Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=SB115%20INTR.htm&yr=2019&sesstype=RS&i=115
Timestamp: 2019-07-19 20:28:45
Document Index: 553372840

Matched Legal Cases: ['§3', '§3', '§3', '§3', '§3', '§11', '§3', '§3', '§3', '§3', '§29', '§3', '§3', '§3', '§3', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§3', '§3', '§11', '§11', '§11', '§3', '§3', '§29']

By Senators Romano and Baldwin
A BILL to amend and reenact §3-8-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §3-8-8a, all relating to requiring certain disclosures of election expenditures; clarifying when contributions are required to be disclosed; creating exceptions; clarifying that certain federal entities must make certain state disclosures; requiring disclosure of covered transfers; stating legislative findings; defining terms; providing requirements for disclosure of donations related to the transfer of certain sums of money related to campaign-related disbursements; requiring certain disclosures be made within 48 hours; specifying information required in the disclosures; clarifying the relationship between covered transfers and other regulated areas of election expenditures; creating a misdemeanor offense; and authorizing rulemaking.
(D) The elections to which the independent expenditure pertains, the names, if known, of the candidates referred to or to be referred to therein, whether the expenditure is intended to support or oppose the identified candidates and the amount of the total expenditure reported pursuant to §3-8-2(b)(1)(C) of this code spent to support or oppose each of the identified candidates;
(F) With regard to the contributors required to be listed pursuant to §3-8-2(b)(1)(E) of this code, the statement shall also include:
(iv) If the contributor is an entity other than a registered political action committee subject to the requirements of this article or an individual, the information required by §3-8-8a(e) of this code;
(c) (1) A person, including a political committee, who makes or contracts to make independent expenditures aggregating $1,000 or more for any statewide, legislative or multicounty judicial candidate or $500 or more for any county office, single-county judicial candidate, committee supporting or opposing a candidate on the ballot in more than one county, or any municipal candidate on a municipal election ballot, after the 15th day, but more than 12 hours, before the date of an election, shall file a report on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, describing the expenditures within 24 hours: Provided, That a person making expenditures in the amount of $1,000 or more for any statewide or legislative candidate on or after the 15th day but more than 12 hours before the day of any election shall report such expenditures in accordance with §11-15-2b of this code and shall not file an additional report as provided herein.
(2) Any person who files a report under §3-8-2(c)(1) of this code, shall file an additional report within 24 hours after each time the person makes or contracts to make independent expenditures aggregating an additional $500 with respect to the same election, for any county office, single-county judicial candidate, committee supporting or opposing a candidate on the ballot in more than one county, or any municipal candidate on a municipal election ballot, as that to which the initial report relates.
(d) (1) A person, including a political committee, who makes or contracts to make independent expenditures aggregating $10,000 or more at any time up to and including the 15th day before the date of an election shall file a report on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, describing the expenditures within 48 hours.
(2) A person who files a report under §3-8-2(d)(1) of this code, the person shall file an additional report within 48 hours after each time the person makes or contracts to make independent expenditures aggregating an additional $10,000 with respect to the same election as that to which the initial report relates.
(f) Any person who has spent a total of $5,000 or more for the direct costs of purchasing, producing or disseminating electioneering communications during any calendar year shall maintain all financial records and receipts related to such expenditure for a period of six months following the filing of a disclosure pursuant to §3-8-2(a) of this code and, upon request, shall make such records and receipts available to the Secretary of State or county clerk for the purpose of an audit as provided in §3-8-7 of this code.
(g) Any person who willfully fails to comply with this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, thereof shall be fined not less than $500, or confined in jail for not more than one year, or both fined and confined.
(2) The Secretary of State shall make any document filed electronically pursuant to this subsection accessible to the public on the Internet not later than 24 hours after the document is received by the secretary.
(j) The Secretary of State may promulgate emergency and legislative rules, in accordance with the provisions of §29A-1-1 et seq. of this code, to establish guidelines for the administration of this section.
“Affiliate” means two or more persons where:
“Campaign-related disbursement” means an independent expenditure consisting of a public communication or an electioneering communication, as those terms are defined in this article;
“Covered transfer” means any transfer or payment of funds by a person to another person if:
“Covered transfer” does not include:
“Person” means an individual, corporation, partnership, committee, association and any other legal entity, organization or group of individuals, including, but not limited to, an organization described in Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and any political organization under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other than a political committee with an account established under this article that complies with the contribution limits and source prohibitions of this article with respect to accounts established for that purpose.
(c) When a person receives a covered transfer of $10,000 or more, the recipient shall notify the contributor that the contributor must submit the information required in §3-8-8a(d) of this code within 48 hours of the transfer: Provided, That if the contributor and the recipient of the covered transfer are affiliates then this subsection only applies to transfers of $50,000 or more. The recipient of the covered transfer may not make a covered transfer of funds or a campaign-related disbursement until it receives the information required by §3-8-8a(d) of this code from the contributor. If the contributor of the covered transfer fails to send the information required by §3-8-8a(d) of this code, then the recipient shall return the covered transfer funds to the contributor or immediately transfer the funds into another account that is not used to campaign-related expenditures in this state.
(d) All persons making covered transfers that meet the thresholds set forth in §3-8-8a(c) of this code, shall submit within 48 hours of the covered transfer the following information to the recipient:
(1) The name and address of any person who contributed a total of more than the maximum contribution amount that an individual may make to a political candidate, as stated in §11-15-12 of this code, to the person making the covered transfer within the previous twelve months;
(2) The month, day, and year that the contributions of any single contributor exceeded the maximum contribution amount that an individual may make to a political candidate, as stated in §11-15-12 of this code;
(e) If a person makes a campaign-related disbursement that is an independent expenditure regulated by §11-15-2 of this code, then it shall disclose in the filing required by §11-15-2 of this code, all of the information required by §11-15-2 of this code and all of the information received pursuant to §3-8-8a(c) and §3-8-8a(d) of this code from any covered transfer received in the 24 months prior to the campaign-related disbursement. If a person makes a campaign-related disbursement that is an electioneering communication regulated by §11-15-2b of this code, then it shall disclose in the filing required by §11-15-2b of this code, all of the information required by §11-15-2 of this code and all of the information received pursuant to §3-8-8a(c) and §3-8-8a(d) of this code from any covered transfer received in the 24 months prior to the campaign-related disbursement.
(f) Any person who willfully fails to comply with this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $1,000 and not more than $100,000, or confined in jail for not more than one year, or both fined and confined.
(g) The Secretary of State may promulgate emergency rules and propose legislative rules, in accordance with §29A-1-1 et seq. this code, to implement the provisions of this section.