H. B. 2086
(By Delegates Smirl and Frederick)
[Introduced February 13, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article eight, chapter
three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to prohibiting
political contributions by corporations; exceptions;
corporation political committees and their solicitation of
political contributions; unlawful acts of corporations and
corporation political committees; removal of prohibition
against organization and operation of corporation political
committees on behalf of public utility companies and
railroad companies; definition; legislative rules;
additional powers and duties of state election commission;
duty of attorney general; investigations; and criminal
penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article eight, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.
§3-8-8. Corporation contributions forbidden; exceptions;
promulgation of rules; additional powers of state
election commission; investigations of violations
of article; duties of attorney general; criminal
penalties.
(a) No officer of any corporation, or agent or person on
behalf of such the corporation, whether incorporated under the
laws of this or any other state, or foreign country, shall pay,
give or lend, or authorize to be paid, given or lent, any money
or other thing of value belonging to such the corporation, to any
candidate, financial agent or political committee or other
person, for the payment of any primary or other election expenses
whatever. No person shall solicit or receive such payment,
contribution or other thing from any corporation, officer or
agent thereof, or other person acting on behalf of such the
corporation.
(b) (1) The provisions of this section shall may not be deemed
to prohibit:
(A) Direct communications, other than by newspapers of general
circulation, radio, television or billboard advertising likely to
reach the general public, by a corporation to its stockholders and executive or administrative personnel and their families on
any subject;
(B) Nonpartisan registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns by
a corporation aimed at its stockholders and executives or
administrative personnel and their families; and
(C) The solicitation of contributions to a separate segregated
fund to be utilized for political purposes by any corporate
officer, agent or any person on behalf of a corporation. Any
such fund shall be deemed to be is a political committee for the
purpose of this article and subject to all reporting requirements
thereof.
(2) It shall be unlawful:
(A) For such a fund to make a contribution or expenditure by
utilizing money or anything of value secured by physical force,
job discrimination, financial reprisal or the threat of force,
job discrimination or financial reprisal, or as a condition of
employment, or by moneys obtained in any commercial transaction;
(B) For any person soliciting a stockholder, executive or
administrative personnel and members of their family for a
contribution to such a fund to fail to inform such the person of
the political purposes of such the fund at the time of such the
solicitation;
(C) For any person soliciting any other person for a
contribution to such a fund to fail to inform such the other person at the time of such the solicitation of his or her right
to refuse to so contribute without any reprisal;
(D) For a corporation, or a separate segregated fund
established by a corporation to solicit contributions to such a
fund from any person other than its stockholders and their
families and its executive or administrative personnel and their
families or to contribute any corporate funds;
(E) For a corporation, or a separate segregated fund
established by a corporation to receive contributions to such a
fund from any person other than its stockholders and their
immediate families and its executive or administrative personnel
and their immediate families;
(F) For 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 such the fund;
(G) For such a fund directly or indirectly to 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 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; and
(H) For a corporation to pay, give or lend, or authorize to be paid, given or lent, any moneys or other things of value
belonging to such the corporation to such a fund for any purpose.
This provision shall may not be deemed to prohibit such a 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 and
regulations of the state election commission as provided in
subsection (d) of this section: Provided, That such the
corporation shall also permit any group of employees thereof
represented by a bona fide political action committee to use the
real property of such the corporation solely to establish,
administer and solicit contributions to the fund of such the
political action committee, subject to the rules and regulations
of the state elections election commission as provided in
subsection (d) of this section. No such property, real or
personal, facilities, equipment, materials or services of a
corporation shall be utilized for the purpose of influencing any
voter or voters to vote for a particular candidate, or in any
particular manner, or upon any particular side of any question to
be decided at any election, or to influence the result of any
such election.
(I) Public utility companies and railroad companies may not
form funds or political action committees in support of political
candidates or parties, and may not use corporate property, real or personal, facilities, equipment, materials or services of said
utility to establish, administer or solicit contributions to such
fund or political action committee.
(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.
(c) Any person or corporation violating any provision of this
section shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five thousand
dollars. No corporation shall reimburse any person the amount of
any such fine imposed pursuant to this section.
(d) The state election commission shall promulgate legislative
rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this
section, which rules, and regulations insofar as practicable,
shall be the same as the rules and regulations promulgated by the
federal election commission to carry out those provisions of 2
USC § 441b which are similar or identical to those provisions
contained in this section in order that the provisions of this
section and the regulations rules promulgated thereunder and the
similar provisions of 2 USC § 441b and the regulations
promulgated thereunder may be uniformly administered and applied
to corporations subject to the cited section of the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1976 and to this section.
The state election commission shall promulgate such rules and
regulations not later than sixty days after the effective date of
this subsection and in doing so shall be governed by in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code.
(e) (1) In addition to its powers and duties as set forth in
article one-a of this chapter, the state election commission
shall have the following powers and duties:
1. (A) To investigate, upon complaint or on its own
initiative, any alleged violations or irregularities of this
article;
2. (B) 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. (C) To involve the aid of any circuit court in the
execution of its subpoena power;
4. (D) 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 the
alleged violations, together with all evidence relating thereto,
no later than the next term of court after receiving the report.
(2) It shall be the duty of the attorney general to provide such legal and investigative assistance to the state election
commission as it may request and require.
(3) 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.
(4) Any person who shall disclose the fact of any complaint,
investigation or report or any part thereof, or any proceedings
thereon, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars, nor
more than five thousand dollars, and shall be imprisoned in the
county jail not less than six months nor more than one year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit political
contributions by corporations and exceptions thereto.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.