H. B. 2640
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers, and Delegates
Staton, Rowe and Mezzatesta)
(Introduced February 22, 1995; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.)
A BILL to amend and reenact sections five-a, five-d and twelve,
article eight, chapter three of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all
relating to elections generally; information required in
election financial statements; eliminating the requirement
that cash contributions in excess of fifty dollars be made
by check or money order; limiting the method by which
contributions are made to state party executive committees;
and criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five-a, five-d and twelve, article eight,
chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.
§3-8-5a. Information required in financial statement.
(a) Each financial statement required by the provisions of this article shall contain the following information:
(1) The first name, middle initial, if any, and last name,
residence and mailing address and telephone number of each
candidate, financial agent, treasurer or person, and the full
name, address and telephone number of each association,
organization or committee filing a financial statement.
(2) The balance of cash and any other sum of money on hand
at the beginning and the end of the period covered by the
financial statement.
(3) The first name, middle initial, if any, and the last
name in the case of an individual, and the full name of each
firm, association or committee, and the amount of such
contribution of such individual, firm, association or committee,
and, if the aggregate of the sum or sums contributed by any one
such individual, firm, association or committee exceeds two
hundred fifty dollars, there shall also be reported the residence
and mailing address and, in the case of an individual, the major
business affiliation and occupation. A contribution totaling
more than fifty dollars or more of currency of the United States
or currency of any foreign country by any one contributor is
prohibited unless it is made by money order or by check, and a
violation of this provision is subject to section five-d of this
article. As used herein, the term "check" shall have the meaning
ascribed to that term in section one hundred four, article three,
chapter forty-six of this code.
(4) The total amount of contributions received during the period covered by the financial statement.
(5) The first name, middle initial, if any, and the last
name, residence and mailing address of any individual or the full
name and mailing address of each firm, association or committee
making or cosigning a loan and the amount of any loan received,
the date and terms of the loan, including interest and repayment
schedule, along with a copy of the loan agreement.
(6) The first name, middle initial, if any, and the last
name, residence and mailing address of any individual or the full
name and mailing address of each firm, association or committee
having previously made or cosigned a loan for which payment is
made or a balance is outstanding at the end of the period,
together with the amount of repayment on the loan made during
the period and the balance at the end of the period.
(7) The total outstanding balance of all loans at the end of
the period.
(8) The first name, middle initial, if any, and the last
name, residence and mailing address of any individual, or the
full name and mailing address of each firm, association or
committee to whom each expenditure was made or liability
incurred, together with the amount and purpose of each
expenditure or liability incurred and the date of each
transaction.
(9) The total expenditure for the nomination, election or
defeat of a candidate or any person or organization advocating
or opposing the nomination, election or defeat of any candidate, or the passage or defeat of any issue, thing or item to be voted
upon, in whose behalf an expenditure was made or a contribution
was given for the primary or other election.
(10) The total amount of expenditures made during the period
covered by the financial statement.
(b) Any unexpended balance at the time of making the
financial statements herein provided for shall be properly
accounted for in that financial statement and shall appear as a
balance in the next following financial statement.
(c) Each financial statement required by this section shall
contain a separate section setting forth the following
information for each fund-raising event held during the period
covered by the financial statement:
(1) The type of event, date held, and address and name, if
any, of the place where the event was held.
(2) All of the information required by subdivision (3),
subsection (a) of this section.
(3) The total of all moneys received at the fund-raising
event.
(4) The expenditures incident to the fund-raising event.
(5) The net receipts of the fund-raising event.
(d) When any lump sum payment is made to any advertising
agency or other disbursing person who does not file a report of
detailed accounts and verified financial statements as required
in this section, such lump sum expenditures shall be accounted
for in the same manner as provided for herein.
(e) Any contribution or expenditure made by or on behalf of
a candidate for public office, to any other candidate, or
committee for a candidate for any public office in the same
election shall be accounted for in accordance with the provisions
of this section.
(f) No person, firm, association or committee may make any
contribution except from their own funds, unless such person,
firm, association or committee discloses in writing to the person
required to report under this section the first name, middle
initial, if any, and the last name in the case of an individual,
or the full name in case of a firm, association or committee,
residence and mailing address and the major business affiliation
and occupation of the person, firm, association or committee
which furnished the funds to such contributor. All such
disclosures shall be included in the statement required by this
section.
(g) Any firm, association, committee or fund permitted by
section eight of this article to be a political committee shall
disclose on the financial statement its corporate or other
affiliation.
(h) No contribution may be made, directly or indirectly, in
a fictitious name, anonymously or by one person through an agent,
relative or other person so as to conceal the identity of the
source of the contribution or in any other manner so as to effect
concealment of the contributor's identity.
(i) No person, firm, association or committee may accept any contribution for the purpose of influencing the nomination,
election or defeat of a candidate or for the passage or defeat of
any issue or thing to be voted upon unless the identity of the
donor and the amount of the contribution is known and reported.
(j) When any candidate, organization, committee or person
receives any anonymous contribution which cannot be returned
because the donor cannot be identified, that contribution shall
be donated to the general revenue fund of the state. Any
anonymous contribution shall be recorded as such on the
candidate's financial statement, but may not be expended for
election expenses. At the time of filing, the financial
statement shall include a statement of distribution of anonymous
contributions, which total amount shall equal the total of all
anonymous contributions received during the period.
(k) Any membership organization which raises funds for
political purposes by payroll deduction assessing them as part
of its membership dues or as a separate assessment may report the
amount raised as follows:
(1) If the portion of dues or assessments designated for
political purposes equals twenty-five dollars or less per member
over the course of a calendar year, the total amount raised for
political purposes through membership dues or assessments during
the period is reported by showing the amount required to be paid
by each member and the number of members.
(2) If the total payroll deduction for political purposes of
each participating member equals twenty-five dollars or less over the course of a calendar or fiscal year, as specified by the
organization, the organization shall report the total amount
received for political purposes through such payroll deductions
during the reporting period, and to the maximum extent possible,
the amount of each yearly payroll deduction contribution level
and the number of members contributing at each such specified
level. The membership organization shall maintain records of the
name and yearly payroll deduction amounts of each participating
member.
(3) If any member contributes to the membership organization
through individual voluntary contributions by means other than
payroll deduction, membership dues, or assessments as provided
in this subsection, the reporting requirements of subdivision
(3), subsection (a) of this section shall apply. Funds raised
for political purposes must be segregated from the funds for
other purposes and listed in its report.
(l) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Political purposes" means advocating or opposing the
nomination, election or defeat of one or more candidates,
supporting the retirement of the debt of a candidate or
activities of an established political party or an organization
which has declared itself a political party, supporting the
administration or activities of a political committee or
advocating or opposing the passage of a ballot issue.
(2) "Membership organization" means a group that grants bona
fide rights and privileges, such as the right to vote, to elect officers or directors, and the ability to hold office, to its
members, and which uses a majority of its membership dues for
purposes other than political purposes. This term shall not
include organizations that grant membership upon receiving a
contribution.
(3) "Fund-raising event" means an event such as a dinner,
reception, testimonial, cocktail party, auction or similar affair
through which contributions are solicited or received by such
means as the purchase of a ticket, payment of an attendance fee
or by the purchase of goods or services.
(m) Notwithstanding the provisions of section five of this
article or of the provisions of this section to the contrary, an
alternative reporting procedure may be followed by a political
party executive committee or a political action committee
representing a political party in filing financial reports for
fund-raising events if the total profit does not exceed five
thousand dollars per year. A political party executive committee
or a political action committee representing a political party
may report gross receipts for the sale of food, beverages,
services, novelty items, raffle tickets or memorabilia, except
that any receipt of more than fifty dollars from an individual
or organization shall be reported as a contribution. A political
party executive committee or a political action committee
representing a political party using this alternative method of
reporting shall report: (i) The name of the committee; (ii) the
type of fund-raising activity undertaken; (iii) the location where the activity occurred; (iv) the date of the fund raiser;
(v) the name of any individual who contributed more than fifty
dollars worth of items to be sold; (vi) the name and amount
received from any person or organization purchasing more than
fifty dollars worth of food, beverages, services, novelty items,
raffle tickets or memorabilia; (vii) the gross receipts of the
fund raiser; and (viii) the date, amount, purpose and name and
address of each person or organization from whom items with a
fair market value of more than fifty dollars were purchased for
resale.
§3-8-5d. Offenses and penalties.
(a) Any person who makes or receives a monetary contribution
of currency of the United States or currency of any foreign
country of fifty dollars or more in value, other than by check or
money order, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction, shall be fined a sum equal to three times the amount
or value of the contribution.
(b) Notwithstanding the any provision of section twenty-
four, article nine of this chapter to the contrary, a criminal
prosecution or civil action for a violation of this article shall
may be commenced within five years after the violation occurred.
(c) No person required to report under this article shall be
found in violation of this article if any person, firm,
association or committee making a contribution has provided false
information to such person: Provided, That any person, firm,
association or committee who provides false information to a person required to report under this article shall be is guilty
of a misdemeanor, as and subject to the penalties provided for in
section twenty-three, article nine of this chapter.
§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 shall publish, issue or circulate, or cause
to be published, issued or circulated, any anonymous letter,
circular, placard, or other publication tending to influence
voting at any election;.
(b) No owner, publisher, editor or employee of a newspaper
or other periodical shall 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 whatever, 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 shall, in any room or building occupied for
the discharge of official duties by any officer or employee of
the state or a political subdivision thereof, solicit orally or
by written communication delivered therein, or in any other
manner, any contribution of money or other thing of value for
any party or political purpose whatever, from any postmaster or any other officer or employee of the federal government, or
officer or employee of the state, or a political subdivision
thereof. No officer, agent, clerk or employee of the federal
government, or of this state, or any political subdivision
thereof, who may have charge or control of any building, office
or room, occupied for any official purpose, shall knowingly
permit any person to enter the same for the purpose of therein
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 thereof;.
(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 thereof, 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
thereof, if payment for the performance of such contract or
payment for such material, supplies, equipment, land or
building is to be made in whole or in part from public funds
shall, during the period of negotiation for or performance
under such 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 shall any person or firm solicit any contributions for any such purpose during any such period;.
(e) No person shall, 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 shall, directly or indirectly, make any
contribution in excess of the value of one thousand dollars in
connection with any campaign for nomination or election to or
on behalf of any statewide or national elective office, or in
excess of the value of one thousand dollars, 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
committee or other organization or person engaged in
furthering, advancing or advocating the nomination or election
of any candidate for any such office;.
(g) (1) Not withstanding the provisions of subsection (f)
of this section to the contrary, the aggregate contributions
made to a state party executive committee shall be permitted
only pursuant to the limitations imposed by the provisions of
this subsection.
(2) No person shall, directly or indirectly, make
contributions to a state party executive committee which, in the aggregate, exceed the value of one thousand dollars in any
calendar year.
(g) (h) No person shall solicit any contribution from any
nonelective salaried employee of the state government or of any
of its subdivisions or coerce or intimidate any such employee
into making such contribution. No person shall 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 hereof shall not be construed to
prevent any such employee from making such a contribution or
from engaging in political activity voluntarily, without
coercion, intimidation or solicitation; and.
(h) (i) No person shall solicit a contribution from any
other person without informing such other person at the time of
such 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 such
contribution being successfully collected. Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to apply to solicitations of
contributions made by any person serving as an unpaid
volunteer.
(j) Any person violating any provision of this section
shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or
confined in jail for not more than one year, or, in the
discretion of the court, be subject to both such fine and imprisonment confinement.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit noncash political
contributions of $50.00 or more to be made by modern methods of
exchange such as electronic transfer, credit card and debit
card. The bill would also limit aggregate contributions to
state party executive committees to $1,000.00 per year, rather
than $1,000.00 per election.