Chapter 020

2015 -- H 5840 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 04/23/2015

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- RHODE ISLAND CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES REPORTING

Introduced By: Representatives Craven, Marshall, Morin, Keable, and Tobon

Date Introduced: March 11, 2015

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 17-25 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Campaign

Contributions and Expenditures Reporting" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following

section:

17-25-5.2. Segregation of campaign funds. – (a) All campaign funds received and

expended by a candidate, office holder, treasurer, or deputy treasurer, subject to the provisions of

this chapter, shall be segregated from all other accounts. The candidate or office holder must

maintain a separate campaign account, which shall not contain any non-campaign funds, at a

financial institution that has a physical branch within this state. The comingling of a candidate's

personal or business funds with campaign funds is expressly prohibited. As used herein, the term

"financial institution" includes a bank or a credit union.

(b) Applicability to political action committees. - The provisions of this section shall

apply to political action committees, as well as to individual candidates and office holders.

SECTION 2. Section 17-25-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-25 entitled "Rhode

Island Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting" is hereby amended to read as

follows:

17-25-10. Lawful methods of contributing to support of candidates -- Reporting --

Disposition of anonymous contributions. -- (a) No contribution shall be made or received, and

no expenditures shall be directly made or incurred, to support or defeat a candidate except

through:

(1) The candidate or duly appointed campaign treasurer, or deputy campaign treasurers,

of the candidates;

(2) The duly appointed campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurers of a political

party committee;

(3) The duly appointed campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer of a political

action committee.

(b) It shall be lawful for any person, not otherwise prohibited by law and not acting in

concert with any other person or group, to expend personally from that person's own funds a sum

which that is not to be repaid to him or her for any purpose not prohibited by law to support or

defeat a candidate; provided, that any person making the expenditure shall be required to report

all of his or her expenditures and expenses, if the total of the money so expended exceeds one

hundred dollars ($100) within a calendar year, to the board of elections within seven (7) days of

making the expenditure and to the campaign treasurer of the candidate or political party

committee on whose behalf the expenditure or contribution was made, or to his or her deputy,

within seven (7) days of making the expenditure, who shall cause the expenditures and expenses

to be included in his or her reports to the board of elections. Whether a person is "acting in

concert with any other person or group" for the purposes of this subsection shall be determined by

application of the standards set forth in § 17-25-23.

(c) Any anonymous contribution received by a candidate, campaign treasurer, or deputy

campaign treasurer shall not be used or expended, but shall be returned to the donor, if the donor's

identity can be ascertained; if not, the contribution shall escheat to the state.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2016.

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LC002058/SUB A

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