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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 914
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4392
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT CONCERNING DI SCLOSURE OF COORDINATED AND
INDEPENDENT POLITICA L SPENDING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 9-601c of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2020): 2
(a) (1) As used in this chapter and chapter 157, [the term] 3
"independent expenditure" means an expenditure, as defined in 4
section 9-601b, that is made entirely without the consent, coordination 5
[,] or consultation of [,] a candidate or agent of [the] such candidate, 6
candidate committee, political committee or party committee. 7
(2) For the purposes of this section, a payment shall not be 8
considered to be made by a person with the consent, coordination or 9
consultation of, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate or 10
committee solely on the grounds that such person or the agent of such 11
person engaged in discussion with such candidate or committee, or 12
any agent of such candidate or committee, regarding such person's 13 Raised Bill No. 914
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position on a legislative or policy matter, including urging the 14
candidate or committee to adopt such person's position, provided any 15
such discussion between such person and such candidate or 16
committee, or any agent of such candidate or committee, shall not 17
regard the campaign advertising, message, strategy, policy, polling, 18
fund-raising, campaign operations or allocation of resources of such 19
candidate, committee or person. 20
(b) As used in this section, (1) "candidate" includes any person who, 21
during an election cycle, becomes a candidate later in such election 22
cycle and benefits from any expenditure, (2) "election cycle" means, 23
with respect to an office to which a person seeks nomination or 24
election, the period beginning the day after a regular election for such 25
office and ending the day of the next regular election for such office, 26
and (3) "member of the family" means (A) the spouse of the candidate, 27
(B) any sibling, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, aunt or uncle of 28
the candidate, (C) any sibling, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, 29
aunt or uncle of the spouse of the candidate, or (D) the spouse of any 30
child of any such individual described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of 31
this subdivision. 32
(c) As used in this section, "coordinated spender" means, with 33
respect to a candidate or committee: 34
(1) Any person directly or indirectly formed, controlled or 35
established in an election cycle or the immediately preceding election 36
cycle by, at the request or suggestion of, or with the encouragement or 37
approval of, such candidate or committee, or any agent of such 38
candidate or committee; 39
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, any person on 40
whose behalf during an election cycle such candidate or committee, or 41
any agent of such candidate or committee, solicits funds or engages in 42
fund-raising activity, including the provision to such person of the 43
name of any potential donor or other list to be used by such person in 44
engaging in fund-raising activity, regardless of whether such person 45 Raised Bill No. 914
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pays fair market value for any such name or list. Such person shall not 46
be considered a coordinated spender under this subdivision if any 47
funds raised by such candidate or committee, or any agent of such 48
candidate or committee, are (A) segregated from each other account 49
controlled by such person, and (B) not used to make (i) any 50
independent expenditure that benefits such candidate or committee, or 51
(ii) any contribution or covered transfer to another person who later in 52
such election cycle makes any independent expenditure, contribution 53
or covered transfer that benefits such candidate or committee; 54
(3) Any person established, directed or managed by another person 55
who during an election cycle (A) served in such election cycle as a 56
political, media or fund-raising advisor or consultant for such 57
candidate or committee, or for any entity controlled by such candidate 58
or committee, or (B) held in such election cycle a formal position with a 59
title for such candidate or committee; 60
(4) Any person who is a member of the family of such candidate or 61
who is established, directed or managed by any member of the family 62
of such candidate; or 63
(5) Any person, or any officer or agent of such person, who has had 64
more than incidental discussion with a member of the family of such 65
candidate regarding campaign advertising, message, strategy, policy, 66
polling, fund-raising, campaign operations or allocation of resources of 67
such candidate, committee or person. 68
(d) Any expenditure made by a coordinated spender, as described 69
in subsection (c) of this section, shall be deemed to have been made 70
with the consent, coordination or consultation of, or at the request or 71
suggestion of, a candidate or committee, or any agent of such 72
candidate or committee. 73
[(b)] (e) When the State Elections Enforcement Commission 74
evaluates an expenditure, other than an expenditure described in 75
subsection (d) of this section, to determine whether such expenditure is 76
an independent expenditure, there shall be a rebuttable presumption 77 Raised Bill No. 914
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that the following expenditures are not independent expenditures: 78
(1) An expenditure made by a person [in cooperation, consultation 79
or in concert with, at the request, suggestion or direction of, or] 80
pursuant to a general or [particular] tacit understanding with (A) a 81
candidate, candidate committee, political committee or party 82
committee, or (B) a consultant or other agent acting on behalf of a 83
candidate, candidate committee, political committee or party 84
committee; 85
(2) An expenditure made by a person for the production, 86
dissemination, distribution or publication, in whole or in substantial 87
part, of any broadcast or any written, graphic or other form of political 88
advertising or campaign communication prepared by (A) a candidate, 89
candidate committee, political committee or party committee, or (B) a 90
consultant or other agent acting on behalf of a candidate, candidate 91
committee, political committee or party committee; 92
(3) An expenditure made by a person based on information about a 93
candidate's, political committee's, or party committee's plans, projects 94
or needs, provided by (A) a candidate, candidate committee, political 95
committee or party committee, or (B) a consultant or other agent acting 96
on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, political committee or 97
party committee, with the intent that such expenditure be made; 98
(4) An expenditure made by an individual who [, in the same] 99
during an election cycle [,] is serving or has served in such election 100
cycle (A) as the campaign chairperson, treasurer or deputy treasurer of 101
a candidate committee, political committee or party committee 102
benefiting from such expenditure, or (B) in any other executive or 103
policymaking position, including as a member, employee, fundraiser, 104
consultant or other agent, of a candidate, candidate committee, 105
political committee or party committee; 106
(5) An expenditure made by a person or an entity on or after 107
January first in the year of an election in which a candidate is seeking 108
public office that benefits such candidate when such person or entity 109 Raised Bill No. 914
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has hired an individual as an employee or consultant and such 110
individual was an employee of or consultant to such candidate, such 111
candidate's candidate committee or such candidate's opponent's 112
candidate committee during [any part of the eighteen-month period 113
preceding such expenditure] an election cycle or the immediately 114
preceding election cycle; 115
(6) An expenditure made by a person for fundraising activities (A) 116
for a candidate, candidate committee, political committee or party 117
committee, or a consultant or other agent acting on behalf of a 118
candidate, candidate committee, political committee or party 119
committee, or (B) for the solicitation or receipt of contributions on 120
behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, political committee or 121
party committee, or a consultant or other agent acting on behalf of a 122
candidate, candidate committee, political committee or party 123
committee; 124
(7) An expenditure made by a person based on information about a 125
candidate's campaign plans, projects or needs, that is directly or 126
indirectly provided by a candidate, the candidate's candidate 127
committee, a political committee or a party committee, or a consultant 128
or other agent acting on behalf of such candidate, candidate 129
committee, political committee or party committee, to the person 130
making the expenditure or such person's agent, with an express or tacit 131
understanding that such person is considering making the 132
expenditure; 133
(8) An expenditure made by a person for a communication that 134
clearly identifies a candidate during an election campaign, if the 135
person making the expenditure, or such person's agent, has informed 136
the candidate who benefits from the expenditure, [that] such 137
candidate's candidate committee, a political committee or a party 138
committee, or a consultant or other agent acting on behalf of the 139
benefiting candidate or candidate committee, political committee, or 140
party committee, concerning the communication's contents, or of the 141
intended audience, timing, location or mode or frequency of 142 Raised Bill No. 914
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dissemination. [As used in] For the purposes of this subdivision, a 143
communication clearly identifies a candidate when that 144
communication contains the name, nickname, initials, photograph or 145
drawing of the candidate or an unambiguous reference to [that] such 146
candidate, which includes, but is not limited to, a reference that can 147
only mean [that] such candidate; [and] 148
(9) An expenditure made by a person or an entity for consultant or 149
creative services, including, but not limited to, services related to 150
communications strategy or design or campaign strategy or to engage 151
a campaign-related vendor, to be used to promote or oppose a 152
candidate's election to office if the provider of such services is 153
providing or has provided consultant or creative services to such 154
candidate, such candidate's candidate committee or an agent of such 155
candidate committee, or to any opposing candidate's candidate 156
committee or an agent of such opposing candidate's candidate 157
committee after January first of the year in which the expenditure 158
occurs. For the purposes of this subdivision, communications strategy 159
or design does not include the costs of printing or costs for the use of a 160
medium for the purpose of communications. For the purposes of this 161
subdivision, campaign-related vendor includes, but is not limited to, a 162
vendor that provides any of the following services: Polling, mail 163
design, mail strategy, political strategy, general campaign advice or 164
telephone banking; [.] 165
(10) An expenditure made by any person directly or indirectly 166
formed, controlled or established in an election cycle or the 167
immediately preceding election cycle by, at the request or suggestion 168
of, or with the encouragement of, another person deemed to be a 169
coordinated spender, or any agent of such coordinated spender, 170
including with the express or tacit approval of any such coordinated 171
spender or agent. 172
[(c) When the State Elections Enforcement Commission evaluates an 173
expenditure to determine whether an expenditure by entity is an 174
independent expenditure, the following shall not be presumed to 175 Raised Bill No. 914
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constitute evidence of consent, coordination or consultation within the 176
meaning of subsection (a) of this section: (1) Participation by a 177
candidate or an agent of the candidate in an event sponsored by the 178
entity, unless such event promotes the success of the candidate's 179
candidacy or the defeat of the candidate's opponent, or unless the 180
event is during the period that is forty-five days prior to the primary 181
for which the candidate is seeking nomination for election or election 182
to office; (2) membership of the candidate or agent of the candidate in 183
the entity, unless the candidate or agent of the candidate holds an 184
executive or policymaking position within the entity after the 185
candidate becomes a candidate; or (3) financial support for, or 186
solicitation or fundraising on behalf of the entity by a candidate or an 187
agent of the candidate, unless the entity has made or obligated to make 188
independent expenditures in support of such candidate in the election 189
or primary for which the candidate is a candidate.] 190
[(d)] (f) When the State Elections Enforcement Commission 191
evaluates an expenditure to determine whether such expenditure is an 192
independent expenditure, the commission shall consider, as an 193
effective rebuttal to the presumptions provided in subsection [(b)] (e) 194
of this section, the establishment by the person making the 195
expenditure of a firewall policy designed and implemented to prohibit 196
the flow of information between (1) employees, consultants or other 197
individuals providing services to the person paying for the 198
expenditure, and (2) the candidate or agents of the candidate. 199
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2020 9-601c
Statement of Purpose:
To create bright lines between coordinated and independent spending.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]