Senate Bill No. 66
(By Senator Barnes)
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[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §3-8-12 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to limitation of distributing,
handing out or otherwise dispensing public moneys by elected
officials within ninety days of elections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-8-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.
§3-8-12. Additional acts forbidden; circulation of written matter;
newspaper advertising; solicitation of contributions;
intimidation and coercion of employees; promise of
employment or other benefits; limitations on
contributions; public contractors; penalty.
(a) No person may publish, issue or circulate, or cause to be
published, issued or circulated, any anonymous letter, circular, placard, radio or television advertisement or other publication
supporting or aiding the election or defeat of a clearly identified
candidate.
(b) No owner, publisher, editor or employee of a newspaper or
other periodical may insert, either in its advertising or reading
columns, any matter, paid for or to be paid for, which tends to
influence the voting at any election, unless directly designating
it as a paid advertisement and stating the name of the person
authorizing its publication and the candidate in whose behalf it is
published.
(c) No person may, in any room or building occupied for the
discharge of official duties by any officer or employee of the
state or a political subdivision of the state, solicit orally or by
written communication delivered within the room or building, or in
any other manner, any contribution of money or other thing of value
for any party or political purpose, from any postmaster or any
other officer or employee of the federal government, or officer or
employee of the state, or a political subdivision of the state. No
officer, agent, clerk or employee of the federal government, or of
this state, or any political subdivision of the state, who may have
charge or control of any building, office or room, occupied for any
official purpose, may knowingly permit any person to enter any
building, office or room, occupied for any official purpose for the
purpose of soliciting or receiving any political assessments from, or delivering or giving written solicitations for, or any notice
of, any political assessments to, any officer or employee of the
state, or a political subdivision of the state.
(d) Except as provided in section eight of this article, no
person entering into any contract with the state or its
subdivisions, or any department or agency of the state, either for
rendition of personal services or furnishing any material, supplies
or equipment or selling any land or building to the state, or its
subdivisions, or any department or agency of the state, if payment
for the performance of the contract or payment for the material,
supplies, equipment, land or building is to be made, in whole or in
part, from public funds may, during the period of negotiation for
or performance under the contract or furnishing of materials,
supplies, equipment, land or buildings, directly or indirectly,
make any contribution to any political party, committee or
candidate for public office or to any person for political purposes
or use; nor may any person or firm solicit any contributions for
any purpose during any period.
(e) No person may, directly or indirectly, promise any
employment, position, work, compensation or other benefit provided
for, or made possible, in whole or in part, by act of the
Legislature, to any person as consideration, favor or reward for
any political activity for the support of or opposition to any
candidate, or any political party in any election.
(f) No person may, directly or indirectly, make any
contribution in excess of the value of $1,000 in connection with
any campaign for nomination or election to or on behalf of any
statewide office, in connection with any other campaign for
nomination or election to or on behalf of any other elective office
in the state or any of its subdivisions, or in connection with or
on behalf of any person engaged in furthering, advancing,
supporting or aiding the nomination or election of any candidate
for any of the offices.
(g) No political organization, (as defined in Section
527(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) may solicit or
accept contributions until it has notified the Secretary of State
of its existence and of the purposes for which it was formed.
During the two-year election cycle, a political organization, (as
defined in Section 527(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
may not accept contributions totaling more than $1,000 from any one
person prior to the primary election and contributions totaling
more than $1,000 from any one person after the primary and before
the general election.
(h) It
shall be is unlawful for any person to create,
establish or organize more than one political organization (as
defined in Section 527(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
with the intent to avoid or evade the contribution limitations
contained in subsection (g) of this section.
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (f) of this
section to the contrary, no person may, directly or indirectly,
make contributions to a state party executive committee or state
party legislative caucus committee which, in the aggregate, exceed
the value of $1,000 in any calendar year.
(j) The limitations on contributions contained in this section
do not apply to transfers between and among a state party executive
committee or a state party's legislative caucus political committee
from national committees of the same political party:
Provided,
That transfers permitted by this subsection may not exceed $50,000
in the aggregate in any calendar year to any state party executive
committee or state party legislative caucus political committee:
Provided, however, That the moneys transferred may only be used for
voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities of the state
committees.
(k) No person may solicit any contribution, other than
contributions to a campaign for or against a county or local
government ballot issue, from any nonelective salaried employee of
the state government or of any of its subdivisions:
Provided, That
in no event
shall may any person acting in a supervisory role
solicit a person who is a subordinate employee for any
contribution. No person may coerce or intimidate any nonelective
salaried employee into making a contribution. No person may coerce
or intimidate any nonsalaried employee of the state government or any of its subdivisions into engaging in any form of political
activity. The provisions of this subsection
may not be construed
to do not prevent any employee from making a contribution or from
engaging in political activity voluntarily without coercion,
intimidation or solicitation.
(l) No person may solicit a contribution from any other person
without informing the other person at the time of the solicitation
of the amount of any commission, remuneration or other compensation
that the solicitor or any other person will receive or expect to
receive as a direct result of the contribution being successfully
collected. Nothing in this subsection
may be construed to apply
applies to solicitations of contributions made by any person
serving as an unpaid volunteer.
(m) No person may place any letter, circular, flyer,
advertisement, election paraphernalia, solicitation material or
other printed or published item tending to influence voting at any
election in a roadside receptacle unless it is: (1) Approved for
placement into a roadside receptacle by the business or entity
owning the receptacle; and (2) contains a written acknowledgment of
the approval. This subdivision does not apply to any printed
material contained in a newspaper or periodical published or
distributed by the owner of the receptacle. The term "roadside
receptacle" means any container placed by a newspaper or periodical
business or entity to facilitate home or personal delivery of a designated newspaper or periodical to its customers.
(n) No elected official or individual acting on behalf of an
elected official may personally distribute, handout or otherwise
dispense publicly any state or federal public moneys and
appropriation grants, including state grants and economic
development funds, to any individual, corporation, organization or
entity within ninety days of an election in which the elected
official is a candidate.
(n) (o) Any person violating any provision of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than $1,000, or confined in
a regional or county
jail for not more than one year, or, in the discretion of the
court, be
subject to both fine and confinement both fined and
confined.
(o) (p) The provisions of subsection (k) of this section,
permitting contributions to a campaign for or against a county or
local government ballot issue
shall become are operable on and
after January 1, 2005.
(p) (q) The limitations on contributions established by
subsection (g) of this section do not apply to contributions made
for the purpose of supporting or opposing a ballot issue, including
a Constitutional amendment.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit distribution,
handing out or otherwise dispensing of public moneys by elected
officials within ninety days of elections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.