AN ACT CONCERNING EXPLORATORY COMMITTEES.

Senate
sSB465 / File No. 502 1

General Assembly File No. 502
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 465

Senate, April 8, 2026

The Committee on Government Administration and Elections
reported through SEN. FLEXER of the 29th Dist., Chairperson
of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute
bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING EXPLORATORY COMMITTEES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (c) of section 9 -604 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 2
1, 2027): 3
(c) (1) The chairman of a political committee formed to support a 4
single candidate for public office shall, not later than seven days after 5
filing a statement of organization with the proper authority under 6
section 9 -603, send the candidate a notice, by certified mail, of such 7
filing. If a candidate [(1)] (A) does not, within fourteen days after 8
receiving such notice, disavow such committee, in writing, to the proper 9
authority under section 9 -603, or [(2)] (B) disavows such committee 10
within such period, but, at any time before such disavowal, accepts 11
funds from the committee for his campaign, such committee shall be 12
deemed to have been authorized by such candidate and shall constitute 13
a candidate committee for the purposes of this chapter. No candidate 14
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shall establish, agree to or assist in establishing, or give his consent or 15
authorization to establishing a committee other than a single candidate 16
committee to promote his candidacy for any public office, except that a 17
candidate may establish an exploratory committee in accordance with 18
the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection. [The candidate] 19
(2) A candidate establishing an exploratory committee shall 20
designate on the statement of organization for [the] such exploratory 21
committee the type of office to which the candidate is determining 22
whether to seek nomination or election, as follows: (A) The General 23
Assembly, (B) a state office, or (C) any other public office. [The candidate 24
may also certify on the statement of organization that the candidate will 25
not be a candidate for the office of state representative ] An exploratory 26
committee shall not accept contributions in excess of five thousand 27
dollars. 28
(3) Not later than fifteen days after a public declaration by the 29
candidate of the candidate's intention to seek nomination or election to 30
a particular public office , including any statement by such candidate 31
that such candidate is determining whether to seek nomination or 32
election to such particular public office, the candidate shall form a single 33
candidate committee, except that in the case of a candidate establishing 34
an exploratory committee for purposes including aiding or promoting 35
the candidate's candidacy for nomination or election to the General 36
Assembly or a state office, the candidate shall form a single candidate 37
committee not later than fifteen days after the date that the treasurer of 38
such exploratory committee is required to file a notice of intent to 39
dissolve [the] such exploratory committee under subsection (f) of 40
section 9-608, as amended by this act. In no case shall an exploratory 41
committee be established for longer than thirty days . As used in this 42
subsection, "state office" has the same meaning as provided in 43
subsection (e) of section 9-610. 44
Sec. 2. Subsection (f) of section 9-608 of the general statutes is repealed 45
and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2027): 46
(f) If an exploratory committee has been established by a candidate 47
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pursuant to subsection (c) of section 9 -604, as amended by this act , the 48
treasurer of the exploratory committee shall file a notice of intent to 49
dissolve [it] such exploratory committee with the appropriate authority 50
not later than fifteen days after the candidate's public declaration of 51
intent to seek nomination or election to a particular public office, except 52
that in the case of an exploratory committee established by a candidate 53
for purposes that include aiding or promoting the candidate's candidacy 54
for nomination or election to the General Assembly or a state office, the 55
treasurer of the exploratory committee shall file such notice of intent to 56
dissolve [the] such exploratory committee not later than fifteen days 57
after the earlier of: (1) The candidate's public declaration of intent to seek 58
nomination or election to a particular public office, (2) the candidate's 59
endorsement at a convention, caucus or town committee meeting, or (3) 60
the candidate's filing of a candidacy for nomination under section 9-400 61
or 9 -405. For the purposes of this subsection, a candidate's public 62
declaration of intent to seek nomination or election to a particular public 63
office includes any statement by such candidate that such candidate is 64
determining whether to seek nomination or election to such particular 65
public office. The treasurer shall also file a statement identifying all 66
contributions received or expenditures made by the exploratory 67
committee since the previous statement and the balance on hand or 68
deficit, as the case may be. In the event of a surplus, the treasurer shall, 69
not later than the filing of the statement, distribute the surplus to the 70
candidate committee established pursuant to [said] section 9-604, as 71
amended by this act , except that (A) in the case of a surplus of an 72
exploratory committee established by a candidate who intends to be a 73
participating candidate, as defined in section 9 -703, in the Citizens' 74
Election Program, the treasurer may distribute to the candidate 75
committee only that portion of such surplus that is attributable to 76
contributions that meet the criteria for qualifying contributions for the 77
candidate committee under section 9 -704 and shall distribute the 78
remainder of such surplus to the Citizens' Election Fund established in 79
section 9 -701, and (B) in the case of a surplus of an exploratory 80
committee established for nomination or election to an office other than 81
the General Assembly or a state office (i) the treasurer may only 82
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distribute to the candidate committee for nomination or election to the 83
General Assembly or state office of such candidate that portion of such 84
surplus which is in excess of the total contributions which the 85
exploratory committee received from lobbyists or political committees 86
established by lobbyists, during any period in which the prohibitions in 87
subsection (e) of section 9 -610 apply, and (ii) any remaining amount 88
shall be returned to all such lobbyists and political committees 89
established by or on behalf of lobbyists, on a prorated basis of 90
contribution, or distributed to any charitable organization which is a 91
tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 92
Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code 93
of the United States, as from time to time amended. If the candidate 94
decides not to seek nomination or election to any office, the treasurer 95
shall, within fifteen days after such decision, comply with the provisions 96
of this subsection and distribute any surplus in the manner provided by 97
this section for political committees other than those formed for ongoing 98
political activities, except that if the surplus is from an exploratory 99
committee established by the State Treasurer, any portion of the surplus 100
that is received from a principal of an investment services firm or a 101
political committee established by such firm shall be returned to such 102
principal or committee on a prorated basis of contribution. In the event 103
of a deficit, the treasurer shall file a statement thirty days after the 104
decision or declaration with the proper authority and, thereafter, on the 105
seventh day of each month following if on the last day of the previous 106
month there was an increase or decrease in such deficit in excess of five 107
hundred dollars from that reported on the last statement filed. The 108
treasurer shall file supplemental statements until the deficit is 109
eliminated. If the exploratory committee does not have a surplus or 110
deficit, the statement filed after the candidate's declaration or decision 111
shall be the last required statement. [If a candidate certifies on the 112
statement of organization for the exploratory committee pursuant to 113
subsection (c) of section 9-604 that the candidate will not be a candidate 114
for the office of state representative and subsequently establishes a 115
candidate committee for the office of state representative, the treasurer 116
of the candidate committee shall pay to the State Treasurer, for deposit 117
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in the General Fund, an amount equal to the portion of any contribution 118
received by said exploratory committee that exceeded two hundred fifty 119
dollars.] As used in this subsection, "principal of an investment services 120
firm" has the meaning set forth in subsection (e) of section 9 -612 and 121
"state office" has the same meaning set forth in subsection (e) of section 122
9-610. 123
Sec. 3. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 9 -611 of the general statutes 124
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof ( Effective 125
January 1, 2027): 126
(a) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, for 127
the benefit of, or pursuant to the authorization or request of, a candidate 128
or a committee supporting or opposing any candidate's campaign for 129
nomination at a primary, or any candidate's campaign for election, to 130
the office of (1) Governor, in excess of three thousand five hundred 131
dollars; (2) Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, Treasurer, 132
Comptroller or Attorney General, in excess of two thousand dollars; (3) 133
chief executive officer of a town, city or borough, in excess of one 134
thousand dollars; (4) state senator or probate judge, in excess of one 135
thousand dollars; or (5) state representative or any other office of a 136
municipality not previously included in this subsection, in excess of two 137
hundred fifty dollars. The limits imposed by this subsection shall be 138
applied separately to primaries and elections. 139
(b) (1) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or 140
for the benefit of, an exploratory committee, in excess of [three hundred 141
seventy-five dollars, if the candidate establishing the exploratory 142
committee certifies on the statement of organization for the exploratory 143
committee pursuant to subsection (c) of section 9-604 that the candidate 144
will not be a candidate for the office of state representative. No 145
individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for the 146
benefit of, any exploratory committee, in excess of two hundred fifty 147
dollars, if the candidate establishing the exploratory committee does not 148
so certify] two hundred fifty dollars. 149
(2) No individual shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for 150
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the benefit of, a political committee formed by a slate of candidates in a 151
primary for the office of justice of the peace, in excess of two hundred 152
fifty dollars. 153
Sec. 4. Subsection (e) of section 9 -613 of the general statutes is 154
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 155
1, 2027): 156
(e) No political committee organized by a business entity shall make 157
a contribution or contributions to (1) a state central committee of a 158
political party, in excess of seven thousand five hundred dollars in any 159
calendar year, (2) a town committee of any political party, in excess of 160
one thousand five hundred dollars in any calendar year, (3) an 161
exploratory committee in excess of [three hundred seventy -five] two 162
hundred fifty dollars, or (4) any other kind of political committee, in 163
excess of two thousand dollars in any calendar year. 164
Sec. 5. Subsection (b) of section 9 -615 of the general statutes is 165
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 166
1, 2027): 167
(b) No such committee shall make a contribution or contributions to, 168
or for the benefit of, an exploratory committee, in excess of [three 169
hundred seventy-five] two hundred fifty dollars. Any such committee 170
may make unlimited contributions to a political committee formed 171
solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question. 172
Sec. 6. Subsections (b) and (c) of section 9 -617 of the general statutes 173
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof ( Effective 174
January 1, 2027): 175
(b) (1) No state central committee shall make a contribution or 176
contributions to, for the benefit of, or pursuant to the authorization or 177
request of, a candidate or a committee supporting or opposing any 178
candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary, or any candidate's 179
campaign for election, to the office of: (A) Governor, in excess of fifty 180
thousand dollars; (B) Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, 181
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Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney General, in excess of thirty -five 182
thousand dollars; (C) state senator, probate judge or chief executive 183
officer of a town, city or borough, in excess of ten thousand dollars; (D) 184
state representative, in excess of five thousand dollars; or (E) any other 185
office of a municipality not previously included in this subsection, in 186
excess of five thousand dollars. The limits imposed by this subdivision 187
shall apply separately to primaries and elections. 188
(2) No state central committee shall make a contribution or 189
contributions in any one calendar year to, or for the benefit of (A) a 190
legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee, in 191
excess of ten thousand dollars, or (B) any other political committee, 192
other than an exploratory committee or a committee formed solely to 193
aid or promote the success or defeat of a referendum question, in excess 194
of two thousand five hundred dollars. No state central committee shall 195
make contributions in excess of [three hundred seventy -five] two 196
hundred fifty dollars to an exploratory committee. 197
(c) (1) No town committee shall make a contribution or contributions 198
to, for the benefit of, or pursuant to the authorization or request of, a 199
candidate or a committee supporting or opposing any candidate's 200
campaign for nomination at a primary, or any candidate's campaign for 201
election, to the office of: (A) Governor, in excess of seven thousand five 202
hundred dollars; (B) Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, 203
Treasurer, Comptroller or Attorney General, in excess of five thousand 204
dollars; (C) state senator, in excess of five thousand dollars; (D) state 205
representative, probate judge or chief executive officer of a town, city or 206
borough, in excess of three thousand dollars; or (E) any other office of a 207
municipality not previously included in this subsection, in excess of one 208
thousand five hundred dollars. The limits imposed by this subdivision 209
shall apply separately to primaries and elections. 210
(2) No town committee shall make a contribution or contributions in 211
any one calendar year to, or for the benefit of (A) a legislative caucus 212
committee or legislative leadership committee, in excess of two 213
thousand dollars, or (B) any other political committee, other than an 214
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exploratory committee or a committee formed solely to aid or promote 215
the success or defeat of a referendum question, in excess of one 216
thousand five hundred dollars. No town committee shall make 217
contributions in excess of [three hundred seventy -five] two hundred 218
fifty dollars to an exploratory committee. 219
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 9 -618 of the general statutes is 220
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 221
1, 2027): 222
(a) A political committee organized for ongoing political activities 223
may make unlimited contributions to, or for the benefit of, any national 224
committee of a political party; or a committee of a candidate for federal 225
or out-of-state office. Except as provided in subdivision (3) of subsection 226
(d) of this section, no such political committee shall make a contribution 227
or contributions in excess of two thousand dollars to another political 228
committee in any calendar year. No political committee organized for 229
ongoing political activities shall make a contribution in excess of [three 230
hundred seventy -five] two hundred fifty dollars to an exploratory 231
committee. If such an ongoing committee is established by an 232
organization or a business entity, its contributions shall be subject to the 233
limits imposed by sections 9-613 to 9-615, inclusive, as amended by this 234
act. A political committee organized for ongoing political activities may 235
make contributions to a charitable organization which is a tax -exempt 236
organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as 237
from time to time amended, or make memorial contributions. 238
Sec. 8. Subsection (a) of section 9 -619 of the general statutes is 239
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 240
1, 2027): 241
(a) No political committee established for a single primary or election 242
shall make contributions to a national committee, or a committee of a 243
candidate for federal or out-of-state office. If such a political committee 244
is established by an organization or a business entity, its contributions 245
shall also be subject to the limitations imposed by sections 9 -613 to 9 -246
615, inclusive, as amended by this act. Except as provided in subdivision 247
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(2) of subsection (d) of this section, no political committee formed for a 248
single election or primary shall, with respect to such election or primary 249
make a contribution or contributions in excess of two thousand dollars 250
to another political committee, provided no such political committee 251
shall make a contribution in excess of [three hundred seventy-five] two 252
hundred fifty dollars to an exploratory committee. 253
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 January 1, 2027 9-604(c)
Sec. 2 January 1, 2027 9-608(f)
Sec. 3 January 1, 2027 9-611(a) and (b)
Sec. 4 January 1, 2027 9-613(e)
Sec. 5 January 1, 2027 9-615(b)
Sec. 6 January 1, 2027 9-617(b) and (c)
Sec. 7 January 1, 2027 9-618(a)
Sec. 8 January 1, 2027 9-619(a)

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
The provisions of Section 1(c) were rewritten, for clarity; and in Section
2(f), references to "the committee" or "it" were changed to references to
an exploratory committee, for clarity, and the sentence beginning " For
the purposes of this subsection," was added for internal consistency.

GAE Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill makes a variety of changes to campaign finance laws ,
including: (1) adjusting contribution limits and establishing a $5,000 cap
on total contributions for exploratory committees; (2) establishing a time
limit for operating as an exploratory committee ; and (3) requiring a
candidate committee if the candidate makes a public declaration of
intent to seek a particular office. These changes result in no fiscal impact
to the state or municipalities.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 465

AN ACT CONCERNING EXPLORATORY COMMITTEES.

SUMMARY
This bill makes several changes to exploratory committee operations
under the state campaign finance laws. By law, c andidates may use
exploratory committees to aid or promote their candidacies for the
General Assembly, state office, or other public office before they
determine if they want to run for that office.
The bill generally reduces the maximum contribution that
exploratory committees may be given from $375 to $250. It also limits
the total amount of contributions an exploratory committee may accept
to $5,000. Separately, the bill caps the length of time an exploratory
committee may exist to 30 days. By law, unchanged by the bill, a n
exploratory committee must be tied to a specific election and only one
exploratory committee may be formed per election cycle.
Additionally, the bill changes one of current law’s triggers that
require candidates to dissolve their exploratory committee s and
establish candidate committees. Under current law, this requirement is
triggered if the candidate makes a “public declaration” of their intent to
seek nomination or election to a particular public office . The bill
specifies this includes statement s by a candidate that they are
determining whether to seek nomination or election to a particular
public office.
The bill also makes technical and conforming changes, including
changing references of a “candidate’s declaration of intent” to a
“candidate’s public declaration of intent.”
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2027
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CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR EXPLORATORY COMMITTEES
By law, unchanged by the bill, candidates forming an exploratory
committee must file a statement of organization on whether they are
considering running for legislative, statewide, or another type of office.
Under current law:
1. a candidate may certify on that statement that he or she will not
be a candidate for state representative;
2. individuals may give up to $375 to candidates who make this
certification, but only up to $250 to candidates who do not; and
3. a candidate that makes this certification and subsequently
establishes a candidate committee for the office of state
representative must pay the state treasurer an amount equal to
the contributions over $250 per person that the exploratory
committee received.
The bill eliminates the opportunity to make this statement and the
higher contribution threshold and instead sets the individual
contribution limit for all exploratory committees at $250.
The bill also similarly reduces the maximum contribution, from $375
to $250, that exploratory committees may receive from (1) political
committees organized by business entities and certain labor
organizations, (2) state central committees, (3) town committees, (4)
political committees organized for ongoing political activities, and (5)
political committees established for a single primary or election.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/23/2026)