Sec. 16-27. Return of unspent funds; retention of funds.

within 90 days after the County Board certifies the results of the primary election, a participating candidate who is not certified to be on the ballot for the general election must return any unspent money in the candidate’s publicly funded campaign account to the Fund; and

within 90 days after the County Board certifies the results of the general election, a participating candidate must return any unspent money in the candidate’s publicly funded campaign account to the Fund.

the retained funds do not exceed $10,000;

the candidate files a new declaration of intent to participate in the public campaign financing system for the 4-year next election cycle by January 31 the year after the election; and

the candidate keeps the same campaign finance entity open.

Effective July 1, 2028 and July 1 of each subsequent fourth year, the Chief Administrative Officer must adjust the retention limit under Subsection (b).

The Chief Administrative Officer must calculate each adjusted limit to the nearest multiple of $10.

The adjusted limit must be equal to the current limit multiplied by the outcome of the most recent published Consumer Price Index at the time of the adjustment divided by the annual value of the Consumer Price Index from 4 calendar years prior to the current year.

The Chief Administrative Officer must, by March 1 of the year preceding an adjustment: