(a) In this section, "contested election committee" means a contested election committee established under Title 12, Subtitle 3 of this article. (b) (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the governing body of a county may establish, by law, a system of public campaign financing for elective offices in the executive or legislative branches of county government. (2) A system of public financing established under paragraph (1) of this subsection may include public financing of a contested election committee. (3) When establishing a system of public campaign financing for elective offices in the executive or legislative branches of county government, the governing body of a county shall: (i) specify the criteria that are to be used to determine whether an individual is eligible for public campaign financing; and (ii) provide the funding and staff necessary for the operation, administration, and auditing of the system of public campaign financing. (c) A system of public campaign financing enacted under subsection (b) of this section: (1) shall provide for participation of candidates in public campaign financing on a strictly voluntary basis; (2) may not regulate candidates who choose not to participate in public campaign financing; (3) shall prohibit the use of public campaign financing for any campaign except a campaign for county elective office; (4) shall require a candidate who accepts public campaign financing to: (i) establish a campaign finance entity solely for the campaign for county elective office; and (ii) use funds from that campaign finance entity only for the campaign for county elective office; (5) shall prohibit a candidate who accepts public campaign financing from transferring funds: (i) to the campaign finance entity established to finance the campaign for county elective office from any other campaign finance entity established for the candidate; and (ii) from the campaign finance entity established to finance the campaign for county elective office to any other campaign finance entity; (6) shall provide for a public election fund for county elective offices that is administered by the chief financial officer of the county; and (7) shall be subject to regulation and oversight by the State Board to ensure conformity with State law and policy to the extent practicable. (d) A system of public campaign financing enacted under subsection (b) of this section may: (1) provide for more stringent regulation of campaign finance activity by candidates who choose to accept public campaign financing, including contributions, expenditures, reporting, and campaign material, than is provided for by State law; (2) provide for administrative penalties for violations, in accordance with § 10-202 of the Local Government Article; and (3) allow a publicly financed candidate to transfer any amount of funds from the candidate's campaign finance entity to the candidate's contested election committee.
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