§3-8-8. Corporation contributions forbidden; exceptions;
penalties; promulgation of rules; additional powers
of State Election Commission.
(a) An officer, agent or person acting on behalf of any
corporation, whether incorporated under the laws of this or any
other state or of a foreign country, may not pay, give, lend or
authorize to be paid, any money or other thing of value belonging
to the corporation to any candidate or candidate's campaign for
nomination or election to any statewide office or any other
elective office in the state or any of its subdivisions.
(b) A person may not solicit or receive any payment,
contribution or other thing from any corporation or from any
officer, agent or other person acting on behalf of the corporation
to any candidate or candidate's campaign for nomination or election
to any statewide office or any other elective office in the state
or any of its subdivisions.
(c)(1) The provisions of this section do not prohibit a
corporation from soliciting, through any officer, agent or person
acting on behalf of the corporation, contributions to a separate
segregated fund to be used for political purposes. Any separate
segregated fund is considered a political action committee for the
purpose of this article and is subject to all reporting
requirements applicable to political action committees;
(2) It is unlawful for:
(A) A corporation or separate segregated fund to make a primary or other election contribution or expenditure by using
money or anything of value secured: (i) By physical force, job
discrimination or financial reprisal; (ii) by the threat of force,
job discrimination or financial reprisal; or (iii) as a condition
of employment;
(B) Any person soliciting a stockholder or executive or
administrative personnel and members of their families for a
contribution to a corporation or separate segregated fund to fail
to inform the person solicited of the political purposes of the
separate segregated fund at the time of the solicitation;
(C) Any person soliciting any other person for a contribution
to a corporation or separate segregated fund to fail to inform the
person solicited at the time of the solicitation of his or her
right to refuse to contribute without any reprisal;
(D) A separate segregated fund established by a corporation:
(i) To solicit contributions to the fund from any person other than
the corporation's stockholders and their families and its executive
or administrative personnel and their families; or (ii) to
contribute any corporate funds;
(E) A separate segregated fund established by a corporation to
receive contributions to the fund from any person other than the
corporation's stockholders and their immediate families and its
executive or administrative personnel and their immediate families;
(F) A corporation to engage in job discrimination or to
discriminate in job promotion or transfer because of an employee's failure to make a contribution to the corporation or a separate
segregated fund;
(G) A separate segregated fund to make any contribution,
directly or indirectly, in excess of $1,000 in connection with or
on behalf of any campaign for nomination or election to any
elective office in the state or any of its subdivisions, or in
connection with or on behalf of any committee or other organization
or person engaged in furthering, advancing, supporting or aiding
the nomination or election of any candidate for any such office;
(H) A corporation to pay, give or lend or to authorize
payment, giving or lending of any moneys or other things of value
belonging to the corporation to a separate segregated fund for the
purpose of making a contribution to a candidate or a candidate's
committee. This provision does not prohibit a separate segregated
fund from using the property, real or personal, facilities and
equipment of a corporation solely to establish, administer and
solicit contributions to the fund, subject to the rules of the
State Election Commission as provided in subsection (d) of this
section: Provided, That any such corporation shall also permit any
group of its employees represented by a bona fide political action
committee to use the real property of the corporation solely to
establish, administer and solicit contributions to the fund of the
political action committee, subject to the rules of the State
Election Commission promulgated in accordance with said subsection.
(3) For the purposes of this section, the term "executive or administrative personnel" means individuals employed by a
corporation who are paid on a salary rather than hourly basis and
who have policy-making, managerial, professional or supervisory
responsibilities.
(d) Any person or corporation violating any provision of this
section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not more than $10,000. A corporation may not
reimburse any person the amount of any fine imposed pursuant to
this section.
(e) To ensure uniform administration and application of the
provisions of this section and of those of the Federal Election
Campaign Act Amendments of 1976 relating to corporate
contributions, the State Election Commission shall propose rules
for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the
provisions of this section consistent, insofar as practicable, with
the rules and regulations promulgated by the Federal Election
Commission to carry out similar or identical provisions of 2 U.S.C.
§441b.
(f) In addition to the powers and duties set forth in article
one-a of this chapter, the State Election Commission has the
following powers and duties:
(1) To investigate, upon complaint or on its own initiative,
any alleged violations or irregularities of this article.
(2) To administer oaths and affirmations, issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses, issue subpoenas duces tecum to compel
the production of books, papers, records and all other evidence
necessary to any investigation.
(3) To involve the aid of any circuit court in the execution
of its subpoena power.
(4) To report any alleged violations of this article to the
appropriate prosecuting attorney having jurisdiction, which
prosecuting attorney shall present to the grand jury such alleged
violations, together with all evidence relating thereto, no later
than the next term of court after receiving the report.
(g) The Attorney General shall, when requested, provide legal
and investigative assistance to the State Election Commission.
(h) Any investigation, either upon complaint or initiative,
shall be conducted in an executive session of the State Election
Commission and shall remain undisclosed except upon an indictment
by a grand jury.
(i) Any person who discloses the fact of any complaint,
investigation or report or any part thereof, or any proceedings
thereon, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not less than $1,000, nor more than $5,000, and
shall be confined in jail not less than six months nor more than
one year.
(j) The amendments to this section enacted during the second
extraordinary session of 2008 are intended to conform to the
existing proscription to constitutionally permissible limits and not to create a new offense or offenses.
(k) The effective date of the amendments to this section
enacted during the second extraordinary legislative session of 2008
is October 1, 2008.