H. B. 2514
(By Delegate McKinley)
[Introduced March 9, 1993; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article eight, chapter three of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section five-g,
relating to election campaigns generally; requiring
reporting of independent expenditures and volunteer
contributions; and providing a penalty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article eight, chapter three of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section five-
g, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.
§3-8-5g. Independent expenditures and volunteer contributions;
reporting; independent expenditures by political
action committees prohibited.
Every person, group or organization, making an independent
expenditure or providing in kind services including organizedactivities to advocate or oppose the nomination, election or
defeat of any candidate, or the passage or defeat of any issue,
thing or item to be voted upon, is required to maintain and file
detailed campaign finance and expenditure reports which include
the names of any volunteers or paid persons and their affiliated
organizations as provided in section five of this article. Every
person or organization making an independent expenditure shall
include a sworn statement on a form prepared by the secretary of
state that the independent expenditure was not made with the
cooperation or prior consent of, or in consultation with or at
the request or suggestion of, the candidate or any person or
committee acting on behalf of the candidate, issue, thing or item
to be voted upon.
Any person, group or organization violating the provisions
of this section or failing to file the required reports required
in section five of this article, is guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in an amount equal to the
amount of money expended which was not reported or one thousand
dollars, whichever is higher.
Any advertisement which is an independent expenditure shall
include a clear and conspicuous statement that the advertisement
is not authorized by the candidate, committee or other person and
shall state the name and address of the person or organization
making the expenditure.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require full
disclosure of independent expenditures in election campaigns.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.