Subtitle 11 – Fair Election Fund

In this subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

“Applicant candidate” means a candidate who is seeking to be a certified candidate in a primary or general election.

“Campaign finance entity” means a political committee established under Title 13 of the State Election Article {“Campaign Finance”}.

“Certified candidate” means a candidate who is certified as eligible for public campaign financing from the Fund.

“Commission” means the Baltimore City Fair Election Fund Commission.

“Contested election” means any election in which there are more candidates for an office than the number who can be elected to that office.

“Contribution” has the meaning stated in <cite data-doc="Md. Code" data-path="gel|1-101">State Election Law Article, § 1-101 </cite>{“Definitions: Contribution”}.

“City Board” means the Baltimore City Board of Elections.

“City resident” means a natural person who resides in Baltimore City.

“Director” means the Director of Finance or the Director’s designee.

“Election cycle” has the meaning stated in <cite data-doc="Md. Code" data-path="gel|1-101">State Election Law Article, § 1-101 </cite>{“Definitions: Election cycle”}.

“Eligible contribution” means an aggregate donation in a 4-year election cycle from an individual, including an individual who does not reside in the City, that does not exceed the contribution level established in this subtitle.

“Fund” means the Baltimore City Fair Election Fund.

“Participating candidate” means a certified candidate who has received a public contribution from the Fund during the current election cycle.

“Public contribution” means any money disbursed from the Fund to a certified candidate.

“Publicly funded campaign account” means a campaign finance account established by a candidate for the exclusive purpose of receiving eligible contributions and spending funds in accordance with this subtitle.

“Qualifying boost” means a one-time disbursement from the Fund to candidates for Mayor or Council President on certification under this subtitle.

“Qualifying period” means the time beginning on January 1 following the last election for the office the candidate seeks and ending 45 days before the date of the primary election.

“Slate” has the meaning stated in <cite data-doc="Md. Code" data-path="gel|1-101">State Election Law Article, § 1-101 </cite>{“Definitions: Slate”}.

“State Board” means the Maryland State Board of Elections.

The Mayor and City Council find as follows.

Local government should be responsive and serve the needs of all Baltimore City residents equally without regard to their wealth. Public officials should discharge their duties in an impartial manner, free from bias created by their own financial interests or, in the case of elected officials, the financial interests of those that may have supported them during their electoral campaigns.

Costs of conducting electoral campaigns have increased significantly in recent years. Many candidates are forced to finance their campaigns by seeking large contributions from individuals and entities who thereby gain disproportionate influence over governmental decision once the candidate holds office. Qualified candidates without access to personal wealth or wealthy donor networks are often dissuaded from seeking public office. Those that do run find it difficult to win with their voices drowned out in the media and on the ground.

Perception of the inappropriate and disproportionate influence on government by those monied donors who dominate campaign financing has led to disillusionment among city residents who have felt that their voices are not heard. This disillusionment has resulted in disengagement from the political process and government.

It is the policy of Baltimore City to:

There is a Baltimore City Fair Election Fund.

The Fund is a continuing, nonlapsing fund established under the authority of <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="I|§15">City Charter Article I, § 15</cite> {“Special fund for fair elections”}.

As set forth in <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="I|§15|(a)|(2)">City Charter Article I, § 15(a)(2)</cite>, the purposes of the Fund include:

The Fund consists of:

The Fund may only be used for the purposes specified in subsection (c) of this section.

There is a Baltimore City Fair Election Fund Commission as specified in <cite data-doc="City of Baltimore, Md., Charter" data-path="I|§15|(b)">City Charter Article I, § 15(b)</cite>.

The Department of Finance must provide staff support for the Commission to:

On or before January 1 of each year, the Commission must issue a report to the Mayor and City Council containing:

The Commission must meet:

how and when receipts for qualifying contributions from contributors must be submitted to the State Board;

the documents that must be filed with the State Board for certification;

when disbursements from the Fund are made to a participating candidate and the amounts disbursed;

procedures for handling impermissible uses of public contributions; and

other policies necessary to implement this subtitle.

At least 18 months prior to a general election, the Commission must conduct civic education and community engagement efforts aimed at ensuring that candidates and voters are informed on the Fund and how they may participate.

In conducting the civic education and community engagement efforts required under this section, the Commission must:

After each general election for city office, the Commission must conduct a comprehensive review of the financing program under this subtitle, including:

In conducting the review under this section, the Commission must consider the following:

Based on the review conducted under this section, the Commission may recommend to the Mayor and City Council:

The Commission must engage community members and community-based organizations in the review under this section to determine whether the Fund is achieving its stated purposes of fostering greater participation in the political process.

Before raising any contributions under this subtitle, an applicant candidate must:

To qualify as a certified candidate:

An applicant candidate is ineligible for certification if the State Board, in consultation with the Commission, has determined that the applicant candidate has:

Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the decision by the Commission whether to certify a candidate is final.

If an application is denied, the applicant candidate may resubmit a new or modified application one time within the earlier of:

Only after consulting with the Commission, the Director must distribute a public contribution from the Fund to each certified candidate in a contested election only during the distribution period as follows:

The Director may not distribute a public contribution based on:

Within 3 business days of the primary election, the Director must continue to disburse the appropriate public contribution for the general election to each participating candidate.

A participating candidate may only make expenditures from the publicly funded campaign account registered with the State Board for expenses incurred directly for the election after the candidate is certified.

A participating candidate may not use any portion of a public contribution to pay for expenses or loans incurred prior to being certified.

A participating candidate may not pay in advance for goods and services to be used after certification with non-qualifying contributions received before applying for certification.

A complaint alleging a prohibited receipt or use of funds by a participating candidate must be filed with the State Board.

A certified candidate may withdraw an application for a public contribution any time before the public contribution is received by the candidate’s publicly funded campaign account.

A participating candidate may withdraw from participating if the candidate:

If the funds remaining in the participating candidate’s publicly funded campaign account at the time of withdrawal are insufficient to repay the Fund under subsection (b) of this section, the candidate is personally liable for repayment.

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an applicant candidate or a participating candidate may not:

Pursuant to <cite data-doc="Code of Maryland Regulations" data-path="|33.13.14">COMAR 33.13.14</cite>, a candidate who accepts a public contribution may affiliate with any other candidates, including non-publicly financed candidates, on campaign material if:

In addition to any other civil or criminal remedy or enforcement procedure, this subtitle may be enforced by issuance of:

The issuance of a citation to enforce this subtitle does not preclude pursuing any other civil or criminal remedy or enforcement action authorized by law.

Each day a violation continues is a separate offense.