law15023

Chapter 023

2015 -- S 0681 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 04/23/2015

A N A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Paiva Weed, Ruggerio, Goodwin, and Sheehan

Date Introduced: March 12, 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

sections:

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.

17-25-11.2. Requirements for appointment of a treasurer or deputy treasurer -

Examination and certification of accounts. -- (a) Appointment of treasurer or deputy treasurer.

Whenever a campaign account containing campaign funds received and expended by a candidate,

office holder, or treasurer, subject to the provisions of this chapter, receives or expends at least

ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in any year, the account shall require the appointment of a

treasurer or deputy treasurer who shall be a person other than the candidate. For such accounts, a

candidate may remain as either a treasurer or deputy treasurer on his or her campaign account;

provided, the treasurer or deputy treasurer who is not the candidate shall examine all campaign

account records and shall certify to the substantial accuracy of the campaign finance report at the

time of filing with the board of elections on a form to be prepared by the board of elections.

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

examination and certification shall be applicable to political action committees.

SECTION 2. Sections 17-25-10 and 17-25-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-25

entitled "Rhode Island Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting" are hereby amended

to read as follows:

17-25-10. 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, treasurer or deputy campaign

treasurers, treasurer of the candidates;

(2) The duly appointed campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurers, treasurer 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.

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.

17-25-11. Dates for filing of reports by treasurers of candidates or of committees. --

(a) During the period between the appointment of the campaign treasurer for state and municipal

committees and political action committees, or in the case of an individual, individual the date

on which the individual becomes a "declared or undeclared candidate", as defined in § 17-25-

3(2), except when the ninety (90) ninety-day (90) reporting period ends less than forty (40) days

prior to an election, election in which case the ninety (90) ninety-day (90) report shall be

included as part of the report required to be filed on the twenty-eighth (28th) day next preceding

the day of the primary, general, or special election pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection,

and the election, with respect to which contributions are received or expenditures made by him or

her in behalf of of, or in opposition to to, a candidate, the campaign treasurer of a candidate, a

political party committee, or a political action committee shall file a report containing an account

of contributions received received, and expenditures made made, on behalf of of, or in

opposition to to, a candidate:

(1) At ninety (90) ninety-day (90) intervals commencing on the date on which the

individual first becomes a candidate, as defined in § 17-25-3(2);

(2) In a contested election, on the twenty-eighth (28th) and seventh (7th) days next

preceding the day of the primary, general, or special election; provided, that in the case of a

primary election for a special election, election where the twenty-eighth (28th) day next

preceding the day of the primary election occurs prior to the first day for filing declarations of

candidacy pursuant to § 17-14-1, the reports shall be due on the fourteenth (14th) and seventh

(7th) days next preceding the day of the primary election for the special election; and

(3) A final report on the twenty-eighth (28th) day following the election. The report shall

contain:

(i) The name and address and place of employment of each person from whom

contributions in excess of a total of one hundred dollars ($100) within a calendar year were

received;

(ii) The amount contributed by each person;

(iii) The name and address of each person to whom expenditures in excess of one

hundred dollars ($100) were made; and

(iv) The amount and purpose of each expenditure.

(b) Concurrent with the report filed on the twenty-eighth (28th) day following an

election, or at any time thereafter, the campaign treasurer of a candidate, or political party

committee committee, or political action committee, may certify to the board of elections that

the campaign fund of the candidate, political party committee, or political action committee

having been instituted for the purposes of the past election, has completed its business and been

dissolved or, in the event that the committee will continue its activities beyond the election, that

its business regarding the past election has been completed; and the certification shall be

accompanied by a final accounting of the campaign fund, or of the transactions relating to the

election, including the final disposition of any balance remaining in the fund at the time of

dissolution or the arrangements which that have been made for the discharge of any obligations

remaining unpaid at the time of dissolution.

business and been dissolved, no contribution which that is intended to defray expenditures

incurred on behalf of of, or in opposition to to, a candidate during the campaign can be accepted.

Until the time that the campaign treasurer certifies that the campaign fund has completed its

business and been dissolved, the treasurer shall file reports containing an account of contributions

received and expenditures made at ninety (90) ninety-day (90) intervals commencing with the

next quarterly report following the election; however, the time to file under this subsection shall

be no later than the last day of the month following the ninety (90) ninety-day (90) period,

except when the last day of the month filing deadline following the ninety (90) ninety-day (90)

reporting period occurs less than twenty-eight (28) days before an election, in which case the

report shall be filed pursuant to the provisions of subdivisions (a)(1) and (2) of this section.

Provided, however, if the last day of the month falls on a weekend or a holiday, the report shall be

due on the following business day.

(2) In addition to the reports required pursuant to this section, a candidate or office holder

shall also file with the board of elections a paper copy of the account statement from the office

holder's campaign account, which account statement shall be the next account statement issued by

their financial institution after the filing of the fourth quarterly campaign expense report. The

account statement shall be submitted to the board within thirty (30) days of its receipt by the

candidate, officeholder, treasurer, or deputy treasurer. The account statement shall not be

deemed a public record pursuant to the provisions of chapter 2 of title 38. The board of elections,

its agents, and employees shall not publish, deliver, copy, or disclose, to any person or entity any

account statement or information contained therein for any candidate, former candidate,

officeholder, party, or political action committee. Provided, as to state and municipal political

parties, the requirements of this subsection (c)(2) shall apply to the annual report required

pursuant to § 17-25-7.

(d) (1) There shall be no obligation to file the reports of expenditures required by this

section on behalf of of, or in opposition to to, a candidate if the total amount to be expended in

behalf of the candidacy by the candidate, by any political party committee, by any political action

committee, or by any person shall not in the aggregate exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).

(2) However, even though the aggregate amount expended on behalf of the candidacy

does not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), reports must be made listing the source and

amounts of all contributions in excess of a total of one hundred dollars ($100) from any one

source within a calendar year. Even though the aggregate amount expended on behalf of the

candidacy does not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) and no contribution from any one

source within a calendar year exceeds one hundred dollars ($100), the report shall state the

aggregate amount of all contributions received. In addition, the report shall state the amount of

aggregate contributions that were from individuals, the amount from political action committees,

and the amount from political party committees.

(e) On or before the first date for filing contribution and expenditure reports, the

campaign treasurer may file a sworn statement that the treasurer will accept no contributions nor

make aggregate expenditures in excess of the minimum amounts for which a report is required by

this chapter. Thereafter, the campaign treasurer shall be excused from filing all the reports for that

campaign, other than the final report due on the twenty-eighth (28th) day following the election.

(f) A campaign treasurer must file a report containing an account of contributions

received and expenditures made at the ninety (90) ninety-day (90) intervals provided for in

subsection (c) of this section for any ninety (90) ninety-day (90) period in which the campaign

received contributions in excess of a total of one hundred dollars ($100) within a calendar year

from any one source and/or made expenditures in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000) within

a calendar year; however, the time to file under this subsection shall be no later than the last day

of the month following the ninety (90) ninety-day (90) period, except when the last day of the

month filing deadline following the ninety (90) ninety-day (90) reporting period occurs less than

twenty-eight (28) days before an election, in which case the report shall be filed pursuant to the

provisions of subdivisions (a)(1) and (2) of this section. Provided, however, if the last day of the

month falls on a weekend or a holiday, the report shall be due on the following business day.

(g) (1) The board of elections may, for good cause shown and upon the receipt of a

written or electronic request, grant a seven (7) seven-day (7) extension for filing a report;

provided, that the request must be received no later than the date upon which the report is due to

be filed.

(2) Any person or entity required to file reports with the board of elections pursuant to

this section and who or that has not filed the report by the required date, unless granted an

extension pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, shall be fined twenty-five dollars

($25.00). Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this section, the board of elections shall have

the authority to waive late filing fees for good cause shown.

(3) The board of elections shall send a notice of non-compliance, by certified mail, to

any person or entity who or that fails to file the reports required by this section. A person or

entity who or that is sent a notice of non-compliance and fails to file the required report within

seven (7) days of the receipt of the notice notice, shall be fined two dollars ($2.00) per day from

the day of receipt of the notice of non-compliance until the day the report has been received by

the state board. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this section, the board of elections shall

have the authority to waive late filing fees for good cause shown.

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

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LC002140/SUB A

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