Chapter 229
2011 -- S 0233
Enacted 07/07/11
A N A C T
RELATING TO
ELECTIONS --
Introduced By: Senators Lynch, Picard, and DiPalma
Date Introduced: February 09, 2011
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 17-25-19, 17-25-20, 17-25-22, 17-25-23
and 17-25-30 of the
General Laws in Chapter
17-25 entitled "Rhode Island Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Reporting" are hereby
amended to read as follows:
17-25-19. Public
financing of election campaigns -- Outlined. -- (a) To
effectuate the
purpose stated in section 17-25-18, public funds shall be
made available under the terms and
conditions of this section and sections 17-25-20 -- 17-25-27 to
qualifying candidates for general
office who agree to abide by a limitation on the total
amount of campaign contributions received
and expenditures made for election purposes.
(b) The nominees
Candidates for general office of each political party, as defined in
section 17-1-2(9), and independent candidates for those
offices who meet the requirements set
forth in section 17-25-20(6), shall be eligible to receive two dollars ($2.00) of
public funds for
each qualified dollar ($1.00) of private funds contributed
which do not exceed an aggregate of
five hundred dollars ($500) from a single source within an
election cycle and one dollar ($1.00)
of public funds for each qualified dollar ($1.00) of private
funds contributed which exceed an
aggregate of five hundred dollars ($500) from a single source
within an election cycle but do not
exceed the limitations on aggregate contributions which are
eligible to be matched set in subdivision
17-25-20(3), subject to the provisions of subdivision
17-25-20(2). The total amount of public funds
provided to a candidate shall not exceed seven hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($750,000) in
matching funds for a total of one million five hundred
thousand dollars ($1,500,000) for
candidates for governor; and one hundred eighty-seven thousand
five hundred dollars ($187,500)
in matching funds for a total of three hundred
seventy-five thousand dollars ($375,000) for
candidates for other general offices.
(c) In order to be
eligible for matching public funds, each candidate at the time he or she
becomes a candidate, as defined in subdivision 17-25-3(2),
but no later than 4:00 pm on the last day
for filing declarations of candidacy for general office, must sign a statement under oath pledging
to comply with the limitations on campaign contributions
and expenditures and with all of the
terms and conditions set forth in this chapter. Any
candidate who fails to file the statement with
his or her declaration for office shall be ineligible to
receive public funds.
17-25-20.
Eligibility criteria for matching public funds. --
In order to receive matching
public funds under section 17-25-19, a qualifying candidate
must comply with the following
requirements:
(1) The candidate must
sign a statement under oath, as provided for in section 17-25-19,
pledging to comply with the limitations on contributions and
expenditures for election purposes
and with all the terms and conditions set forth in this
chapter. Upon the filing of the statement, a
candidate for general office shall be bound to abide by the
limitations on contributions and
expenditures set forth in this chapter and may not withdraw from
his or her obligation to abide by
these restrictions.
(2) (i) Subject to the provisions of
paragraph (ii) of this subdivision, no participating
candidate shall either receive or expend for election purposes
more than a total of public and
private funds in the sum of one million five hundred thousand
dollars ($1,500,000) in an election
cycle. No participating candidate for general office other
than governor shall receive or expend
for election purposes more than a total of public and
private funds in the sum of three hundred
seventy-five thousand dollars ($375,000) in an election cycle.
(ii) The limitations on
contributions received from private sources, matching funds
available from the state, and total permitted expenditures
shall apply in the 1994 general election
and, subject to appropriations by the general assembly,
shall increase by a percentage to be
determined by the board of elections in January of each year in
which a general election involving
general offices is held, beginning in 1998. In no case shall
the increase exceed the total increase
in the consumer price index since the month in which the
previous general election involving
general was held.
(3) (i) Only the first two thousand
dollars ($2,000) of the aggregate private monetary
contributions from a single private source within an election cycle
shall be eligible for matching
public funds for candidates for governor; provided, that the
entire amount contributed shall be
considered toward the dollar limits provided in subdivision (2)
of this section.
(ii) Only the first one
thousand dollars ($1,000) of the aggregate private monetary
contributions from a single private source within an election cycle
shall be eligible for matching
public funds for candidates for lieutenant governor,
secretary of state, attorney general, and
general treasurer; provided, that the entire amount
contributed shall be considered toward the
dollar limits provided for in subdivision (2) of this
section.
(iii) Any private funds
lawfully contributed during the current election cycle shall be
eligible for matching public funds subject to the terms and
conditions of this section, and private
funds donated during a preceding election cycle shall not
be eligible for matching public funds.
(4) The direct costs incurred
in connection with raising campaign funds on behalf of a
candidate shall not be deemed to be expenditures for the
purposes of the limitations on
expenditures set forth in subdivision (2) of this section. Direct
costs shall include costs of printing
and mailing invitations to fundraising events,
solicitations for contributions, costs of hosting
fundraising events, and travel to those events, but shall not
include any portion of the salary or
wages of campaign employees, nor the cost of any radio,
television, computer/Internet/electronic
device, or printed
advertisement. The cost of a fundraising event must be less than the amount of
money realized from the gross proceeds generated by the
fundraising event in order to qualify for
this exclusion.
(5) If a candidate who
has accepted public funds makes expenditures in excess of the
permitted amounts, the candidate shall be liable for a civil
assessment payable to the state in an
amount equal to three (3) times the amount of excess funds
expended. In addition, the candidate
shall be ineligible for further participation in the public
financing program during the same
election cycle.
(6) In order to receive
payments under this section, any independent candidate for
general office
shall first meet the following additional minimum requirements:
(i)
Raise an amount in qualified private contributions equal to twenty percent
(20%) of
the total amount eligible to be matched for election as
to the office sought;
(ii) Receive private
contributions from a minimum of two hundred fifty (250) individuals
contributing at least twenty-five dollars ($25.00) each for
candidates for governor and receive
private contributions from a minimum of one hundred (100)
individuals contributing at least
twenty-five dollars ($25.00) each, for candidates for
lieutenant governor, secretary of state,
attorney general and general treasurer; and
(iii) Comply with any
and all applicable nomination provisions in this title and qualify
for the general election ballot pursuant to the process
set forth in this title.
(7) No public funds
received by any candidate pursuant to sections 17-25-19 -- 17-25-27
of this chapter and no private funds used to qualify for
the public funds shall be expended by the
candidate for any purpose except to pay reasonable and
necessary expenses directly related to the
candidate's campaign.
(8) No public funds
shall be expended by the candidate, except for one or more of the
following uses directly related to the campaign of the
candidate:
(i)
Purchase of time on radio or television stations; provided, however, the
content of all
television time shall include captioning for the deaf and hard
of hearing and the content of all
radio time must be available in a written or text format at
the time of request;
(ii) Purchase of rental
space on outdoor signs or billboards;
(iii) Purchase of
advertising space on the computer/Internet/electronic device and in
newspapers and regularly published magazines and periodicals;
(iv)
Payment of the cost of producing the material aired or displayed on
radio, television,
outdoor signs or billboards, and computer/Internet/electronic
device and in newspapers, regularly
published magazines, and periodicals;
(v) Payment of the cost
of printing and mailing campaign literature and brochures;
(vi)
Purchase of signs, bumper stickers, campaign buttons, and other campaign
paraphernalia;
(vii) Payment of the
cost of legal and accounting expenses incurred in complying with
the public financing law and regulations as required by
this chapter;
(viii) Payment of the
cost of telephone deposits, installation charges, and monthly
billings in excess of deposits;
(ix) Payment of the
costs of public opinion polls and surveys; and
(x) Payment of rent,
utilities and associated expenses connected with the operation of an
election headquarters or satellite election offices.
(9) Contributions
received and expended by any candidate for the purpose of defraying
any expense or satisfying any loan obligations incurred
prior to January 1, 1991, by the candidate
in furtherance of his or her candidacy in a previous
election cycle, as defined in subdivision 17-25-
3(5), shall not be counted toward any contribution or
expenditure limitation in sections 17-25-18 -
- 17-25-27.
(10) No candidate who
has elected to receive public funds shall contribute to or loan to
his or her own campaign a sum in excess of five percent
(5%) of the total amount that a candidate
is permitted to expend in a campaign for the office
pursuant to sections 17-25-19 and 17-25-21.
17-25-22.
Time period for payment of public funds. -- (a) No
public funds shall be
dispersed to candidates until after the date of the primary
election. In order to receive matching
public funds, the candidate must be the nominee for
general office of a political party, as defined
in section 17-12.1-12, or an independent a candidate for general office who meets all
of the
requirements set forth in subdivision 17-25-20(6). The
candidate must submit to the board of elections
proof of receipt of qualifying private contributions and
supporting documentation as required by
the board. The board of elections shall, within five (5)
business days of the receipt of the request
for payment of matching funds, either pay over funds to
the candidate or disallow all or a portion
of the request and state in writing the reasons for the
disallowance.
(b) A candidate may
submit supplemental applications for public funds until the time
that the permitted limits are reached.
17-25-23. Funds
expended by person, committee of a political party, or political
action committee -- Private expenditure. -- For the purposes of sections 17-25-19 and 17-25-
20, any funds expended by a person, committee of a
political party, or political action committee
to directly influence the outcome of the electoral
contest involving the candidate shall be
considered a contribution received by or an expenditure made by
the candidate for general office,
or if one or more of the following relationships between
the candidate and the person, committee
of a political party, or political action committee is present:
(1) There is any
arrangement, coordination, or direction with respect to the expenditure
between the candidate or the candidate's agent and the person
making the expenditure;
(2) In the same
election cycle, the person making the expenditure, including any officer,
director, employee, or agent of the person, is or has been
authorized to raise or expend funds on
behalf of the candidate or the candidate's authorized
committees, or is or has been an officer of
the candidate's authorized committees, or is or has been
receiving any form of compensation or
reimbursement from the candidate, the candidate's authorized
committees, or the candidate's
agent;
(3) The person making
the expenditure, including any officer, director, employee, or
agent of the person, has communicated with, advised, or
counseled the candidate or the
candidate's agents at any time on the candidate's plans,
projects, or needs relating to the
candidate's pursuit of election to general office in the same
election cycle, including any advice
relating to the candidate's decision to seek election to
general office;
(4) The person making
the expenditure retains the professional services of any individual
or other person also providing those services to the candidate
in connection with the candidate's
pursuit of election to general office in the same election
cycle, including any services relating to
the candidate's decision to seek election to general
office;
(5) The person making the
expenditure, including any officer, director, employer, or
agent of the person, has communicated or consulted at any
time during the same election cycle
about the candidate's plans, projects, or needs relating to
the candidate's pursuit of election to
general office, with:
(i)
Any officer, director, employee, or agent of a party committee that has made or
intends to make expenditures or contributions, in connection
with the candidate's campaign; or
(ii) Any person whose
professional services have been retained by a political party
committee that has made or intends to make expenditures or
contributions;
(6) The expenditure is
based on information provided to the person making the
expenditure directly or indirectly by the candidate or the
candidate's agents about the candidate's
plans, projects, or needs; provided, that the candidate or
the candidate's agents are aware that the
other person has made or is planning to make expenditures
expressly advocating the candidate's
election; or
(7) The expenditure is
made by a person with the intention of seeking or obtaining any
governmental benefit or consideration from the candidate by reason
of the expenditure.
17-25-30.
Public financing of election campaigns -- Compliance benefits.
-- (1)
Entitled to an additional benefit of free time on
community antenna television to be allocated
pursuant to rules determined by the administrator for the
division of public utilities. During all
allocated free time, the candidate shall personally appear and
present the message of the
advertisement; provided, however, the content of all television
time shall include captioning for
the deaf and hard of hearing and the content of all radio
time must be available in a written or text
format at the time of request; and
(2) Entitled to an
additional benefit of free time on any public broadcasting station
operating under the jurisdiction of the
pursuant to rules determined by the authority. During all
allocated free time, the candidate shall
personally appear and personally present the message of the
advertisement; provided, however,
the content of all television time shall include
captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing and the
content of all radio time must be available in a written or
text format at the time of request. ; and
(3) Entitled to
accept a contribution or contributions that in the aggregate do not exceed
two thousand dollars ($2,000) from any person or political
action committee within a calendar
year.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00685
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