AN ACT CONCERNING CERTAIN REVISIONS TO THE CITIZENS’ ELECTION PROGRAM.

This bill modifies state election laws on campaign finance and the Citizens' Election Program. It makes several changes affecting campaign finance reporting for candidates who participate in the program (participating candidates) and those who do not (nonparticipating candidates), including changes to procedures and requirements for periodic and supplemental campaign finance statements.

The bill allows people who make donations from a joint checking account to allocate the contribution between them and changes the certification requirement for those who contribute over $ 50.

The bill establishes a date by which participating candidates in the Citizens' Election Program are considered “opposed” for the purpose of determining grant amounts. It revises the procedure for submitting supplemental campaign finance statements and for reporting excess expenditures, eliminating the requirement that (1) all candidates report spending when they reach 90% of the applicable spending limit and (2) participating candidates submit reports when their spending exceeds 100%, 125%, 150%, or 175% of the limit.

The bill expands reporting requirements for statewide office candidates with respect to their qualifying contributions and generally gives the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) 10, rather than four, days to review their applications for Citizens' Election Fund (CEF) grants. By law, statewide office candidates are those running for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state comptroller, secretary of the state, and state treasurer.

By law, campaign treasurers must equally divide campaign contributions made by joint checking account holders who co-sign the check.

The bill creates an exception to the law by allowing the account holders to indicate how they want the contribution attributed. They must include their intent on a statement that is presumably submitted with the check.

By law, the following committees and individuals must file periodic campaign finance statements with the SEEC: (1) candidate committees for statewide and legislative candidates; (2) party committees; (3) individual lobbyists; and (4) political committees (known as PACs) other than those formed to aid or promote the success or defeat of a municipal referendum or municipal office candidates.

The bill exempts certain candidates from filing these statements and makes changes affecting the period the statements must cover and the criteria for determining whether they are considered timely. It also changes the filing schedule for state central committees and expands reporting requirements for organization expenditures.

Exemption from Filing Periodic Campaign Finance Reports. Under current law, if any candidate in a primary or general election campaign with at least one participating candidate receives contributions, loans, or other funds or makes or obligates to make an expenditure that in the aggregate exceeds 90% of the applicable spending limit for the primary or general election period, the campaign treasurer must also file supplemental campaign finance reports with the SEEC. (The bill revises the procedure for filing supplemental campaign finance reports by eliminating the 90% threshold and requiring every candidate to submit these reports before each primary and election. See EXCESS SPENDING AND REPORTING. )

The bill eliminates the dual filing requirement by allowing any supplemental report to satisfy the requirements for periodic campaign finance reports, including those required to be filed in January, April, July, and October, which presumably precede most supplemental finance reporting.

Period Covered. The bill slightly expands, the period periodic campaign finance statements must cover. It does not change the filing deadlines for submitting them. Monthly statements must include information through midnight on the last day, rather than simply the last day, of the month before the filing deadline. Statements required to be filed seven days before an election, primary, or referendum must include information through midnight on the second, rather the seventh, day preceding the filing deadline.

Timely Submission to SEEC. Under the bill, periodic campaign finance statements must be received by the SEEC by a specified time on the filing deadline to be considered timely, not just postmarked by the filing deadline. To be deemed on time, the SEEC must receive hard copies by 5: 00 PM and electronic submissions by midnight on the filing deadline. Under the bill, authorized electronic means include e-mail, fax, and SEEC-created web-based programs.

The bill specifies that grant applications, supplemental campaign finance statements, and independent expenditure reports are considered timely when they are filed according to the procedures existing law establishes.

State Central Committees. The bill aligns the filing schedule for state central committees with the schedule for most other party committees, candidate committees, and PACs. Generally, they must file on the 10^th day of January, April, July, and October, but not on a weekend or holiday. They must also file on the seventh day before a regular state election and on the seventh day before any other election, primary, or referendum for which the committee has made or received a contribution or expenditure.

Under current law, state central committees submit reports three times per year and also file on the 12^th day preceding any election.

Organization Expenditures. The law requires each campaign finance statement that a legislative caucus, legislative leadership, or party committee treasurer files to include an itemized accounting of organization expenditures made to benefit participating legislative candidates. The bill expands this requirement to also include organization expenditures made to benefit nonparticipating legislative candidates.

The law prohibits communicator lobbyists, principals of state and prospective state contractors, and their immediate family members from making contributions to (1) candidate and exploratory committees for statewide and legislative candidates, (2) PACs authorized to contribute to those candidates, and (3) party committees. Under current law, individuals who make contributions to these committees that separately or in the aggregate exceed $ 50 must certify that they are not a communicator lobbyist or a principal of a state or prospective state contractor.

The bill (1) potentially expands the PACs covered by the ban to include those that statewide or legislative candidates establish or control and (2) changes the certification contents.

Under the bill, these contributors must provide a certification attesting to the fact that they are not prohibited from making a contribution under either the contractor or lobbyist contribution ban. The bill requires the SEEC to amend the sample form upon which certifications are made to include an explanation of the contribution bans and their exceptions, and an explanation of the terms “immediate family member of a communicator lobbyist,” “state contractor,” and “prospective state contractor. ” The form already includes “communicator lobbyist” and “principal of a state contractor or principal of a prospective state contractor. ” The bill provides treasurers who deposit a contribution based on a certification a complete defense to any action taken against them concerning the contribution, unless they knew or had reason to know that the certification was false prior to the deposit.

In addition to the certification, the bill requires individuals who make contributions to any of the covered committees that separately or in the aggregate exceed $ 50 to state whether they are (1) a communicator lobbyist, or the immediate family member of one or (2) a state contractor, or a principal of a state or prospective state contractor, which includes immediate family members. Under the bill, as under existing law, they must also provide the name of their employer.

By law, candidate committees and political committees, other than ongoing PACs or exploratory committees, must spend or distribute surplus funds within 90 days of (1) a primary when a candidate loses, (2) an election, or (3) a referendum.

The bill treats participating candidates who do not qualify for or receive grant money as nonparticipating candidates, allowing them to distribute their surplus funds to charitable organizations or the CEF. The law, unchanged by the bill, requires participating candidates who receive grants to distribute any surplus to the CEF.

The Citizens' Election Program is a system of public campaign financing under which statewide and legislative candidates who receive qualifying contributions, agree to abide by certain spending limits, and comply with other requirements, are eligible to receive state grants to fund their campaigns.

By law, candidates who finance their campaigns entirely from personal funds or do not receive or spend over $ 1,000 from other sources are not required to form a candidate committee and must attest to their eligibility for this exemption in a sworn statement.

If these candidates do not intend to participate in the Citizens' Election Program, the bill further exempts them from the requirement to file an affidavit certifying their intent to abide or not abide by the program's spending limits. Like other candidates who do not intend to participate, they are called “nonparticipating candidates. ”

The bill expands statewide office candidates' reporting requirement with respect to qualifying contributions. By law, all participating candidates, whether running for statewide or legislative office, must submit documentation with their grant application demonstrating that their contributions meet the qualifying contribution criteria (see BACKGROUND). The bill requires statewide office candidate and exploratory committees to also file documentation on or about the same time they submit periodic campaign finance reports.

In addition, the bill prohibits contributions made by minors under age 12 from counting as qualifying contributions. By law, minors under age 18 can contribute a maximum of $ 30 to (1) exploratory and candidate committees and (2) PACs and party committees in a calendar year.

The bill establishes a date by which participating candidates are considered “opposed” for the purpose of the program. Under the bill, a participating candidate is considered to have a major party opponent if, by the nominating or petition deadline set by law: (1) a major party endorses a candidate, (2) a candidate from any other major party receives at least 15% of the delegate vote on a roll-call at the party convention, or (3) a candidate qualifies as a petitioning candidate for any other major party's nomination.

By law, participating candidates who are opposed are eligible for a full grant while those who are unopposed are eligible for 30% of the applicable grant amount.

The bill (1) extends, from four to 10 days, the time the SEEC has to review most grant applications from statewide office candidates and (2) specifies that the SEEC will not review general election grant applications it receives during the seven days before the last primary application deadline until after the next deadline, a week later.

Within 10 business days following Thursday or Friday submissions, the SEEC must review the applications it has received from statewide office candidates and determine whether to approve or reject each one. The SEEC must continue to review applications from legislative candidates within four business days.

By law, participating candidates are entitled to additional money from the CEF if their opponents exceed certain spending limits, that is, if they make excess expenditures. The bill (1) revises the procedure for submitting supplemental campaign finance statements and for reporting excess expenditures and (2) deems candidates who submit supplemental campaign finance statements to have satisfied the periodic campaign finance report filing requirement.

Supplemental Campaign Finance Statements. Under current law, if a candidate in a primary or general election campaign with at least one participating candidate receives contributions, loans, or other funds, or makes or obligates to make an expenditure that in the aggregate exceeds 90% of the applicable spending limit for the primary or general election period, his or her campaign treasurer must file a supplemental campaign finance statement with the SEEC. Thereafter, the campaign treasurer filing the initial supplemental statement and the campaign treasurers for all opposing candidates must file periodic supplemental campaign finance statements according to a specified schedule.

The bill eliminates the 90% threshold and requires the campaign treasurer of each candidate in a primary or general election campaign with at least one participating candidate to file weekly supplemental campaign finance statements according to the following schedule:

1. for a primary campaign, on the Thursday following the July filing date set by law, and every subsequent Thursday, including the one before the primary and

2. for a general election campaign, on the Thursday following the October filing date, and every subsequent Thursday, including the one before the election.

Supplemental statements must cover the following period: the first day not included in the last statement through midnight on the second day preceding the filing deadline.

Excess Expenditures. Under current law, each campaign treasurer of a candidate in a primary or general election campaign with at least one participating candidate must file a declaration of excess receipts or expenditures when the candidate committee receives contributions, loans, or other funds, or makes or obligates to make an expenditure that in the aggregate exceeds 100% of the applicable spending limit. The treasurer must do the same if the candidate has receipts or expenditures that in the aggregate exceed 125%, 150%, or 175% of the applicable spending limit for the primary or general election. These requirements apply to treasurers for participating and nonparticipating candidates.

With respect to excess expenditures, the bill (1) bases reporting for participating candidates on their expenditures only and (2) eliminates the requirement that they file declarations at the 125%, 150%, and 175% thresholds.

Under the bill, if a participating candidate in a primary or general election campaign with at least one participating candidate makes or obligates to make an expenditure that in the aggregate exceeds 100% of the applicable spending limit for the primary or general election period, his or her campaign treasurer must file a declaration of excess expenditures with the SEEC. The bill does not charge the filing schedule. If the candidate exceeds the threshold more than 20 days before the primary or general election, the treasurer must file the declaration of excess expenditures with the commission within 48 hours of the occurrence. If a candidate reaches the threshold 20 or fewer days before the primary or election, the treasurer must file the declaration within 24 hours.

The bill does not change the procedure for nonparticipating candidates. If a nonparticipating candidate in a primary or general election campaign with at least one participating candidate exceeds one of the thresholds (100%, 125%, 150%, or 175%), the treasurer must file the declaration of excess receipts or expenditures with the commission according to the same schedule for participating candidates.

The bill specifies that declarations of excess expenditures must cover the following period: the first day not included in the last statement through midnight on the first day preceding the filing deadline.

In addition to the certification from contributors that they are not a state contractor or prospective state contractor or a communicator lobbyist or an immediate family member of one, contributions must include:

1. the contributor's name and address;

2. the amount, form, and date;

3. the candidate committee's name;

4. whether the contributor is 18 or older;

5. the name of the contributor's employer and the contribuitor's occupation; and

6. an affirmation that the contribution is being made from personal funds, is not being reimbursed, is not a loan, and is not otherwise prohibited.

sHB 6663, favorably reported by the Government Administration and Elections Committee on March 30, makes several changes to the Citizens' Election Program, including some affecting organization expenditures, primary grants for candidates in party-dominant districts, and using grant funds for post-election expenses.

Yea

Nay

(03/25/2009)