| 17 | 17 | | |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | Introduced by: |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | (GAE) |
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| 23 | 23 | | |
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| 24 | 24 | | AN ACT CONCERNING LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES' CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS. |
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| 25 | 25 | | |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: |
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| 27 | 27 | | |
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| 28 | 28 | | Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 9-601a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): |
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| 29 | 29 | | |
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| 30 | 30 | | (b) As used in this chapter and chapter 157, "contribution" does not mean: |
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| 31 | 31 | | |
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| 32 | 32 | | (1) A loan of money made in the ordinary course of business by a national or state bank; |
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| 33 | 33 | | |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) Any communication made by a corporation, organization or association solely to its members, owners, stockholders, executive or administrative personnel, or their families; |
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| 35 | 35 | | |
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| 36 | 36 | | (3) Nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns by any corporation, organization or association aimed at its members, owners, stockholders, executive or administrative personnel, or their families; |
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| 37 | 37 | | |
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| 38 | 38 | | (4) Uncompensated services provided by individuals volunteering their time on behalf of a party committee, political committee, slate committee or candidate committee, including any services provided for the benefit of nonparticipating and participating candidates under the Citizens' Election Program and any unreimbursed travel expenses made by an individual who volunteers the individual's personal services to any such committee. For purposes of this subdivision, an individual is a volunteer if such individual is not receiving compensation for such services regardless of whether such individual received compensation in the past or may receive compensation for similar services that may be performed in the future; |
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| 39 | 39 | | |
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| 40 | 40 | | (5) The use of real or personal property, a portion or all of the cost of invitations and the cost of food or beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate, including a nonparticipating or participating candidate under the Citizens' Election Program, or to a party, political or slate committee, in rendering voluntary personal services at the individual's residential premises or a community room in the individual's residence facility, to the extent that the cumulative value of the invitations, food or beverages provided by an individual on behalf of any candidate or committee does not exceed four hundred dollars with respect to any single event or does not exceed eight hundred dollars for any such event hosted by two or more individuals, provided at least one such individual owns or resides at the residential premises, and further provided the cumulative value of the invitations, food or beverages provided by an individual on behalf of any such candidate or committee does not exceed eight hundred dollars with respect to a calendar year or single election, as the case may be; |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | (6) The sale of food or beverage for use by a party, political, slate or candidate committee, including those for a participating or nonparticipating candidate, at a discount, if the charge is not less than the cost to the vendor, to the extent that the cumulative value of the discount given to or on behalf of any single candidate committee does not exceed four hundred dollars with respect to any single primary or election, or to or on behalf of any party, political or slate committee, does not exceed six hundred dollars in a calendar year; |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | (7) The display of a lawn sign by a human being or on real property; |
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| 45 | 45 | | |
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| 46 | 46 | | (8) The payment, by a party committee or slate committee of the costs of preparation, display, mailing or other distribution incurred by the committee or individual with respect to any printed slate card, sample ballot or other printed list containing the names of three or more candidates; |
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| 47 | 47 | | |
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| 48 | 48 | | (9) The donation of any item of personal property by an individual to a committee for a fund-raising affair, including a tag sale or auction, or the purchase by an individual of any such item at such an affair, to the extent that the cumulative value donated or purchased does not exceed one hundred dollars; |
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| 49 | 49 | | |
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| 50 | 50 | | (10) (A) The purchase of advertising space which clearly identifies the purchaser, in a program for a fund-raising affair sponsored by the candidate committee of a candidate for an office of a municipality, provided the cumulative purchase of such space does not exceed two hundred fifty dollars from any single such candidate or the candidate's committee with respect to any single election campaign if the purchaser is a business entity or fifty dollars for purchases by any other person; |
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| 51 | 51 | | |
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| 52 | 52 | | (B) The purchase of advertising space which clearly identifies the purchaser, in a program for a fund-raising affair or on signs at a fund-raising affair sponsored by a party committee or a political committee, other than an exploratory committee, provided the cumulative purchase of such space does not exceed two hundred fifty dollars from any single party committee or a political committee, other than an exploratory committee, in any calendar year if the purchaser is a business entity or fifty dollars for purchases by any other person. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subparagraph, the following may not purchase advertising space in a program for a fund-raising affair or on signs at a fund-raising affair sponsored by a party committee or a political committee, other than an exploratory committee: (i) A communicator lobbyist, (ii) a member of the immediate family of a communicator lobbyist, (iii) a state contractor, (iv) a prospective state contractor, or (v) a principal of a state contractor or prospective state contractor. As used in this subparagraph, "state contractor", "prospective state contractor" and "principal of a state contractor or prospective state contractor" have the same meanings as provided in subsection (f) of section 9-612; |
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| 53 | 53 | | |
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| 54 | 54 | | (11) The payment of money by a candidate to the candidate's candidate committee, provided the committee is for a nonparticipating candidate; |
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| 55 | 55 | | |
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| 56 | 56 | | (12) The donation of goods or services by a business entity to a committee for a fund-raising affair, including a tag sale or auction, to the extent that the cumulative value donated does not exceed two hundred dollars; |
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| 57 | 57 | | |
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| 58 | 58 | | (13) The advance of a security deposit by an individual to a telephone company, as defined in section 16-1, for telecommunications service for a committee or to another utility company, such as an electric distribution company, provided the security deposit is refunded to the individual; |
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| 59 | 59 | | |
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| 60 | 60 | | (14) The provision of facilities, equipment, technical and managerial support, and broadcast time by a community antenna television company, as defined in section 16-1, for community access programming pursuant to section 16-331a, unless (A) the major purpose of providing such facilities, equipment, support and time is to influence the nomination or election of a candidate, or (B) such facilities, equipment, support and time are provided on behalf of a political party; |
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| 61 | 61 | | |
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| 62 | 62 | | (15) The sale of food or beverage by a town committee to an individual at a town fair, county fair, local festival or similar mass gathering held within the state, to the extent that the cumulative payment made by any one individual for such items does not exceed fifty dollars; |
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| 63 | 63 | | |
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| 64 | 64 | | (16) An organization expenditure by a party committee, legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee; |
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| 65 | 65 | | |
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| 66 | 66 | | (17) The donation of food or beverage by an individual for consumption at a slate, candidate, political committee or party committee meeting, event or activity that is not a fund-raising affair to the extent that the cumulative value of the food or beverages donated by an individual for a single meeting or event does not exceed fifty dollars; |
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| 67 | 67 | | |
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| 68 | 68 | | (18) The value associated with the de minimis activity on behalf of a party committee, political committee, slate committee or candidate committee, including for activities including, but not limited to, (A) the creation of electronic or written communications or digital photos or video as part of an electronic file created on a voluntary basis without compensation, including, but not limited to, the creation and ongoing content development and delivery of social media on the Internet or telephone, including, but not limited to, the sending or receiving of electronic mail or messages, (B) the posting or display of a candidate's name or group of candidates' names at a town fair, county fair, local festival or similar mass gathering by a party committee, (C) the use of personal property or a service that is customarily attendant to the occupancy of a residential dwelling, or the donation of an item or items of personal property that are customarily used for campaign purposes, by an individual, to a candidate committee, provided the cumulative fair market value of such use of personal property or service or items of personal property does not exceed one hundred dollars in the aggregate for any single election or calendar year, as the case may be; |
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| 69 | 69 | | |
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| 70 | 70 | | (19) The use of offices, telephones, computers and similar equipment provided by a party committee, legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee that serve as headquarters for or are used by such party committee, legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee; |
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| 71 | 71 | | |
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| 72 | 72 | | (20) A communication, as described in subdivision (7) of subsection (b) of section 9-601b; |
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| 73 | 73 | | |
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| 74 | 74 | | (21) An independent expenditure, as defined in section 9-601c; |
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| 75 | 75 | | |
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| 76 | 76 | | (22) A communication containing an endorsement on behalf of a candidate for nomination or election to the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, State Comptroller, Attorney General, state senator or state representative, from a candidate for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, State Comptroller, Attorney General, state senator or state representative, provided the candidate (A) making the endorsement is unopposed at the time of the communication, and (B) being endorsed paid for such communication; |
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| 77 | 77 | | |
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| 78 | 78 | | (23) A communication that is sent by mail to addresses in the district for which a candidate being endorsed by another candidate pursuant to this subdivision is seeking nomination or election to the office of state senator or state representative, containing an endorsement on behalf of such candidate for such nomination or election from a candidate for the office of state senator or state representative, provided the candidate (A) making the endorsement is not seeking election to the office of state senator or state representative for a district that contains any geographical area shared by the district for the office to which the endorsed candidate is seeking nomination or election, and (B) being endorsed paid for such communication; [or] |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | (24) Campaign training events provided to multiple individuals by a legislative caucus committee and any associated materials, provided the cumulative value of such events and materials does not exceed six thousand dollars in the aggregate for a calendar year; [.] or |
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| 81 | 81 | | |
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| 82 | 82 | | (25) In the case of the candidate committee of a candidate for nomination or election to the office of state senator or state representative, any campaign communication that features or refers to a candidate for nomination or election to a state-wide office, except that if such campaign communication expressly promotes the success of such candidate for nomination or election to such state-wide office, such communication shall be deemed a contribution under subsection (a) of this section. As used in this subdivision, "state-wide office" means the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, State Comptroller or Attorney General. |
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| 83 | 83 | | |
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| 84 | 84 | | Sec. 2. Subdivision (1) of subsection (g) of section 9-607 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): |
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| 85 | 85 | | |
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| 86 | 86 | | (g) (1) As used in this subsection, (A) "the lawful purposes of the committee" means: (i) For a candidate committee or exploratory committee, the promoting of the nomination or election of the candidate who established the committee, except that (I) after a political party nominates candidates for election to the offices of Governor and Lieutenant Governor, whose names shall be so placed on the ballot in the election that an elector will cast a single vote for both candidates, as prescribed in section 9-181, a candidate committee established by either such candidate may also promote the election of the other such candidate, and (II) the candidate committee of a candidate for nomination or election to the office of state senator or state representative may feature or refer to a candidate for nomination or election to a state-wide office on any campaign communication, provided such campaign communication does not expressly promote the success of such candidate for nomination or election to such state-wide office; (ii) for a political committee, the promoting of a political party, including party building activities, the success or defeat of candidates for nomination and election to public office or position subject to the requirements of this chapter, or the success or defeat of referendum questions, provided a political committee formed for a single referendum question shall not promote the success or defeat of any candidate, and provided further a legislative leadership committee or a legislative caucus committee may expend funds to defray costs for conducting legislative or constituency-related business which are not reimbursed or paid by the state; and (iii) for a party committee, the promoting of the party, party building activities, the candidates of the party and continuing operating costs of the party, [and] (B) "immediate family" means a spouse or dependent child of a candidate who resides in the candidate's household, and (C) "state-wide office" means the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, State Comptroller or Attorney General. |
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| 87 | 87 | | |
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| 88 | 88 | | |
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| 89 | 89 | | |
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| 90 | 90 | | |
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| 91 | 91 | | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 92 | 92 | | Section 1 from passage 9-601a(b) |
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| 93 | 93 | | Sec. 2 from passage 9-607(g)(1) |
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| 94 | 94 | | |
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| 95 | 95 | | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 96 | 96 | | |
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| 97 | 97 | | Section 1 |
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| 98 | 98 | | |
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| 99 | 99 | | from passage |
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| 100 | 100 | | |
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| 101 | 101 | | 9-601a(b) |
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| 102 | 102 | | |
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| 103 | 103 | | Sec. 2 |
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| 104 | 104 | | |
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| 105 | 105 | | from passage |
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| 106 | 106 | | |
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| 107 | 107 | | 9-607(g)(1) |
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| 108 | 108 | | |
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