Connecticut 2021 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00640 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2	2
	3	+	LCO No. 2480 1 of 1
3	4
4		-
5		-	LCO No. 4983 1 of 5
6		-
7		-	General Assembly Committee Bill No. 640
	5	+	General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 640
8	6		January Session, 2021
9		-	LCO No. ~~4983~~
	7	+	LCO No. 2480
10	8
11	9
12	10		Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
13	11		AND ELECTIONS
14	12
15	13
16	14		Introduced by:
17		-	(GAE)
	15	+	SEN. LESSER, 9
	16	+	th Dist.
18	17
19	18
20	19
21		-	AN ACT CONCERNING ON LINE PLATFORMS AND C AMPAIGN
22		-	FINANCE.
	20	+
	21	+
	22	+	AN ACT CONCERNING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND
	23	+	CAMPAIGN FINANCE.
23	24		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
24	25		Assembly convened:
25	26
26		-	Section 1. Section 9-601 of the general statutes is amended by adding 1
27		-	subdivisions (32) and (33) as follows (Effective January 1, 2022): 2
28		-	(NEW) (32) "Online platform" means any public-facing Internet web 3
29		-	site or application or digital application, including, but not limited to, a 4
30		-	social network, advertisement network or search engine, that sells 5
31		-	qualified political advertisements and (A) has four hundred thousand 6
32		-	or more unique monthly visitors or users, which visitors or users have 7
33		-	an assigned Internet protocol address within the United States, for seven 8
34		-	of the preceding twelve months, or (B) has revenue from advertising in 9
35		-	excess of one thousand dollars per year. 10
36		-	(NEW) (33) "Qualified political advertisement" means any 11
37		-	advertisement, including, but not limited to, sponsorship and search 12
38		-	engine marketing, that is an expenditure, as defined in section 9-601b. 13
39		-	Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2022) For each sale of a qualified 14
40		-	LCO No. 4983 2 of 5
41		-
42		-	political advertisement on an online platform, as those terms are defined 15
43		-	in section 9-601 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, such 16
44		-	online platform shall: (1) Make available for online public inspection, 17
45		-	and in machine-readable format, a digital copy of the qualified political 18
46		-	advertisement; and (2) provide to the State Elections Enforcement 19
47		-	Commission the name, street address and phone number of a single 20
48		-	point of contact at such online platform who is responsible for the sale 21
49		-	and appearance of such qualified political advertisement on such online 22
50		-	platform. 23
51		-	Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 9-601c of the general statutes is 24
52		-	repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 25
53		-	1, 2022): 26
54		-	(b) When the State Elections Enforcement Commission evaluates an 27
55		-	expenditure to determine whether such expenditure is an independent 28
56		-	expenditure, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the following 29
57		-	expenditures are not independent expenditures: 30
58		-	(1) An expenditure made by a person in cooperation, consultation or 31
59		-	in concert with, at the request, suggestion or direction of, or pursuant to 32
60		-	a general or particular understanding with (A) a candidate, candidate 33
61		-	committee, political committee or party committee, or (B) a consultant 34
62		-	or other agent acting on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, 35
63		-	political committee or party committee; 36
64		-	(2) An expenditure made by a person for the production, 37
65		-	dissemination, distribution or publication, in whole or in substantial 38
66		-	part, of any broadcast or any written, graphic or other form of political 39
67		-	advertising or campaign communication prepared by (A) a candidate, 40
68		-	candidate committee, political committee or party committee, or (B) a 41
69		-	consultant or other agent acting on behalf of a candidate, candidate 42
70		-	committee, political committee or party committee; 43
71		-	(3) An expenditure made by a person based on information about a 44
72		-	candidate's, political committee's, or party committee's plans, projects 45
73		-	or needs, provided by (A) a candidate, candidate committee, political 46
74		-	LCO No. 4983 3 of 5
75		-
76		-	committee or party committee, or (B) a consultant or other agent acting 47
77		-	on behalf of a candidate, candidate committee, political committee or 48
78		-	party committee, with the intent that such expenditure be made; 49
79		-	(4) An expenditure made by an individual who, in the same election 50
80		-	cycle, is serving or has served as the campaign chairperson, treasurer or 51
81		-	deputy treasurer of a candidate committee, political committee or party 52
82		-	committee benefiting from such expenditure, or in any other executive 53
83		-	or policymaking position, including as a member, employee, fundraiser, 54
84		-	consultant or other agent, of a candidate committee, political committee 55
85		-	or party committee; 56
86		-	(5) An expenditure made by a person or an entity on or after January 57
87		-	first in the year of an election in which a candidate is seeking public 58
88		-	office that benefits such candidate when such person or entity has hired 59
89		-	an individual as an employee or consultant and such individual was an 60
90		-	employee of or consultant to such candidate's candidate committee or 61
91		-	such candidate's opponent's candidate committee during any part of the 62
92		-	eighteen-month period preceding such expenditure; 63
93		-	(6) An expenditure made by a person for fundraising activities (A) 64
94		-	for a candidate, candidate committee, political committee or party 65
95		-	committee, or a consultant or other agent acting on behalf of a candidate, 66
96		-	candidate committee, political committee or party committee, or (B) for 67
97		-	the solicitation or receipt of contributions on behalf of a candidate, 68
98		-	candidate committee, political committee or party committee, or a 69
99		-	consultant or other agent acting on behalf of a candidate, candidate 70
100		-	committee, political committee or party committee; 71
101		-	(7) An expenditure made by a person based on information about a 72
102		-	candidate's campaign plans, projects or needs, that is directly or 73
103		-	indirectly provided by a candidate, the candidate's candidate 74
104		-	committee, a political committee or a party committee, or a consultant 75
105		-	or other agent acting on behalf of such candidate, candidate committee, 76
106		-	political committee or party committee, to the person making the 77
107		-	expenditure or such person's agent, with an express or tacit 78
108		-	understanding that such person is considering making the expenditure; 79
109		-	LCO No. 4983 4 of 5
110		-
111		-	(8) An expenditure made by a person for a communication that 80
112		-	clearly identifies a candidate during an election campaign, if the person 81
113		-	making the expenditure, or such person's agent, has informed the 82
114		-	candidate who benefits from the expenditure, that candidate's candidate 83
115		-	committee, a political committee or a party committee, or a consultant 84
116		-	or other agent acting on behalf of the benefiting candidate or candidate 85
117		-	committee, political committee, or party committee, concerning the 86
118		-	communication's contents, or of the intended audience, timing, location 87
119		-	or mode or frequency of dissemination. As used in this subdivision, a 88
120		-	communication clearly identifies a candidate when that communication 89
121		-	contains the name, nickname, initials, photograph or drawing of the 90
122		-	candidate or an unambiguous reference to that candidate, which 91
123		-	includes, but is not limited to, a reference that can only mean that 92
124		-	candidate; [and] 93
125		-	(9) An expenditure made by a person or an entity for consultant or 94
126		-	creative services, including, but not limited to, services related to 95
127		-	communications strategy or design or campaign strategy or to engage a 96
128		-	campaign-related vendor, to be used to promote or oppose a candidate's 97
129		-	election to office if the provider of such services is or has provided 98
130		-	consultant or creative services to such candidate, such candidate's 99
131		-	candidate committee or an agent of such candidate committee, or to any 100
132		-	opposing candidate's candidate committee or an agent of such 101
133		-	candidate committee after January first of the year in which the 102
134		-	expenditure occurs. For the purposes of this subdivision, 103
135		-	[communications strategy or design] (A) "communications strategy or 104
136		-	design" does not include the costs of printing or costs for the use of a 105
137		-	medium for the purpose of communications, [. For purposes of this 106
138		-	subdivision, campaign-related vendor] and (B) "campaign-related 107
139		-	vendor" includes, but is not limited to, a vendor that provides the 108
140		-	following services: Polling, mail design, mail strategy, political strategy, 109
141		-	general campaign advice or telephone banking; and 110
142		-	(10) An expenditure made by an online platform, which expenditure 111
143		-	displays the name, face or voice of a candidate, ninety days or less before 112
144		-	the day of a primary or election if such expenditure was not made 113
145		-	LCO No. 4983 5 of 5
146		-
147		-	neutrally or evenly as to such candidate and each opponent of such 114
148		-	candidate. For the purposes of this subdivision, "expenditure made by 115
149		-	an online platform" includes, but is not limited to, any tool or feature 116
150		-	created by or for such online platform that appears on or is integrated 117
151		-	with such online platform. 118
152		-	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
153		-	sections:
154		-
155		-	Section 1 January 1, 2022 9-601
156		-	Sec. 2 January 1, 2022 New section
157		-	Sec. 3 January 1, 2022 9-601c(b)
158		-
	27	+	That chapter 155 of the general statutes be amended to (1) define 1
	28	+	"social media platform", (2) require that each social media platform that 2
	29	+	displays an electioneering communication promoting the success or 3
	30	+	defeat of any candidate provide a copy of such communication to the 4
	31	+	State Elections Enforcement Commission along with the name of a 5
	32	+	single point of contact for such communication, and (3) provide that, for 6
	33	+	any such communication created by the social media platform and 7
	34	+	displayed on such platform during the ninety-day period immediately 8
	35	+	prior to a primary or election, there shall be a rebuttable presumption 9
	36	+	that such communication is a contribution. 10
159	37		Statement of Purpose:
160		-	To define "online platform", require such platform to make publicly
161		-	available copies of electioneering communications and contact
162		-	information at such platform for such communications and impose a
163		-	rebuttable presumption that certain content created by or for such
164		-	platform is not an independent expenditure if displayed during the
165		-	ninety days prior to a primary or election.
166		-	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
167		-	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
168		-	underlined.]
169		-
170		-	Co-Sponsors: SEN. LESSER, 9th Dist.
171		-
172		-	S.B. 640
173		-
174		-
	38	+	To regulate social media platforms for campaign finance purposes.