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H0546......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS POLITICAL AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND ETHICS COMMISSION - Adds to existing law to create a Political and Campaign Finance and Ethics Commission to hear complaints regarding conduct of campaigns, and to conduct ongoing study and make recommendations concerning the conduct of campaigns, lobbying and, in general, ethics in the conduct of government business. 01/29 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 01/30 Rpt prt - to St Aff
H0546|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 546 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO POLITICAL AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND ETHICS COMMISSION; AMENDING 3 CHAPTER 66, TITLE 67, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 4 67-6629, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF A POLITICAL AND CAM- 5 PAIGN FINANCE AND ETHICS COMMISSION AND TO PROVIDE POWERS AND DUTIES OF 6 THE COMMISSION; AND AMENDING SECTION 9-340, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT 7 CERTAIN RECORDS OF THE POLITICAL AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND ETHICS COMMIS- 8 SION SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 10 SECTION 1. That Chapter 66, Title 67, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 11 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION , to be 12 known and designated as Section 67-6629, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 13 67-6629. POLITICAL AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND ETHICS COMMISSION CREATED -- 14 POWERS AND DUTIES. (1) There is hereby created within the office of the secre- 15 tary of state the political and campaign finance and ethics commission. Mem- 16 bership on the commission shall be as follows: one (1) member shall be 17 appointed by the governor, one (1) member shall be appointed by the chief jus- 18 tice of the supreme court, one (1) member appointed by the president pro tem- 19 pore of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, and one 20 (1) member appointed by the minority leaders of the senate and the house of 21 representatives. These four (4) members shall select a fifth member. No more 22 than three (3) members of the commission shall be from the same political 23 party. Of those members first appointed, the appointee of the president pro 24 tempore of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, and the 25 appointee of the minority leaders of the senate and the house of representa- 26 tives shall first serve a term of two (2) years, and the remaining appointees 27 shall serve a term of four (4) years. Thereafter, the term of office for mem- 28 bers of the commission shall be for four (4) years. The appointing authority 29 may remove a member for cause and the appointing authority shall fill all 30 vacancies that occur from a member the authority appointed within thirty (30) 31 days of the occurrence of the vacancy. No member of the commission during 32 his tenure on the commission shall hold or campaign for elective office; be 33 an officer of any political party or political committee; permit his name to 34 be used or make contributions in support of or in opposition to any candidate 35 or ballot measure; participate in any way in any election campaign or lobby 36 or employ or assist a lobbyist. Three (3) members of the commission shall 37 constitute a quorum. Members shall be compensated as provided by section 38 59-509(g), Idaho Code. The commission shall elect its own chairman and adopt 39 its own rules of procedure in compliance with chapter 52, title 67, Idaho 40 Code. 41 (2) Any person who believes that there has been a violation of the provi- 42 sions of chapter 66, title 67, Idaho Code, may file a complaint, under oath, 43 with the commission stating the facts concerning the alleged violation. Upon 2 1 receipt of the complaint, the commission shall endeavor to ascertain the 2 truthfulness or lack thereof of the allegations in the complaint and notify 3 the person or entity alleged to have committed the violation. If the commis- 4 sion does not find reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of chapter 5 66, title 67, Idaho Code, has occurred, it shall enter an order so finding and 6 dismiss the proceeding and shall notify the complainant and person or entity 7 alleged to have violated the provisions of chapter 66, title 67, Idaho Code. 8 If the commission finds reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of 9 chapter 66, title 67, Idaho Code, has occurred, it shall notify the secretary 10 of state; and the secretary of state, the attorney general or a prosecuting 11 attorney shall commence proceedings provided in this chapter for violations. 12 All proceedings of the commission upon a complaint and complaints shall be 13 exempt from disclosure pursuant to section 9-340, Idaho Code, and shall be 14 exempt from the provisions of sections 67-2341 through 67-2347, Idaho Code, 15 (the open meeting law) while it is deliberating on a complaint. When the 16 commission reaches a conclusion upon a complaint pursuant to this section, the 17 complaint and all attached documentation shall be a public record and avail- 18 able for public inspection. The office of the secretary of state shall pro- 19 vide necessary staff support for the commission and compensation for commis- 20 sioners shall be paid out of funds of the office of the secretary of state. 21 (3) Upon its own motion or in response to a request, the commission may 22 conduct studies of issues related to political and campaign finance, lobbying, 23 or any other matters relating to ethics in the conduct of government business. 24 SECTION 2. That Section 9-340, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 25 amended to read as follows: 26 9-340. RECORDS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE. The following records are exempt 27 from disclosure: 28 (1) Exemption under state or federal law or court rule. 29 (a) Any public record exempt from disclosure by federal or state law or 30 federal regulations to the extent specifically provided for by such law or 31 regulation. 32 (b) Records contained in court files of judicial proceedings, the disclo- 33 sure of which is prohibited by or under rules adopted by the Idaho supreme 34 court, but only to the extent that confidentiality is provided under such 35 rules, and any drafts or other working memoranda related to judicial 36 decision-making, provided the provisions of this subsection making records 37 exempt from disclosure shall not apply to the extent that such records or 38 information contained in those records are necessary for a background 39 check on an individual that is required by federal law regulating the sale 40 of firearms, guns or ammunition. 41 (2) Law enforcement records, investigatory records of agencies, worker's 42 compensation. 43 (a) Investigatory records of a law enforcement agency, as defined in sec- 44 tion 9-337(5), Idaho Code, under the conditions set forth in section 45 9-335, Idaho Code. 46 (b) Juvenile records of a person maintained pursuant to chapter 5, title 47 20, Idaho Code, except that facts contained in such records shall be fur- 48 nished upon request in a manner determined by the court to persons and 49 governmental and private agencies and institutions conducting pertinent 50 research studies or having a legitimate interest in the protection, wel- 51 fare and treatment of the juvenile. If the juvenile is fourteen (14) years 52 or older and is adjudicated guilty of an offense which would be a felony 53 if committed by an adult, the name, offense of which the juvenile was 3 1 adjudicated and disposition of the court shall be subject to disclosure. 2 Additionally, facts contained in any records of a juvenile maintained 3 under chapter 5, title 20, Idaho Code, shall be furnished upon request to 4 any school district where the juvenile is enrolled or is seeking enroll- 5 ment. 6 (c) Records of the department of correction or the commission of pardons 7 and parole to the extent that disclosure thereof would interfere with the 8 secure and orderly conduct of their operations, or the rehabilitation of 9 any person in the custody of the department of correction or on parole, or 10 would substantially prejudice or prevent the carrying out of the functions 11 of the department of correction or the commission of pardons and parole if 12 the public interest in confidentiality clearly outweighs the public inter- 13 est in disclosure. Records exempt from disclosure shall include, but not 14 be limited to, those containing the names and addresses of witnesses or 15 victims or those containing information identifying victims or witnesses. 16 (d) Records of the sheriff or department of law enforcement received or 17 maintained pursuant to section 18-3302, Idaho Code, relating to an appli- 18 cant or licensee. 19 (e) Records of investigations prepared by the department of health and 20 welfare pursuant to its statutory responsibilities dealing with the pro- 21 tection of children, the rehabilitation of youth, adoptions and the com- 22 mitment of mentally ill persons. 23 (f) Records including, but not limited to, investigative reports, result- 24 ing from investigations conducted into complaints of discrimination made 25 to the Idaho human rights commission unless the public interest in allow- 26 ing inspection and copying of such records outweighs the legitimate public 27 or private interest in maintaining confidentiality of such records. A per- 28 son may inspect and copy documents from an investigative file to which he 29 or she is a named party if such documents are not otherwise prohibited 30 from disclosure by federal law or regulation or state law. The confidenti- 31 ality of this subsection will no longer apply to any record used in any 32 judicial proceeding brought by a named party to the complaint or investi- 33 gation, or by the Idaho human rights commission, relating to the complaint 34 of discrimination. 35 (g) Records containing information obtained by the manager of the Idaho 36 state insurance fund pursuant to chapter 9, title 72, Idaho Code, from or 37 on behalf of employers or employees contained in underwriting and claims 38 for benefits files. 39 (h) The worker's compensation records of the Idaho industrial commission 40 provided that the industrial commission shall make such records available: 41 (i) To the parties in any worker's compensation claim and to the 42 industrial special indemnity fund of the state of Idaho; or 43 (ii) To employers and prospective employers subject to the provi- 44 sions of the Americans with disabilities act, 42 U.S.C. 12112, or 45 other statutory limitations, who certify that the information is 46 being requested with respect to a worker to whom the employer has 47 extended an offer of employment and will be used in accordance with 48 the provisions of the Americans with disabilities act, 42 U.S.C. 49 12112, or other statutory limitations; or 50 (iii) To employers and prospective employers not subject to the pro- 51 visions of the Americans with disabilities act, 42 U.S.C. 12112, or 52 other statutory limitations, provided the employer presents a written 53 authorization from the person to whom the records pertain; or 54 (iv) To others who demonstrate that the public interest in allowing 55 inspection and copying of such records outweighs the public or pri- 4 1 vate interest in maintaining the confidentiality of such records, as 2 determined by a civil court of competent jurisdiction. 3 (i) Complaints and supporting documentation received by the politi- 4 cal and campaign finance and ethics commission pursuant to section 5 67-6629, Idaho Code, prior to the commission finding reasonable grounds 6 that a violation of chapter 66, title 67, Idaho Code, did or did not 7 occur. 8 (3) Privacy, personnel records, personal information, health records, 9 professional discipline. 10 (a) Except as provided in this subsection, all personnel records of a 11 current or former public official other than the public official's public 12 service or employment history, classification, pay grade and step, longev- 13 ity, gross salary and salary history, status, workplace and employing 14 agency. All other personnel information relating to a public employee or 15 applicant including, but not limited to, information regarding sex, race, 16 marital status, birth date, home address and telephone number, applica- 17 tions, testing and scoring materials, grievances, correspondence and per- 18 formance evaluations, shall not be disclosed to the public without the 19 employee's or applicant's written consent. A public official or authorized 20 representative may inspect and copy his personnel records, except for 21 material used to screen and test for employment. 22 (b) Retired employees' and retired public officials' home addresses, home 23 telephone numbers and other financial and nonfinancial membership records; 24 active and inactive member financial and membership records and mortgage 25 portfolio loan documents maintained by the public employee retirement sys- 26 tem. Financial statements prepared by retirement system staff, funding 27 agents and custodians concerning the investment of assets of the public 28 employee retirement system of Idaho are not considered confidential under 29 this chapter. 30 (c) Information and records submitted to the Idaho state lottery for the 31 performance of background investigations of employees, lottery retailers 32 and major procurement contractors; audit records of lottery retailers, 33 vendors and major procurement contractors submitted to or performed by the 34 Idaho state lottery; validation and security tests of the state lottery 35 for lottery games; business records and information submitted pursuant to 36 sections 67-7412(8) and (9) and 67-7421(8) and (9), Idaho Code, and such 37 documents and information obtained and held for the purposes of lottery 38 security and investigative action as determined by lottery rules unless 39 the public interest in disclosure substantially outweighs the private need 40 for protection from public disclosure. 41 (d) Records of a personal nature as follows: 42 (i) Records of personal debt filed with a public agency pursuant to 43 law; 44 (ii) Personal bank records compiled by a public depositor for the 45 purpose of public funds transactions conducted pursuant to law; 46 (iii) Records of ownership of financial obligations and instruments 47 of a public agency, such as bonds, compiled by the public agency pur- 48 suant to law; 49 (iv) Records, with regard to the ownership of, or security interests 50 in, registered public obligations; 51 (v) Vital statistics records; 52 (vi) Except as provided in this subsection, all information provided 53 to a law enforcement agency for sex offender registration pursuant to 54 the provisions of section 18-8306, Idaho Code: 55 1. Such information shall be available upon request to a law 5 1 enforcement agency; and 2 2. The information provided pursuant to the provisions of sub- 3 sections (1) and (3) of section 18-8306, Idaho Code, shall be 4 provided to any person upon written request. Such written 5 request shall include the name and either date of birth or 6 address of the person for whom the information is requested. 7 (e) Information in an income or other tax return measured by items of 8 income or sales, which is gathered by a public agency for the purpose of 9 administering the tax, except such information to the extent disclosed in 10 a written decision of the tax commission pursuant to a taxpayer protest of 11 a deficiency determination by the tax commission, under the provisions of 12 section 63-3045B, Idaho Code. 13 (f) Records of a personal nature related directly or indirectly to the 14 application for and provision of statutory services rendered to persons 15 applying for public care for the elderly, indigent, or mentally or physi- 16 cally handicapped, or participation in an environmental or a public health 17 study, provided the provisions of this subsection making records exempt 18 from disclosure shall not apply to the extent that such records or infor- 19 mation contained in those records are necessary for a background check on 20 an individual that is required by federal law regulating the sale of fire- 21 arms, guns or ammunition. 22 (g) Employment security information and unemployment insurance benefit 23 information, except that all interested parties may agree to waive the 24 exemption. 25 (h) Any personal records, other than names, business addresses and busi- 26 ness phone numbers, such as parentage, race, religion, sex, height, 27 weight, tax identification and social security numbers, financial worth or 28 medical condition submitted to any public agency pursuant to a statutory 29 requirement for licensing, certification, permit or bonding. 30 (i) Unless otherwise provided by agency rule, information obtained as 31 part of an inquiry into a person's fitness to be granted or retain a 32 license, certificate, permit, privilege, commission or position, private 33 association peer review committee records authorized in title 54, Idaho 34 Code. Any agency which has records exempt from disclosure under the pro- 35 visions of this subsection shall annually make available a statistical 36 summary of the number and types of matters considered and their disposi- 37 tion. 38 (j) The records, finding, determinations and decision of any prelitiga- 39 tion screening panel formed under chapter 10, title 6, Idaho Code. 40 (k) Board of professional discipline reprimands by informal admonition 41 pursuant to subsection (6)(f) of section 54-1806A, Idaho Code. 42 (l) Records of the department of health and welfare or a public health 43 district thatidentifiesidentify a person 44 infected with a reportable disease. 45 (m) Records of hospital care, medical records, records of psychiatric 46 care or treatment and professional counseling records relating to an 47 individual's condition, diagnosis, care or treatment, provided the provi- 48 sions of this subsection making records exempt from disclosure shall not 49 apply to the extent that such records or information contained in those 50 records are necessary for a background check on an individual that is 51 required by federal law regulating the sale of firearms, guns or ammuni- 52 tion. 53 (4) Trade secrets, production records, appraisals, bids, proprietary 54 information. 55 (a) Trade secrets including those contained in response to public agency 6 1 requests for proposal, requests for clarification, requests for informa- 2 tion and similar requests. "Trade secrets" as used in this section means 3 information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, com- 4 puter program, device, method, technique, process, or unpublished or in 5 progress research that: 6 (i) Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from 7 not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by 8 proper means by other persons who can obtain economic value from its 9 disclosure or use; and 10 (ii) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circum- 11 stances to maintain its secrecy. 12 (b) Production records, sale or purchase records, catch records, mortgage 13 portfolio loan documents, or similar business records of a private con- 14 cern or enterprise required by law to be submitted to or inspected by a 15 public agency. Nothing in this subsection shall limit the use which can 16 be made of such information for regulatory purposes or its admissibility 17 in any enforcement proceeding. 18 (c) Records relating to the appraisal of real property, timber or mineral 19 rights prior to its acquisition, sale or lease by a public agency. 20 (d) Any estimate prepared by a public agency that details the cost of a 21 public project until such time as disclosed or bids are opened, or upon 22 award of the contract for construction of the public project. 23 (e) Examination, operating or condition reports and all documents relat- 24 ing thereto, prepared by or supplied to any public agency responsible for 25 the regulation or supervision of financial institutions including, but not 26 limited to, banks, savings and loan associations, regulated lenders, busi- 27 ness and industrial development corporations, credit unions, and insurance 28 companies, or for the regulation or supervision of the issuance of securi- 29 ties. 30 (f) Records gathered by a local agency or the Idaho department of com- 31 merce, as described in chapter 47, title 67, Idaho Code, for the specific 32 purpose of assisting a person to locate, maintain, invest in, or expand 33 business operations in the state of Idaho. 34 (g) Shipping and marketing records of commodity commissions used to eval- 35 uate marketing and advertising strategies and the names and addresses of 36 growers and shippers maintained by commodity commissions. 37 (h) Financial statements and business information and reports submitted 38 by a legal entity to a port district organized under title 70, Idaho Code, 39 in connection with a business agreement, or with a development proposal or 40 with a financing application for any industrial, manufacturing, or other 41 business activity within a port district. 42 (i) Names and addresses of seed companies, seed crop growers, seed crop 43 consignees, locations of seed crop fields, variety name and acreage by 44 variety. Upon the request of the owner of the proprietary variety, this 45 information shall be released to the owner. Provided, however, that if a 46 seed crop has been identified as diseased or has been otherwise identified 47 by the Idaho department of agriculture, other state departments of agri- 48 culture, or the United States department of agriculture to represent a 49 threat to that particular seed or commercial crop industry or to individ- 50 ual growers, information as to test results, location, acreage involved 51 and disease symptoms of that particular seed crop, for that growing sea- 52 son, shall be available for public inspection and copying. This exemption 53 shall not supersede the provisions of section 22-436, Idaho Code. 54 (j) Information obtained from books, records, and accounts required in 55 chapter 47, title 22, Idaho Code, to be maintained by the Idaho canola and 7 1 rapeseed commission and pertaining to the individual production records of 2 canola or rapeseed growers. 3 (k) Records of any risk retention or self-insurance program prepared in 4 anticipation of litigation or for analysis of or settlement of potential 5 or actual money damage claims against a public entity and its employees or 6 against the industrial special indemnity fund except as otherwise 7 discoverable under the Idaho or federal rules of civil procedure. These 8 records shall include, but are not limited to, claims evaluations, inves- 9 tigatory records, computerized reports of losses, case reserves, internal 10 documents and correspondence relating thereto. At the time any claim is 11 concluded, only statistical data and actual amounts paid in settlement 12 shall be deemed a public record unless otherwise ordered to be sealed by a 13 court of competent jurisdiction. Provided however, nothing in this subsec- 14 tion is intended to limit the attorney client privilege or attorney work 15 product privilege otherwise available to any public agency. 16 (l) Records of laboratory test results provided by or retained by the 17 department of agriculture's quality assurance laboratory. Nothing in this 18 subsection shall limit the use which can be made, or availability of such 19 information if used, for regulatory purposes or its admissibility in any 20 enforcement proceeding. 21 (m) Reports required to be filed under chapter 13, title 62, Idaho Code, 22 identifying electrical or natural or manufactured gas consumption data for 23 an individual customer or account. 24 (n) Voluntarily prepared environmental audits, and voluntary disclosures 25 of information submitted to an environmental agency as defined in section 26 9-803, Idaho Code, which are claimed to be confidential business informa- 27 tion. 28 (o) Computer programs developed or purchased by or for any public agency 29 for its own use. As used in this subsection, "computer program" means a 30 series of instructions or statements which permit the functioning of a 31 computer system in a manner designed to provide storage, retrieval and 32 manipulation of data from the computer system, and any associated documen- 33 tation and source material that explain how to operate the computer pro- 34 gram. Computer program does not include: 35 (i) The original data including, but not limited to, numbers, text, 36 voice, graphics and images; 37 (ii) Analysis, compilation and other manipulated forms of the origi- 38 nal data produced by use of the program; or 39 (iii) The mathematical or statistical formulas that would be used if 40 the manipulated forms of the original data were to be produced manu- 41 ally. 42 (5) Archaeological, endangered species, libraries, legislative, test 43 keys, miscellaneous exemptions. 44 (a) Records, maps or other records identifying the location of archaeo- 45 logical or geophysical sites or endangered species, if not already known 46 to the general public. 47 (b) Archaeological and geologic records concerning exploratory drilling, 48 logging, mining and other excavation, when such records are required to be 49 filed by statute for the time provided by statute. 50 (c) The records of a library which, when examined alone, or when examined 51 with other public records, would reveal the identity of the library patron 52 checking out, requesting, or using an item from a library. 53 (d) The material of a library, museum or archive which has been contrib- 54 uted by a private person, to the extent of any limitation that is a condi- 55 tion of the contribution. 8 1 (e) Test questions, scoring keys, and other data used to administer a 2 licensing examination, employment, academic or other examination or test- 3 ing procedure before the examination is given if the examination is to be 4 used again. Records establishing procedures for and instructing persons 5 administering, grading or evaluating an examination or testing procedure 6 are included in this exemption, to the extent that disclosure would create 7 a risk that the result might be affected. 8 (f) Records consisting of draft legislation and documents specifically 9 related to such draft legislation or research requests submitted to the 10 legislative services office by a member of the Idaho legislature for the 11 purpose of placing such draft legislation into a form suitable for intro- 12 duction as official proposed legislation of the legislature of the state 13 of Idaho, unless the individual legislator having submitted or requested 14 such records or research agrees to waive the provisions of confidentiality 15 provided by this subsection. 16 (g) All papers, physical and electronic records and correspondence or 17 other supporting materials comprising the work papers in the possession of 18 the legislative services office or the director of legislative performance 19 evaluations prior to release of the related final audit and all other 20 records or materials in the possession of the legislative services office 21 or the director of legislative performance evaluations that would other- 22 wise be confidential or exempt from disclosure. 23 (h) Records that identify the method by which the Idaho state tax com- 24 mission selects tax returns for audit review.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS07669
This legislation pertains to the creation of a Political and
Campaign Finance and Ethics Commission. The commission will
be created in the office of the Secretary of State. There
will be five members: one appointed by the governor, one
appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, one
appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and the
speaker of the House, one appointed by the House and Senate
minority leaders, and one selected by the other four members
of the commission. No more than three members of this
commission can be from the same political party. The members
of this commission can not run for office, hold office in a
political party, or contribute to a political candidate
during their tenure (4 years). The commission's task is to
investigate complaints of campaign violations. If the
members find that the complaint does not have reasonable
grounds, it will dismiss the complaint. If they find the
complaint to have reasonable grounds, it shall notify the
Secretary of State. In turn, the Secretary of State, the
Attorney General, or a prosecuting attorney will commence
proceedings against the accused. The Secretary of State is
to provide sufficient staff for the commission.
FISCAL NOTE
The fiscal impact to the state would be approximately
$5,000 per year to provide for the $35 per day pay payment
to the members of the commission, per diem, and mileage.
This amount would be less if one or more of the members
were from the outlying areas of the capital city. This
amount would also be less if the members were to conference
call for emergency meetings.
CONTACT: Representative Bruce Newcomb
332-1122
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL NOTE
Bill No. H546