West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 146 - Election Commission › Title 146 - LEGISLATIVE RULE ELECTION COMMISSION › Series 146-01 - Corporate and Membership Organization Political Activity › Section 146-1-3 - General Prohibition

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
3.1. Except
				as permitted below by this rule, no officer of any corporation or membership
				organization, or agent or person, on behalf of such corporation or membership
				organization, shall directly or indirectly make, or authorize to be made, or
				consent to a contribution to any political committee or a coordinated
				expenditure in connection with election to any local or state office, or in
				connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to
				select candidates for any local or state office.
3.2. No candidate, political committee or any
				other person shall knowingly accept or receive any payment prohibited by this
				section.
3.3. No corporation or
				membership organization shall facilitate the making of contributions as further
				described in this Section:
3.3.1. Corporations
				and membership organizations (including officers, directors or other
				representatives acting as agents of corporations or membership organizations)
				are prohibited from facilitating the making of contributions to candidates or
				political committees, other than to the political action committee that is a
				separate segregated fund of the corporations or membership organizations.
				Facilitation means using corporate or membership organization resources or
				facilities to engage in fundraising activities in connection with any candidate
				for election. A corporation or membership organization does not facilitate the
				making of a contribution to a candidate or political committee if it provides
				goods or services in the ordinary course of its business as a commercial vendor
				in accordance with W. Va. Code §
										3-8-9 at the usual and normal
				charge.
3.3.2. Examples of
				facilitating the making of contributions include but are not limited to:
3.3.2.a. Fundraising activities by
				corporations and membership organizations (except commercial vendors):
3.3.2.a.1. Officials or employees of the
				corporation and membership organizations ordering or directing subordinates or
				support staff (who therefore are not acting as volunteers) to plan, organize or
				carry out the fundraising project as a part of their work responsibilities
				using corporate or membership organization resources, unless the corporation or
				membership organization receives advance payment for the fair market value of
				such services;
3.3.2.a.2. Failure
				to reimburse a corporation or membership organization within a commercially
				reasonable time for the use of corporate or membership organization facilities
				in connection with such fundraising activities;
3.3.2.a.3. Using a corporate or membership
				organization list of customers, clients, vendors or others who are not in the
				restricted group to solicit contributions or distribute invitations to the
				fundraiser, unless the corporation or membership organization receives advance
				payment for the fair market value of the list;
3.3.2.a.4. Using meeting rooms that are not
				customarily made available to clubs, civic or community organizations or other
				groups; or
3.3.2.a.5. Providing
				catering or other food services operated or obtained by the corporation or
				membership organization, unless the corporation or membership organization
				receives advance payment for the fair market value of the services;
3.3.2.b. Providing materials for
				the purpose of transmitting or delivering contributions, such as stamps,
				envelopes addressed to a candidate or political committee other than the
				corporation's or membership organization's separate segregated fund, or other
				similar items which would assist in transmitting or delivering contributions,
				but not including providing the address of the candidate or political
				committee;
3.3.2.c. Soliciting
				contributions earmarked for a candidate that are to be collected and forwarded
				by the corporation's or membership organization's separate segregated fund,
				except to the extent such contributions also are treated as contributions to
				and by the separate segregated fund; or
3.3.2.d. Using coercion, such as the threat
				of a detrimental job action, the threat of any other financial reprisal, or the
				threat of force, to urge any individual to make a contribution or engage in
				fundraising activities on behalf of a candidate or political
				committee.
3.3.3.
				Facilitating the making of contributions does not include the following
				activities if conducted by a separate segregated fund:
3.3.3.a. Any activity specifically permitted
				under W. Va. Code §
											3-8-9, including soliciting
				contributions to a political committee, and making in kind contributions to a
				political committee; and
3.3.3.b.
				Collecting and forwarding contributions earmarked to a candidate in accordance
				with 3.3.b.3. of this section.
3.3.4. Facilitating the making of
				contributions also does not include the following activities if conducted by a
				corporation or membership organization:
3.3.4.a. Enrolling members of a corporation's
				or membership organization's restricted group in a payroll deduction plan or
				check-off system which deducts contributions from dividend or payroll checks to
				make contributions to the corporation's or membership organization's separate
				segregated fund, checkoff system or an employee participation plan, and are
				subject to the solicitation requirements of W. Va. Code §
											3-8-8;
3.3.4.b. Soliciting contributions to be sent
				directly to candidates if the solicitation is directed to the restricted group;
				and
3.3.4.c. Soliciting
				contributions earmarked for a candidate that are to be collected and forwarded
				by the corporation's or membership organization's separate segregated fund, to
				the extent such contributions also are treated as contributions to and by the
				separate segregated fund.
3.3.5. Facilitating the making of
				contributions also does not include the provision of incidental services by a
				corporation or membership organization to collect and forward contributions
				from its employee stockholders and executive and administrative personnel to
				the separate segregated fund of a trade association of which the corporation or
				membership organization is a member, including collection through a payroll
				deduction or check-off system.
3.3.6. Any use of corporate or membership
				organization property as described in Sections 4.3 and 4.4 of this Rule is
				conditioned on such corporation or membership organization also permitting any
				group of employees represented by a corporate political action committee or
				membership organization political action committee registered with either the
				Secretary of State of West Virginia or the Federal Election Commission, to use,
				without reimbursement, the real property of such corporation or membership
				organization solely to establish, administer and solicit contributions to such
				corporate political action committee or membership organization political
				action committee. No such group of employees may use any such real property in
				such a manner as to significantly disrupt the normal operations or activities
				of the corporation or membership organization.
3.3.6.a. A corporation or membership
				organization is prohibited from soliciting any contributions by use or threat
				of any physical force, job discrimination, financial reprisals or as a
				condition of employment, or by paying any contributor for his or her
				contribution through a bonus, expense account or other form of direct or
				indirect compensation.
3.3.6.b. Any
				person soliciting for a contribution to a separate segregated fund of a
				corporation or membership organization must, at the time of the solicitation,
				inform the person or member being solicited of the political purposes of such
				separate segregated fund of a corporation or membership organization.
3.3.6.c. Any person soliciting for a
				contribution to a separate segregated fund of a corporation or membership
				organization must at the time of the solicitation inform the person or member
				being solicited of the right to refuse to so contribute without any
				reprisal.
3.3.6.d. A guideline for
				contributions may be suggested, and not enforced by any direct or indirect
				means:
Provided
, that the person soliciting, or the
				solicitation, informs the person being solicited:
3.3.6.d.1. That the guidelines are merely
				suggestions; and
3.3.6.d.2. That a
				person is free to contribute more or less than the guidelines suggest and that
				the corporation or membership organization will not favor or disadvantage
				anyone by reason of the amount of their contribution or their decision not to
				contribute.
3.3.6.e. Any
				written solicitation for a contribution to a separate segregated fund of a
				corporation or membership organization must contain statements which comply
				with the requirements of paragraph (2) and (3) of this subdivision, and if a
				guideline is suggested, statements which comply with the requirements of
				paragraph (4) of this subdivision.
3.3.6.f. Subject to this rule, a corporation
				or membership organization may, in making solicitations aimed solely at its
				restricted group for contributions to its separate segregated fund of a
				corporation or membership organization, utilize a payroll deduction plan,
				checkoff system or other plan which deducts contributions from dividend or
				payroll checks of its restricted group.
3.3.6.g. Accidental or inadvertent
				solicitation by a corporation or membership organization, of persons beyond
				those whom it is permitted to solicit, will not be deemed a violation, provided
				that the corporation or membership organization has used its best efforts to
				comply with the limitations regarding the persons it may solicit and that the
				method of solicitation is corrected forthwith after the discovery of such
				erroneous solicitation.