HB 227: "An Act prohibiting a legislator from controlling a group that solicits and accepts contributions or makes certain contributions and expenditures; and prohibiting some lobbyists from making campaign contributions to certain groups."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 227 01 "An Act prohibiting a legislator from controlling a group that solicits and accepts 02 contributions or makes certain contributions and expenditures; and prohibiting some 03 lobbyists from making campaign contributions to certain groups." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 15.13.072 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 06 (i) A legislator may not control a group that solicits or accepts a contribution 07 for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election under this chapter. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 15.13.074(g) is repealed and reenacted to read: 09 (g) Except as provided in (j) of this section, an individual required to register 10 as a lobbyist under AS 24.45 may not, at any time the individual is subject to the 11 registration requirement under AS 24.45 and for one year after the date of the 12 individual's initial registration or its renewal, make a contribution to a candidate for 13 the legislature or to a group that 14 (1) is controlled by an individual who files for election to the state
01 legislature or campaigns as a write-in candidate for the state legislature; and 02 (2) makes expenditures or receives contributions to influence the 03 outcome of an election under this chapter. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 15.13.074 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 05 (j) An individual required to register as a lobbyist under AS 24.45 may make a 06 contribution to a candidate for the legislature in the district in which the individual is 07 eligible to vote or will be eligible to vote on the date of the election. An individual 08 who makes a contribution under this subsection shall report to the commission, on a 09 form provided by the commission, each contribution made while required to register 10 as a lobbyist under AS 24.45 and for one year after the date of the individual's initial 11 registration or renewal. Upon request of the commission, the information required 12 under this subsection shall be submitted electronically. In this subsection, "candidate" 13 means an individual who files for election to the legislature or who campaigns as a 14 write-in candidate for the legislature. 15 (k) The restriction on contributions by an individual required to register as a 16 lobbyist under AS 24.45 in (g) of this section and the reporting requirement of (j) of 17 this section do not apply to a representational lobbyist as defined in regulations of the 18 commission. 19 * Sec. 4. AS 15.13.082 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20 (d) A legislator may not control a group that makes contributions or 21 expenditures for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election under this 22 chapter. 23 * Sec. 5. AS 15.13.400 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 15.13.400. Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context clearly 25 requires otherwise, 26 (1) "candidate" 27 (A) means an individual who files for election to the state 28 legislature, for governor, for lieutenant governor, for municipal office, for 29 retention in judicial office, or for constitutional convention delegate, or who 30 campaigns as a write-in candidate for any of these offices; and 31 (B) when used in a provision of this chapter that limits or
01 prohibits the donation, solicitation, or acceptance of campaign contributions, or 02 limits or prohibits an expenditure, includes 03 (i) a candidate's campaign treasurer and a deputy 04 campaign treasurer; 05 (ii) a member of the candidate's immediate family; 06 (iii) a person acting as agent for the candidate; 07 (iv) the candidate's campaign committee; and 08 (v) a group that makes expenditures or receives 09 contributions with the authorization or consent, express or implied, or 10 under the control, direct or indirect, of the candidate; 11 (2) "commission" means the Alaska Public Offices Commission; 12 (3) "communication" means an announcement or advertisement 13 disseminated through print or broadcast media, including radio, television, cable, and 14 satellite, the Internet, or through a mass mailing, excluding those placed by an 15 individual or nongroup entity and costing $500 or less and those that do not directly or 16 indirectly identify a candidate or proposition, as that term is defined in 17 AS 15.13.065(c); 18 (4) "contribution" 19 (A) means a purchase, payment, promise or obligation to pay, 20 loan or loan guarantee, deposit or gift of money, goods, or services for which 21 charge is ordinarily made, and includes the payment by a person other than a 22 candidate or political party, or compensation for the personal services of 23 another person, that is rendered to the candidate or political party, and that is 24 made for the purpose of 25 (i) influencing the nomination or election of a 26 candidate; 27 (ii) influencing a ballot proposition or question; or 28 (iii) supporting or opposing an initiative proposal 29 application filed with the lieutenant governor under AS 15.45.020; 30 (B) does not include 31 (i) services provided without compensation by
01 individuals volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a 02 political party, candidate, or ballot proposition or question; 03 (ii) ordinary hospitality in a home; 04 (iii) two or fewer mass mailings before each election by 05 each political party describing the party's slate of candidates for 06 election, which may include photographs, biographies, and information 07 about the party's candidates; 08 (iv) the results of a poll limited to issues and not 09 mentioning any candidate, unless the poll was requested by or designed 10 primarily to benefit the candidate; 11 (v) any communication in the form of a newsletter from 12 a legislator to the legislator's constituents, except a communication 13 expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or a 14 newsletter or material in a newsletter that is clearly only for the private 15 benefit of a legislator or a legislative employee; 16 (vi) a fundraising list provided without compensation 17 by one candidate or political party to a candidate or political party; or 18 (vii) an opportunity to participate in a candidate forum 19 provided to a candidate without compensation to the candidate by 20 another person and for which a candidate is not ordinarily charged; 21 (5) "electioneering communication" means a communication that 22 (A) directly or indirectly identifies a candidate; 23 (B) addresses an issue of national, state, or local political 24 importance and attributes a position on that issue to the candidate identified; 25 and 26 (C) occurs within the 30 days preceding a general or municipal 27 election; 28 (6) "expenditure" 29 (A) means a purchase or a transfer of money or anything of 30 value, or promise or agreement to purchase or transfer money or anything of 31 value, incurred or made for the purpose of
01 (i) influencing the nomination or election of a candidate 02 or of any individual who files for nomination at a later date and 03 becomes a candidate; 04 (ii) use by a political party; 05 (iii) the payment by a person other than a candidate or 06 political party of compensation for the personal services of another 07 person that are rendered to a candidate or political party; 08 (iv) influencing the outcome of a ballot proposition or 09 question; or 10 (v) supporting or opposing an initiative proposal 11 application filed with the lieutenant governor under AS 15.45.020; 12 (B) does not include a candidate's filing fee or the cost of 13 preparing reports and statements required by this chapter; 14 (C) includes an express communication and an electioneering 15 communication, but does not include an issues communication; 16 (7) "express communication" means a communication that, when read 17 as a whole and with limited reference to outside events, is susceptible of no other 18 reasonable interpretation but as an exhortation to vote for or against a specific 19 candidate; 20 (8) "group" means 21 (A) every state and regional executive committee of a political 22 party; 23 (B) any combination of two or more individuals acting jointly 24 who organize for the principal purpose of influencing the outcome of one or 25 more elections and who take action the major purpose of which is to influence 26 the outcome of an election; a group that makes expenditures or receives 27 contributions with the authorization or consent, express or implied, or under 28 the control, direct or indirect, of a candidate shall be considered to be 29 controlled by that candidate; a group whose major purpose is to further the 30 nomination, election, or candidacy of only one individual, or intends to expend 31 more than 50 percent of its money on a single candidate, shall be considered to
01 be controlled by that candidate and its actions done with the candidate's 02 knowledge and consent unless, within 10 days from the date the candidate 03 learns of the existence of the group the candidate files with the commission, on 04 a form provided by the commission, an affidavit that the group is operating 05 without the candidate's control; a group organized for more than one year 06 preceding an election and endorsing candidates for more than one office or 07 more than one political party is presumed not to be controlled by a candidate; 08 however, a group that contributes more than 50 percent of its money to or on 09 behalf of one candidate shall be considered to support only one candidate for 10 purposes of AS 15.13.070, whether or not control of the group has been 11 disclaimed by the candidate; and 12 (C) any combination of two or more individuals acting jointly 13 who organize for the principal purpose of filing an initiative proposal 14 application under AS 15.45.020 or who file an initiative proposal application 15 under AS 15.45.020; 16 (9) "immediate family" means the spouse, parent, child, including a 17 stepchild and an adopted child, and sibling of an individual; 18 (10) "independent expenditure" means an expenditure that is made 19 without the direct or indirect consultation or cooperation with, or at the suggestion or 20 the request of, or with the prior consent of, a candidate, a candidate's campaign 21 treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer, or another person acting as a principal or agent 22 of the candidate; 23 (11) "individual" means a natural person; 24 (12) "issues communication" means a communication that 25 (A) directly or indirectly identifies a candidate; and 26 (B) addresses an issue of national, state, or local political 27 importance and does not support or oppose a candidate for election to public 28 office; 29 (13) "nongroup entity" means a person, other than an individual, that 30 takes action the major purpose of which is to influence the outcome of an election, and 31 that
01 (A) cannot participate in business activities; 02 (B) does not have shareholders who have a claim on corporate 03 earnings; and 04 (C) is independent from the influence of business corporations. 05 (14) "person" has the meaning given in AS 01.10.060, and includes a 06 labor union, nongroup entity, and a group; 07 (15) "political party" means any group that is a political party under 08 AS 15.80.010 and any subordinate unit of that group if, consistent with the rules or 09 bylaws of the political party, the unit conducts or supports campaign operations in a 10 municipality, neighborhood, house district, or precinct; 11 (16) "publicly funded entity" means a person, other than an individual, 12 that receives half or more of the money on which it operates during a calendar year 13 from government, including a public corporation.