Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

1078.01000
     Sixty-sixth
     Legislative Assembly                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1521
     of North Dakota
     Introduced by
       Representative Pollert
       Senator Wardner
  A BILL for an Act to create and enact two new sections to chapter 16.1-08.1 and chapter 54-66
  of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to reporting campaign contributions, restrictions on
  public officials and lobbyists, investigations of ethics violations, and implementing requirements
  of article XIV of the Constitution of North Dakota; to amend and reenact section 16.1-08.1-01,
  subsection 4 of section 16.1-08.1-02.1, sections 16.1-08.1-02.3, 16.1-08.1-02.4, 16.1-08.1-03.1,
  16.1-08.1-04.1, 28-32-01, 28-32-02, 28-32-03, 28-32-06, 28-32-07, 28-32-08, 28-32-08.1,
  28-32-08.2, 28-32-09, 28-32-10, 28-32-11, 28-32-12, 28-32-14, 28-32-15, 28-32-16, 28-32-17,
  28-32-18, and 28-32-18.1, subsections 2 and 4 of section 28-32-19, and section 28-32-27 of the
  North Dakota Century Code, relating to rulemaking procedures, disqualification of hearing
 officers, and requirements for the North Dakota ethics commission; to provide for a penalty; to
 provide an appropriation; to provide an effective date; to provide an expiration date; and to
 declare an emergency.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
     SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-08.1-01 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
     16.1-08.1-01. Definitions.
     As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
     1.   "Adjusted for inflation" means adjusted on January first of each year by the change in
          the consumer price index for all urban consumers (all items, United States city
          average), as identified by the secretary of state.
     2.   "Affiliate" means an organization that controls, is controlled by, or is under common
          control with another organization. For purposes of this definition, control means the
          possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the
          management and policies of an organization, whether through the ownership of voting
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           securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement
           services, or otherwise. Control is presumed to exist if an organization, directly or
           indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing
           fifty percent or more of the voting securities of any other organization.
    2.3.   "Association" means any club, association, union, brotherhood, fraternity, organization,
           or group of any kind of two or more persons, including labor unions, trade
           associations, professional associations, or governmental associations, which is united
           for any purpose, business, or object and which assesses any dues, membership fees,
           or license fees in any amount, or which maintains a treasury fund in any amount. The
          term does not include corporations, cooperative corporations, limited liability
          companies, political committees, or political parties.
   3.4.   "Candidate" means an individual who seeks nomination for election or election to
          public office, and includes:
          a.   An individual holding public office;
          b.   An individual who has publicly declared that individual's candidacy for nomination
               for election or election to public office or has filed or accepted a nomination for
               public office;
          c.   An individual who has formed a campaign or other committee for that individual's
               candidacy for public office;
          d.   An individual who has circulated a nominating petition to have that individual's
               name placed on the ballot; and
          e.   An individual who has, in any manner, solicited or received a contribution for that
               individual's candidacy for public office, whether before or after the election for
               that office.
   4.5.   "Conduit" means a person that is not a political party, political committee, or candidate
          and which receives a contribution of money and transfers the contribution to a
          candidate, political party, or political committee when the contribution is designated
          specifically for the candidate, political party, or political committee and the person has
          no discretion as to the recipient and the amount transferred. The term includes a
          transactional intermediary, including a credit card company or a money transfer
          service that pays or transfers money to a candidate on behalf of another person.
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    5.6.   "Contribution" means a gift, transfer, conveyance, provision, receipt, subscription,
           loan, advance, deposit of money, or anything of value, made for the purpose of
           influencing the nomination for election, or election, of any person to public office or
           aiding or opposing the circulation or passage of a statewide initiative or referendum
           petition or measure. The term also means a contract, promise, or agreement, express
           or implied, whether or not legally enforceable, to make a contribution for any of the
           above purposes. The term includes funds received by a candidate for public office or a
           political party or committee which are transferred or signed over to that candidate,
           party, or committee from another candidate, party, or political committee or other
          source including a conduit. The term "anything of value" includes any good or service
          of more than a nominal value. The term "nominal value" means the cost, price, or
          worth of the good or service is trivial, token, or of no appreciable value. The term
          "contribution" does not include:
          a.   A loan of money from a bank or other lending institution made in the regular
               course of business.
          b.   Time spent by volunteer campaign or political party workers.
          c.   Money or anything of value received for commercial transactions, including rents,
               advertising, or sponsorships made as a part of a fair market value bargained-for
               exchange.
          d.   Money or anything of value received for anything other than a political purpose.
          e.   Products or services for which the actual cost or fair market value are reimbursed
               by a payment of money.
          f.   An independent expenditure.
          g.   The value of advertising paid by a political party, multicandidate political
               committee, or caucus which is in support of a candidate.
          h.   In-kind contributions from a candidate to the candidate's campaign.
   6.7.   "Cooperative corporations", "corporations", and "limited liability companies" are as
          defined in this code, and for purposes of this chapter "corporations" includes nonprofit
          corporations. However, if a political committee, the only purpose of which is accepting
          contributions and making expenditures for a political purpose, incorporates for liability
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           purposes only, the committee is not considered a corporation for the purposes of this
           chapter.
    7.8.   "Expenditure" means:
           a.   A gift, transfer, conveyance, provision, loan, advance, payment, distribution,
                disbursement, outlay, or deposit of money or anything of value, except a loan of
                money from a bank or other lending institution made in the regular course of
                business, made for a political purpose or for the purpose of influencing the
                passage or defeat of a measure.
           b.   A contract, promise, or agreement, express or implied, whether or not legally
               enforceable, to make any expenditure.
          c.   The transfer of funds by a political committee to another political committee.
          d.   An independent expenditure.
   8.9.   "Expenditure categories" means the categories into which expenditures must be
          grouped for reports under this chapter. The expenditure categories are:
          a.   Advertising;
          b.   Campaign loan repayment;
          c.   Operations;
          d.   Travel; and
          e.   Miscellaneous.
  9.10.   "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure made for a political purpose or for
          the purpose of influencing the passage or defeat of a measure if the expenditure is
          made without the express or implied consent, authorization, or cooperation of, and not
          in concert with or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate, committee, or
          political party.
 10.11.   "Patron" means a person who owns equity interest in the form of stock, shares, or
          membership or maintains similar financial rights in a cooperative corporation.
 11.12.   "Person" means an individual, partnership, political committee, association,
          corporation, cooperative corporation, limited liability company, or other organization or
          group of persons.
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  12.13.   "Personal benefit" means a benefit to the candidate or another person which is not for
           a political purpose or related to a candidate's responsibilities as a public officeholder,
           and any other benefit that would convert a contribution to personal income.
  13.14.   "Political committee" means any committee, club, association, or other group of
           persons which receives contributions or makes expenditures for political purposes and
           includes:
           a.   A political action committee not connected to another organization and free to
                solicit funds from the general public, or derived from a corporation, cooperative
                corporation, limited liability company, affiliate, subsidiary, or an association that
               solicits or receives contributions from its employees or members or makes
               expenditures for political purposes on behalf of its employees or members;
          b.   A candidate committee established to support an individual candidate seeking
               public office which solicits or receives contributions for political purposes;
          c.   A political organization registered with the federal election commission, which
               solicits or receives contributions or makes expenditures for political purposes;
          d.   A multicandidate political committee, including a caucus, established to support
               multiple groups or slates of candidates seeking public office, which solicits or
               receives contributions for political purposes; and
          e.   A measure committee, including an initiative or referendum sponsoring
               committee at any stage of its organization, which solicits or receives contributions
               or makes expenditures for the purpose of aiding or opposing a measure sought
               to be voted upon by the voters of the state, including any activities undertaken for
               the purpose of drafting an initiative or referendum petition, seeking approval of
               the secretary of state for the circulation of a petition, or seeking approval of the
               submitted petitions.
 14.15.   "Political party" means any association, committee, or organization which nominates a
          candidate for election to any office which may be filled by a vote of the electors of this
          state or any of its political subdivisions and whose name appears on the election ballot
          as the candidate of such association, committee, or organization.
 15.16.   "Political purpose" means any activity undertaken in support of or in opposition to the
          election or nomination of a candidate to public office and includes using "vote for",
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           "oppose", or any similar support or opposition language in any advertisement whether
           the activity is undertaken by a candidate, a political committee, a political party, or any
           person. In the period thirty days before a primary election and sixty days before a
           special or general election, "political purpose" also means any activity in which a
           candidate's name, office, district, or any term meaning the same as "incumbent" or
           "challenger" is used in support of or in opposition to the election or nomination of a
           candidate to public office. The term does not include activities undertaken in the
           performance of a duty of a public office or any position taken in any bona fide news
           story, commentary, or editorial.
 16.17.   "Public office" means every office to which an individual can be elected by vote of the
          people under the laws of this state.
 17.18.   "Subsidiary" means an affiliate of a corporation under the control of the corporation
          directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries.
    19.   "Ultimate and true source" means the person who knowingly contributed over two
          hundred dollars, adjusted for inflation, solely to influence a statewide election or an
          election for the legislative assembly.
    SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Subsection 4 of section 16.1-08.1-02.1 of the North Dakota
 Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
     4.   The statement filed according to this section must show the following:
          a.   The balance of the filer's convention accounts at the start and close of the
               reporting period;
          b.   The total of all revenue received and expenditures made of two hundred dollars,
               adjusted for inflation, or less;
          c.   The total of all revenue received and expenditures made in excess of two
               hundred dollars, adjusted for inflation;
          d.   For each aggregated revenue received from a person in excess of two hundred
               dollars, adjusted for inflation:
               (1)   The name of each person;
               (2)   The mailing address of each person;
               (3)   The date of the most recent receipt of revenue from each person; and
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                (4)   The purpose or purposes for which the aggregated revenue total was
                      received from each person;
           e.   For each aggregated expenditure made to a person in excess of two hundred
                dollars, adjusted for inflation:
                (1)   The name of each person or entity;
                (2)   The mailing address of each person or entity;
                (3)   The date of the most recent expense made to each person or entity; and
                (4)   The purpose or purposes for which the aggregated expenditure total was
                      disbursed to each person or entity; and
          f.   For each aggregated revenue from an individual which totals five thousand
               dollars, adjusted for inflation, or more during the reporting period, the occupation,
               employer, and principal place of business of the individual must be disclosed.
    SECTION 3. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-08.1-02.3 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
    16.1-08.1-02.3. Pre-election, supplemental, and year-end campaign disclosure
 statement requirements for candidates, candidate committees, multicandidate
 committees, and nonstatewide political parties.
     1.   Prior to the thirty-first day before a primary, general, or special election, a candidate or
          candidate committee formed on behalf of the candidate, a multicandidate political
          committee, or a political party other than a statewide political party soliciting or
          accepting contributions shall file a campaign disclosure statement that includes all
          contributions received from January first through the fortieth day before the election. A
          candidate whose name is not on the ballot and who is not seeking election through
          write-in votes, the candidate's candidate committee, and a political party that has not
          endorsed or nominated any candidate in the election is not required to file a statement
          under this subsection. The statement may be submitted for filing beginning on the
          thirty-ninth day before the election. The statement must include:
          a.   For each aggregated contribution from a contributor which totals in excess of two
               hundred dollars, adjusted for inflation, received during the reporting period:
               (1)   The name and mailing address of the contributor;
               (2)   The total amount of the contribution; and
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