You asked for a summary of the 1998 Arizona initiative measure that voters approved to establish a system for public funding of election campaigns for political candidates who voluntarily limit campaign spending.

SUMMARY

At the November 1998 election, Arizona voters approved Proposition 200, the Citizens Clean Elections Act, by a 51-49% margin. The measure establishes a system for public funding for statewide and state legislative elections. Campaign money is available to candidates who agree to participate in a system of campaign spending limits and fundraising. Participating candidates must limit spending to specified amounts depending on the office, limit expenditures of their personal funds, and accept no more than their qualifying contributions. To qualify, they must receive a specified number of $5 contributions, depending on the office, and cannot accept any other contributions except during the exploratory period.

The act sets spending limits for participating candidates and provides them with additional funds if a nonparticipating opponent spends more than the limit for the office. The act also reduces contribution limits for individuals by 20% to nonparticipating candidates.

The act creates a Citizens Clean Election Commission with five appointed members who administer the Citizens Clean Elections Fund. Revenues for the fund come from a $5 income tax checkoff and a tax credit donation program, fines collected for violations of the program's provisions and a surcharge on penalties for certain other crimes, and a $100 annual fee for certain registered lobbyists. Unspent campaign money must be returned to the fund.

Anyone who makes independent expenditures totaling more than $500 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate or candidates must file a report with the secretary of state. Such expenditures that affect a participating candidate are included in calculations of an opponent's spending for purposes of the program.

The act specifies all of the program's administrative procedures and requirements such as the application process, candidates' reporting duties, and allowable commission expenses. It provides various civil and criminal penalties for violations, including disqualification of a candidate or forfeiture of office. Program participants who knowingly violate the contribution or spending limits must repay the state from their personal funds.

The entire text of the Citizens Clean Elections Act appears on the Internet at http://www.sosaz.com/election/1998Info/PubPamphlet/prop200.html.

QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTIONS

A candidate must collect the specified amount of qualifying contributions before being allowed to participate in the program (see Table 1). A qualifying contribution ($5) must come from a registered voter who lives in the candidate's district; a contributor can make only one such contribution per candidate during an election cycle. A participating candidate must not accept any other private contributions except so-called early contributions. Qualifying contributions go directly to the fund as well as any unspent early contributions.

Table 1: Number of Required Candidates' Qualifying Contributions

During the exploratory period and qualifying period, a participating candidate can accept early contributions, but only from individuals and only up to $100. The act places an aggregate cap on these early contributions: $40,000 for gubernatorial candidates and 10% of the total spending limits for other candidates.

The new law reduces by 20% the limits on contributions from individuals to candidates who choose not to participate in the program.

PUBLIC FUNDING AND SPENDING LIMITS

The act creates separate voluntary spending limits for participating candidates for statewide and legislative offices for primaries and general elections. Qualifying candidates receive from the fund the amount of the spending limit for each phase of the election cycle. Table 2 shows the limits.

Table 2: Spending Limits for Participating Candidates

The spending limits are adjusted when a nonparticipating candidate exceeds the limit and participating candidates get the difference from the fund. In that case, the limit is adjusted by increasing it to include the amount of the overspending, up to three times the original limit for a particular election.

If the Citizens Clean Election Commission determines that the money in the fund is insufficient to fully fund the program, it can declare an emergency permitting participating candidates to accept private contributions to bring the total of public and private funds up to the amount of the spending limits.

A participating candidate for statewide office can spend up to $1,000 in personal funds; a legislative candidate can spend no more than $500 of his own money. He must spend his “early contributions” and personal funds during the exploratory period and qualifying period. After that, remaining money goes to the fund.

Nonparticipating candidates must report when their spending exceeds 70% of the total amount to which a participating candidate is limited.

INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

Anyone making independent expenditures that cumulatively exceed $500 for a particular office must report to the secretary of state indicating the amount spent and the office and candidate or candidates that the spending is intended to support or oppose. Independent expenditures against a participating candidate or for a nonparticipating candidate are treated like an opponent's spending and entitle participating candidates to extra public funds in the amount of the independent expenditure. The act includes disincentives for independent expenditures in favor of participating candidates.

CITIZENS CLEAN ELECTIONS COMMISSION

The act creates a five-member Citizens Clean Elections Commission appointed by the governor and the highest-ranking statewide officeholder from a different political party. No more than two members can be from the same political party or the same county. Each member serves a single five-year term.

The commission must administer and enforce the public financing program, distribute the funds to qualifying candidates, and sponsor candidate debates. It must project the resources and demands on the fund and proportionally adjust the amount of grants to candidates, if necessary.

CITIZENS CLEAN ELECTIONS FUND

Allotments

A candidate who qualifies for a primary can receive up to the primary spending limit from the fund. Participating candidates in the general election can receive an amount equal to the spending limit for that phase of the election cycle. The act provides for different disbursements from the fund for (1) candidates who run unopposed, (2) independent candidates and (3) those who run in a one-party-dominant legislative district primary.

Whenever a nonparticipating candidate reports spending an amount over the spending limit, the participating opponents are entitled to receive from the fund an amount equal to the excess for a primary or a general election. The adjustment in the allocation from the fund is limited to an increase three times the amount of the original spending limits.

Sources

The act creates a voluntary tax checkoff of $5 for every state income tax payer and a voluntary donation program using a tax credit to generate money for the Clean Elections Fund. The fines collected for violations of the program's provisions are deposited in the fund. Another fund source is a 10% surcharge on certain civil and criminal fines and penalties. In addition, the act creates a lobbyists' annual fee of $100 for each registered lobbyist representing businesses and trade associations of for-profit entities, which is to be deposited in the fund. Candidates who spend less than their allotment for a primary or a general election must return any unspent money.

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