When and how can Georgia's Ethics Commission adjust campaign contribution limits, and can it delegate that authority to its staff?

Plain-English summary

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued an Official Opinion at the Ethics Commission's request, clarifying five questions about how Georgia's campaign contribution limits can be adjusted under the Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act. The opinion's holdings:

1. Which offices get adjusted each year. The Commission must adjust contribution limits annually but only for offices whose election cycle ended during that year. Because state-wide and county elections occur in even years and municipal in odd years, the offices reviewed each year naturally vary.

2. By how much. Adjustments must be in $100 increments based on the Consumer Price Index. If neither inflation nor deflation has reached a $100 increment, the Commission can leave limits unchanged.

3. When. Limits for primary, primary run-off, general, and general run-off elections are adjusted "at the end of the election cycle" for that office. Limits for special elections, special run-offs, and recalls are adjusted only once every four years (because § 21-5-41 doesn't directly set those limits).

4. Delegation. The Commission cannot delegate the discretionary authority to set contribution limits to its staff. Only the Commission itself can act.

5. Frequency. The Commission cannot raise or lower limits more than once during a particular office's election cycle.

Adjustments are prospective only and effective only after Commission approval.

What this means for you

If you are a candidate or campaign treasurer

The contribution limit applicable to your campaign is the limit that was in effect at the start of your election cycle. That limit doesn't change mid-cycle even if the Commission updates it for the next cycle's offices. To know your limit:

1. Identify your office's election cycle (state-wide and county offices: even years; municipal: odd years).
2. Find the limit set by the Commission at the conclusion of the prior cycle for your office type.
3. Apply that limit per election (primary, primary run-off, general, general run-off) — each is a separate ceiling.

For special elections, special run-offs, and recalls, your limit is whatever the Commission set in the most recent quadrennial review.

If you are a political donor

Your maximum contribution per election is the limit in effect when that election cycle began. You may give the maximum for each separate election (primary AND general), but you cannot accelerate or backdate to take advantage of mid-cycle limit changes.

If you sit on the Ethics Commission

This opinion constrains your discretion materially. Your annual rulemaking review must be office-specific (only those whose cycles ended). You cannot delegate the contribution-limit decision to staff. You cannot revisit a contribution limit once you've affirmatively voted on it for a given office's cycle. Your authority to interpret the CPI for inflation/deflation determination is broad — Cook v. Glover / Chevron deference applies because the statute is silent on the interpretive method — but the rest of the framework is statutory and rigid.

The opinion notes the Commission "should consider modifying its rule to remove the language that implies that during the annual review, contribution limits can be raised for all offices." Currently, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 189-1-.07 reads broader than the statute permits.

If you are Commission staff

You can take preliminary action on complaints, initiate investigations on probable-cause beliefs, and use investigative subpoenas — those duties are properly delegated by rule (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 189-2-.03(3), .04). What you cannot do is set or adjust contribution limits. That authority is statutorily vested in the Commission itself.

If you are a campaign finance attorney

This opinion gives you several useful tools:
- A clear timeline for when limits can change for each office type.
- The non-delegation principle: only Commission action can set limits.
- The "no second adjustments" rule: once limits are set for an office's cycle, they're locked.
- The prospective-only rule: no retroactive limit increases.

Common questions

Q: When does an "election cycle" end?
A: Per O.C.G.A. § 21-5-3(10): "the period from the day following the date of an election or appointment of a person to elective public office through and including the date of the next such election of a person to the same public office." The cycle ends when the next election fills the office.

Q: Why can't the Commission just adjust limits whenever it wants?
A: The statute requires that limits "remain in effect for an entire election cycle, respective to each public office, and those limits can be adjusted only at the end of that cycle." Mid-cycle changes would create uncertainty for candidates and donors who must plan around fixed ceilings.

Q: What if a special election overlaps with a regular cycle?
A: The opinion notes "it is conceivable that the adjustment period of end-of-election-cycle contributions, which are expressly limited by the Act, coincides with the end-of-four-year contributions, which are special elections, special election run-offs, or recall elections. In the event this occurs, the Commission has the authority to review and adjust the contribution limits multiple times per calendar year, tailored to when the specific election cycles or four year period ends." Multiple adjustments per year are allowed across different offices/election types — but never twice for the same election cycle of the same office.

Q: What's the current state-wide limit?
A: As of when this opinion issued, O.C.G.A. § 21-5-41(a) listed: $5,000 (primary), $3,000 (primary run-off), $5,000 (general), $3,000 (general run-off) — adjusted in $100 increments by the Commission per CPI. Verify current numbers against the Commission's most recent rulemaking before relying on these.

Q: What's the General Assembly / non-statewide limit?
A: Per § 21-5-41(b): $2,000 (primary), $1,000 (primary run-off), $2,000 (general), $1,000 (general run-off) — also subject to CPI adjustment. Verify current.

Q: Can the Commission set different inflation rules for different offices?
A: The opinion is silent on this but the statute speaks of "raised or lowered in increments of $100.00 by regulation of the commission pursuant to a determination by the commission of inflation or deflation." A uniform CPI determination is the practical baseline. Differentiation by office category may exceed the statute's plain text.

Q: What happens if the Commission misses its first scheduled meeting of the year?
A: Per Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 189-1-.07, that constitutes "a rejection by the Commission of the need to raise or lower the maximum contribution limits, but the Commission may, on motion, raise or lower such limits at other times during the year." So missed meetings preserve the status quo, but late-year adjustment is still possible by motion.

Background and statutory framework

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act of 2010 sets contribution limits and gives the Ethics Commission CPI-adjustment authority. The key provision, O.C.G.A. § 21-5-41(k), reads:

At the end of the election cycle applicable to each public office as to which campaign contributions are limited by the Code section and every four years for all other elections to which this Code section is applicable, the contribution limitations in this Code section shall be raised or lowered in increments of $100.00 by regulation of the commission pursuant to a determination by the commission of inflation or deflation during such election cycle or four-year period, as determined by the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.

The non-delegation rule rests on a longstanding doctrine: "where a discretionary power is vested by law in one particular official, board or other governmental body or agency, it cannot, unless otherwise provided by law of equal dignity, be delegated to others." 1986 Op. Att'y Gen. 89-29. Georgia courts have applied this consistently. Bentley v. Board of Medical Examiners, 152 Ga. 836 (1922), and Chatham Ass'n of Educators v. Bd. of Public Educ., 231 Ga. 806, are leading authorities.

Ministerial functions can be delegated; discretionary functions generally cannot. The Commission's discretion to determine CPI movement and translate it into contribution-limit adjustments is core discretionary authority and stays with the Commission itself.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- O.C.G.A. § 21-5 (Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act)
- O.C.G.A. § 21-5-41 (Contribution limits)

Cases:
- Bentley v. Board of Medical Examiners, 152 Ga. 836 (1922) — agencies have only powers expressly granted
- Cook v. Glover, 295 Ga. 495 (2014); Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC, 467 U.S. 837 (1984) — agency interpretation of ambiguous statute
- Chatham Ass'n of Educators v. Bd. of Public Educ., 231 Ga. 806 — non-delegation of statutory duties

Original opinion text

You have requested an official opinion regarding the authority of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission under the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act of 2010 (the "Act") to adjust maximum campaign contribution limits for candidates seeking elected office. In addition, you have inquired into when and how the Commission may raise or lower contribution limits relative to when election cycles occur. The Act permits the Commission to raise or lower contribution limits only at the end of an election cycle for a particular office. Because every calendar year, election cycles governing any number of municipal, county, or statewide offices conclude, the Commission must adopt new contribution limits on a yearly basis; however, only those offices whose election cycle concluded during that calendar year will have their limits adjusted. Adjustments to contribution limits are prospective only, and any adjustments are only effective upon approval by the Commission.

[The opinion continues with detailed analysis of the five questions presented. The full text is available at the source URL. Key holdings:]

1. The Commission can adjust contribution limits for certain election cycles each year.

The Commission's existing rule that requires the contribution limits be adjusted every calendar year is in line with the requirement of contribution limits being adjusted "at the end of the election cycle," under O.C.G.A. § 21-5-41(k), since some election cycles end every calendar year. State-wide and county officials' election cycles end during even-numbered years; municipal officials' end during odd-numbered years.

2. The Commission may raise or lower contribution limits only in set increments.

Adjustments must occur "in increments of $100 pursuant to . . . inflation or deflation." If the CPI has not moved enough to require a $100 increment, the Commission may leave limits unchanged. Once the Commission affirmatively votes, the new (or unchanged) limit is locked for that election cycle.

3. The Commission must adjust contribution limits at the end of every election cycle.

For primary, primary run-off, general, and general run-off, adjustments occur "at the end of the election cycle." For special elections, special run-offs, and recalls, adjustments occur "every four years" because their limits are not directly set by § 21-5-41. The Commission can adjust multiple categories during one calendar year if their respective end-points align.

4. The Commission has not delegated approval of the adjustments of contribution limits to staff.

"[W]here a discretionary power is vested by law in one particular official, board or other governmental body or agency, it cannot, unless otherwise provided by law of equal dignity, be delegated to others." 1986 Op. Att'y Gen. 89-29. The General Assembly has not authorized delegation of the Commission's contribution-limit-setting authority. Only the Commission, not its staff, can alter contribution limits.

5. Adjustments to contribution limits can occur only once during an election cycle.

Once contribution limits are set for an office's election cycle, the Commission cannot raise or lower them again until that cycle ends. For special elections, run-offs, and recalls, adjustments are limited to once every four years.

Conclusion

The Ethics in Government Act limits the authority of the Commission as to which offices may have their contribution limits adjusted in a particular year. The Commission may raise or lower contribution limits only in set increments of $100, depending on the inflation or deflation rates of the Consumer Price Index. The Commission must adjust contribution limits for primaries, primary run-offs, general elections, and general election run-offs, only after the conclusion of the election cycle for that particular office. For special elections, special election run-offs, and recall elections, the Commission may adjust those limits only once every four years. The Commission cannot delegate its authority to set contribution limits to commission staff. Finally, the Commission is not authorized to increase or decrease the contribution limits applicable to a particular election for a particular office more than once during the election cycle for that particular office, whether the office be state-wide, county, or municipal.

Prepared by: Christian A. Fuller, Assistant Attorney General