HB 548 – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
03/10
HOUSE BILL 548
AN ACT relative to political expenditures and contributions.
SPONSORS: Rep. C. Chase, Hills 2; Rep. Weed, Ches 3; Rep. Pierce, Graf 9
This bill:
I. Requires political committees and certain candidates to maintain segregated accounts.
II. Prohibits campaign contributions in any form other than check.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0869
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT relative to political expenditures and contributions.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Registration of Political Committees; Campaign Account. Amend RSA 664:3 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V.(a) A candidate for governor, executive council, or state senate or a political committee, except a political committee or exploratory committee of a candidate for an officer other than governor, executive council, or state senate, shall, within 21 days of becoming a candidate or registering the committee, establish an exclusive campaign account or accounts, in a bank or equivalent institution. If the committee is located in New Hampshire, the account shall be with a financial institution which ordinarily conducts business within the state. The account shall be in a name that includes the full name of the political committee or candidate as registered or as will be filed with the secretary of state.
(b) The chairperson and treasurer shall report to the secretary of state the name of the bank or institution where the committee’s account is established and the names of all persons authorized to sign checks or make electronic transfers issued from the account within 7 days of establishing the account.
(c) All cash and contributions on hand on the date the committee establishes the bank account shall be deposited into the account.
(d) Except as provided in subparagraph (f), expenses paid on behalf of a political committee which has a bank account shall be drawn from the account and issued on a check, electronic transfer, or wire transfer signed or authorized by the treasurer or a person authorized by the committee, approved in writing by the treasurer, and reported to the secretary of state.
(e) The account shall be used exclusively for the purposes of receiving contributions and making expenditures for the candidate or committee. No other funds shall be deposited in the account. No disbursement shall be made from the account that does not qualify as an expenditure or a qualified use of surplus funds. No personal funds, corporate funds, or contributions to or expenditures by another candidate or political committee shall be deposited to or disbursed from the account. Political committees which also exist as federal political action committees or as municipal committees shall not commingle contributions to the federal committee or the municipal committee in the account.
(f) A political committee required to establish an account under this paragraph may maintain a petty cash fund out of which it may make expenditures not in excess of $100 to any person in connection with a single purchase or transaction. Funds shall be deposited to the petty cash fund only from the committee’s established bank account and a record of each cash disbursement shall be kept with sufficient detail to satisfy the reporting requirements of this chapter.
(g)(1) A committee or candidate may:
(A) Change the bank or financial institution where the account is maintained;
(B) Change the persons who are authorized to make disbursements from the account; or
(C) Change its treasurer and, if a candidate, his or her fiscal agent.
(2) Changes under subparagraph (g)(1) shall be accomplished by written notice to the secretary of state within 7 days of the change. The written notice shall include the signature of the chairperson or candidate and the signature of the treasurer or evidence that such person has resigned, is deceased, or is no longer eligible to serve by law.
(h) The account required by this paragraph shall be closed before a final report by the committee reporting the committee’s fund balance as zero is filed with the secretary of state, unless the remaining fund balance is transferred to a political committee with the identical name or to a political committee of the same candidate that registers for the purpose of the next election cycle simultaneously with filing the final report of the committee that is terminating its existence.
(i) This section shall not be construed to require a candidate making expenditures with only his or her own personal funds to open a bank account.
2 New Paragraph; Prohibited Political Contributions; Form Other than Check. Amend RSA 664:4 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI. In any form other than a check.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.