WEST virginia legislature

2017 regular session

ENROLLED

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 2319

By Delegates UPSON, MR. SPEAKER (MR. ARMSTEAD), HAMILTON, ROHRBACH and Baldwin

[Passed April 6, 2017; in effect ninety days from passage.]

 AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §3-8-15, relating to requiring timely disclosure of fund-raising events, including contributions, of candidates or candidate committees for legislative office while the Legislature is in session; requiring members of Legislature who are candidates for public office to disclose existence of fund-raising event and receipt of all contributions within five business days after event; imposing the same reporting requirements upon former candidates or candidate committees for legislative office who are still in office and who use fund-raising event to retire or pay-off debt to campaign while Legislature in session; clarifying that reporting under this section does not relieve a candidate or candidate’s committee from regular reporting requirements; requiring Secretary of State to create a form for disclosure; requiring the Secretary of State to publish information on the Secretary of State’s website; authorizing the Secretary of State to establish a means for electronic filing and disclosure as an alternative; and authorizing the Secretary of State to promulgate legislative and emergency rules.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §3-8-15, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 8. REGULATIONS AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.

§3-8-15. Disclosure of contributions during legislative session.

(a) In addition to other reporting required under this article, any member, or any candidate committee for a member of the Legislature who is a candidate for legislative office, who has a fund-raising event while the Legislature is in session, shall disclose the existence of the event and the receipt of all contributions, including the source and amounts, within five business days after the fund-raising event. 

(b) The reporting requirements under this section also apply to former candidates or candidate committees for legislative office who are still holding any legislative office and who use a fund-raising event to retire or pay-off debt of a campaign account while the Legislature is in session.

(c) The reporting requirements of this section do not relieve a candidate or candidate’s committee from reporting contributions received and disclosed in conformity with this section from reporting them as required by the regular reporting requirements as contained in section five of this article.

d) The Secretary of State shall prepare a form for disclosure of these contributions and publish the information on the Secretary of State’s website within forty-eight hours of the Secretary of State receiving the completed form: Provided, That as an alternative, the Secretary of State is authorized to establish a means for electronic filing and disclosure.  

(e) Pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the Secretary of State may propose rules and emergency rules for legislative approval relating to procedures and policies consistent with this section.