By PHILIP MARCELO
State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state Board of Elections will take up this week the issue of whether ActBlue, a national Democratic fundraising organization, can raise campaign funds in Rhode Island without being confined by the state's limits on campaign contributions.

The board heard the Cambridge-based organization's request for an advisory opinion earlier this month and has scheduled a June 29 meeting to rule on the matter, according to Robert Kando, the board's executive director.

ActBlue wants to establish itself as a political action committee in Rhode Island to help raise funds for Democratic candidates for local and statewide office.

Rhode Island law limits PACs and individuals from donating more than $1,000 to any one candidate or committee.

But ActBlue contends that donations it collects and distributes to local candidates should be counted toward each individual contributor's campaign contributions limits, not ActBlue's.

ActBlue is primarily a website where individuals and groups can raise money for the candidates and political committees of their choice, with the organization taking a percentage of the donations before forwarding them on to the candidate.

The board's staff, in a draft response, said that ActBlue should be subject to the PAC fundraising limits as set out in state law.