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S1421......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS - Amends existing law relating to election campaigns to
further define the term "candidate."
03/02 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
03/03 Rpt prt - to St Aff
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1421
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO ELECTION CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES; AMENDING SECTION
3 67-6602, IDAHO CODE, TO FURTHER DEFINE THE TERM "CANDIDATE"; AND DECLARING
4 AN EMERGENCY.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 67-6602, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 67-6602. DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter, the following terms have
9 the following meanings:
10 (a) "Candidate" means an individual who has taken affirmative action to
11 seek nomination or election to public office. An individual shall be deemed to
12 have taken affirmative action to seek such nomination or election to public
13 office when he first:
14 (1) Receives contributions or makes expenditures or reserves space or
15 facilities with intent to promote his candidacy for office; or
16 (2) Announces publicly or files for office.
17 (3) For purposes of this chapter, an incumbent shall be presumed to be a
18 candidate in the subsequent election for his or her office. Contributions
19 received by an incumbent candidate shall not be in excess of the pre-
20 scribed contribution limits for the subsequent election by which the
21 incumbent candidate's name would first appear on the ballot. An incumbent
22 shall no longer be a candidate for his or her office after the deadline
23 for the filing of a declaration of candidacy to first appear on the ballot
24 for that office has expired.
25 (b) "Compensation" includes any advance, conveyance, forgiveness of
26 indebtedness, deposit, distribution, loan, payment, gift, pledge or transfer
27 of money or anything of value, and any contract, agreement, promise or other
28 obligation, whether or not legally enforceable, to do any of the foregoing,
29 for services rendered or to be rendered, but does not include reimbursement of
30 expenses if such reimbursement does not exceed the amount actually expended
31 for such expenses and is substantiated by an itemization of such expenses.
32 (c) "Contribution" includes any advance, conveyance, forgiveness of
33 indebtedness, deposit, distribution, loan, payment, gift, pledge, subscription
34 or transfer of money or anything of value, and any contract, agreement, prom-
35 ise or other obligation, whether or not legally enforceable, to make a contri-
36 bution, in support of or in opposition to any candidate, political committee
37 or measure. Such term also includes personal funds or other property of a can-
38 didate or members of his household expended or transferred to cover expendi-
39 tures incurred in support of such candidate but does not include personal
40 funds used to pay the candidate filing fee. Such term also includes the ren-
41 dering of personal and professional services for less than full consideration,
42 but does not include ordinary home hospitality or the rendering of "part-time"
43 personal services of the sort commonly performed by volunteer campaign workers
2
1 or advisors or incidental expenses not in excess of twenty-five dollars
2 ($25.00) personally paid for by any volunteer campaign worker. "Part-time"
3 services for the purposes of this definition, means services in addition to
4 regular full-time employment, or, in the case of an unemployed person or per-
5 sons engaged in part-time employment, services rendered without compensation
6 or reimbursement of expenses from any source other than the candidate or
7 political committee for whom such services are rendered. For the purposes of
8 this act, contributions, other than money or its equivalents shall be deemed
9 to have a money value equivalent to the fair market value of the contribution.
10 (d) "Election" means any general, special or primary election.
11 (e) "Election campaign" means any campaign in support of or in opposition
12 to a candidate for election to public office and any campaign in support of,
13 or in opposition to, a measure.
14 (f) "Expenditure" includes any payment, contribution, subscription, dis-
15 tribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value, and
16 includes a contract, promise, or agreement, whether or not legally enforce-
17 able, to make an expenditure. The term "expenditure" also includes a promise
18 to pay, a payment or a transfer of anything of value in exchange for goods,
19 services, property, facilities or anything of value for the purpose of assist-
20 ing, benefiting or honoring any public official or candidate, or assisting in
21 furthering or opposing any election campaign.
22 (g) "Independent expenditure" means any expenditure by a person for a
23 communication expressly advocating the election, passage or defeat of a
24 clearly identified candidate or measure that is not made with the cooperation
25 or with the prior consent of, or in consultation with, or at the consent of,
26 or in consultation with, or at the request of a suggestion of, a candidate or
27 any agent or authorized committee of the candidate or political committee sup-
28 porting or opposing a measure. As used in this subsection, "expressly advocat-
29 ing" means any communication containing a message advocating election, passage
30 or defeat including, but not limited to, the name of the candidate or measure,
31 or expression such as "vote for," "elect," "support," "cast your ballot for,"
32 "vote against," "defeat" or "reject."
33 (h) "Lobby" and "lobbying" each means attempting through contacts with,
34 or causing others to make contact with, members of the legislature or legisla-
35 tive committees, to influence the approval, modification or rejection of any
36 legislation by the legislature of the state of Idaho or any committee thereof.
37 Neither "lobby" nor "lobbying" includes an association's or other
38 organization's act of communicating with the members of that association or
39 organization.
40 (i) "Lobbyist" includes any person who lobbies.
41 (j) "Lobbyist's employer" means the person or persons by whom a lobbyist
42 is employed, directly or indirectly, and all persons by whom he is compensated
43 for acting as a lobbyist.
44 (k) "Measure" means any proposal, to be voted statewide, submitted to the
45 people for their approval or rejection at an election, including any initia-
46 tive, referendum or revision of or amendment to the state constitution. An
47 initiative or referendum proposal shall be deemed a measure when the attorney
48 general reviews it and gives it a ballot title.
49 (l) "Nonbusiness entity" means any group (of two (2) or more individu-
50 als), corporation, association, firm, partnership, committee, club or other
51 organization which:
52 (1) Does not have as its principal purpose the conduct of business activ-
53 ities for profit; and
54 (2) Received during the preceding calendar year contributions, gifts or
55 membership fees, which in the aggregate exceeded ten percent (10%) of its
3
1 total receipts for such year.
2 (m) "Person" means an individual, corporation, association, firm, part-
3 nership, committee, political party, club or other organization or group of
4 persons.
5 (n) "Political committee" means:
6 (1) Any person specifically designated to support or oppose any candidate
7 or measure; or
8 (2) Any person who receives contributions and makes expenditures in an
9 amount exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) in any calendar year for the
10 purpose of supporting or opposing one (1) or more candidates or measures.
11 Any entity registered with the federal election commission shall not be
12 considered a political committee for purposes of this chapter.
13 (3) A county, district or regional committee of a recognized political
14 party shall not be considered a political committee for the purposes of
15 this chapter unless such party committee has expenditures exceeding five
16 thousand dollars ($5,000) in a calendar year.
17 (o) "Political treasurer" means an individual appointed by a candidate or
18 political committee as provided in section 67-6603, Idaho Code.
19 (p) "Public office" means any state office or position, state senator,
20 state representative, and judge of the district court that is filled by elec-
21 tion.
22 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby
23 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
24 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS14205C1
The purpose of this legislation is to further define the term
"candidate" and to stipulate that contributions received as an
incumbent candidate shall not be in excess of the prescribed
contribution limits for the subsequent election by which the
incumbent candidate's name would first appear on the ballot.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
Contact
Name: Senator Sheila Sorensen
Phone: 332-1319
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1421