SB 0303

SB 303- AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

AN ACT relative to campaign finance reporting requirements, availability of voter checklists on computer disks, and permissible campaign contributions by business organizations.

SPONSORS: Sen. Below, Dist 5; Sen. Russman, Dist 19; Sen. Trombly, Dist 7

I. Defines segregated accounts and coordinated expenditures and changes the definition of independent expenditure.

II. Describes the reporting requirements for political committees and candidates and defines the content of mandatory campaign finance disclosure reports.

III. Requires the secretary of state to maintain an electronic database of certain finance disclosure records.

IV. Addresses the availability of obtaining copies of voter checklists on computer disks.

V. Creates an exception to the prohibition on political contributions by business organizations through the use of segregated accounts for voluntary contributions by members of the business organization.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to campaign finance reporting requirements, availability of voter checklists on computer disks, and permissible campaign contributions by business organizations.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Paragraphs; Political Expenditures and Contributions; Definitions; Segregated Accounts; Coordinated Expenditure. Amend RSA 664:2 by inserting after paragraph XVII the following new paragraphs:

XVIII. "Segregated accounts" mean accounts funded by contributions solicited from a business organization's, labor union's, or group of labor unions' employees, officers, shareholders, directors, partners, or members for political purposes.

XIX. "Coordinated expenditure" means an expenditure by a political party, a political committee of a political party, or other entity, on behalf of a candidate or candidate's committee in a state primary or general election with the consent of the candidate. Any expenditure that is not an independent expenditure or direct expenditure shall be considered to be a coordinated expenditure.

2 Political Expenditures and Contributions; Definitions; Independent Expenditures. Amend RSA 664:2, XI to read as follows:

XI. "Independent expenditures" means expenditures by a person, political committee, or other entity [~~expressly~~] advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate which are not made [~~without cooperation or consultation~~] in conjunction or coordination with any candidate, or any authorized committee or agent of such candidate, and which are not made in [~~concert~~] coordination with, or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate, or any authorized committee or agent of such candidate. As used in this paragraph, "clearly identified" means that the name of the candidate involved appears; a photograph or drawing of the candidate appears; or the identity of the candidate is apparent by unambiguous reference.

3 Elections; Political Expenditures and Contributions; Reports; Reporting by Political Committee; Reporting by Candidates. RSA 664:6 and 664:7 are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. Any political committee whose receipts of contributions or whose expenditures, including, without limitation, coordinated and independent expenditures on behalf of candidates and general operating expenditures of the committee, in support of or in opposition to a candidate, measure, or political party, exceed in the aggregate $500, shall file with the secretary of state an itemized statement, in accordance with the provisions of RSA 664:7-b. The statement shall be signed by the chairperson and treasurer of the political committee and shall list each contribution, in alphabetical order by the last name of the contributor, with the amount of the contribution, the date it was received, all of the information as is set forth in RSA 664:7-b, and the aggregate total for each election for each contributor. The statement shall be filed not later than the Wednesday 12 weeks immediately preceding a primary election, before 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and shall cover the period from the day of the committee registration up to and including the Monday before the statement is due. The statement shall contain the date of each expenditure, the name and address of the person or entity to whom each expenditure was made, the name of the candidate in whose behalf or against whom each expenditure was made, the amount of each expenditure, the purpose of each expenditure, and the aggregate amount of all previous expenditures.

II. An itemized statement in the same form as in paragraph I shall be filed with the secretary of state not later than the Wednesday 3 weeks immediately preceding a primary election, before 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The statement shall summarize the statement filed pursuant to paragraph I, if any, and shall itemize all receipts of contributions and expenditures made since the cutoff of the statement filed pursuant to paragraph I up until the Monday preceding the filing of the statement under this paragraph.

III. A statement in the same form as in paragraph I shall be filed with the secretary of state not later than the Wednesday immediately preceding a primary election, before 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The statement shall summarize the statements filed pursuant to paragraphs I and II, if any, and itemize all receipts of contributions and expenditures made since the cutoff of the statement filed pursuant to paragraph II up until the Monday preceding the filing of the statement under this paragraph. In addition to the reporting requirements contained in this section, the secretary of state shall be notified by the fiscal agent within 24 hours of any contribution, contributions or expenditures exceeding $500 in the aggregate that are received after the statement under this paragraph is filed and prior to the day of primary election. No more than one report to the secretary of state shall be required within a 24 hour period.

IV. An itemized statement in the same form as in paragraph I, summarizing the previous statements, if any, and itemizing all receipts of contributions and expenditures made since the cutoff of the previous report up until the Monday preceding the filing of the statement, shall be filed with the secretary of state before 5 o'clock in the afternoon on each of the following days: the Wednesday one week after the primary election; the Wednesdays 4 weeks, 2 weeks, and immediately preceding the general election; and the Wednesday 2 weeks after the general election. In addition to the reporting requirements contained in this section, during the last week before the general election, the secretary of state shall be notified by the fiscal agent within 24 hours of any contribution, contributions, or expenditures exceeding $500 in the aggregate that are received after the statement under this paragraph is filed and prior to the day of the general election. No more than one report to the secretary of state shall be required within a 24 hour period.

V. Any political committee whose receipt of contributions or expenditures in the aggregate do not exceed $500 for a reporting period need not file. However, when a committee's accumulated receipts of contributions or expenditures for an election in the aggregate exceed $500, the committee shall file a statement at the next reporting deadline.

VI. Any political committee that has any outstanding debt, obligation, or surplus following the election shall file reports at least once every 6 months thereafter in the same form as in paragraph I until the obligation or indebtedness is entirely satisfied or surplus deleted, at which time a final report shall be filed.

VII. Copies of the statements required by paragraphs I through VI of the state committee of a political party shall be filed with the secretary of state in sufficient numbers so as to provide a copy for the state committee of each party on the ballot, which they may obtain by application to the secretary of state.

VIII. Any national political party committee of a party as defined in RSA 652:11 may make contributions or expenditures on behalf of state candidates without complying with the requirements of paragraphs I through VI, provided that the total contribution or expenditure made in behalf of a candidate or political committee in this state whether directly or indirectly does not exceed the limit for personal contributions in RSA 664:4.

IX. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only to a political committee for an individual candidate who is seeking a federal office whose holder is chosen by the voters of this state only. Such a committee, which is required by federal law to file with the federal government reports relative to receipts of contributions and expenditures in support of such one candidate, may choose, at the time of registering under RSA 663:3, I, to file with the secretary of state copies of reports made to the federal government in accordance with the timetable established by federal laws for such reports in lieu of complying with the other reporting requirements of this section.

I. Each candidate at the primary or general election for governor, councilor, state senator, representative to general court, or county officer, who receives contributions or makes expenditures in the aggregate that exceed $500, shall file statements before and after an election in like manner and detail as prescribed in RSA 664:6, I-VI, excepting, however, the expenditures of political committees of the party to which the candidate belongs in elections other than primaries.

II. Candidates for the offices of speaker of the house, president of the senate, secretary of state, state treasurer, clerks, assistant clerks, and sergeants-at-arms of the house and senate shall report contributions and expenditures exceeding $500 in the aggregate in like manner and detail as prescribed in RSA 664:6, I, except that the filing of statements for these offices shall be limited to the Wednesdays one week and 3 weeks after the general election and the Wednesday one week after the election for these offices.

III. The candidate shall report all contributions received and expenditures made for the purpose of exploring or promoting such candidacy in the first report filed.

4 New Sections: Elections; Political Expenditures and Contributions; Reports; Form of Contributions; Content of Disclosure Reports; Campaign Finance Disclosure Record. Amend RSA 664 by inserting after section 7 the following new sections:

664:7-a Form of Contributions. No contribution may be accepted unless accompanied by the disclosure information set forth in RSA 664:7-b.

664:7-b Content of Disclosure Reports. All contributions reported pursuant to RSA 664:6 or RSA 664:7 shall be listed on forms or other means prescribed by the secretary of state. The listing for each contribution exceeding $25 shall include disclosure information. The disclosure information shall include the name; home or post office address; employer, business organization, or primary source of income; post office address of employer or business; and occupation of the contributor. Contributions shall be categorized as in-state or out-of-state. A summary of the contribution totals by category shall be included with each scheduled report. The report shall also list the aggregate total received from each contributor whose total contributions exceed $100 and the contributor's disclosure information. All expenditures, as defined in RSA 664:2, IX and XVII, shall be reported in similar detail on forms or other means prescribed by the secretary of state.

I. Disclosure reports required under RSA 664:6 and RSA 664:7 of candidates for governor and any disclosure reports filed by candidates for United States senator and representative to Congress may be filed in electronic format. The secretary of state shall enter these reports into an electronic campaign finance disclosure record. The secretary of state shall ensure that these disclosure reports are available through the official internet site of the state of New Hampshire. Such reports shall also be available for paper or electronic copying at a reasonable cost.

II. The secretary of state shall compile and maintain separate cumulative disclosure reports filed under this subdivision by political committees, political committees of political parties, and candidates for executive councilor, state senator, state representative, county office, and the offices referenced in RSA 664:7, II.

5 Voters and Checklists, Availability of Checklist. Amend RSA 654:31 to read as follows:

I. The checklist as corrected by the supervisors shall be open for the examination of any person at all times before the opening of a meeting or election at which the list is to be used. The supervisors shall furnish one or more copies of the most recent checklist to any person requesting such copies. If the supervisors maintain or have access to the checklist or information from which the checklist was derived in more than one form, the person requesting copies shall be furnished copies in any of those forms according to his or her preference. The supervisors may charge a reasonable fee for copies that is based on the actual costs incurred when reproducing an existing checklist, except that in no event shall the fee for paper copies of any single town or ward checklist be less than $5 nor more than $25 per checklist. [The fee charged for checklists on computer disk or tape, or in any form other than paper, shall be based solely on the additional costs incurred to provide such checklist to the individual requesting it.] The fee shall be for the use of the town or city.

II. If a town or city maintains a voter checklist on computer files, a person may request a copy of such files on computer disk or tape. For purposes of this paragraph, the checklist shall include all registered voters in a town or city. The fee charged for copies of the checklist on computer disk or tape shall not be more than $25.

6 Prohibited Political Organizations; Business Organizations. RSA 664:4, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. By any business organization, officer, director, executive, agent, partner or employee acting in behalf of such business organization. This shall not prohibit the establishment or administration of a separate, segregated account which shall constitute a political committee as defined in RSA 664:2, III that operates independently of the business organization to be used for making political contributions and expenditures if the account consists only of voluntary contributions solicited from an individual who is an employee, officer, shareholder, director, partner, or member of the business organization. The provisions of this section shall not apply to sole proprietorships.

7 Political Expenditures and Contributions; Prohibited Political Contributions; Segregated Account Exception. Amend RSA 664:4, III to read as follows:

III. By any labor union or group of labor unions, or by any officer, director, executive, agent or employee acting in behalf of such union or group of unions; or by any organization representing or affiliated with any such union or group of unions, or by any officer, director, executive, agent or employee acting in behalf of such organization. This shall not prohibit the establishment or administration of a separate, segregated account which shall constitute a political committee, as defined in RSA 664:2, III, that operates independently of the labor union to be used for making political contributions and expenditures if the account consists only of voluntary contributions solicited from an individual who is an employee, officer, shareholder, director, partner, or member of the labor union.

8 Repeal. RSA 664:4, II, relative to prohibited political contributions by partnerships, is repealed.