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Arkansas Senate Bill SB585

Arkansas 2023 Regular Session

Arkansas Senate Bill SB585 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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44 State of Arkansas 1
55 94th General Assembly A Bill 2
66 Regular Session, 2023 SENATE BILL 585 3
77 4
88 By: Senator C. Tucker 5
99 6
1010 For An Act To Be Entitled 7
1111 AN ACT TO REQUIRE REPORTING AN D DISCLOSURE OF 8
1212 ELECTIONEERING COMMU NICATIONS; TO RESTRI CT THE AMOUNT 9
1313 OF MONEY SPENT ON CA MPAIGN COMMUNICATION S PRODUCED IN 10
1414 COORDINATION WITH A CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE ; TO AMEND 11
1515 THE LAW CONCERNING C AMPAIGN FINANCE CONT RIBUTIONS; 12
1616 AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 13
1717 14
1818 15
1919 Subtitle 16
2020 TO REQUIRE REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE OF 17
2121 ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS; AND TO 18
2222 RESTRICT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT ON 19
2323 CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCED IN 20
2424 COORDINATION WITH A CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE. 21
2525 22
2626 23
2727 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 24
2828 25
2929 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 7, Chapter 6, Subchapter 2, is amended 26
3030 to add an additional section to read as follows: 27
3131 7-6-232. Coordinated communications. 28
3232 (a)(1) A coordinated communication is an in -kind contribution to the 29
3333 candidate, political party, ballot question committee, or independent 30
3434 expenditure committee who or to the candidate, political party, ballot 31
3535 question committee, or independent expenditure committee whose authorized 32
3636 committee or agent cooperate d, consulted, requested, suggested, or acted in 33
3737 concert with: 34
3838 (A) The person making the coordinated communication or his 35
3939 or her authorized agent; or 36 SB585
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4444 (B) The person making the expenditure for the coordinated 1
4545 communication or his or her authorized ag ent. 2
4646 (2) The in-kind contribution under subdivision (a)(1) of this 3
4747 section shall be subject to the contribution limits set forth under § 7 -6-4
4848 203. 5
4949 (b)(1) As used in this section, "coordinated communication" means a 6
5050 political advertisement or communicat ion funded by expenditures that contain 7
5151 express advocacy or the functional equivalent of express advocacy made: 8
5252 (A) In cooperation or consultation between: 9
5353 (i)(a) A candidate or his or her authorized 10
5454 committee or agent; 11
5555 (b) A political part y or its authorized agent; 12
5656 (c) A ballot question committee; or 13
5757 (d) An independent expenditure committee; and 14
5858 (ii) The person making the: 15
5959 (a) Communication or his or her authorized 16
6060 agent; or 17
6161 (b) Expenditure for the communication or his 18
6262 or her authorized agent; 19
6363 (B) In concert with or at the request or suggestion of: 20
6464 (i) A candidate or his or her authorized committee 21
6565 or agent; 22
6666 (ii) A political party or its authorized agent; 23
6767 (iii) A ballot question committee; or 24
6868 (iv) An independent expenditure committee. 25
6969 (2) "Coordinated communication" does not include: 26
7070 (A) A candidate's, a political party committee's, a ballot 27
7171 question committee's, or an independent expenditure committee's response to 28
7272 an inquiry about that candidate's, political party committee's, ballot 29
7373 question committee's, or independent expenditure committee's positions on 30
7474 legislative or policy issues unless the response or the inquiry concerns the 31
7575 plans, projects, activities, or needs of the campa ign; 32
7676 (B) Unless the public communication promotes, supports, 33
7777 attacks, or opposes the endorsing candidate or another candidate who seeks 34
7878 election to the same office the endorsing candidate is seeking, a public 35
7979 communication: 36 SB585
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8484 (i) In which a candidate endorses another candidate; 1
8585 and 2
8686 (ii) That is made by the endorsing candidate; 3
8787 (C) Unless the public communication promotes, supports, 4
8888 attacks, or opposes the soliciting candidate or another candidate who seeks 5
8989 election to the same office the soliciting candidate is seeking, a public 6
9090 communication: 7
9191 (i) In which a candidate solicits funds: 8
9292 (a) For another candidate; 9
9393 (b) For a political committee; or 10
9494 (c) On behalf of an organization concerning a 11
9595 state or local election in a manner corresponding to the circumstances set 12
9696 forth in 11 C.F.R. § 300.65; and 13
9797 (ii) That is made by the soliciting candidate; or 14
9898 (D) A public communication in which a candidate is clearly 15
9999 identified only in his or her capacity as the owner o r operator of a business 16
100100 that existed prior to the candidacy if: 17
101101 (i) The medium, timing, content, and geographic 18
102102 distribution of the public communication are consistent with public 19
103103 communications made prior to the candidacy; and 20
104104 (ii) The public communication does not promote, 21
105105 support, attack, or oppose the communicating candidate or another candidate 22
106106 who seeks election to the same office the communicating candidate is seeking. 23
107107 (c)(1) In making a determination as to whether a communication is a 24
108108 coordinated communication, the Arkansas Ethics Commission shall consider the 25
109109 following without limitation: 26
110110 (A) Whether the coordinated communication was paid for, in 27
111111 whole or in part, by a person other than the candidate or his or her agent, 28
112112 the candidate's authorized committee or its agent, or a political party or 29
113113 its agent; 30
114114 (B) Whether the content of the coordinated communication 31
115115 is a public communication that republishes, disseminates, or distributes, in 32
116116 whole or in part, campaign materials prepar ed by a candidate or a candidate's 33
117117 campaign committee other than a photograph or other likeness of the candidate 34
118118 obtained from a publicly available source; and 35
119119 (C) Whether the conduct of the coordinated communication 36 SB585
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124124 meets one (1) or more of the follow ing standards: 1
125125 (i) The coordinated communication was created, 2
126126 produced, or distributed at the request or suggestion of the candidate or his 3
127127 or her agent, the candidate's committee or its agent, or the political party 4
128128 or its agent; 5
129129 (ii) The coordinated communication was created, 6
130130 produced, or distributed at the request or suggestion of the person paying 7
131131 for the communication, and the candidate or his or her agent, the candidate's 8
132132 committee or its agent, or the political party or its agent approves t he 9
133133 request or suggestion; 10
134134 (iii) The candidate or his or her agent, the 11
135135 candidate's committee or its agent, or the political party or its agent was 12
136136 materially involved in decisions regarding the content, intended audience, 13
137137 means or mode of the coordina ted communication, specific media outlet used, 14
138138 timing, frequency, size, or prominence of the coordinated communication; or 15
139139 (iv) The coordinated communication was created, 16
140140 produced, or distributed after one (1) or more substantial discussions about 17
141141 the communication between the person paying for the communication or the 18
142142 employees or agents of that person and: 19
143143 (a) The candidate or his or her agent; 20
144144 (b) The candidate's committee or its agent; 21
145145 (c) The political party or its agent; 22
146146 (d) A ballot question committee; or 23
147147 (e) An independent expenditure committee. 24
148148 (2) As used in this section, "candidate" means the candidate who 25
149149 is positioned to benefit from the coordinated communication, whether the 26
150150 coordinated communication prom otes that candidate or criticizes his or her 27
151151 opponent. 28
152152 (d)(1) A person or an entity is an authorized agent of a candidate, a 29
153153 candidate's committee, or a political party under this section if the person 30
154154 or entity: 31
155155 (A) Has actual authorization, either expressed or implied, 32
156156 from a specific principal to engage in specific activities; and 33
157157 (B) Engages in the activities on behalf of that specific 34
158158 principal. 35
159159 (2) If the activities carried out by an authorized agent would 36 SB585
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164164 result in a coordinated communication if carried out directly by the 1
165165 candidate, authorized committee staff, or a political party official, the 2
166166 activities of the authorized agent result in a coordinated communication. 3
167167 (e) As used in this section: 4
168168 (1)(A) "Political advertiseme nt" means any campaign 5
169169 communication: 6
170170 (i) That is in any form, including without 7
171171 limitation the following medias: 8
172172 (a) Broadcast; 9
173173 (b) Satellite; 10
174174 (c) Cable; 11
175175 (d) Electronic; 12
176176 (e) Digital; 13
177177 (f) Written; 14
178178 (g) Print; 15
179179 (h) Graphic; and 16
180180 (i) Design; 17
181181 (ii) That is publicly distributed; 18
182182 (iii) Except as provided in subdivision (e)(1)(B) of 19
183183 this section, that the person or committee making the advertisement or 20
184184 communication pays money for the production or dissemination of the 21
185185 advertisement or communication; 22
186186 (iv) That refers to a clearly identified candidate 23
187187 for public office; 24
188188 (v) That is targeted to the relevant electorate for 25
189189 that candidate; and 26
190190 (vi) For which the only reasonable interpretat ion of 27
191191 the advertisement or communication is that the advertisement or communication 28
192192 is an attempt to influence a vote for or against a specific candidate or 29
193193 specific set of candidates. 30
194194 (B)(i) Payment of money under subdivision (e)(1)(A)(iii) 31
195195 of this section does not include: 32
196196 (a) Utility payments for telephone or internet 33
197197 service made by the person or committee making the advertisement or 34
198198 communication; or 35
199199 (b) The costs of producing copies of flyers, 36 SB585
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203203
204204 handbills, or other documents to be distr ibuted by hand by one (1) or more 1
205205 volunteers. 2
206206 (ii) Payment of money under subdivision 3
207207 (e)(1)(A)(iii) of this section includes without limitation money paid to a 4
208208 person in exchange for the distribution by hand of printed advertisement or 5
209209 printed communication such as door hangers or push cards. 6
210210 (C) In making a determination under subdivision 7
211211 (e)(1)(A)(vi) of this section, the Arkansas Ethics Commission shall consider: 8
212212 (i) Whether the advertisement or communication 9
213213 offers preferential support fo r or criticism of a clearly identified 10
214214 candidate for office; 11
215215 (ii) The proximity between the date of the 12
216216 advertisement or communication and the date of the election for the clearly 13
217217 identified candidate for office; and 14
218218 (iii) Any other factor the co mmission deems relevant 15
219219 to its determination. 16
220220 (D) "Political advertisement" does not include any 17
221221 communication that: 18
222222 (i) Unless the facilities are owned or controlled by 19
223223 any political party, political committee, or candidate, appears in a news 20
224224 story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any: 21
225225 (a) Broadcast, cable, satellite radio, or 22
226226 television station; or 23
227227 (b) Newspaper, magazine, print media, or 24
228228 internet media business; 25
229229 (ii) Constitutes an independent expenditure that is 26
230230 reported as required under this subchapter; 27
231231 (iii) Constitutes a candidate debate or forum 28
232232 conducted, or that solely promotes such a debate or forum and is made by or 29
233233 on behalf of the person sponsoring the debate or forum; 30
234234 (iv) Is disseminated as a flyer, handbill, or other 31
235235 document distributed by hand by one (1) or more volunteers; 32
236236 (v) Is disseminated by an organization to the 33
237237 organization's own membership as reflected in the organizations membership 34
238238 records or to person s who have requested to receive communications from the 35
239239 organization for the purpose of indicating candidates whom the organization 36 SB585
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244244 supports in an upcoming election; or 1
245245 (vi) Is disseminated by a person or committee on the 2
246246 official website or social me dia account maintained by the person or 3
247247 committee making the advertisement or communication; 4
248248 (2) "Refers to a clearly identified candidate" means that the 5
249249 candidate's name, nickname, photograph, or drawing appears, or the identity 6
250250 of the candidate is ot herwise apparent through an unambiguous reference such 7
251251 as "the Governor", "your county judge", or "the incumbent", or through an 8
252252 unambiguous reference to his or her status as a candidate such as "the 9
253253 Republican nominee for Governor" or "the Democratic cand idate for Secretary 10
254254 of State in the State of Arkansas"; and 11
255255 (3) "Targeted to the relevant electorate" means: 12
256256 (A) If the advertisement or communication is publicly 13
257257 distributed by a broadcast, cable, satellite radio, or television station or 14
258258 by a newspaper, magazine, or other print media, the advertisement or 15
259259 communication can be seen, heard, or read: 16
260260 (i) By at least twenty -five thousand (25,000) 17
261261 viewers, listeners, or readers in the state, in the case of a candidate for 18
262262 statewide office; 19
263263 (ii) By at least ten percent (10%) of a county, 20
264264 municipality, or district population, in the case of a candidate for a county 21
265265 office, municipal office, school district board of directors, or other 22
266266 district office that is not the Senate or the House of Rep resentatives; or 23
267267 (iii) By at least two thousand five hundred (2,500) 24
268268 viewers, listeners, or readers in the district, in the case of a candidate 25
269269 for the Senate or the House of Representatives; 26
270270 (B) If the advertisement or communication is publicly 27
271271 distributed by direct mail, electronic mail, telephone, or by hand by a 28
272272 person who has been paid to distribute the advertisement or communication, 29
273273 the advertisement or communication is sent to or distributed to: 30
274274 (i) At least two thousand five hundred ( 2,500) 31
275275 individuals in the state, in the case of a candidate for statewide office; 32
276276 (ii) At least one percent (1%) of a county, 33
277277 municipality, or district population, in the case of a candidate for a county 34
278278 office, municipal office, school district board of directors, or other 35
279279 district office that is not the Senate or the House of Representatives; or 36 SB585
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284284 (iii) At least two hundred and fifty (250) 1
285285 individuals, in the case of a candidate for the Senate or the House of 2
286286 Representatives; or 3
287287 (C) If the advertisement or communication is publicly 4
288288 distributed by internet website, the advertisement or communication is 5
289289 intended to be viewed by: 6
290290 (i) At least two thousand five hundred (2,500) 7
291291 individuals in the state, in the case of a candidate for statewide office; 8
292292 (ii) At least one percent (1%) of a county, 9
293293 municipality, or district population, in the case of a candidate for a county 10
294294 office, municipal office, school district board of directors, or other 11
295295 district office that is not the Senate or the Hous e of Representatives; or 12
296296 (iii) At least two hundred and fifty (250) 13
297297 individuals, in the case of a candidate for the Senate or the House of 14
298298 Representatives. 15
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