CCS HB 225: "An Act relating to election campaigns and legislative ethics; and providing for an effective date."
00CONFERENCE CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 225 01 "An Act relating to election campaigns and legislative ethics; and providing for 02 an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 15.13.040 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 05 (j) The results of a poll limited to issues and not mentioning any candidate 06 may not be considered a contribution unless the poll was requested by or designed 07 primarily to benefit the candidate. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 15.13.050(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) If a group intends to support only one candidate, or to contribute to or 10 expend on behalf of one candidate 33 1/3 percent or more of its funds, the name of 11 the candidate shall be a part of the name of the group. If the group intends to oppose 12 only one candidate [,] or to contribute its funds in opposition to or make expenditures 13 in opposition to a candidate, the group's name must clearly state that it opposes that 14 candidate by using a word such as "opposes," "opposing," "in opposition to," or
01 "against" in the group's name. Promptly upon receiving the registration, the 02 commission shall notify the candidate of the group's organization and intent. More 03 than one group may be registered by a candidate to support that candidate; 04 however, multiple groups controlled by a single candidate shall be treated as a 05 single group for purposes of the contribution limit in AS 15.13.070(b)(1). 06 * Sec. 3. AS 15.13.074(c) is amended to read: 07 (c) A person or group may not make a contribution 08 (1) to a candidate for governor or lieutenant governor or an 09 individual who files with the commission the document necessary to permit that 10 individual to incur certain election-related expenses as authorized by AS 15.13.100 for 11 governor or lieutenant governor when the office is to be filled at a general election 12 before January 1 following [THE DATE THAT IS 18 MONTHS BEFORE] the last 13 general election in which a governor was elected ; 14 (2) to a candidate for the state legislature or municipal office or an 15 individual who files with the commission the document necessary to permit that 16 individual to incur certain election-related expenses for the state legislature or 17 municipal office as authorized by AS 15.13.100 when the office is to be filled at 18 a general election before the date that is 18 months before the general election; 19 (3) to a candidate or an individual who files with the commission the 20 document necessary to permit that individual to incur certain election-related expenses 21 as authorized by AS 15.13.100 for an office that is to be filled at a special election or 22 municipal election before the date that is 18 months before the date of the regular 23 municipal election or that is before the date of the proclamation of the special election 24 at which the candidate or individual seeks election to public office; or 25 (4) [(3)] to any candidate after the earlier of December 31 of the 26 year of the election or the 60th [LATER THAN THE 45TH] day 27 (A) after the date of a primary election if the candidate 28 (i) has been nominated at the primary election or is 29 running as a write-in candidate; and 30 (ii) is not opposed at the general election; 31 (B) after the date of the primary election if the candidate was
01 not nominated at the primary election; or 02 (C) after the date of the general election, or after the date of a 03 municipal or municipal runoff election, if the candidate was opposed at the 04 general, municipal, or municipal runoff election. 05 * Sec. 4. AS 15.13.074(f) is amended to read: 06 (f) A corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, 07 business trust or surety, labor union, or publicly funded entity that does not satisfy the 08 definition of group in AS 15.13.400 may not make a contribution to a candidate or 09 group. Notwithstanding the prohibition set out in this subsection, a corporation, 10 company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust or surety, 11 labor union, or publicly funded entity may pay not more than $1,000 for 12 advertising, food, hall rental, and other actual costs of political party annual 13 dinners, meetings, conferences, and conventions. 14 * Sec. 5. AS 15.13.116(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) A candidate who, after the date of the general, special, municipal, or 16 municipal runoff election or after the date the candidate withdraws as a candidate, 17 whichever comes first, holds unused campaign contributions shall distribute the amount 18 held within 90 days. The distribution may only be made to 19 (1) pay bills incurred for expenditures reasonably related to the 20 campaign and the winding up of the affairs of the campaign, including a victory or 21 thank you party , thank you advertisements, and thank you gifts to campaign 22 employees and volunteers, and to pay expenditures associated with post-election fund 23 raising that may be needed to raise funds to pay off campaign debts; 24 (2) make donations, without condition, to 25 (A) a political party; 26 (B) the state's general fund; 27 (C) a municipality of the state; or 28 (D) the federal government; 29 (3) make donations, without condition, to organizations qualified as 30 charitable organizations under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), provided the organization is not 31 controlled by the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family;
01 (4) repay loans from the candidate to the candidate's own campaign 02 under AS 15.13.078(b); 03 (5) repay contributions to contributors, but only if repayment of the 04 contribution is made pro rata in approximate proportion to the contributions made 05 using one of the following, as the candidate determines: 06 (A) to all contributors; 07 (B) to contributors who have contributed most recently; or 08 (C) to contributors who have made larger contributions; 09 (6) establish a fund for, and from that fund to pay, attorney fees or 10 costs incurred in the prosecution or defense of an administrative or civil judicial action 11 that directly concerns a challenge to the victory or defeat of the candidate in the 12 election; 13 (7) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to an 14 account for a future election campaign; a transfer under this paragraph is limited to 15 (A) $50,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for governor 16 or lieutenant governor; 17 (B) $10,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 18 senate; 19 (C) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 20 house of representatives; and 21 (D) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for an office 22 not described in (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 23 (8) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 24 [PUBLIC OFFICE EXPENSE TERM ACCOUNT OR TO A] public office expense 25 term account reserve in accordance with AS 15.13.118 [(d) OF THIS SECTION; A 26 TRANSFER UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH IS SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING: 27 (A) THE AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER IS LIMITED TO 28 CANDIDATES WHO ARE ELECTED TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE; 29 (B) THE PUBLIC OFFICE EXPENSE TERM ACCOUNT 30 ESTABLISHED UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH MAY BE USED ONLY FOR 31 EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CANDIDATE'S SERVING AS A
01 MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE; 02 (C) ALL AMOUNTS EXPENDED FROM THE PUBLIC 03 OFFICE EXPENSE TERM ACCOUNT SHALL BE ANNUALLY 04 ACCOUNTED FOR UNDER AS 15.13.110(a)(4); AND 05 (D) A TRANSFER UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH IS LIMITED 06 TO $5,000 MULTIPLIED BY THE NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE TERM TO 07 WHICH THE CANDIDATE IS ELECTED]; and 08 (9) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 09 municipal office account; a transfer under this paragraph is subject to the following: 10 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are 11 elected to municipal office, including a municipal school board; 12 (B) the municipal office account established under this 13 paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 14 serving as mayor or as a member of the assembly, city council, or school 15 board; 16 (C) all amounts expended from the municipal office account 17 shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); and 18 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $5,000. 19 * Sec. 6. AS 15.13.116(b) is amended to read: 20 (b) After a general, special, municipal, or municipal runoff election, a 21 candidate may retain the ownership of one computer and one printer and of personal 22 property, except money, that was acquired by and for use in the campaign. The 23 current fair market value of the property retained, exclusive of the computer and 24 printer, may not exceed $5,000 [$2,500]. All other property shall be disposed of, or 25 sold and the sale proceeds disposed of, in accordance with (a) or (c) of this section. 26 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 27 (1) a candidate may (A) [(1)] retain a bulk mailing permit that was 28 paid for with campaign funds, and (B) [(2)] use personal funds, campaign funds, or 29 unused campaign contributions transferred to a public office expense term account 30 under AS 15.13.118 [(a)(8) OF THIS SECTION] to pay the continuing charges for the 31 permit after the election ; money [. MONEY] used to continue the life of the permit
01 is not considered to be a contribution under this chapter ; in [. IN] addition to any 02 other use permitted under this chapter, during the candidate's term of office, the 03 candidate may use the bulk mailing permit for mailings associated with service in the 04 office to which the candidate was elected ; during [. DURING] the candidate's term 05 of office, if the candidate files a declaration of candidacy or the document necessary 06 to permit the candidate to incur election-related expenses under AS 15.13.100 [A 07 LETTER OF INTENT TO BECOME A CANDIDATE] for the same or a different 08 elective office, the candidate may also use the bulk mailing permit in that election 09 campaign ; 10 (2) a candidate may retain campaign photographs and use the 11 photographs for any purpose associated with service in the office to which the 12 candidate was elected; 13 (3) a candidate may retain seasonal greeting cards purchased with 14 campaign funds; and 15 (4) campaign signs prepared for an election that has already taken 16 place have no monetary value and may be retained or disposed of at the 17 candidate's discretion . 18 * Sec. 7. AS 15.13 is amended by adding a new section to read: 19 Sec. 15.13.118. Public office expense term accounts. (a) After a general or 20 special election, a candidate who has been elected to the state legislature in that 21 election may establish a public office expense term account reserve with unused 22 campaign contributions. A candidate for the senate may transfer up to $40,000 in 23 unused campaign contributions into a public office expense term account reserve. A 24 candidate for the house of representatives may transfer up to $16,000 in unused 25 campaign contributions to a public office expense term account reserve. The public 26 office expense term account reserve may only be used to make transfers to a public 27 office expense term account. 28 (b) A candidate elected to the senate may transfer up to $10,000 each calendar 29 year from a public office expense term account reserve to a public office expense term 30 account. A candidate elected to the house may transfer up to $8,000 each calendar 31 year from a public office expense term account reserve to a public office expense term
01 account. A candidate elected to the legislature may also transfer any interest that has 02 accrued in the candidate's public office expense term account reserve to a public office 03 expense term account. If, during a calendar year, a candidate transfers less than the 04 permitted amount from a public office expense term account reserve to a public office 05 expense term account, the excess may be carried over in the reserve and transferred 06 in a subsequent calendar year. At the end of the candidate's term of office, a balance 07 in the public office expense term account reserve must be disposed of only as 08 authorized by AS 15.13.116(a)(2), (3), or (5). 09 (c) A public office expense term account may be used only for expenses 10 associated with the candidate's serving as a member of the legislature. Funds in a 11 public office expense term account or public office expense term account reserve shall 12 be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4). 13 * Sec. 8. AS 15.13.145(b) is amended to read: 14 (b) Money held by an entity identified in (a)(1) - (3) of this section may be 15 used to influence the outcome of an election concerning a ballot proposition or 16 question if the use is permitted under AS 24.60.030(a)(5)(H) or [, BUT ONLY] if 17 the funds have been specifically appropriated for that purpose by a state law or a 18 municipal ordinance. 19 * Sec. 9. AS 15.13.400(3) is amended to read: 20 (3) "contribution" 21 (A) means a purchase, payment, promise or obligation to pay, 22 loan or loan guarantee, deposit or gift of money, goods, or services for which 23 charge is ordinarily made and that is made for the purpose of influencing the 24 nomination or election of a candidate, and in AS 15.13.010(b) for the purpose 25 of influencing a ballot proposition or question, including the payment by a 26 person other than a candidate or political party, or compensation for the 27 personal services of another person, that are rendered to the candidate or 28 political party; 29 (B) does not include 30 (i) services provided without compensation by 31 individuals volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a
01 political party, candidate , or ballot proposition or question, but it does 02 include professional services volunteered by individuals for which they 03 ordinarily would be paid a fee or wage; 04 (ii) services provided by an accountant or other person 05 to prepare reports and statements required by this chapter; [OR] 06 (iii) ordinary hospitality in a home; 07 (iv) for purposes of the limitations on the amount of 08 contributions in this chapter, professional legal or accounting 09 services that are provided to a political party without compensation 10 by an attorney or accountant; the nature or form of the entity 11 under which the attorney or accountant conducts the attorney's or 12 accountant's professional practice does not affect the exception; 13 however, the value of services provided, calculated at the attorney's 14 or accountant's customary rate, shall be reported as a contribution 15 by the state or regional executive committee of the political party 16 under this chapter; or 17 (v) mass mailings by each political party describing 18 the party's slate of candidates for election, which may include 19 photographs and biographies of the party's candidates; 20 * Sec. 10. AS 24.60.030(a) is amended to read: 21 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 22 (1) solicit, agree to accept, or accept a benefit other than official 23 compensation for the performance of public duties; this paragraph may not be 24 construed to prohibit lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign contributions 25 or the acceptance of a lawful gratuity under AS 24.60.080; 26 (2) use public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another 27 government asset or resource for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or 28 support of or opposition to partisan political activity, or for the private benefit of either 29 the legislator, legislative employee, or another person; this paragraph does not prohibit 30 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 31 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and
01 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 02 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 03 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 04 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general public 05 for nonlegislative purposes; 06 (C) telephone or facsimile use that does not carry a special 07 charge; 08 (D) the legislative council, notwithstanding AS 24.05.190, from 09 designating a public facility for use by legislators and legislative employees for 10 health or fitness purposes; when the council designates a facility to be used by 11 legislators and legislative employees for health or fitness purposes, it shall 12 adopt guidelines governing access to and use of the facility; the guidelines may 13 establish times in which use of the facility is limited to specific groups; [OR] 14 (E) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 15 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 [FIVE] days 16 immediately before and the 10 [FIVE] days immediately after a legislative 17 session, for nonlegislative purposes if the use does not interfere with the 18 performance of public duties and if there is no cost to the state for the use of 19 the space and equipment, other than utility costs and minimal wear and tear, 20 or the legislator promptly reimburses the state for the cost; an office is 21 considered a legislator's private office under this subparagraph if it is the 22 primary space in the capital city reserved for use by the legislator, whether or 23 not it is shared with others; 24 (F) a legislator from use of legislative employees to prepare 25 and send out seasonal greeting cards; 26 (G) a legislator from using state resources to transport 27 computers or other office equipment owned by the legislator but primarily 28 used for a state function; 29 (H) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator; 30 (I) reasonable use of the Internet by a legislator or a 31 legislative employee except if the use is for election campaign purposes; or
01 (J) a legislator from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a gift 02 on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable organization in a state 03 facility; 04 (3) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds 05 for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection 06 with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel 07 allowances from public funds; 08 (4) require a legislative employee to perform services for the private 09 benefit of the legislator or employee at any time, or allow a legislative employee to 10 perform services for the private benefit of a legislator or employee on government 11 time; it is not a violation of this paragraph if the services were performed in an 12 unusual or infrequent situation and the person's services were reasonably necessary to 13 permit the legislator or legislative employee to perform official duties; 14 (5) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, 15 services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund 16 raising or campaigning; this paragraph does not prohibit 17 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 18 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 19 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 20 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 21 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 22 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general public 23 for nonlegislative purposes; 24 (C) telephone or facsimile use that does not carry a special 25 charge; 26 (D) storing or maintaining, consistent with (b) of this section, 27 election campaign records in a legislator's office; [OR] 28 (E) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 29 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 [FIVE] days 30 immediately before and the 10 [FIVE] days immediately after a legislative 31 session, for nonlegislative purposes if the use does not interfere with the
01 performance of public duties and if there is no cost to the state for the use of 02 the space and equipment, other than utility costs and minimal wear and tear, 03 or the legislator promptly reimburses the state for the cost; an office is 04 considered a legislator's private office under this subparagraph if it is the 05 primary space in the capital city reserved for use by the legislator, whether or 06 not it is shared with others ; 07 (F) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator; 08 (G) reasonable use of the Internet by a legislator or a 09 legislative employee except if the use is for election campaign purposes; or 10 (H) use of governmental resources, including paid staff time, 11 to support or oppose a proposed initiative or an amendment to the state 12 or federal constitution; a legislator or legislative employee may support or 13 oppose a proposed initiative or constitutional amendment; however, a 14 legislator or legislative employee may not use governmental resources to 15 solicit contributions for or gather signatures on an initiative petition; a 16 legislative employee may not, on government time, accept or receive 17 contributions relating to a proposed constitutional amendment or initiative . 18 * Sec. 11. AS 24.60.090 is repealed and reenacted to read: 19 Sec. 24.60.090. Nepotism. (a) An individual who is related to a member of 20 the legislature may not be employed for compensation 21 (1) during the legislative session in the house in which the legislator 22 is a member; 23 (2) by an agency of the legislature established under AS 24.20; or 24 (3) in either house during the interim between sessions. 25 (b) An individual who is related to a member of the legislature may not be 26 employed by the committee, whether for compensation or not. 27 (c) An individual who is related to a legislative employee may not be 28 employed in a position over which the employee has supervisory authority. 29 (d) Notwithstanding (a)(3) of this section, an individual who is related to a 30 member of the legislature may be employed in the other house of the legislature during 31 the interim between sessions if, while the individual was disqualified from employment
01 in either house of the legislature during the interim under (a)(3) of this section, the 02 individual worked for at least 100 days during each of four regular legislative sessions. 03 (e) In this section, 04 (1) "an individual who is related to" means a member of the legislator's 05 or legislative employee's immediate family or a person who is living together in a 06 conjugal relationship not a legal marriage with the legislator or legislative employee; 07 (2) "interim between sessions" means the period beginning on the 08 eighth day after the legislature adjourns from a regular or special session and ending 09 eight days before the date that the legislature next convenes in regular session under 10 AS 24.05.090 or in special session under AS 24.05.100; 11 (3) "other house of the legislature" means the house in which the 12 individual's relation is not a member. 13 * Sec. 12. AS 15.13.116(d) is repealed. 14 * Sec. 13. This Act takes effect January 1, 2001.