Substitute House Bill No. 5668
Substitute House Bill No. 5668
PUBLIC ACT NO. 92-246
AN ACT CONCERNING CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.
Section 1. Section 9-333m of the general
statutes, as amended by section 13 of public act
91-351, is amended by adding subsection (e) as
follows:
(NEW) (e) No individual shall make a
contribution to any candidate or committee, other
than a contribution in kind, in excess of one
hundred dollars except by personal check of that
individual.
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 9-333b of
the general statutes, as amended by section 35 of
public act 91-407, is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(b) The term "contribution" does not mean:
(1) A loan of money made in the ordinary
course of business by a national or state bank;
(2) Any communication made by a corporation,
organization or association to its members,
owners, stockholders, executive or administrative
personnel, or their families;
(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;
(4) Uncompensated services provided by
individuals volunteering their time;
(5) The use of real or personal property, and
the cost of invitations, food or beverages,
voluntarily provided by an individual to a
candidate or on behalf of a state central or town
committee, in rendering voluntary personal
services for candidate or party-related activities
at the individual's residence, to the extent that
the cumulative value of the invitations, food or
beverages provided by the individual on behalf of
any single candidate does not exceed two hundred
dollars with respect to any single election, and
on behalf of all state central and town committees
does not exceed four hundred dollars in any
calendar year;
(6) The sale of food or beverage for use in a
candidate's campaign or for use by a state central
or town committee 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 does
not exceed two hundred dollars with respect to any
single election, and on behalf of all state
central and town committees does not exceed four
hundred dollars in a calendar year;
(7) Any unreimbursed payment for travel
expenses made by an individual who on his own
behalf volunteers his personal services to any
single candidate to the extent the cumulative
value does not exceed two hundred dollars with
respect to any single election, and on behalf of
all state central or town committees does not
exceed four hundred dollars in a calendar year;
(8) The payment, by a party committee,
political committee or an individual, 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;
(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 fifty dollars;
(10) The purchase by an individual of tickets
to any single fund-raising affair to the extent
the aggregate purchase price of all such tickets
does not exceed thirty dollars;
(11) The purchase of advertising space which
clearly identifies the purchaser, in a program for
a fund-raising affair, provided that the [cost]
CUMULATIVE PURCHASE of such space does not exceed
[one hundred dollars] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS
FROM ANY SINGLE CANDIDATE OR HIS COMMITTEE WITH
RESPECT TO ANY SINGLE ELECTION CAMPAIGN OR TWO
HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS FROM ANY SINGLE PARTY
COMMITTEE OR OTHER POLITICAL COMMITTEE IN ANY
CALENDAR YEAR if the purchaser is a business
entity or fifty dollars for purchases by any other
person;
(12) The payment of money by a candidate to
his candidate committee;
(13) 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 one hundred dollars; or
(14) 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, provided the security deposit is
refunded to the individual.
Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 9-333j of
the general statutes, as amended by section 1 of
public act 91-351 and section 36 of public act
91-407, is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
(c) (1) Each statement filed under subsection
(a), (e) or (f) of this section shall include, but
not be limited to: (A) An itemized accounting of
each contribution, if any, including the full name
and complete address of each contributor and the
amount of the contribution; (B) in the case of
anonymous contributions, the total amount received
and the denomination of the bills; (C) an itemized
accounting of each expenditure, if any, including
the full name and complete address of each payee,
the amount and the purpose of the expenditure, and
a statement of the balance on hand or deficit, as
the case may be; (D) an itemized accounting of
each expense incurred but not paid; (E) the name
and address of any person who is the guarantor of
a loan to, or the cosigner of a note with, the
candidate on whose behalf the committee was
formed, or the campaign treasurer in the case of a
party committee or a political committee or who
has advanced a security deposit to a telephone
company, as defined in section 16-1, for
telecommunications service for a committee; (F)
FOR EACH BUSINESS ENTITY OR PERSON PURCHASING
ADVERTISING SPACE IN A PROGRAM FOR A FUND-RAISING
AFFAIR, THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE BUSINESS
ENTITY AND THE NAME OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
OF THE BUSINESS ENTITY OR THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF
THE PERSON, AND THE AMOUNT AND AGGREGATE AMOUNTS
OF SUCH PURCHASES; (G) for each individual who
contributes in excess of one thousand dollars in
the aggregate, the principal occupation of such
individual, the name of the individual's employer,
if any, and a statement indicating whether the
individual or a business with which he is
associated has a contract with the state which is
valued at more than five thousand dollars; and
[(G)] (H) for each itemized contribution made by a
lobbyist, the spouse of a lobbyist or any
dependent child of a lobbyist who resides in the
lobbyist's household, a statement to that effect.
Each campaign treasurer shall include in such
statement an itemized accounting of the receipts
and expenditures relative to any testimonial
affair held under the provisions of section 9-333k
or any other fund-raising affair.
(2) Each contributor described in
subparagraphs [(F)] (G) and [(G)] (H) of
subdivision (1) of this subsection shall, at the
time he makes such a contribution, provide the
information which the campaign treasurer is
required to include under said subparagraphs [(F)]
(G) and [(G)] (H) in the statement filed under
subsection (a), (e) or (f) of this section. If a
campaign treasurer receives any such contribution
from an individual which separately, or in the
aggregate, is in excess of one thousand dollars
and the contributor has not provided the
information required by said subparagraph [(F)]
(G), the campaign treasurer, within three business
days after receiving the contribution, shall send
a request for such information to the contributor
by certified mail, return receipt requested.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-333h,
the campaign treasurer shall not deposit any such
contribution until he obtains such information
from the contributor. The campaign treasurer shall
return the contribution to the contributor if the
contributor does not provide the required
information within fourteen days after the
treasurer's written request or the end of the
reporting period in which the contribution was
received, whichever is later. Any failure of a
contributor to provide the information which the
campaign treasurer is required to include under
said subparagraph [(G)] (H), which results in
noncompliance by the campaign treasurer with the
provisions of said subparagraph [(G)] (H), shall
be a complete defense to any action against the
campaign treasurer for failure to disclose such
information.
(3) Contributions from a single individual to
a campaign treasurer in the aggregate totaling
thirty dollars or less need not be individually
identified in the statement, but a sum
representing the total amount of all such
contributions made by all such individuals during
the period to be covered by such statement shall
be a separate entry, identified only by the words
"total contributions from small contributors".
(4) Statements filed in accordance with this
section shall remain public records of the state
for five years from the date such statements are
filed.
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 9-333w of
the general statutes, as amended by section 1 of
public act 91-159 and section 18 of public act
91-351, is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) No person, as defined in subdivision (9)
of section 9-333a, shall make or incur any
expenditure for the purpose of financing any
written, typed or other printed communication
which promotes the success or defeat of any
candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary
or election, promotes the success or defeat of any
referendum question or solicits funds to benefit
any political party or committee unless such
communication bears upon its face (1) in the case
of a person, other than a committee, business
entity or organization, who pays for or sponsors
such communication, the name and address of such
person, (2) in the case of a committee, OTHER THAN
A PARTY COMMITTEE, which pays for or sponsors such
communication, the name of the committee and its
campaign treasurer, (3) IN THE CASE OF A PARTY
COMMITTEE WHICH PAYS FOR OR SPONSORS SUCH
COMMUNICATION, THE NAME OF THE COMMITTEE, (4) in
the case of an organization or business entity
which pays for or sponsors such communication, the
name of the organization or business entity and
its chief executive officer, or [(4)] (5) in the
case of a group of individuals who have joined
solely to promote the success or defeat of a
referendum question and filed a certification in
accordance with subsection (d) of section 9-333g,
as amended by section 6 of [this act] PUBLIC ACT
91-351, and which pays for or sponsors such
communication, the name of the group as it appears
on the certification or the name of each person
who comprises the group, and the name and address
of the agent.
Sec. 5. This act shall take effect July 1,
1992.