The Mercury News

SOME RULES FOR LEFTOVER CAMPAIGN CASH

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California’s Fair Political Practices Commission has a 147page manual detailing when and where a campaign committee can raise and spend its money, but here are some of the highlights on using extra cash:

Campaign funds may be used to make contributi­ons to other candidates and committees.

Campaign funds may be used to make donations or loans to bona fide charitable, educationa­l, civic, religious, or similar tax- exempt, nonprofit organizati­ons so long as the donation or loan is reasonably related to a political, legislativ­e or government­al purpose.

Campaign funds can be returned to the original contributo­rs.

Until a campaign’s funds become surplus — when the officehold­er leaves the office for which the funds were raised, or at the end of the semiannual reporting period after a candidate’s defeat, whichever comes first — money can be transferre­d to another committee controlled by the same candidate for a future election.

Campaign funds can’t be returned to a candidate unless they were originally given as a loan, and not a contributi­on.

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