2002 SESSION

02-3054

03/10

SENATE BILL 374

COMMITTEE: Public Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill clarifies which expenditures shall be considered to be made on a candidate's behalf for purposes of the voluntary limitations on political expenditures law.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

02-3054

03/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Two

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

1 Elections; Political Expenditures and Contributions; Political Expenditure Limitation Amounts; Total Expenditures. Amend RSA 664:5-b, VI to read as follows:

VI. For the purposes of this section, RSA 664:5-a, and the enforcement provisions of this chapter, "total expenditures" shall mean the sum of all expenditures made to influence either a state primary or a state general election made by a candidate and those made on the candidate's behalf by the candidate's committee or committees, the candidate's party, and the candidate's immediate family. For candidates for governor, United States senator, representative to Congress, state senate, state representative, and executive council, "total expenditures" shall include any such expenditures made after January 1 of the election year, regardless of when the person actually declares his or her candidacy. Each campaign expenditure limitation amount shall apply solely and independently to either the state primary election or the state general election. For purposes of this section, RSA 664:5-a, and the enforcement provisions of this chapter, any political advertising by a political party or a political committee of a political party which mentions or contains a representation of the party's candidate or an opponent of the party's candidate shall be considered an expenditure made on the party's candidate's behalf by the party and shall be included in that candidate's total expenditures. If political advertising by a political party or a political committee of a political party mentions or contains a representation of more than one candidate of the party or more than one opponent of the party's candidates, the cost of such advertising shall be an expenditure allocated among the candidates of the party who are mentioned or represented or whose opponents are mentioned or represented therein. Allocation of expenditures among candidates seeking the same office shall be pro rata. Allocation of expenditures among candidates seeking different offices shall be made using the following weights: Governor, 400; United States senator, 400; representative to Congress, 200; executive council, 80; state senate, 16 2/3; representative to the general court, 1.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.