16-954. Clean elections tax reduction; return of excess monies.

1. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 1998, a taxpayer who files on a state income tax return form may designate a five-dollar voluntary contribution per taxpayer to the fund by marking an optional check-off box on the first page of the form. A taxpayer who checks this box shall receive a five-dollar reduction in the amount of tax, and five dollars from the amount of taxes paid shall be transferred by the department of revenue to the fund. The department of revenue shall provide check-off boxes, identified as the clean elections fund tax reduction, on the first page of income tax return forms, for designations pursuant to this subsection.

2. Any taxpayer may make a voluntary donation to the fund by designating the fund on an income tax return form filed by the individual or business entity or by making a payment directly to the fund. Any taxpayer making a donation pursuant to this subsection shall receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit not to exceed twenty percent of the tax amount on the return or five hundred dollars per taxpayer, whichever is higher. Donations made pursuant to this section are otherwise not tax deductible and cannot be designated as for the benefit of a particular candidate, political party, or election contest. The department of revenue shall transfer to the fund all donations made pursuant to this subsection. The department of revenue shall provide a space, identified as the clean elections fund tax credit, on the first page of income tax return forms, for donations pursuant to this subsection.

3. Beginning January 1, 1999, an additional surcharge of ten percent shall be imposed on all civil and criminal fines and penalties collected pursuant to section 12-116.01 and shall be deposited into the fund.

4. At least once per year, the commission shall project the amount of monies that the fund will collect over the next four years and the time such monies shall become available. Whenever the commission determines that the fund contains more monies than the commission determines that it requires to meet current debts plus expected expenses, under the assumption that expected expenses will be at the expenditure limit in section 16-949, subsection A, and taking into account the projections of collections, the commission shall designate such monies as excess monies and so notify the state treasurer, who shall thereupon return the excess monies to the general fund.

5. At least once per year, the commission shall project the amount of citizen funding for which all candidates will have qualified pursuant to this article for the following calendar year. By the end of each year, the commission shall announce whether the amount that the commission plans to spend the following year pursuant to section 16-949, subsection A exceeds the projected amount of citizen funding. If the commission determines that the fund contains insufficient monies or the spending cap would be exceeded were all candidate's accounts to be fully funded, then the commission may include in the announcement specifications for decreases in the following parameters, based on the commission's projections of collections and expenses for the fund, made in the following order:
   1. First, the commission may announce a decrease in the matching cap under section 16-952, subsection E from three times to an amount between three and one times.

   2. Next, the commission may announce that the fund will provide equalization monies under section 16-952, subsections A and B as a fraction of the amounts there specified.

   3. Finally, the commission may announce that the fund will provide monies under section 16-951 as a fraction of the amounts there specified.

6. If the commission cannot provide participating candidates with all monies specified under sections 16-951 and 16-952, as decreased by any announcement pursuant to subsection E of this section, then the commission shall allocate any reductions in payments proportionately among candidates entitled to monies and shall declare an emergency. Upon declaration of an emergency, a participating candidate may accept private contributions to bring the total monies received by the candidate from the fund and from such private contributions up to the adjusted spending limits, as decreased by any announcement made pursuant to subsection E of this section.

WARNING - The above text was curent June 2003, but may be outdated now.