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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL99-00090

A L A B A M ~ STATE HOUSE11 SOUTH UNION STREETMONTGOMERY. ALABAMA 36130AREA (334) 2427300

Honorable Jim BennettSecretary of StateSecretary of State 's OfficeP. O. Box 5616Montgomery, AL 36103

BILL PRYORATIORNEY GENERALSTATE OF ALABAMA

January 19,1999

Fair Campaign Pract ices Act Campaign Contributions - CampaignExpenses - Debt - DisclosureRequirementsCampaign deb t need not be incurredon or before e lect ion day in order tobe considered campaign debt as thatphrase is used in the Fair CampaignPractices Act.The FCPA does no t require funds onhand to be used to pay existing debt;rather, the Act contemplates thatcandidates may raise the fundswith in the 120-day period after theelection to payoff any campaigndebt, notwithstanding the fact thatthe principal campaign committeemay have a positive ne t worth duringthe time such debt exists.Campaign deb t may be reported in anaddendum to the 5-to-l 0 day reportor in the annual report due on orbefore January 31, of the year following the election.

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Honorable Jim BennettPage 2

Dur ing the 120-day per iod after anelection, a candidate may raise th eentire amount of the thresholdrequired fo r qualification as a candidate for th e office to which the candidate was elected.

Dear Mr. Bennett:This opinion of the Attorney General is issued in response to your

request.

QUESTIONS 1 & 2If the exact amount of debt remains uncer

tain as of election day, must a debt be incurredon or befo re e lection day in order to be considered "campaign debt" as tha t phrase is used insection 17-22A-7(b)(3)?

Where a principal campaign committee hascash in excess of the amount of "campaign debt"identified in the disclosure, may the principalcampaign commit tee nonetheless count the entireamount of the debt for the purposes of determining how much the candidate may raise during th e120-day period after the election?

FACTS AND ANALYSISSection 17-22A-7 of the Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) pro

vides, in pertinent part:(b ) Notwithstanding any other provision of

law, including, but not limited to , Section13A-l 0-61, a candidate, public official, or p rin cipal campaign commit tee may only accept,solici t, or receive contributions:

* * *(3 ) For a period of 120 days after the elec

tion in which the person was a candidate, bu tonly to the extent of any campaign debt of thecandidate or principal campaign committee of the

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candidate as indicated on the campaign financialdisc losure form or to th e extent of reaching th ethreshold that is required fo r qualification as acandidate for the office which he or she currentlyho Ids, or both.

ALA. CODE 17-22A-7(b)(3) (Supp. 1998).This Office recen tly conside red these issues in an opinion to Hon

orable Steve Windom, Lt . Governor-Elect, wherein we stated:The FCPA does not requi re tha t debt be

"net" campa ign deb t a ft er considering cash onhand which might be used to pay such debt. Thestatute does not prioritize or dictate how a princ ipal campaign commit tee spends its funds. Therestriction is that the debt must be related to thecampaign. So long as the debt is campaignrelated, it may be incurred ei ther before or afterth e election or in winding down the campaignafter the election. The FCPA does no t require acandidate's principal campaign committee to payobligations accrued either before o r a fte r th eelection by a certain time, o r at all for that matter.

* * *The FCPA does no t require funds on hand to beused to pay existing debt; rather, the actcontemplates tha t candidates may raise th e fundswithin t he 120 -day period after the election topayof f any campaign debt, notwithstanding th efact that th e principal campaign committee mayhave a positive net worth du ring the time suchdeb t exist s.

Opinion to Honorable Steve Windom, Lt. Governor -Elect , dated December 10,1998, A. G. No. 99-00061 at 3 & 4.

CONCLUSIONCampaign deb t need not be incurred on o r before election day in

order to be considered campaign debt as that phrase is used in the FairCampaign Practices Act. The FCPA does not require funds on hand to be

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Honorable Jim BennettPage 4used to pay existing debt; rather, the Act contemplates that candidatesmay raise the funds within the 120-day period after the election to payoffany campaign debt, notwithstanding the fact that the principal campaigncommittee may have a positive net worth during the time such debt exists.

QUESTION 3On which campaign disclosure forms may

the "campaign debt" be identified for the purposeof determining the post-election amount ofmoney that a candidate may raise?

FACTS, ANALYSIS, AND CONCLUSIONThis Off ice has previously stated:

Campaign debt may be reported in anaddendum to the 5-to-l 0 day report or in theannual report due on or before January 31, of theyear following the election.

Opinion to Honorable Steve Windom, Lt. Governor-Elect , dated December 10,1998, A. G. No. 99-00061 at 6.

QUESTIONS 4 & 5Does the phrase "reaching the threshold

that is required for qualification as a candidatefor the office which he or she currently holds"mean that the entire amount of the threshold canbe raised after the election regardless of theamount held by the principal campaign committee on the date of the election, or does "reaching" the threshold mean the balance on hand besubtracted from the threshold to determine theamount which may be raised?

When a candidate assumes an officebetween the election and the end of the 120-dayperiod and the office has a higher threshold forqualification t han that previously held by the

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candidate, may the threshold for the new officebe counted by the candidate?

FACTS AND ANALYS ISA candidate may only accept, solic it, or receive con tr ibut ions after

an election to the extent allowed under section 17-22A-7(b)(3) of theFCPA:

For a period of 120 days after the electionin which the person was a candidate, but only tothe extent of any campaign debt of the candidateor principal campaign committee of the candidateas indicated on the campaign financial disclosureform or to the exten t of reaching the thresholdthat is required for qualification as a candidatefor the office which he or she currently holds, orboth.

ALA. CODE 17 -22A-7 (b)(3) (Supp. 1998) (emphasis added).The FCPA allows a candidate, during the 120-day period after the

election, to raise funds in an amount equal to t he amount of the thresholdthat is required for qualification for the office and does no t mention anyrestrictions or limitations. Whi le the language of the statute is not amodel of clarity, it is t he opinion of this O ffice th at this provision of theFCPA does no t r equir e a candidate to subtract cash on hand after theelection from the threshold amount to determine t he amount of money thecandidate may ra ise during the 120-day period.

With respect to your last quest ion, the fundamental rule of statutoryconstruction is to ascertain and give effect to the in tent of the Legislaturein enacting a statute. Hines v. Riverside Chevrolet-Olds, Inc., 655 So. 2d909 (Ala. 1994). Intent may be gleaned from the language used , thereason and necessity for the statute, and the purpose sought to beobtained. Tuscaloosa County Comm'n v. Deputy Sheri ff' sAss ' n ofTuscaloosa County, 589 So. 2d 687 (Ala. 1991). When legislative intentis uncertain, great weight should be given to the practical effect that aproposed construction will involve. Odum Lumber Co. v. Southern StatesI ron Roofing Co., 58 So. 2d 641 (Ala. Civ. App. 1951).

The meaning of the phrase "for the office he or she currently holds"is unclear in the context of section 17-22A-7(b)(3) and t he 120-day periodafter the election. In some cases, the candidate, during the 120-dayperiod, currently holds an off ice other than the one to which he wase lected . Somet imes the candidate does not currently hold an office until

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Honorable Jim BennettPage 6he has taken the oath of the office to which he was elected. In othersituations, the candidate will take office the day after the generalelection, while some candidates will not take office until January following the general election. It is the opinion of this Off ice tha t the purposeof this provision was to allow a candidate to r ai se money dur ing the 120day period after his election for the office to which the candidate wasrecently elected and no t to an office the candidate held prior to thatelection. To app ly the l ite ra l meaning of the "office currently held"would be nonsensical and could subject a candidate to two differentthreshold amounts during the 120-day period. Ultimately, the candidatewill be subject to a higher threshold, at least in most cases. The practicalconstruction of this provision allows a candidate to r ai se money to theextent of the threshold required for qualification for the office to whichthe candidate was elected.

CONCLUSIONDur ing the 120-day period after an election, a candidate may raise

the entire amount of the threshold required for qualification as a candidate for the office to which the candidate was elected.

I hope th is opinion answers your questions. If this Office can be offur ther ass is tance, p lease contact Brenda F. Smith of my staff.

Sincerely,BILL PRYORAttorney GeneralQ: Il1tJCAROL JE N SMITHChief, Opinions Division

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