramento City Council approved changes to the City's contribution limits, and will be effective on April 20, 2023. The City Code will be changed at that time to reflect the update. The proposed changes can be viewed here. 

What are the Contribution Limits?  

City Code (2.13.050) limits the amount a candidate may accept from a single source during an election period. This limit also applies to committees that give funds to candidates and to committees that make independent expenditures for or against candidates.  

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What is a Large Political Committee?

Per Sacramento City Code (2.13.040) A Large Political Committee (LPC) is a committee means a political committee of persons that has been in existence for more than six months, receives contributions from one hundred (100) or more persons and acting in concert makes contributions to one or more candidates for city elective office; and has registered with the City of Sacramento. Only those registered committees may give contributions to candidates at the higher amount. For more information regarding qualification requirements and registered committees, please refer to the City Clerk's Large Political Committees webpage.
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What is an Election Period as it Applies to Contributions? 

The City’s contribution limits restrict the amount that a candidate may accept from a contributor in a given election period. For a regular election for city elective office, there are two election periods (primary and general). If no candidate obtains a majority of the votes cast (50% plus one) in the primary, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will advance to a general election (also know as a run-off). If there is no run-off election, there is no “general” period.

If a candidate receives the maximum contribution from a single source during the primary election period, and that candidate is involved in a run off, the candidate may again accept the full limit from that source in the general election period. This applies only if there is a general election and only for those candidates involved in that election. It does not apply if a candidate wins a majority of votes cast in the primary election, or is unsuccessful.

The periods for contributions are as follows: (more definitions can be found in the City Code 2.13.040 - Definitions)

• Primary Election Period (candidate wins in primary election) – the period from April 1st of the year preceding the year of the election through the last day of the month in which the primary election is held.

• General Election Period means the period from the first day of the month following the month in which a primary election is held through December 31st of the year in which the election for a city office is held; except that in the event a candidate for city office receives a majority of votes cast in the primary election, the period from the first day of the month following the month in which the primary election is held through December 31st of that year shall be considered to be an off-election year for that candidate for purposes of applicable contribution limitations.

• “Off-election year” means each of the calendar years during the term of a city elective office in which an election for that office is not held, subject to the following:

  1. For purposes of a regular election for city elective office, the period from January 1st through June 30th of the year preceding the year of the election is considered an off-election year, while the period from July 1st through December 31st of that year is considered part of the election year and the aggregate limitations on off-year contributions set forth in Section 2.13.050 are not applicable to contributions made during that period.
  2. If a candidate for city elective office receives a majority of votes cast in the primary election, the period from the first date of the month immediately following the month of the primary election through December 31st of that year is considered an off-election year for that candidate.
  3. For purposes of a special election to fill a city elective office that became vacant in a year prior to the year of the special election, the prior year is not considered an off-election year.
  4. For purposes of a special election to fill a city elective office, the period from the first day of the month immediately following the month in which the special election is held through December 31st of the year of the special election is considered an off-election year for that candidate for purposes of applicable contribution limitations.

• Special election period” means the period from the date a city office becomes vacant through the last day of the month in which the special election for that city office is held.

Contributions received prior to committee qualification would be considered for purposes of the contribution limits and shall be reported and attributed to the appropriate period. The limits shall also apply to candidates who raise less than $2000 per calendar year, and do not meet the qualifications for forming a campaign committee.
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What is an Off-Election Year and How Does it Apply to Contributions?  

Off-election years are those calendar years, or portions of calendar years, before and after an election year where there is an overall “cap” or “limit” on the total amount of contributions that can be gathered in a single year. The individual limitations still apply in an off-election year, with the additional requirement that the total received per year is capped.

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For Purposes of the Individual Contribution Limits, How Does a Candidate Document Contributions Received in an Off-Election Year?  

Often, candidates gather contributions both before and after the time frames established as an election period. The requirements for attributing contributions in an off-election year are:

• Contributions received by an incumbent officeholder in an off-election year shall be attributed to the election period in which the candidate won office, unless the contributions are deposited into a new campaign account for a future election to the same or different office.
• Contributions received by a non-incumbent candidate in an off-election year shall be attributed to the primary, general or special election period for the elective office in which the candidate is seeking, unless the contributions are deposited into an account established for a prior election or an election to a different office.

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Other Things to Know

There are several other important local and state regulations that the candidate must be aware of. Those regulations include:

Missing Contributor Information– The Political Reform Act requires that a contribution of $100 or more be returned within 60 days of receipt if the candidate or committee has not obtained the contributor’s name and address, and in the case of an individual contributor, his or her occupation and employer. For more information on the record keeping procedures refer to the Campaign Disclosure Manual 2 – Information for Local Candidates.
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Written Solicitations by Candidates -  City Code section 2.13.065 provides that any Council candidate or controlled committee of a candidate making a written solicitation for a contribution to the candidate’s campaign for City elective office shall include the following written notice in no less than ten-point type on each solicitation.

City Code  provides that any Council candidate or controlled committee of a candidate making a written solicitation for a contribution to the candidate’s campaign for City elective office shall include the following written notice in no less than ten-point type on each solicitation.

Notice – Council Member 

Chapter 2.13 of the Sacramento City Code limits the amounts that a contributor may give to a candidate for Mayor for a primary, general or special election.
Generally, a contributor other than a large committee may not give more than $x,xxx to a candidate for Mayor for a primary, general or special election, while a
large political committee may not give more than $x,xxx to a candidate for Mayor for a primary, general or special election. Chapter 2.13 contains certain
other rules that may affect the amounts that an individual contributor may give. Please read Chapter 2.13 before making a contribution to my campaign.

Notice – Mayor

Chapter 2.13 of the Sacramento City Code limits the amounts that a contributor may give to a candidate for Mayor for a primary, general or special election.
Generally, a contributor other than a large committee may not give more than $x,xxx  to a candidate for Mayor for a primary, general or special election, while a
large political committee may not give more than $x,xxx to a candidate for Mayor for a primary, general or special election. Chapter 2.13 contains certain
other rules that may affect the amounts that an individual contributor may give. Please read Chapter 2.13 before making a contribution to my campaign.

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Transfer of Funds - A city elective candidate may transfer funds from any other committee controlled by the candidate to the committee established for that city elective office, if all of the following provisions are met:

• The funds are transferred into a new campaign account established for that elective office. A candidate may not re-designate an existing campaign account.
• The contributions transferred are attributed to specific contributors. Contributions shall be allocated and attributed to individual contributors on a “first in, first out” FIFO or “last in, first out” LIFO basis. Reference City Code section 2.13.070 (B.2) for a definition of FIFO or LIFO.
• The contributions transferred and attributed to individual contributors, when added together with all other contributions from the same contributor, do not exceed the individual contribution limits.
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Need Assistance or Have Questions?

We are happy to assist you. Please contact us via email at: clerk@cityofsacramento.org, or by phone at (916) 808-7200.