Senate Bill No. 634
(By Senator Kessler)
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[Introduced February 22, 2010; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §3-8-9 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to political action committees
receiving contributions from a separate segregated fund of a
membership organization; and establishing limits.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-8-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.
§3-8-9. Lawful and unlawful election expenses; public opinion
polls and limiting their purposes; limitation upon
expenses; use of advertising agencies and reporting
requirements; delegation of expenditures.
(a) No financial agent or treasurer of a political committee
shall pay, give or lend, either directly or indirectly, any money
or other thing of value for any election expenses, except for the following purposes:
(1) For rent, maintenance, office equipment and other
furnishing of offices to be used as political headquarters and for
the payment of necessary clerks, stenographers, typists, janitors
and messengers actually employed therein;
(2) In the case of a candidate who does not maintain a
headquarters, for reasonable office expenses, including, but not
limited to, filing cabinets and other office equipment and
furnishings, computers, computer hardware and software, scanners,
typewriters, calculators, audio visual equipment, the rental of the
use of the same, or for the payment for the shared use of same with
the candidate's business and for the payment of necessary clerks,
stenographers and typists actually employed;
(3) For printing and distributing books, pamphlets, circulars
and other printed matter and radio and television broadcasting and
painting, printing and posting signs, banners and other
advertisements, including contributions to charitable, educational
or cultural events, for the promotion of the candidate, the
candidate's name or an issue on the ballot;
(4) For renting and decorating halls for public meetings and
political conventions, for advertising public meetings and for the
payment of traveling expenses of speakers and musicians at such meetings;
(5) For the necessary traveling and hotel expenses of
candidates, political agents and committees and for stationery,
postage, telegrams, telephone, express, freight and public messenger service;
(6) For preparing, circulating and filing petitions for
nomination of candidates;
(7) For examining the lists of registered voters, securing
copies thereof, investigating the right to vote of the persons
listed therein and conducting proceedings to prevent unlawful
registration or voting;
(8) For conveying voters to and from the polls;
(9) For securing publication in newspapers and by radio and
television broadcasting of documents, articles, speeches, arguments
and any information relating to any political issue, candidate or
question or proposition submitted to a vote;
(10) For conducting public opinion poll or polls. For the
purpose of this section, the phrase "conducting of public opinion
poll or polls" shall mean and be limited to the gathering,
collection, collation and evaluation of information reflecting
public opinion, needs and preferences as to any candidate, group of
candidates, party, issue or issues. No such poll shall be
deceptively designed or intentionally conducted in a manner
calculated to advocate the election or defeat of any candidate or
group of candidates or calculated to influence any person or
persons so polled to vote for or against any candidate, group of
candidates, proposition or other matter to be voted on by the
public at any election:
Provided, That nothing herein shall
prevent the use of the results of any such poll or polls to further, promote or enhance the election of any candidate or group
of candidates or the approval or defeat of any proposition or other
matter to be voted on by the public at any election;
(11) For legitimate advertising agency services, including
commissions, in connection with any campaign activity for which
payment is authorized by subdivisions (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (9)
and (10) of this subsection;
(12) For the purchase of memorials, flowers or citations by
political party executive committees or political action committees
representing a political party;
(13) For the purchase of nominal noncash expressions of
appreciation following the close of the polls of an election or
within thirty days thereafter;
(14) For the payment of dues or subscriptions to any national,
state or local committee of any political party;
(15) For contributions to a county party executive committee,
state party executive committee or a state party legislative caucus
political committee; and
(16) For contributions to a candidate committee:
Provided,
That a candidate committee may not contribute to another candidate
committee except as otherwise provided by section ten of this
article.
(b) A political action committee may not contribute to another
political action committee or receive contributions from another
political action committee
Provided, That except that a political action committee may receive contributions from its national
affiliate, if any.
However, the separate segregated fund of a
membership organization may receive contributions, not to exceed
$1,000 per election, from any separate segregated fund established,
maintained or controlled by a member including the member's
respective parent entities, subsidiaries, branches, divisions,
departments or local units.
(c) Every liability incurred and payment made shall be for the
fair market value of the services rendered.
(d) Every advertising agency subject to the provisions of this
article shall file, in the manner and form required by section
five-a of this article, the financial statements required by
section five of this article at the times required therein and
include therein, in itemized detail, all receipts from and
expenditures made on behalf of a candidate, financial agent or
treasurer of a political party committee.
(e) Any candidate may designate a financial agent by a writing
duly subscribed by
him the candidate which shall be in such form
and filed in accordance with the provisions of section four of this
article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit political action
committees to receive contributions from a separate segregated fund
of a membership organizations. The bill also establishes a $1,000
per election limit.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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