§ 14-203. Eligibility. 1. Terms and conditions. To be eligible for
voluntary public financing under this title, a candidate must:

(a) be a candidate in a covered election;

(b) meet all the requirements of law to have his or her name on the
ballot, subject to the requirements of subdivision three of section
1-104 and subdivision one of section 6-142 of this chapter;

(c) in the case of a covered general or special election, be opposed
by another candidate on the ballot who is not a write-in candidate;

(d) submit a certification in the form of an affidavit, in such form
as may be prescribed by the PCFB, that sets forth his or her acceptance
of and agreement to comply with the terms and conditions for the
provision of such funds in each covered election and such certification
shall be submitted at least four months before a primary election and on
the last day in which a certification of nomination is filed in a
special election pursuant to a schedule promulgated by the PCFB;

(e) be certified as a participating candidate by the PCFB;

(f) not make, and not have made, expenditures from or use his or her
personal funds or property or the personal funds or property jointly
held with his or her spouse, or unemancipated children in connection
with his or her nomination for election or election to a covered office,
but may make a contribution to his or her authorized committee in an
amount that does not exceed three times the applicable contribution
limit from an individual contributor to candidates for the office that
he or she is seeking;

(g) meet the threshold for eligibility set forth in subdivision two of
this section;

(h) continue to abide by all requirements during the post-election
period; and

(i) not have accepted contributions in amounts exceeding the
contribution limits set forth for candidates in paragraphs a and b of
subdivision one of section 14-114 of this article during the election
cycle for which the candidate seeks certification;

(i) Provided however, that, if a candidate accepted contributions
exceeding such limits, such acceptance shall not prevent the candidate
from being certified by the PCFB if the candidate in a reasonable time,
as determined by rule, pays to the fund or returns to the contributor
the portion of any contribution that exceeded the applicable
contribution limit.

(ii) If the candidate is unable to return such funds in a reasonable
time, as determined by rule, because they have already been spent,
acceptance of contributions exceeding the limits shall not prevent the
candidate from being certified by the PCFB if the candidate submits an
affidavit agreeing to pay to the fund all portions of any contributions
that exceeded the limit no later than thirty days before the general
election. If a candidate provides the PCFB with such an affidavit, any
disbursement of public funds to the candidate shall be reduced by no
more than twenty-five percent until the total amount owed by the
candidate is repaid.

(iii) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a
candidate who retains funds raised during any previous election cycle to
forfeit such funds. Funds raised during a previous election cycle may be
retained and used by the candidate for the candidate's campaign in the
next election cycle but funds shall not qualify for satisfying the
threshold for participating in the public campaign finance program
established in this title nor shall they be eligible to be matched. The
PCFB shall adopt regulations to ensure that contributions that would
satisfy the applicable contribution limits authorized in this title
shall be transferred into the appropriate campaign account.

(iv) Contributions received and expenditures made by the candidate or
an authorized committee of the candidate prior to the effective date of
this title shall not constitute a violation of this title. Unexpended
contributions shall be treated the same as campaign surpluses under
subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph. Nothing in this recommendation
shall be construed to limit, in any way, any candidate or public
official from expending any portion of pre-existing campaign funds for
any lawful purpose other than those related to his or her campaign.

(v) A candidate who has raised matchable contributions but, in the
case of a covered primary, general or special election, is not opposed
by another candidate on the ballot who is not a write-in candidate, or
who chooses not to accept matchable funds, may retain such contributions
and apply them in accord with this title to the candidate's next
campaign, should there be one, in the next election cycle.

2. Threshold for eligibility. (a) The threshold for eligibility for
public funding for participating candidates shall be in the case of:

(i) governor, not less than five hundred thousand dollars in
contributions including at least five thousand matchable contributions
shall be counted toward this qualifying threshold;

(ii) lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller, not less
than one hundred thousand dollars in contributions including at least
one thousand matchable contributions shall be counted toward this
qualifying threshold;

(iii) state senator, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of
this subdivision, not less than twelve thousand dollars in contributions
including at least one hundred fifty matchable contributions shall be
counted toward this qualifying threshold; and

(iv) member of the assembly, except as otherwise provided in paragraph
(c) of this subdivision, not less than six thousand dollars in
contributions including at least seventy-five matchable contributions
shall be counted toward this qualifying threshold.

(b) However, solely for purposes of achieving the monetary thresholds
in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the first two hundred fifty
dollars of any contribution of more than two hundred fifty dollars to a
candidate or a candidate's committee which would otherwise be matchable
except that it comes from a contributor who has contributed more than
two hundred fifty dollars to such candidate or candidate's committee, is
deemed to be a matchable contribution and shall count toward satisfying
such monetary threshold but shall not otherwise be considered a
matchable contribution.

(c) With respect to the minimum dollar threshold for participating
candidates for state senate and state assembly, in such districts where
average median income ("AMI") is below the AMI as determined by the
United States Census Bureau three years before such election for which
public funds are sought, such minimum dollar threshold for eligibility
shall be reduced by one-third. The PCFB shall make public which
districts are subject to such reduction no later than two years before
the first primary election for which funding is sought.

(d) Any participating candidate meeting the threshold for eligibility
in a primary election for one of the foregoing offices shall be applied
to satisfy the threshold for eligibility for such office in any other
subsequent election held in the same calendar year. Any participating
candidate who is nominated in a primary election and has participated in
the public financing program set forth in this title, must participate
in the general election for such office.