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HB 1773

Appropriation; Additional appropriation for various state agencies.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Angela Cockerham and 1 co-sponsor

Arkansas would cap cash contributions at 100 and cash expenditures at 50 for ballot/legislative question committees, ban anonymous $50+ gifts, and set per-election aggregate limits

Died In Committee
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Bill Summary · HB 1773

Summary — HB 1773

Status: Died in Committee (House sine die adjournment, 2025-05-05)
Introduced: January 8, 2025
Primary subject (as drafted): Amendments to contribution and expenditure limits for ballot question committees and legislative question committees (Arkansas Code § 7-9-405)
Note: The bill file provided contains text from multiple, unrelated drafts (including an Illinois criminal‑law draft and various legislative action entries). This summary focuses on the Arkansas contribution‑limits language that is the primary substantive material in the version supplied.

Purpose / Intent

The bill would revise state law governing campaign finance for ballot question committees and legislative question committees to (1) limit cash contributions and cash expenditures, (2) prohibit anonymous large contributions, and (3) require the Arkansas Ethics Commission to set and publish adjusted maximum contribution limits by rule. The overall intent is to increase transparency and place explicit cash‑transaction limits on committees advocating for or against ballot or legislative questions.

Key provisions (as drafted)

  • Cash contribution limit: Prohibits any ballot question or legislative question committee from accepting a cash contribution (currency or coin) that exceeds $100.
  • Cash expenditure limit: Prohibits any such committee or individual from making a cash expenditure exceeding $50 to influence qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot or legislative question.
  • Anonymous contributions: Prohibits anonymous contributions of $50 or more. Any anonymous contribution of $50 or more received must be promptly delivered to the Arkansas Ethics Commission and deposited as general revenue.
  • Contributor eligibility: Bars committees from accepting contributions from prohibited PACs and foreign individuals or entities; limits lawful contributors to specified categories (individuals, recognized political parties, county party committees, legislative caucus committees, and approved political action committees).
  • Aggregate per‑election limits: Makes it unlawful for committees (or persons acting on their behalf) to accept contributions in excess of a maximum per‑election contribution level established by the Arkansas Ethics Commission’s rulemaking. The aggregate limit applies across all contributions a donor makes to a ballot or legislative question committee during an election cycle, even if the committee advocates on multiple ballot questions.
  • Rulemaking: Directs the Arkansas Ethics Commission to establish and periodically publish the maximum contribution limit by rule, using the same rulemaking approach used for the state’s maximum campaign contribution limits (reference to § 7‑6‑203).

Who would be affected

  • Ballot question committees and legislative question committees (and persons acting on their behalf) — new cash limits, recordkeeping and handling obligations for anonymous funds.
  • Donors to these committees — new limits on cash donations and potential constraints from aggregated per‑election caps set by the Ethics Commission.
  • Arkansas Ethics Commission — required to adopt rules setting the adjusted maximum contribution limit and to accept and deposit anonymous contributions turned over to it.
  • Political parties, county party committees, legislative caucuses, and approved PACs — listed as permitted donor categories but subject to the new aggregate limits.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Filed January 8, 2025. Multiple committee referrals and reported amendments appear in the legislative history supplied, but the bill ultimately died in the House committee at sine die adjournment on May 5, 2025.
  • The draft directs the Ethics Commission to promulgate rules to implement adjusted contribution limits; no specific dollar amount for those adjusted limits (beyond the $100 cash receipt and $50 cash expenditure caps) is set in the text — the commission would set those amounts by rule.

Additional notes / caveats

  • The provided document included unrelated material (including an Illinois bill numbered HB1773 concerning mail theft and extraneous procedural entries from multiple sessions). Those materials are not part of the Arkansas contribution‑limits amendment summarized above.
  • Because the bill died in committee, none of these changes became law; similar policy changes would require reintroduction or adoption in another vehicle.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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