Candidates and public officers

DID YOU KNOW?
If you file a DOI but do not qualify, or if you are unsuccessful or decide withdraw . . . You still have reports to file.
Contributions shall be utilized only to defray ordinary and necessary expenses to seek or retain an office.
Anonymous contributions are prohibited.
No governmental resources can be used to assist with a campaign.
Local candidates who accept between $2,500.00 and $5,000.00 in campaign contributions and /or expenditures must amend the Oct 25th CCDR on December 31st each year.
You can achieve candidate status for the purposes of reporting without formally qualifying.
You can only disperse funds as allowed under O.C.G.A. 21-5-33.
You cannot transfer funds from one campaign to another.
A Final Report and Termination Statement is required within 10 days of the dissolution of your campaign.
The Commission offers FREE Training workshops webinars VODs printable materials more. ...
Visit our website www.ethics.ga.gov or contact one of our education support specialist today!

The Commission administers and enforces the provisions of the Campaign Finance Act.
The ACT covers: candidates, candidate committees, public officials, non candidate committees, lobbyist and qualifying officers.
The ACT does not cover: qualifying, requirements for being on a ballot, conflict of interest, ethical conduct or tax issues. We have provided agencies that may address these questions.
Secretary of State Elections Division (SOS) www.sos.georgia.gov
Internal Revenue Services (IRS) www.irs.gov
Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) www.gmanet.com
Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG)
www.accg.org
CONTACT US
200 Piedmont Ave SE Suite 1402-West Tower Atlanta, GA 30334 Phone: 404-463-1980 Toll Free: 1-866-589-7327
Fax: 404-463-1988 Email: gaethics@ethics.ga.gov

This brochure is intended only as a summary to aid in understanding the Act. For the law's complete requirements, consult the Act itself, codified at Title 21 Chapter 5 of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated.

FORMS
1. Declaration of Intention to Accept Contributions (Form DOI)
Reference: O.C.G.A. 21-5-30 (g)
Anyone who is not already a public officer and who plans to run for public office must file a Form DOI BEFORE accepting contributions. No such declaration is required of persons who are public officers and who plan to run for the same public office they currently hold.
Statewide/State level filers must file an original Form DOI with the Commission by mail or hand delivery.
Local Level filers are required to file their Form DOI with their local elections superintendent (county) or Municipal clerk (city).
2. PIN Application for eFiling CCDR & PFD
This form allows access to the Commission's online eFiling system for CCDRs and PFDs.
Your original PIN application is filed with the Commission by mail or hand delivery. Faxed applications are not an acceptable method of filing and will not be processed.
3. Registration Form for a Campaign Committee (Form RC)
Reference: O.C.G.A. 21-5-3(2) and O.C.G.A. 21-5(b)
A "campaign committee" is defined as the candidate, person, or committee which accepts contributions or makes expenditures for the purpose of bringing about the nomination or election of an individual to any elected office.
If a candidate has a campaign committee, the name and address of the committee, its chairperson, treasurer and the candidate must be registered with the Commission prior to accepting any contributions. No candidate may have more than one committee. No contributions may be accepted at any time there is a vacancy in either the position of chairperson or treasurer. One person may serve as both chairperson and treasurer.
An original Form RC is filed with the Commission by mail, hand delivery, or in the eFiling system. When a candidate is elected to office, the candidate's campaign committee registration will remain in effect as long as the candidate remains in office until and unless the registration is canceled by the campaign committee or the candidate. Any substantive changes to registration information of a committee must be updated with the Commission within 7 business days.

4. Choosing Option of Separate Accounting (Form COOSA)
Reference: O.C.G.A. 21-5-43 (a) (2)
A candidate who wishes to accept contributions for more than one election at a time shall separately account for such campaign contributions and shall file an "Option to Choose Separate Accounting" form with the Commission prior to accepting contributions for any election other than the candidate's next upcoming election.
A candidate is only required to file one Form COOSA which shall be utilized for all subsequent elections to the same office, regardless of whether an election occurs in a new election cycle.
REPORTS
Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report (CCDR)
The Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report is a report filed with the appropriate filing entity by a candidate or the chairperson or treasurer of a campaign committee setting forth all expenditures and contributions. It discloses itemized contributions and expenditures more than $100.00; An aggregate total of all contributions and expenditures $100.00 or less; Loans to the campaign; Debt Incurred by the campaign; and Investments of Campaign Funds by the Candidate or Candidates Committee.
Affidavit of Candidates Intent Not to Exceed $2,500 in Contributions and/or Expenditures
The affidavit of exemption is filed by local candidates who do not intend to receive/expend more than $2,500.00 in contributions and or expenditures within an election cycle*. Once the affidavit is filed, candidates are exempt from filing Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports (CCDR) unless and until they cross the threshold that triggers reporting.
*An election cycle begins the day following an election and continues through the date of the next election.
Personal Financial Disclosure Statement (PFD)
The Personal Financial Disclosure Statement shall identify: each monetary fee received; all fiduciary positions; direct ownership interests in business entity which is more than 5 percent of the total interests in such business, or has a net fair market value of $5,000.00 or more; direct ownership interests in real property which is more than 5 percent of the total interests in such business, or has a net fair market value of $5,000.00 or more; spouse's direct ownership interest in real property which is more than 5 percent of the total interests in such business, or has a net fair market value of $5,000.00 or more; the filer's employment and family members information; filer's investment interests; known business or investment interests of spouse and dependent children, and annual payments received by a public officer or business entity from the State of Georgia in excess of $10,000.00 per calendar year.
Statewide filers have additional filing requirements in an election year.

FILE SCHEDULES
Visit our website www.ethics.ga.gov under the file schedule box to find a complete file schedule with grace period end dates and statutory late fee additions.
CAMPAIGN RECORD KEEPING
Contributions of money received by the candidate or the candidate's campaign committee must be promptly deposited in a separate campaign depository account (separate from the personal banking account of the candidate) opened and maintained for this purpose.
The account may be an interest bearing account and any interest earned will be deemed a contribution to the campaign committee; Interest earned is not payable to the candidate.
The candidate or treasurer of each campaign committee must keep detailed accounts, current within not more than five (5) days after the receipt of a contribution or making of a expenditure
Records of accounts kept by the candidate or campaign committee shall be preserved for three years from the termination date of the campaign for elective office conducted by the candidate or of the campaign
MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
STATEWIDE OFFICES Primary Election $6,300.00 Primary Run-off $3,700.00 General/Special Election $6,300.00 General/Special Run-off $3,700.00
STATE & LOCAL OFFICES Primary Election $2,500.00 Primary Run-off $1,300.00 General/Special Election $2,500.00 General/Special Run-off $1,300.00