HCS CSSB 103(RLS): "An Act relating to election campaigns and legislative ethics."
00 HOUSE CS FOR CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 103(RLS) 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 15.13.070(b) is amended to read:
01 (b) An individual may contribute not more than 02 (1) $500 per year to a candidate, to an individual who conducts a 03 write-in campaign as a candidate, or to a group that is not a political party; 04 (2) $5,000 per year to a political party for the purpose of influencing 05 the nomination or election of a candidate or candidates. 06 * Sec. 3. AS 15.13.080(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) An individual who contributes $500, or goods or services with a value of 08 $500, to a candidate shall file a contributor's statement as required by this section. A 09 candidate who receives $500, or goods or services of a value of $500, may file a 10 contributor's statement as required under this section on behalf of the 11 contributor. 12 * Sec. 4. AS 15.13.116(a) is amended to read: 13 (a) A candidate who, after the date of the general, special, municipal, or 14 municipal runoff election or after the date the candidate withdraws as a candidate, 15 whichever comes first, holds unused campaign contributions shall distribute the 16 amount held within 90 days. The distribution may only be made to 17 (1) pay bills incurred for expenditures reasonably related to the 18 campaign and the winding up of the affairs of the campaign, including a victory or 19 thank you party, thank you advertisements, and thank you gifts to campaign 20 employees and volunteers, and to pay expenditures associated with post-election fund 21 raising that may be needed to raise funds to pay off campaign debts; 22 (2) make donations, without condition, to 23 (A) a political party; 24 (B) the state's general fund; 25 (C) a municipality of the state; or 26 (D) the federal government; 27 (3) make donations, without condition, to organizations qualified as 28 charitable organizations under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), provided the organization is not 29 controlled by the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family; 30 (4) repay loans from the candidate to the candidate's own campaign 31 under AS 15.13.078(b);
01 (5) repay contributions to contributors, but only if repayment of the 02 contribution is made pro rata in approximate proportion to the contributions made 03 using one of the following, as the candidate determines: 04 (A) to all contributors; 05 (B) to contributors who have contributed most recently; or 06 (C) to contributors who have made larger contributions; 07 (6) establish a fund for, and from that fund to pay, attorney fees or 08 costs incurred in the prosecution or defense of an administrative or civil judicial action 09 that directly concerns a challenge to the victory or defeat of the candidate in the 10 election; 11 (7) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to an 12 account for a future election campaign; a transfer under this paragraph is limited to 13 (A) $50,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for governor 14 or lieutenant governor; 15 (B) $10,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 16 senate; 17 (C) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for the state 18 house of representatives; and 19 (D) $5,000, if the transfer is made by a candidate for an office 20 not described in (A) - (C) of this paragraph; 21 (8) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 22 public office expense term account or to a public office expense term account reserve 23 in accordance with (d) of this section; a transfer under this paragraph is subject to the 24 following: 25 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are 26 elected to the state legislature; 27 (B) the public office expense term account established under 28 this paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 29 serving as a member of the legislature; 30 (C) all amounts expended from the public office expense term 31 account shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); and
01 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $5,000 02 multiplied by the number of years in the term to which the candidate is elected 03 plus any accumulated interest; and 04 (9) transfer all or a portion of the unused campaign contributions to a 05 municipal office account; a transfer under this paragraph is subject to the following: 06 (A) the authority to transfer is limited to candidates who are 07 elected to municipal office, including a municipal school board; 08 (B) the municipal office account established under this 09 paragraph may be used only for expenses associated with the candidate's 10 serving as mayor or as a member of the assembly, city council, or school 11 board; 12 (C) all amounts expended from the municipal office account 13 shall be annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4); and 14 (D) a transfer under this paragraph is limited to $5,000. 15 * Sec. 5. AS 15.13.116(b) is amended to read: 16 (b) After a general, special, municipal, or municipal runoff election, a 17 candidate may retain the ownership of one computer and one printer and of personal 18 property, except money, that was acquired by and for use in the campaign. The 19 current fair market value of the property retained, exclusive of the computer and 20 printer, may not exceed $5,000 [$2,500]. All other property shall be disposed of, or 21 sold and the sale proceeds disposed of, in accordance with (a) or (c) of this section. 22 Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 23 (1) a candidate may (A) [(1)] retain a bulk mailing permit that was 24 paid for with campaign funds, and (B) [(2)] use personal funds, campaign funds, or 25 unused campaign contributions transferred to a public office expense term account 26 under (a)(8) of this section to pay the continuing charges for the permit after the 27 election; money [. MONEY] used to continue the life of the permit is not considered 28 to be a contribution under this chapter; in [. IN] addition to any other use permitted 29 under this chapter, during the candidate's term of office, the candidate may use the 30 bulk mailing permit for mailings associated with service in the office to which the 31 candidate was elected; during [. DURING] the candidate's term of office, if the
01 candidate files a declaration of candidacy or the document necessary to permit the 02 candidate to incur election-related expenses under AS 15.13.100 [A LETTER OF 03 INTENT TO BECOME A CANDIDATE] for the same or a different elective office, 04 the candidate may also use the bulk mailing permit in that election campaign; 05 (2) a candidate may retain campaign photographs and use the 06 photographs for any purpose associated with service in the office to which the 07 candidate was elected; 08 (3) a candidate may retain seasonal greeting cards purchased with 09 campaign funds; and 10 (4) campaign signs prepared for an election that has already taken 11 place have no monetary value and may be retained or disposed of at the 12 candidate's discretion. 13 * Sec. 6. AS 15.13.116(d) is amended to read: 14 (d) After a general or special election, a candidate for the state legislature who 15 has been elected to the state legislature in that election may, from the amount retained 16 in the public office expense term account reserve under this subsection, transfer to a 17 public office expense term account not more than $5,000 each calendar year for use 18 only for expenses associated with the candidate's serving as a member of the 19 legislature, except that a candidate elected to the senate whose term is two years 20 may transfer $10,000 each calendar year. A candidate for the senate may transfer 21 up to $20,000 from unused campaign contributions to a public office expense term 22 account reserve. A candidate for the house of representatives may transfer up to 23 $10,000 from unused campaign contributions to a public office expense term account 24 reserve. The public office expense term account reserve may only be used to make 25 transfers to the public office expense term account. At the end of the candidate's term 26 of office, a balance in the public office expense term account reserve must be disposed 27 of as provided in (a) of this section but may not be disposed of as provided in (a)(1), 28 (4), or (6) - (9) of this section. All amounts expended under this subsection shall be 29 annually accounted for under AS 15.13.110(a)(4). 30 * Sec. 7. AS 15.13.400(3) is amended to read: 31 (3) "contribution"
01 (A) means a purchase, payment, promise or obligation to pay, 02 loan or loan guarantee, deposit or gift of money, goods, or services for which 03 charge is ordinarily made and that is made for the purpose of influencing the 04 nomination or election of a candidate, and in AS 15.13.010(b) for the purpose 05 of influencing a ballot proposition or question, including the payment by a 06 person other than a candidate or political party, or compensation for the 07 personal services of another person, that are rendered to the candidate or 08 political party; 09 (B) does not include 10 (i) services provided without compensation by 11 individuals volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a 12 political party, candidate, or ballot proposition or question [, BUT IT 13 DOES INCLUDE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES VOLUNTEERED 14 BY INDIVIDUALS FOR WHICH THEY ORDINARILY WOULD 15 BE PAID A FEE OR WAGE]; 16 (ii) [SERVICES PROVIDED BY AN ACCOUNTANT 17 OR OTHER PERSON TO PREPARE REPORTS AND 18 STATEMENTS REQUIRED BY THIS CHAPTER; OR 19 (iii)] ordinary hospitality in a home; 20 (iii) two or fewer mass mailings before each election 21 by each political party describing the party's slate of candidates for 22 election, which may include photographs, biographies, and 23 information about the party's candidates; 24 (iv) the results of a poll limited to issues and not 25 mentioning any candidate, unless the poll was requested by or 26 designed primarily to benefit the candidate; or 27 (v) any communication in the form of a newsletter 28 from a legislator to the legislator's constituents, except a 29 communication expressly advocating the election or defeat of a 30 candidate or a newsletter or material in a newsletter that is clearly 31 only for the private benefit of a legislator or a legislative employee;
01 * Sec. 8. AS 15.13.400(4) is amended to read: 02 (4) "expenditure" 03 (A) means a purchase or a transfer of money or anything of 04 value, or promise or agreement to purchase or transfer money or anything of 05 value, incurred or made for the purpose of 06 (i) influencing the nomination or election of a candidate 07 or of any individual who files for nomination at a later date and 08 becomes a candidate; 09 (ii) use by a political party; 10 (iii) the payment by a person other than a candidate or 11 political party of compensation for the personal services of another 12 person that are rendered to a candidate or political party; or 13 (iv) influencing the outcome of a ballot proposition or 14 question; 15 (B) does not include 16 (i) a candidate's filing fee or the cost of preparing 17 reports and statements required by this chapter; or 18 (ii) communications by a corporation to its 19 stockholders and employees, or by a nonprofit corporation, labor 20 organization, or unincorporated business or trade association to its 21 employees and members, on any subject; 22 * Sec. 9. AS 24.60.030(a) is amended to read: 23 (a) A legislator or legislative employee may not 24 (1) solicit, agree to accept, or accept a benefit other than official 25 compensation for the performance of public duties; this paragraph may not be 26 construed to prohibit lawful solicitation for and acceptance of campaign contributions 27 or the acceptance of a lawful gratuity under AS 24.60.080; 28 (2) use public funds, facilities, equipment, services, or another 29 government asset or resource for a nonlegislative purpose, for involvement in or 30 support of or opposition to partisan political activity, or for the private benefit of either 31 the legislator, legislative employee, or another person; this paragraph does not prohibit
01 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 02 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 03 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 04 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 05 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 06 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general 07 public for nonlegislative purposes; 08 (C) telephone or facsimile use that does not carry a special 09 charge; 10 (D) the legislative council, notwithstanding AS 24.05.190, 11 from designating a public facility for use by legislators and legislative 12 employees for health or fitness purposes; when the council designates a facility 13 to be used by legislators and legislative employees for health or fitness 14 purposes, it shall adopt guidelines governing access to and use of the facility; 15 the guidelines may establish times in which use of the facility is limited to 16 specific groups; [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) a legislator from use of legislative employees to prepare 28 and send out seasonal greeting cards; 29 (G) a legislator from using state resources to transport 30 computers or other office equipment owned by the legislator but primarily 31 used for a state function;
01 (H) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator; 02 (I) reasonable use of the Internet by a legislator or a 03 legislative employee except if the use is for election campaign purposes; 04 (J) a legislator from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a gift 05 on behalf of a recognized, nonpolitical charitable organization in a state 06 facility; or 07 (K) a legislator from sending any communication in the 08 form of a newsletter to the legislator's constituents, except a 09 communication expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate 10 or a newsletter or material in a newsletter that is clearly only for the 11 private benefit of a legislator or a legislative employee; 12 (3) knowingly seek, accept, use, allocate, grant, or award public funds 13 for a purpose other than that approved by law, or make a false statement in connection 14 with a claim, request, or application for compensation, reimbursement, or travel 15 allowances from public funds; 16 (4) require a legislative employee to perform services for the private 17 benefit of the legislator or employee at any time, or allow a legislative employee to 18 perform services for the private benefit of a legislator or employee on government 19 time; it is not a violation of this paragraph if the services were performed in an 20 unusual or infrequent situation and the person's services were reasonably necessary to 21 permit the legislator or legislative employee to perform official duties; 22 (5) use or authorize the use of state funds, facilities, equipment, 23 services, or another government asset or resource for the purpose of political fund 24 raising or campaigning; this paragraph does not prohibit 25 (A) limited use of state property and resources for personal 26 purposes if the use does not interfere with the performance of public duties and 27 either the cost or value related to the use is nominal or the legislator or 28 legislative employee reimburses the state for the cost of the use; 29 (B) the use of mailing lists, computer data, or other information 30 lawfully obtained from a government agency and available to the general 31 public for nonlegislative purposes;
01 (C) telephone or facsimile use that does not carry a special 02 charge; 03 (D) storing or maintaining, consistent with (b) of this section, 04 election campaign records in a legislator's office; [OR] 05 (E) a legislator from using the legislator's private office in the 06 capital city during a legislative session, and for the 10 [FIVE] days 07 immediately before and the 10 [FIVE] days immediately after a legislative 08 session, for nonlegislative purposes if the use does not interfere with the 09 performance of public duties and if there is no cost to the state for the use of 10 the space and equipment, other than utility costs and minimal wear and tear, or 11 the legislator promptly reimburses the state for the cost; an office is considered 12 a legislator's private office under this subparagraph if it is the primary space in 13 the capital city reserved for use by the legislator, whether or not it is shared 14 with others; 15 (F) use by a legislator of photographs of that legislator; or 16 (G) reasonable use of governmental resources by a 17 legislator or legislative employee to support or oppose a proposed 18 amendment to the state or federal constitution; a legislator or legislative 19 employee may support or oppose a proposed constitutional amendment; 20 however, a legislator or legislative employee may not use governmental 21 resources to solicit or receive contributions for a proposed constitutional 22 amendment. 23 * Sec. 10. AS 24.60.080(c) is amended to read: 24 (c) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, it is not a violation of this section for a 25 legislator or legislative employee to accept 26 (1) hospitality, other than hospitality described in (4) of this 27 subsection, 28 (A) with incidental transportation at the residence of a person; 29 however, a vacation home located outside the state is not considered a 30 residence for the purposes of this subparagraph; or 31 (B) at a social event or meal;
01 (2) discounts that are available 02 (A) generally to the public or to a large class of persons to 03 which the person belongs; or 04 (B) when on official state business, but only if receipt of the 05 discount benefits the state; 06 (3) food or foodstuffs indigenous to the state that are shared generally 07 as a cultural or social norm; 08 (4) travel and hospitality primarily for the purpose of obtaining 09 information on matters of legislative concern; 10 (5) gifts from the immediate family of the person; 11 (6) gifts that are not connected with the recipient's legislative status; 12 (7) a discount for all or part of a legislative session, including time 13 immediately preceding or following the session, or other gift to welcome a legislator 14 or legislative employee who is employed on the personal staff of a legislator or by a 15 standing or special committee to the capital city or in recognition of the beginning of a 16 legislative session if the gift or discount is available generally to all legislators and the 17 personal staff of legislators and staff of standing and special committees; this 18 paragraph does not apply to legislative employees who are employed by the 19 Legislative Affairs Agency, the office of the chief clerk, the office of the senate 20 secretary, the legislative budget and audit committee, or the office of the ombudsman; 21 [OR] 22 (8) a gift of legal services in a matter of legislative concern and a gift 23 of other services related to the provision of legal services in a matter of legislative 24 concern; or 25 (9) a gift of transportation from a legislator to a legislator if the 26 transportation takes place in the state on or in an aircraft, boat, motor vehicle, or 27 other means of transport owned or under the control of the donor; this 28 paragraph does not apply to travel described in (4) of this subsection or travel for 29 political campaign purposes.