COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2086
(By Delegates Smirl and Frederick)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[April 3, 1997]
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 eliminating the
prohibition for railroads and utilities forming political
action committees by the year two thousand; and requiring
the attorney general to do a study relating to the
constitutionality thereof.
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
companies or railroad companies to establish, administer
or solicit contributions to such fund or political action
committee
: Provided, That the provisions of this subparagraph (I)
shall expire and be of no further effect on and after the first
day of July, two thousand. The Legislature hereby declares that
the aforementioned expiration date is established due to the fact
that, based upon decisions of state and federal courts, there
exist serious questions as to the constitutionality of allowing
certain political activities by certain legal entities to the
specific exclusion of other legal entities. The Legislature
further finds that such constitutional questions should be
thoroughly researched and examined so that the Legislature may
make such determinations and take such actions as are necessary
to ensure the constitutionality of state statutes. Therefore,
the Legislature hereby directs the attorney general to undertake
an examination of the constitutionality of allowing certain
political activities by certain legal entities to the specific
exclusion of other legal entities as will exist prior to the
aforementioned expiration date. Also, the attorney general is
directed to seek legal opinions and legal redress in order to conduct analysis concerning whether West Virginia, in the context
of current federal or state statutory or case law, may regulate
independent expenditures, or regulate or prohibit contribution
limits, whether by individuals, candidates, candidate's personal
funds, political party contributions, corporate contributions, or political action committees for railroads and utilities. The
Legislature hereby directs the attorney general to submit its
findings, conclusions and any recommendations for legislation to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Delegates no later than the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety eight.
(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.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
