00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 157(FIN) 01 "An Act requiring the disclosure of the identity of certain persons, groups, and 02 nongroup entities that expend money in support of or in opposition to an application 03 filed for a state referendum or recall election; relating to the location of offices for the 04 Alaska Public Offices Commission and the locations at which certain statements and 05 reports filed with the commission are made available; relating to the duties of the Alaska 06 Public Offices Commission; clarifying the limits on making, accepting, and reporting 07 certain cash campaign contributions; relating to campaign finance reporting by certain 08 groups; increasing the time the Alaska Public Offices Commission has to respond to a 09 request for an advisory opinion; repealing a reporting requirement for certain 10 contributions; relating to contribution limits and recall campaigns; and providing for an 11 effective date." 12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 01  * Section 1. AS 15.13.010(b) is amended to read: 02 (b) Except as otherwise provided, this chapter applies to contributions, 03 expenditures, and communications made to influence the nomination or election of  04 a candidate or for the purpose of 05 (1) influencing the outcome of a ballot proposition or question; or 06 (2) supporting or opposing 07 (A) an initiative proposal application filed under  08 AS 15.45.020; 09 (B) a referendum application filed under AS 15.45.260; or  10 (C) a recall application filed under AS 15.45.480 [AS WELL 11 AS THOSE MADE TO INFLUENCE THE NOMINATION OR ELECTION 12 OF A CANDIDATE]. 13  * Sec. 2. AS 15.13.020(j) is amended to read: 14 (j) The commission shall establish a central [AN] office [, WHICH MAY BE 15 CALLED A REGIONAL OFFICE, IN EACH SENATE DISTRICT IN THE STATE] 16 to keep on file for public inspection copies of all reports filed with the commission 17 [BY CANDIDATES FOR STATEWIDE OFFICE AND BY CANDIDATES FOR 18 LEGISLATIVE OFFICE IN THAT DISTRICT; HOWEVER, WHERE ONE 19 MUNICIPALITY CONTAINS MORE THAN ONE HOUSE DISTRICT, ONLY 20 ONE COMMISSION OFFICE SHALL BE ESTABLISHED IN THAT 21 MUNICIPALITY. THE REGIONAL OFFICE SHALL MAKE ALL FORMS AND 22 PERTINENT MATERIAL AVAILABLE TO CANDIDATES. ALL REPORTS 23 SHALL BE FILED BY CANDIDATES, GROUPS, AND INDIVIDUALS 24 DIRECTLY WITH THE COMMISSION'S CENTRAL DISTRICT OFFICE. THE 25 COMMISSION SHALL ENSURE THAT COPIES OF ALL REPORTS BY 26 STATEWIDE AND LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES IN EACH SENATE DISTRICT 27 ARE FORWARDED PROMPTLY TO THAT DISTRICT OR REGIONAL OFFICE]. 28  * Sec. 3. AS 15.13.030 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 15.13.030. Duties of the commission. The commission shall 30 (1) develop and provide all forms for the reports and statements 31 required to be made under this chapter, AS 24.45, and AS 39.50; 01 (2) prepare and publish a manual setting out uniform methods of 02 bookkeeping and reporting for use by persons required to make reports and statements 03 under this chapter and otherwise assist all persons in complying with the requirements 04 of this chapter; 05 (3) receive and hold open for public inspection reports and statements 06 required to be made under this chapter and, upon request, furnish copies at cost to 07 interested persons; 08 (4) compile and maintain a current list of all filed reports and 09 statements; 10 (5) prepare a summary of each report filed under AS 15.13.110 and 11 make copies of this summary available to interested persons at their actual cost; 12 (6) notify, by registered or certified mail, all persons who are 13 delinquent in filing reports and statements required to be made under this chapter; 14 (7) examine, investigate, and compare [ALL] reports, statements, and 15 actions required by this chapter, AS 24.45, and AS 39.50; 16 (8) prepare and publish a biennial report concerning the activities of 17 the commission, the effectiveness of this chapter, its enforcement by the attorney 18 general's office, and recommendations and proposals for change; the commission shall 19 notify the legislature that the report is available; 20 (9) adopt regulations necessary to implement and clarify the provisions 21 of AS 24.45, AS 39.50, and this chapter, subject to the provisions of AS 44.62 22 (Administrative Procedure Act); and 23 (10) consider a written request for an advisory opinion concerning the 24 application of this chapter, AS 24.45, AS 24.60.200 - 24.60.260, or AS 39.50. 25  * Sec. 4. AS 15.13.040(b) is amended to read: 26 (b) Each group shall make a full report on [UPON] a form prescribed by the 27 commission, listing 28 (1) the name and address of each officer and director; 29 (2) the aggregate amount of all contributions made to it; and, for all 30 contributions in excess of $100 in the aggregate in a calendar year, the name, address, 31 principal occupation, and employer of the contributor, and the date and amount 01 contributed by each contributor; for purposes of this paragraph, "contributor" means 02 the true source of the funds, property, or services being contributed; and 03 (3) the date and amount of all contributions made by it and all 04 expenditures made, incurred, or authorized by it. 05  * Sec. 5. AS 15.13.050(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) Before making an expenditure in support of or in opposition to a candidate 07 or before making an expenditure in support of or in opposition to a ballot proposition 08 or question or to an initiative proposal application filed [WITH THE LIEUTENANT 09 GOVERNOR] under AS 15.45.020, a referendum application filed under  10 AS 15.45.260, or a recall application filed under AS 15.45.480, each person other 11 than an individual shall register, on forms provided by the commission, with the 12 commission. 13  * Sec. 6. AS 15.13.065(c) is amended to read: 14 (c) Except for reports required by AS 15.13.040 and 15.13.110 and except for 15 the requirements of AS 15.13.050, 15.13.060, and 15.13.112 - 15.13.114, the 16 provisions of AS 15.13.010 - 15.13.116 do not apply to limit the authority of a person 17 to make contributions to influence the outcome of a ballot proposition. In this 18 subsection, [IN ADDITION TO ITS MEANING IN AS 15.80.010,] "proposition" 19 (1) includes, in addition to its meaning in AS 15.80.010,  20 (A) [(1)] an issue placed on a ballot to determine whether 21 (i) [(A)] a constitutional convention shall be called; 22 (ii) [(B)] a debt shall be contracted; 23 (iii) [(C)] an advisory question shall be approved or 24 rejected; or 25 (iv) [(D)] a municipality shall be incorporated; 26 (B) [(2)] an initiative proposal application filed [WITH THE 27 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR] under AS 15.45.020; and 28 (C) a referendum application filed under AS 15.45.260;  29 (2) does not include a recall application filed under AS 15.45.480  30 or a recall question. 31  * Sec. 7. AS 15.13.072(b) is amended to read: 01 (b) In a calendar year, a [A] candidate or an individual who has filed with 02 the commission the document necessary to permit the individual to incur election- 03 related expenses under AS 15.13.100, or a group, may not solicit or accept a cash 04 contribution that exceeds $100. 05  * Sec. 8. AS 15.13.074(e) is amended to read: 06 (e) A person or group may not make a cash contribution that exceeds $100 in  07 a calendar year. 08  * Sec. 9. AS 15.13.110(e) is amended to read: 09 (e) A referendum committee, person, group, or nongroup entity receiving  10 contributions exceeding $500 or making expenditures exceeding $500 in a  11 calendar year in support of or in opposition to a referendum on the ballot in a  12 statewide election or a referendum application filed with the lieutenant governor  13 under AS 15.45.260 shall file a [GROUP FORMED TO SPONSOR A 14 REFERENDUM OR A RECALL SHALL REPORT 30 DAYS AFTER ITS FIRST 15 FILING WITH THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. THEREAFTER, EACH GROUP 16 SHALL] report within 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter on the 17 contributions received and expenditures made during the preceding calendar quarter 18 until reports are due under (a) and (b) of this section. If the report is a first report, it  19 must cover the period beginning the day a referendum application is filed under  20 AS 15.45.260 and ending three days before the due date of the report. 21  * Sec. 10. AS 15.13.110 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 22 (k) A recall committee, person, group, or nongroup entity receiving 23 contributions exceeding $500 or making expenditures exceeding $500 in a calendar 24 year in support of or in opposition to the recall of a public official in a statewide 25 election or a recall application filed with the lieutenant governor under AS 15.45.480 26 shall file a report within 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter on the 27 contributions received and expenditures made during the preceding calendar quarter 28 until reports are due under (a) and (b) of this section. If the report is a first report, it 29 must cover the period beginning the day a recall application is filed under 30 AS 15.45.480 and ending three days before the due date of the report. 31  * Sec. 11. AS 15.13.374(c) is amended to read: 01 (c) Within seven business days after receiving a request satisfying the 02 requirements of (b) of this section, the executive director of the commission shall 03 recommend a draft advisory opinion for the commission to consider at its next 04 meeting. 05  * Sec. 12. AS 15.13.400(4) is amended to read: 06 (4) "contribution" 07 (A) means a purchase, payment, promise or obligation to pay, 08 loan or loan guarantee, deposit or gift of money, goods, or services for which 09 charge is ordinarily made, and includes the payment by a person other than a 10 candidate or political party or other group, or compensation for the personal 11 services of another person, that is rendered to the candidate or political party 12 or other group [,] and that is made for the purpose of 13 (i) influencing the nomination or election of a 14 candidate; 15 (ii) influencing a ballot proposition or question; or 16 (iii) supporting or opposing an initiative proposal 17 application filed [WITH THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR] under 18 AS 15.45.020, a referendum application filed under AS 15.45.260,  19 or a recall application filed under AS 15.45.480; 20 (B) does not include 21 (i) services provided without compensation by 22 individuals volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a 23 political party, candidate, or ballot proposition or question; 24 (ii) ordinary hospitality in a home; 25 (iii) two or fewer mass mailings before each election by 26 each political party describing members of the party running as 27 candidates for public office in that election, which may include 28 photographs, biographies, and information about the candidates; 29 (iv) the results of a poll limited to issues and not 30 mentioning any candidate, unless the poll was requested by or designed 31 primarily to benefit the candidate; 01 (v) any communication in the form of a newsletter from 02 a legislator to the legislator's constituents, except a communication 03 expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or a 04 newsletter or material in a newsletter that is clearly only for the private 05 benefit of a legislator or a legislative employee; 06 (vi) a fundraising list provided without compensation 07 by one candidate or political party to a candidate or political party; or 08 (vii) an opportunity to participate in a candidate forum 09 provided to a candidate without compensation to the candidate by 10 another person and for which a candidate is not ordinarily charged; 11  * Sec. 13. AS 15.13.400(7) is amended to read: 12 (7) "expenditure" 13 (A) means a purchase or a transfer of money or anything of 14 value, or promise or agreement to purchase or transfer money or anything of 15 value, incurred or made for the purpose of 16 (i) influencing the nomination or election of a candidate 17 or of any individual who files for nomination at a later date and 18 becomes a candidate; 19 (ii) use by a political party; 20 (iii) the payment by a person other than a candidate or 21 political party of compensation for the personal services of another 22 person that are rendered to a candidate or political party; 23 (iv) influencing the outcome of a ballot proposition or 24 question; or 25 (v) supporting or opposing an initiative proposal 26 application filed [WITH THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR] under 27 AS 15.45.020, a referendum application filed under AS 15.45.260,  28 or a recall application filed under AS 15.45.480; 29 (B) does not include a candidate's filing fee or the cost of 30 preparing reports and statements required by this chapter; 31 (C) includes an express communication and an electioneering 01 communication, but does not include an issues communication; 02  * Sec. 14. AS 15.13.400(9) is amended to read: 03 (9) "group" means 04 (A) every state and regional executive committee of a political 05 party; 06 (B) any combination of two or more individuals acting jointly 07 who organize for the principal purpose of influencing the outcome of one or 08 more elections and who take action the major purpose of which is to influence 09 the outcome of an election; a group that makes expenditures or receives 10 contributions with the authorization or consent, express or implied, or under 11 the control, direct or indirect, of a candidate shall be considered to be 12 controlled by that candidate; a group whose major purpose is to further the 13 nomination, election, or candidacy of only one individual, or intends to expend 14 more than 50 percent of its money on a single candidate, shall be considered to 15 be controlled by that candidate and its actions done with the candidate's 16 knowledge and consent unless, within 10 days from the date the candidate 17 learns of the existence of the group the candidate files with the commission, on 18 a form provided by the commission, an affidavit that the group is operating 19 without the candidate's control; a group organized for more than one year 20 preceding an election and endorsing candidates for more than one office or 21 more than one political party is presumed not to be controlled by a candidate; 22 however, a group that contributes more than 50 percent of its money to or on 23 behalf of one candidate shall be considered to support only one candidate for 24 purposes of AS 15.13.070, whether or not control of the group has been 25 disclaimed by the candidate; and 26 (C) any combination of two or more individuals acting jointly 27 who organize for the principal purpose of filing 28 (i) an initiative proposal application under 29 AS 15.45.020 or who file an initiative proposal application under 30 AS 15.45.020; 31 (ii) a referendum application under AS 15.45.260 or  01 who file a referendum application under AS 15.45.260; or  02 (iii) a recall application under AS 15.45.480 or who  03 file a recall application under AS 15.45.480;  04  * Sec. 15. AS 24.45.091 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 24.45.091. Publication of reports. Copies of the statements and reports 06 filed under this chapter shall be made available to the public at the commission's 07 central office and on the commission's Internet website [, THE OFFICE OF THE 08 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, THE LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE LIBRARY OF 09 THE LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS AGENCY, AND AT THE COMMISSION'S 10 DISTRICT OFFICES PRESCRIBED IN AS 15.13.020(j)] as soon as practicable after 11 each reporting period. 12  * Sec. 16. AS 24.45.111(b) is amended to read: 13 (b) The commission shall preserve the statements and reports required to be 14 filed under this chapter for a period of six years from the date of filing. Copies [IF 15 THE COMMISSION'S CENTRAL OFFICE IS NOT IN THE STATE CAPITAL, 16 COPIES] of all statements and reports filed under this chapter shall be maintained in 17 the commission's central [AN] office and be made available on the commission's  18 Internet website [ESTABLISHED BY THE COMMISSION IN THE STATE 19 CAPITAL OR IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR]. 20  * Sec. 17. AS 15.13.040(k) is repealed. 21  * Sec. 18. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 22 read: 23 APPLICABILITY. This Act applies only to a referendum or recall for which the 24 application is filed with the lieutenant governor under AS 15.45.260 or 15.45.480, 25 respectively, on or after the effective date of this Act. 26  * Sec. 19. This Act takes effect January 1, 2022.