00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 103(STA) 01 "An Act relating to election campaigns and legislative ethics." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03  * Section 1. AS 15.13.050(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) If a group intends to support only one candidate [,] or to contribute to or 05 expend on behalf of one candidate 33 1/3 percent or more of its funds, the name of the 06 candidate shall be a part of the name of the group. If the group intends to oppose only 07 one candidate [,] or to contribute its funds in opposition to or make expenditures in 08 opposition to a candidate, the group's name must clearly state that it opposes that 09 candidate by using a word such as "opposes," "opposing," "in opposition to," or 10 "against" in the group's name. Promptly upon receiving the registration, the 11 commission shall notify the candidate of the group's organization and intent. A  12 candidate may register more than one group to support the candidate; however,  13 multiple groups controlled by a single candidate shall be treated as a single group  14 for purposes of the contribution limit in AS 15.13.070(b)(1). 15 * Sec. 2. AS 15.13.116(a) is amended to read: 01 (a) A candidate who, after the date of the general, special, municipal, or 02 municipal runoff election or after the date the candidate withdraws as a candidate, 03 whichever comes first, holds unused campaign contributions shall distribute the 04 amount held within 90 days. The distribution may only be made to 05 (1) pay bills incurred for expenditures reasonably related to the 06 campaign and the winding up of the affairs of the campaign, including a victory or 07 thank you party, thank you advertisements, and thank you gifts to campaign 08 employees and volunteers, and to pay expenditures associated with post-election fund 09 raising that may be needed to raise funds to pay off campaign debts; 10 (2) make donations, without condition, to 11 (A) a political party; 12 (B) the state's general fund; 13 (C) a municipality of the state; or 14 (D) the federal government; 15 (3) make donations, without condition, to organizations qualified as 16 charitable organizations under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), provided the organization is not 17 controlled by the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family; 18 (4) repay loans from the candidate to the candidate's own campaign 19 under AS 15.13.078(b); 20 (5) repay contributions to contributors, but only if repayment of the 21 contribution is made pro rata in approximate proportion to the contributions made 22 using one of the following, as the candidate determines: 23 (A) to all contributors; 24 (B) to contributors who have contributed most recently; or 25 (C) to contributors who have made larger contributions; 26 (6) establish a fund for, and from that fund to pay, attorney fees or 27 costs incurred in the prosecution or defense of an administrative or civil judicial action 28 that directly concerns a challenge to the victory or defeat of the candidate in the 29 election; 30 (7) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to an 31 account for a future election campaign; a transfer under this paragraph is limited to 01 (A) $50,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for governor 02 or lieutenant governor; 03 (B) $10,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 04 senate; 05 (C) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 06 house of representatives; and 07 (D) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for an office 08 not described in (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 09 (8) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 10 public office expense term account [OR TO A PUBLIC OFFICE EXPENSE TERM 11 ACCOUNT RESERVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH (d) OF THIS SECTION]; a 12 transfer under this paragraph is subject to the following: 13 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are 14 elected to the state legislature; 15 (B) the public office expense term account established under 16 this paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 17 serving as a member of the legislature; 18 (C) all amounts expended from the public office expense term 19 account shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); [AND] 20 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $10,000 for a  21 candidate for the house of representatives and $20,000 for a candidate for  22 the senate; and  23 (E) at the end of the candidate's term of office, a balance in  24 the public office expense term account must be disposed of as provided in  25 this subsection but may not be disposed of as provided in (1), (4), or (6) -  26 (9) of this subsection [$5,000 MULTIPLIED BY THE NUMBER OF YEARS 27 IN THE TERM TO WHICH THE CANDIDATE IS ELECTED]; and 28 (9) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 29 municipal office account; a transfer under this paragraph is subject to the following: 30 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are 31 elected to municipal office, including a municipal school board; 01 (B) the municipal office account established under this 02 paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 03 serving as mayor or as a member of the assembly, city council, or school 04 board; 05 (C) all amounts expended from the municipal office account 06 shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); and 07 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $5,000. 08 * Sec. 3. AS 15.13.116(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) After a general, special, municipal, or municipal runoff election, a 10 candidate may retain the ownership of one computer and one printer and of personal 11 property, except money, that was acquired by and for use in the campaign. The 12 current fair market value of the property retained, exclusive of the computer and 13 printer, may not exceed $5,000 [$2,500]. All other property shall be disposed of, or 14 sold and the sale proceeds disposed of, in accordance with (a) or (c) of this section. 15 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 16 (1) a candidate may (A) [(1)] retain a bulk mailing permit that was 17 paid for with campaign funds, and (B) [(2)] use personal funds, campaign funds, or 18 unused campaign contributions transferred to a public office expense term account 19 under (a)(8) of this section to pay the continuing charges for the permit after the 20 election; money [. MONEY] used to continue the life of the permit is not considered 21 to be a contribution under this chapter; in [. IN] addition to any other use permitted 22 under this chapter, during the candidate's term of office, the candidate may use the 23 bulk mailing permit for mailings associated with service in the office to which the 24 candidate was elected; during [. DURING] the candidate's term of office, if the 25 candidate files a declaration of candidacy or the document necessary to permit the  26 candidate to incur election-related expenses under AS 15.13.100 [A LETTER OF 27 INTENT TO BECOME A CANDIDATE] for the same or a different elective office, 28 the candidate may also use the bulk mailing permit in that election campaign; 29 (2) a candidate may retain campaign photographs and use the  30 photographs for any purpose associated with service in the office to which the  31 candidate was elected;  01 (3) a candidate may retain seasonal greeting cards purchased with  02 campaign funds; and 03 (4) campaign signs prepared for an election that has already taken  04 place have no monetary value and may be retained or disposed of at the  05 candidate's discretion. 06 * Sec. 4. AS 15.13.145(b) is amended to read: 07 (b) Money held by an entity identified in (a)(1) - (3) of this section may be 08 used to influence the outcome of an election concerning a ballot proposition or 09 question if the use is permitted under AS 24.60.030(a)(5)(G) or [, BUT ONLY] if 10 the funds have been specifically appropriated for that purpose by a state law or a 11 municipal ordinance. 12 * Sec. 5. AS 15.13.400(3) is amended to read: 13 (3) "contribution" 14 (A) means a purchase, payment, promise or obligation to pay, 15 loan or loan guarantee, deposit or gift of money, goods, or services for which 16 charge is ordinarily made and that is made for the purpose of influencing the 17 nomination or election of a candidate, and in AS 15.13.010(b) for the purpose 18 of influencing a ballot proposition or question, including the payment by a 19 person other than a candidate or political party, or compensation for the 20 personal services of another person, that are rendered to the candidate or 21 political party; 22 (B) does not include 23 (i) services provided without compensation by 24 individuals volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a 25 political party, candidate, or ballot proposition or question, but it does 26 include professional services volunteered by individuals for which they 27 ordinarily would be paid a fee or wage; 28 (ii) services provided by an accountant or other person 29 to prepare reports and statements required by this chapter; [OR] 30 (iii) ordinary hospitality in a home; 31 (iv) two or fewer mass mailings before each election  01 by each political party describing the party's slate of candidates for  02 election, which may include photographs and biographies of the  03 party's candidates; or  04 (v) the results of a poll limited to issues and not  05 mentioning any candidate, unless the poll was requested by or  06 designed primarily to benefit the candidate or provided by an  07 individual required to register as a lobbyist under AS 24.45; 08 * Sec. 6. AS 24.60.030(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 10 (1) solicit, agree to accept, or accept a benefit other than official 11 compensation for the performance of public duties; this paragraph may not be 12 construed to prohibit lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign contributions 13 or the acceptance of a lawful gratuity under AS 24.60.080; 14 (2) use public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another 15 government asset or resource for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or 16 support of or opposition to partisan political activity, or for the private benefit of either 17 the legislator, legislative employee, or another person; this paragraph does not prohibit 18 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 19 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 20 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 21 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 22 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 23 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general 24 public for nonlegislative purposes; 25 (C) telephone or facsimile use that does not carry a special 26 charge; 27 (D) the legislative council, notwithstanding AS 24.05.190, 28 from designating a public facility for use by legislators and legislative 29 employees for health or fitness purposes; when the council designates a facility 30 to be used by legislators and legislative employees for health or fitness 31 purposes, it shall adopt guidelines governing access to and use of the facility; 01 the guidelines may establish times in which use of the facility is limited to 02 specific groups; [OR] 03 (E) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 04 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 [FIVE] days 05 immediately before and the 10 [FIVE] days immediately after a legislative 06 session, for nonlegislative purposes if the use does not interfere with the 07 performance of public duties and if there is no cost to the state for the use of 08 the space and equipment, other than utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or 09 the legislator promptly reimburses the state for the cost; an office is considered 10 a legislator's private office under this subparagraph if it is the primary space in 11 the capital city reserved for use by the legislator, whether or not it is shared 12 with others; 13 (F) a legislator from use of legislative employees to prepare  14 and send out seasonal greeting cards;  15 (G) a legislator from using state resources to transport  16 computers or other office equipment owned by the legislator but primarily  17 used for a state function;  18 (H) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator;  19 (I) reasonable use of the Internet by a legislator or a  20 legislative employee except if the use is for election campaign purposes; or  21 (J) a legislator from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a gift  22 on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable organization in a state  23 facility; 24 (3) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds 25 for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection 26 with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel 27 allowances from public funds; 28 (4) require a legislative employee to perform services for the private 29 benefit of the legislator or employee at any time, or allow a legislative employee to 30 perform services for the private benefit of a legislator or employee on government 31 time; it is not a violation of this paragraph if the services were performed in an 01 unusual or infrequent situation and the person's services were reasonably necessary to 02 permit the legislator or legislative employee to perform official duties; 03 (5) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, 04 services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund 05 raising or campaigning; this paragraph does not prohibit 06 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 07 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 08 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 09 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 10 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 11 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general 12 public for nonlegislative purposes; 13 (C) telephone or facsimile use that does not carry a special 14 charge; 15 (D) storing or maintaining, consistent with (b) of this section, 16 election campaign records in a legislator's office; [OR] 17 (E) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 18 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 [FIVE] days 19 immediately before and the 10 [FIVE] days immediately after a legislative 20 session, for nonlegislative purposes if the use does not interfere with the 21 performance of public duties and if there is no cost to the state for the use of 22 the space and equipment, other than utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or 23 the legislator promptly reimburses the state for the cost; an office is considered 24 a legislator's private office under this subparagraph if it is the primary space in 25 the capital city reserved for use by the legislator, whether or not it is shared 26 with others;  27 (F) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator; or  28 (G) use of governmental resources by a legislator or  29 legislative employee to support or oppose a proposed amendment to the  30 state or federal constitution; a legislator or legislative employee may  31 support or oppose a proposed constitutional amendment; however, a  01 legislator or legislative employee may not use governmental resources to  02 solicit contributions for a proposed constitutional amendment. 03  * Sec. 7. AS 15.13.116(d) is repealed. 04  * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 05 read: 06 TRANSITIONAL PROVISION. A candidate for the state legislature who was elected 07 to the state legislature before the effective date of this Act and who holds funds in a public 08 office expense term account reserve shall transfer those funds to a public office expense term 09 account before January 1, 2002.