SB 934 — AN ACT RESTORING THE CITIZENS' ELECTION PROGRAM.

General Assembly   RaisedSubstitute Bill No.

934 January Session, 2017   LCO*_____SB00934GAE___032817____* No.AN ACT RESTORING THE CITIZENS' ELECTION PROGRAM.

4641   *04641_______GAE* Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS   Introduced by:

  (GAE)   AN ACT RESTORING THE CITIZENS' ELECTION PROGRAM.

Such party committee shall submit a copy of any written, typed or other printed communication, or of any web-based, written communication, or a transcript of any video or audio communication that is broadcast by television or satellite or via Internet or of any automated telephone call to the State Elections Enforcement Commission not later than ten days after the filing of the statement in which such communication was reported or should have been reported.

(d) [A] (1) No party committee may receive contributions in excess of one hundred thousand dollars, in the aggregate, in any calendar year from [a] any federal account of a national committee of a political party, [but may not] and no party committee may receive contributions from any other account of a national committee of a political party or from a committee of a candidate for federal or out-of-state office, for use in the election of candidates subject to the provisions of this chapter.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, a federal account of a national committee of a political party may provide to a party committee documentation in printed or electronic form, such as a party platform, a copy of an issue paper, a list of registered voters or voter identification information, which documentation is or was created or maintained by the federal account of the national committee of a political party.

(NEW) (e) A party committee may establish a compliant account, as defined in subdivision (34) of section 9-601, as amended by this act.

For the purposes of chapters 155 to 157, inclusive, including limits for contributions, expenditures and organization expenditures, any compliant account will be aggregated with the state-only account, as defined in subdivisionsection (33)9-601, ofas saidamended section,by this act, if any.

(b) (1) Any such candidate committee is eligible to receive such grants,grants under sections 9-705 and 9-706, as amended by this act, for a primary campaign, if applicable, and a general election campaign if [(1)] (A) the candidate certifies as a participating candidate under section 9-703, as amended by this act, [(2)] (B) the candidate's candidate committee receives the required amount of qualifying contributions under section 9-704, as amended by this act, [(3)] (C) the candidate's candidate committee returns or transmits to the State Elections Enforcement Commission for deposit in the Citizens' Election Fund all contributions that do not meet the criteria for qualifying contributions under section 9-704, as amended by this act, [(4)] (D) the candidate agrees to limit the campaign expenditures of the candidate's candidate committee in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, and [(5)] (E) the candidate submits an application and the commission approves the application in accordance with the provisions of section 9-706, as amended by this act.

(c) (1) A candidate participating in the Citizens' Election Program shall limit the expenditures of the candidate's candidate committee (A) before a primary campaign and a general election campaign, to the amount of qualifying contributions permitted in section 9-704, as amended by this act, and any personal funds provided by the candidate under subsection (c) of section 9-710, as amended by this act, (B) for a primary campaign, to the sum of (i) the amount of such qualifying contributions and personal funds that have not been spent before the primary campaign, [and] (ii) the amount of the grant for the primary campaign authorized under section 9-705, as amended by this act, (iii) the amount of any supplemental grant for the primary campaign authorized under section 10 of this act, if applicable, for a candidate for the office of Governor, and (iv) the amount of any supplemental qualifying contributions under subdivision (3) of this subsection, if applicable, for a candidate for the office of Governor, and (C) for a general election campaign, to the sum of (i) the amount of such qualifying contributions and personal funds that have not been spent before the general election campaign, (ii) any unexpended funds from any grant for a primary campaign authorized under section 9-705, as amended by this act, or from any supplemental grant for a primary campaign authorized under section 10 of this act, if applicable, [and] (iii) the amount of the grant for the general election campaign authorized under section 9-705, as amended by this act, (iv) the amount of any supplemental grant for the general election campaign authorized under section 10 of this act, if applicable, for a candidate for the office of Governor, and (v) the amount of any supplemental qualifying contributions under subdivision (3) of this subsectionsubsection, if applicable, for a candidate for the office of Governor.

(2) The candidate committee of a minor or petitioning party candidate who has received a general election campaign grant from the fund pursuant to section 9-705, as amended by this act, or an unopposed candidate who is not eligible to receive a general election campaign grant pursuant to subparagraph (A) of subdivision (3) of subsection (j) of section 9-705, as amended by this act, shall be permitted to receive contributions in addition to the qualifying contributions subject to the limitations and restrictions applicable to participating candidates for the same office, provided (I)(A) such minor or petitioning party candidate shall limit the expenditures of the candidate committee for a general election campaign to the sum of the qualifying contributions and personal funds, the amount of the general election campaign grant received and the amount raised in additional contributions that is equivalent to the difference between the amount of the applicable general election campaign grant for a major party candidate for such office and the amount of the general election campaign grant received by such minor or petitioning party candidate, and (II)(B) such unopposed candidate shall limit the expenditures of such candidate's candidate committee for a general election to the sum of the qualifying contributions, any personal funds and the amount raised in additional contributions equivalent to thirty per cent of the applicable general election campaign grant under subsections (a) to (i), inclusive, of section 9-705,9-705. as amended by this act.

(NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) (1) (A) The qualified candidate committee of a major party candidate for the office of Governor who has a primary for nomination to said office may be eligible, in accordance with the provisions of this section, to receive a supplemental grant from the Citizens' Election Fund for the primary campaign in addition to a grant received pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 9-705 of the general statutes,statutes. as amended by this act.

In the case of a primary held in 2018, the maximum amount of such supplemental grant for the primary campaign shall be seventy-five per cent of the grant for the primary campaign authorized under subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 9-705 of the general statutes,statutes. as amended by this act.

(2) (A) The qualified candidate committee of a candidate for the office of Governor that received a grant from the Citizens' Election Fund for the general election campaign pursuant to section 9-705 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, may be eligible, in accordance with the provisions of this section, to receive a supplemental grant from the fund for the general election campaign in addition to a grant received pursuant to subsection (a) of section 9-705 of the general statutes,statutes. as amended by this act.

(b) (1) Any qualified candidate committee described in subsection (a) of this section is eligible to receive a supplemental grant for a primary campaign, if applicable, and for a general election campaign if (A) the qualified candidate committee receives supplemental qualifying contributions for a supplemental grant under section 9-704 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, (B) the qualified candidate committee returns all contributions that do not meet the criteria for supplemental qualifying contributions under saidsection section,9-704 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, (C) the participating candidate agrees to limit such candidate's qualified candidate committee's campaign expenditures in accordance with the provisions of section 9-702 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and (D) the qualified candidate committee submits an application, and the State Elections Enforcement Commission approves such application, in accordance with the provisions of this section and subsections (a) and (b) of section 9-706 of the general statutes, as amended by this act.

(B) If a participating candidate who is nominated for election and who was previously deemed to not have an opponent under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision is subsequently deemed to have an opponent in the general election campaign, the qualified candidate committee of such participating candidate shall be eligible to receive a general election grant under subsections (a) to (i), inclusive, of this sectionsection, and the amount of such grant shall be reduced by the amount of any additional contributions raised,raised pursuant to subsection (c) of section 9-702, as amended by this act, during the period when such candidate was deemed to not have an opponent;

(4) The candidate committee has returned all contributions or portions of contributions that do not meet the criteria for qualifying contributions under section 9-704, as amended by this act, and transmitted all excess qualifying contributions and supplemental qualifying contributions to the Citizens' Election Fund, except as provided under subsection (e) of saidsection section;9-704, as amended by this act;

(b) A candidate who so certifies the candidate's intent to abide by the expenditure limits under the Citizens' Election Program set forth in subsection (c) of section 9-702, as amended by this act, shall be referred to in [sections 9-700 to 9-716, inclusive,] this chapter and section 10 of this act as a "participating candidate"candidate", and a candidate who so certifies the candidate's intent to not abide by said limits shall be referred to in sections 9-700 to 9-716, inclusive, as amended by this act, as a "nonparticipating candidate".

Following the initial deposit of moneys from the Citizens' Election Fund into the depository account of a qualified candidate committee, no contribution, loan, amount of the candidate's own moneys or any other moneys received by the candidate or the treasurer on behalf of the committee shall be deposited into said depository account, (1) except grants under section 9-705, as amended by this act, and supplemental grants under section 10 of this act from the fund, [and] (2) any supplemental qualifying contributions received in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of section 9-704, as amended by this act, or the provisions of subdivision (3) of subsection (c) of section 9-702, as amended by this act, and (3) reimbursement from another candidate committee for shared expenses as[as providedprovided] pursuant to subsection (b) of section 9-610.

(b) (1) As used in this section, "excess expenditure" means an expenditure made, or obligated to be made, by a nonparticipating or a participating candidate who is opposed by one or more other participating candidates in a primary campaign or a general election campaign, which is in excess of the amount of the applicable limit on expenditures for said participating candidates for said campaign,campaign [and which is the sum of (A) the applicable qualifying contributions that the participating candidate is required to receive under section 9-704 to be eligible for grants from the Citizens' Election Fund, and (B) one hundred per cent of the applicable full grant amount for a major party candidate authorized under section 9-705 for the applicable campaign period] as set forth in subsection (c) of section 9-702, as amended by this act.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, no state central committee, legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee shall make an organization expenditure for the benefit of a participating candidate ofor the candidate committee of a participating candidate in the Citizens' Election Program for the office of state representative in an amount that exceeds one-fourth of the applicable full grant amount for a major party candidate authorized under section 9-705, as amended by this act, for the applicable campaign period.

[On and after July 1, 2011, no] On and after July 1, 2017, any member may serve more than two consecutive terms, [except that] and any member serving on said date,date [,] may serve until a successor is appointed and has qualified.

(NEW) (d) A candidate committee for a candidate who intends to participate in the Citizens' Election Program may pay a consultant, provided any contract for such consultant's services shall require such consultant to transmit to the treasurer of such committee all payee information and any supporting documentation related to goods or services provided by such consultant through the use of other persons working on behalf of the candidate committee, including, but not limited to, expenditures made, directly or indirectly, by such consultant to any third party for any (A)(1) written, typed or other printed communication, or web-based written communication, that (i)(A) promotes the success or defeat of any candidate's campaign for nomination or election, or (ii)(B) solicits funds to benefit such candidate or committee, (B)(2) television advertising, Internet video advertising, radio advertising or Internet audio advertising, (C)(3) telephone calls, or (D)(4) wages incurred as a result of work for such candidate or committee.

Sec.

26.

Subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (g) of section 9-7a of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2018):

(g) (1) (A) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection or subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, in the case of a written complaint filed with the commission pursuant to section 9-7b, as amended by this act, on or after January 1, 1988, if the commission does not, by the sixtieth day following receipt of the complaint, either issue a decision or render its determination that probable cause or no probable cause exists for one or more violations of state election laws, the complainant or respondent may apply to the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford for an order to show cause why the commission has not acted upon the complaint and to provide evidence that the commission has unreasonably delayed action.

(B) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, in the case of a written complaint filed with the commission pursuant to section 9-7b, as amended by this act, on or after January 1, 2018, (i) the commission shall render any determination that probable cause exists for one or more violations of state election laws not later than ninety days following receipt of the complaint, and (ii) if the commission does not, by one year following its determination that such probable cause exists, issue a decision on such complaint, the commission shall dismiss such complaint.

(2) In the case of a statement filed by the Secretary of the State with the commission pursuant to section 9-7b, as amended by this act, on or after July 1, 2015, if the commission does not, by the thirtieth day following such filing, make a determination to investigate such statement and, by the ninetieth day following such filing, complete any investigation of such statement and issue a decision, the Secretary may apply to the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford for an order to show cause why the commission has not acted upon the statement and to provide evidence that the commission has unreasonably delayed action.

Sec.

27.

Subsections (a) and (b) of section 9-621 of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2018):

(a) No individual shall make or incur any expenditure with the consent of, in coordination with or in consultation with any candidate, candidate committee or candidate's agent, no group of two or more individuals acting together that receives funds or makes or incurs expenditures not exceeding one thousand dollars in the aggregate and has not formed a political committee shall make or incur any expenditure, and no candidate or committee shall make or incur any expenditure including an organization expenditure for a party candidate listing, as defined in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (25) of section 9-601, as amended by this act, for any written, typed or other printed communication, or any web-based, written communication, which promotes the success or defeat of any candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or election or promotes or opposes any political party or solicits funds to benefit any political party or committee unless such communication bears upon its face as a disclaimer (1) the words "paid for by" and the following:

(A) In the case of such an individual, the name and address of such individual;

(B) in the case of a committee other than a party committee, and except as provided in subparagraph (D) of this subdivision, the name of the committee and its treasurer;

(C) in the case of a party committee, the name of the committee;

[or] (D) in the case of a qualified candidate committee, as defined in subdivision (12) of section 9-700, as amended by this act, the name of the qualified candidate committee, the words "through the Citizens' Election Program" and the treasurer of the committee;

or (E) in the case of a group of two or more individuals that receives funds or makes or incurs expenditures not exceeding one thousand dollars in the aggregate and has not formed a political committee, the name of the group and the name and address of its agent, and (2) the words "approved by" and the following:

(A) In the case of an individual, group or committee other than a candidate committee making or incurring an expenditure with the consent of, in coordination with or in consultation with any candidate, candidate committee or candidate's agent, the name of the candidate;