HB2349 Summary: Small Donor Democracy Matching System for Fair Elections Act

• Creates a small donor campaign contribution matching system providing 6-to-1 matching funds for candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Comptroller, State Treasurer, Secretary of State, State Senator, and State Representative

• Establishes the Small Donor Democracy Matching Fund as a special state treasury fund, with annual appropriations of either $1 per resident or 0.02% of state budget (whichever is greater), capped at $50 million per election cycle

• Limits participating candidates to accepting maximum $500 contributions per person (increasing to $2,500 if opponent exceeds self-funding thresholds), prohibits contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, and restricts personal candidate spending to 10 times the maximum contribution limit

• Creates a 5-member Campaign Finance Board within the State Board of Elections to administer the program, verify candidate eligibility, process matching fund requests, and enforce violations with civil penalties of double the unlawfully accepted funds

• Requires participating candidates to collect minimum initial qualifying contributions (ranging from 100 to 1,000 depending on office), conduct all campaign activities through a single committee, and repay unspent matching funds after elections