HB 1367-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
03Mar2010… 0718h
2010 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 1367-FN
AN ACT relative to political advertising and campaign expenditures and contributions by business organizations and labor unions.
SPONSORS: Rep. Splaine, Rock 16; Rep. McEachern, Rock 16; Rep. Nixon, Hills 17; Rep. Comerford, Rock 9; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20
This bill:
I. Permits business organizations and labor unions to establish political committees.
II. Establishes additional reporting requirements for contributions made by political committees of business organizations.
III. Establishes reporting requirements for business organizations and labor unions making independent expenditures.
IV. Modifies requirements for political advertising on television and political advertising not authorized by a candidate.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03Mar2010… 0718h
10-2412
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to political advertising and campaign expenditures and contributions by business organizations and labor unions.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Political Expenditures and Contributions; Prohibited Political Contributions; Business Organizations. RSA 664:4, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
I. By any business organization, or by any officer, director, executive, agent, partner, or employee acting in behalf of such business organization. This shall not prohibit the establishment by a business organization of a political committee that operates as a separate entity from the business organization, provided that the committee’s expenditures and contributions are made through a separate, segregated account consisting only of voluntary contributions solicited from individuals. The provisions of this section shall not apply to sole proprietorships.
2 Political Expenditures and Contributions; Prohibited Political Contributions; Labor Unions; Segregated Account Exception. Amend RSA 664:4, III to read as follows:
III. By any labor union or group of labor unions, or by any officer, director, executive, agent, or employee acting in behalf of such union or group of unions; or by any organization representing or affiliated with any such union or group of unions, or by any officer, director, executive, agent, or employee acting in behalf of such organization. This shall not prohibit the establishment by a labor union or group of labor unions of a political committee that operates as a separate entity from the labor union or group of labor unions, provided that the committee’s expenditures and contributions are made through a separate, segregated account consisting only of voluntary contributions solicited from individuals.
3 Repeal. RSA 664:4, II, relative to prohibited political contributions by partnerships, is repealed.
4 New Paragraph; Reporting by Political Committees; Business Organization Political Committees. Amend RSA 664:6 by inserting after paragraph VIII the following new paragraph:
IX. A political committee established by a business organization shall report to the secretary of state each contribution made by the committee. The report shall be made in writing or by electronic or facsimile transmission and shall be received by the secretary of state by noon on the business day next following the contribution. The report shall identify the recipient and amount of the contribution. Reports under this paragraph shall be in addition to any other reports required by this section.
5 Reporting by Committees; Independent Expenditures. Amend RSA 664:6, IV-a to read as follows:
IV-a. Any political committee whose independent expenditures, in aggregate, exceed $500 shall file an itemized statement with the secretary of state [not later than 24 hours] by noon on the business day after such expenditures are made, and thereafter each time a further $500 is expended. Such itemized statements shall cover the period during which independent expenditures totaling $500 were made. Each statement shall include a certification by the political committee that the independent expenditure meets the definition in RSA 664:2, XI. Each statement shall contain the date of each independent expenditure; the name and address of the person to whom the expenditure was made; the name of the candidate on whose behalf or against whom each expenditure was made; the amount of each expenditure; the purpose of each expenditure; and the aggregate amount of all previous independent expenditures. If the independent expenditure is made in support of or to oppose more than one candidate, the statement made under this paragraph shall allocate the way in which the expenditure was made among the candidates on a reasonable basis. For the purposes of this paragraph, “reasonable basis” means a statement which reflects the benefit or the burden reasonably expected to be derived or suffered by each candidate. The filing requirements of this paragraph shall be in addition to all other filing requirements under this section, and shall not be limited to the filing periods during which expenditures must otherwise be reported.
6 New Section; Reporting by Business Organizations and Labor Unions. Amend RSA 664 by inserting after section 6 the following new section:
664:6-a Reporting by Business Organizations and Labor Unions. Any business organization or labor union whose independent expenditures, in the aggregate, exceed $500 shall file an itemized statement with the secretary of state by noon on the business day after such expenditures are made, and thereafter each time a further $500 is expended. Such itemized statements shall cover the period during which independent expenditures totaling $500 were made. Each statement shall include a certification by the business organization or labor union that the independent expenditure meets the definition in RSA 664:2, XI. Each statement shall contain the date of each independent expenditure; the name and address of the person to whom the expenditure was made; the name of the candidate on whose behalf or against whom each expenditure was made; the amount of each expenditure; the purpose of each expenditure; and the aggregate amount of all previous independent expenditures. If the independent expenditure is made in support of or to oppose more than one candidate, the statement made under this section shall allocate the way in which the expenditure was made among the candidates on a reasonable basis. For the purposes of this section, “reasonable basis'' means a statement which reflects the benefit or the burden reasonably expected to be derived or suffered by each candidate. The filing requirements under this section shall be in addition to any other filings required under this chapter, and shall not be limited to the filing periods during which expenditures must otherwise be reported.
7 Political Advertising; Identification; Television. Amend RSA 664:14, IV(b) to read as follows:
(b) All political advertising broadcast on television shall identify the name of the candidate, political committee, or organization who pays for the advertisement [or whose advertisement is paid for by a campaign committee]. Such identification shall be made both aurally and visually. The visual presentation shall be clearly legible and shall use letters equal to or greater than 12 percent of the vertical picture height and shall air [for not less than 4 seconds at the conclusion of the] during the entire broadcast. [For the purpose of this section, “campaign committee” means any committee established to elect a particular candidate to office, including raising funds for that purpose.]
8 Political Advertising not Authorized by Candidate. Amend RSA 664:14, VI to read as follows:
VI. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any advertising in support of or in opposition to a candidate by a political committee, business organization, or labor union shall comply with this paragraph. If the advertising is not authorized by the candidate or candidate committee, the advertising shall so state and shall identify the sponsor of the advertisement. All such political advertising shall include the statement: “This advertisement has been paid for by (name of sponsor) and has not been authorized by any candidate.” Such statement shall be made both aurally and visually if broadcast on television. The visual presentation on television shall be clearly legible and shall use letters equal to or greater than 12 percent of the vertical picture height and shall be broadcast [for not less than 4 seconds at the conclusion of the] during the entire advertisement.
9 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBAO
10-2412
Amended 04/02/10
HB 1367 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to political advertising and campaign expenditures and contributions by business organizations and labor unions.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Legislative Budget Assistant has determined that this legislation, as amended by the House (Amendment #2010-0718h), has a total fiscal impact of less than $10,000 in each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014.