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S1038........by STENNETT, LANGHORST, KELLY, BURKETT, MALEPEAI, WERK, BILYEU FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS - Adds to existing law relating to financial disclosure statements for public officers and candidates; to provide a duty to file financial disclosure statements by public officers and candidates; to provide contents and exceptions; to provide application; to provide for duties of the Secretary of State; and to provide criminal and civil penalties. 01/19 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 01/22 Rpt prt - to St Aff
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1038 BY STENNETT, LANGHORST, KELLY, BURKETT, MALEPEAI, WERK, BILYEU 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS FOR PUBLIC OFFICERS AND CANDI- 3 DATES; AMENDING CHAPTER 66, TITLE 67, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW 4 SECTION 67-6631, IDAHO CODE, TO DEFINE TERMS; AMENDING CHAPTER 66, TITLE 5 67, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 67-6632, IDAHO CODE, TO 6 PROVIDE A DUTY TO FILE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS BY PUBLIC OFFICERS 7 AND CANDIDATES, TO PROVIDE CONTENTS, TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS, TO PROVIDE 8 APPLICATION AND TO PROVIDE FOR DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE; AND 9 AMENDING CHAPTER 66, TITLE 67, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SEC- 10 TION 67-6633, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE CRIMINAL AND CIVIL PENALTIES. 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 12 SECTION 1. That Chapter 66, Title 67, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 13 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 14 ignated as Section 67-6631, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 15 67-6631. DEFINITIONS. As used in sections 67-6631 through 67-6633, Idaho 16 Code, inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms 17 have the following meanings: 18 (1) "Business" includes any enterprise, organization, trade, occupation 19 or profession, whether or not operated as a legal entity or for profit, 20 including any business, trust, corporation, partnership, joint venture or sole 21 proprietorship. 22 (2) "Candidate" means an individual who has taken affirmative action to 23 seek nomination or election to public office. An individual shall be deemed to 24 have taken affirmative action to seek such nomination or election to public 25 office when he first: 26 (a) Receives contributions or makes expenditures or reserves space or 27 facilities with intent to promote his candidacy for office; or 28 (b) Announces publicly or files for office. 29 (c) An incumbent shall be presumed to be a candidate in the subsequent 30 election for his or her office. An incumbent shall no longer be a candi- 31 date for his or her office after the deadline for the filing of a declara- 32 tion of candidacy to first appear on the ballot for that office has 33 expired. 34 (3) "Compensation" means anything of value or advantage, present or pro- 35 spective, including the forgiveness of debt. 36 (4) "Controlled business" means any business in which the public officer 37 or candidate, or spouse of the public officer or candidate, has an ownership 38 or beneficial interest, individually or combined, amounting to more than a 39 fifty percent (50%) interest. 40 (5) "Dependent business" means any business in which the public officer 41 or candidate, or spouse of the public officer or candidate, has an ownership 42 or beneficial interest, individually or combined, amounting to more than a ten 43 percent (10%) interest, and which during the preceding calendar year the busi- 2 1 ness received from a single source more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or 2 more than fifty percent (50%) of its gross income. 3 (6) "Gift" includes any gratuity, special discount, favor, hospitality, 4 service, economic opportunity, loan or other benefit received without equiva- 5 lent consideration and not provided to members of the public at large. 6 (7) "Public office" means any state office or position, state senator, 7 state representative, justice of the supreme court, and judge of the court of 8 appeals, that is filled by election. 9 (8) "Public officer" means the governor, lieutenant governor, state sena- 10 tor, state representative, attorney general, superintendent of public instruc- 11 tion, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, justice of the 12 supreme court and a judge of the court of appeals. Members of congress are not 13 public officers as defined in this subsection. 14 SECTION 2. That Chapter 66, Title 67, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 15 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 16 ignated as Section 67-6632, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 17 67-6632. DUTY TO FILE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT -- CONTENTS -- 18 EXCEPTIONS. (1) In addition to other statements and reports required by law, 19 every public officer and candidate, as a matter of public record, shall file 20 with the secretary of state, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, a 21 verified financial disclosure statement as provided by this section. The 22 statement shall disclose: 23 (a) The name and address of the public officer or candidate, the name and 24 address of the spouse of the public officer or candidate, and all names 25 and addresses under which each does business. 26 (b) The name and address of each employer and of each other source of 27 compensation amounting to more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) received 28 during the preceding calendar year by the public officer or candidate, or 29 spouse of the public officer or candidate in their own names, or by any 30 other person for the use or benefit of the public officer or candidate or 31 the spouse of the public officer or candidate, a description of the ser- 32 vices for which the compensation was received and the nature of the 33 employer's or source of compensation's business. 34 (c) For a controlled business, a description of the goods or services 35 provided by the business, and if any single source of compensation to the 36 business during the preceding calendar year amounts to more than ten thou- 37 sand dollars ($10,000) and is more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the 38 gross income of the business, the disclosure shall also include a descrip- 39 tion of the goods or services provided to the source of compensation. For 40 a dependent business the statement shall disclose a description of the 41 goods or services provided by the business and a description of the goods 42 or services provided to the source of compensation from which the depend- 43 ent business derived the amount of gross income described in subsection 44 (5) of section 67-6631, Idaho Code. If the source of compensation for a 45 controlled or dependent business is a business, the statement shall dis- 46 close a description of the business activities engaged in by the source of 47 compensation. 48 (d) The names and addresses of all businesses and trusts in which the 49 public officer or candidate, or spouse of the public officer or candidate, 50 or any other person for the use or benefit of the public officer or candi- 51 date, or spouse of the public officer or candidate, had an ownership or 52 beneficial interest, including stocks in a publicly traded corporation, of 53 over one thousand dollars ($1,000) at any time during the preceding calen- 3 1 dar year, and the names and addresses of all businesses and trusts in 2 which the public officer or candidate, or spouse of the public officer or 3 candidate, held any office or had a fiduciary relationship at any time 4 during the preceding calendar year, together with the amount or value of 5 the interest and a description of the interest, office or relationship. 6 (e) All leases of state or political subdivision land or real property or 7 contracts with the state or a political subdivision of the state, all 8 Idaho real property interests and real property improvements, including 9 specific location and approximate size, and in which the public officer or 10 candidate, or spouse of the public officer or candidate, or a controlled 11 or dependent business, held legal title or a beneficial interest at any 12 time during the preceding calendar year, and the value of any such inter- 13 est, except that this paragraph does not apply to a real property interest 14 and improvements thereon used as the primary personal residence of the 15 public officer or candidate. If a public officer or candidate, any spouse 16 of a public officer or candidate, or a controlled or dependent business, 17 acquired or divested any such interest during the preceding calendar year, 18 he shall also disclose that the transaction was made and the date it 19 occurred. If the controlled or dependent business is in the business of 20 dealing in real property interests or improvements, disclosure need not 21 include individual parcels or transactions as long as the aggregate value 22 and general description of all parcels of such property is reported. 23 (f) The name and address of each creditor, including federal, state and 24 local government tax liability to whom the public officer or candidate, or 25 spouse of the public officer or candidate in their own names or in the 26 name of any other person, owed a debt of more than one thousand dollars 27 ($1,000) or to whom a controlled business or a dependent business owed a 28 debt of more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) which was also more than 29 thirty percent (30%) of the total business indebtedness at any time during 30 the preceding calendar year. This paragraph shall not be construed to 31 require the disclosure of debts owed by the public officer or candidate, 32 or spouse of the public officer or candidate, resulting from the ordinary 33 conduct of a business other than a controlled or dependent business. Nor 34 shall disclosure be required of credit card transactions, retail install- 35 ment contracts, debts on residences exempt from disclosure under paragraph 36 (e) of this subsection, debts on motor vehicles not used for commercial 37 purposes, debts secured by cash values on life insurance or debts owed to 38 relatives. It is sufficient disclosure of a creditor if the name and 39 address of a person to whom payments are made is disclosed. If the public 40 officer or candidate, spouse of the public officer or candidate, or a con- 41 trolled or dependent business, incurred or discharged a debt which is 42 reportable under this subsection during the preceding calendar year, the 43 report shall disclose that the transaction was made and the date it 44 occurred. 45 (g) The value, nature and name of each source of any gift, or accumulated 46 gifts from a single source, received by the public officer or candidate, 47 or spouse of the public officer or candidate in their own names during the 48 preceding calendar year, or by any other person for the use or benefit of 49 the public officer or candidate, or spouse of the public officer or candi- 50 date, except gifts received by will or by virtue of intestate succession, 51 or received by way of distribution from any inter vivos or testamentary 52 trust established by a spouse or by an ancestor, or gifts received from 53 any other member of the household or relatives in the second degree of 54 consanguinity. Political campaign contributions shall not be construed as 55 gifts if otherwise publicly reported as political campaign contributions 4 1 as required by law. 2 (h) A list of all business licenses issued to, held by or in which the 3 public officer or candidate, spouse of the public officer or candidate, 4 or any controlled or dependent businesses, had an interest at any time 5 during the preceding calendar year, including the name in which the 6 license was issued, the type of business and its location. 7 (i) A list of all bonds, together with their value, issued by this state 8 or any political subdivision of this state held at any time during the 9 preceding calendar year by the public officer or candidate, or spouse of 10 the public officer or candidate, which bonds issued by a single entity had 11 a value in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000). If the public officer 12 or candidate, or spouse of the public officer or candidate, acquired or 13 divested any bonds during the preceding calendar year which are reportable 14 under this paragraph, the fact that the transaction occurred and the date 15 shall also be shown. 16 (2) If an amount or value is required to be reported pursuant to this 17 section, it is sufficient to report whether the amount or value of the equity 18 interest falls within: 19 (a) Category 1, one thousand dollars ($1,000) to twenty-five thousand 20 dollars ($25,000). 21 (b) Category 2, twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to one hundred 22 thousand dollars ($100,000). 23 (c) Category 3, one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more. 24 (3) This section does not require the disclosure of any information that 25 is privileged by law. 26 (4) The statement required to be filed pursuant to subsection (1) of this 27 section shall be filed by all persons who qualified as public officers at any 28 time during the preceding calendar year on or before February 15 of each year 29 and shall cover the preceding calendar year ending December 31, with the 30 exception that a public officer appointed to fill a vacancy shall, within 31 thirty (30) days following his taking of such office, file a financial disclo- 32 sure statement covering as his annual period the twelve (12) month period end- 33 ing with the last full month prior to the date of his taking office. All can- 34 didates shall file financial disclosure statements within thirty (30) days of 35 first meeting the definition of "candidate" as provided in subsection (2) of 36 section 67-6631, Idaho Code, and the statement shall cover as their annual 37 period the twelve (12) month period ending with the last full month prior to 38 the date of meeting such definition. 39 (5) The secretary of state shall prepare written guidelines, forms and 40 samples for completing the financial disclosure statement required by this 41 section. A copy of the guidelines, forms and samples shall be distributed to 42 each public officer and made available to all candidates. 43 SECTION 3. That Chapter 66, Title 67, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 44 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 45 ignated as Section 67-6633, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 46 67-6633. VIOLATION -- PENALTIES. (1) Any public officer or candidate who 47 knowingly fails to file a financial disclosure statement required pursuant to 48 section 67-6632, Idaho Code, who knowingly files an incomplete financial dis- 49 closure statement or who knowingly files a false financial disclosure state- 50 ment is guilty of a misdemeanor. 51 (2) Any public officer or candidate who violates the provisions of sec- 52 tion 67-6632, Idaho Code, is subject to a civil penalty of fifty dollars 53 ($50.00) for each day of noncompliance but not more than five thousand dollars 5 1 ($5,000), which civil penalty shall be deposited in the general fund.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 16706 This legislation creates a requirement for Idaho elected officials and candidates to file personal financial disclosure statements with the Idaho Secretary of State. FISCAL IMPACT Implementation of this law will require approximately $45,000 from the General Fund to defray additional staff costs, according to an estimate by the office of Idaho's Secretary of State. Contact Name: Sen. David Langhorst, 332-1352 Sen. Kate Kelly Sen. Clint Stennett Sen. Elliot Werk Sen. Edgar Malepeai Sen. Mike Burkett Sen. Diane Bilyeu STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1038