Allow a campaign committee to refund a political contribution

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 770

2025-2026

Representative Glassburn

Cosponsors: Representatives Baker,
Brennan, Brent, Brownlee, Cockley, Jarrells, Lett, McNally, Miller,
J., Piccolantonio, Rader, Russo, Sigrist, Sims, Somani, Synenberg,
Thomas, D.

To
amend sections 3517.01 and 3517.08 of the Revised Code
to
allow a campaign committee to refund a political contribution to the
donor for any reason.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
sections 3517.01 and 3517.08 of the Revised Code be amended to read
as follows:

Sec.
3517.01.
(A)(1)
A political party within the meaning of Title XXXV of the Revised
Code is any group of voters that meets either of the following
requirements:

(a)
Except as otherwise provided in this division, at the most recent
regular state election, the group polled for its candidate for
governor in the state or nominees for presidential electors at least
three per cent of the entire vote cast for that office. A group that
meets the requirements of this division remains a political party for
a period of four years after meeting those requirements.

(b)
The group filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to its
failure to meet the requirements of division (A)(1)(a) of this
section, a party formation petition that meets all of the following
requirements:

(i)
The petition is signed by qualified electors equal in number to at
least one per cent of the total vote for governor or nominees for
presidential electors at the most recent election for such office.

(ii)
The petition is signed by not fewer than five hundred qualified
electors from each of at least a minimum of one-half of the
congressional districts in this state. If an odd number of
congressional districts exists in this state, the number of districts
that results from dividing the number of congressional districts by
two shall be rounded up to the next whole number.

(iii)
The petition declares the petitioners' intention of organizing a
political party, the name of which shall be stated in the
declaration, and of participating in the succeeding general election,
held in even-numbered years, that occurs more than one hundred
twenty-five days after the date of filing.

(iv)
The petition designates a committee of not less than three nor more
than five individuals of the petitioners, who shall represent the
petitioners in all matters relating to the petition. Notice of all
matters or proceedings pertaining to the petition may be served on
the committee, or any of them, either personally or by registered
mail, or by leaving such notice at the usual place of residence of
each of them.

(2)
No such group of electors shall assume a name or designation that is
similar, in the opinion of the secretary of state, to that of an
existing political party as to confuse or mislead the voters at an
election.

(B)
A campaign committee shall be legally liable for any debts,
contracts, or expenditures incurred or executed in its name.

(C)
Notwithstanding the definitions found in section 3501.01 of the
Revised Code, as used in this section and sections 3517.08 to
3517.991 of the Revised Code:

(1)
"Campaign committee" means a candidate or a combination of
two or more persons authorized by a candidate under section 3517.081
of the Revised Code to receive contributions and make expenditures.

(2)
"Campaign treasurer" means an individual appointed by a
candidate under section 3517.081 of the Revised Code.

(3)
"Candidate" has the same meaning as in division (H) of
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code and also includes any person who,
at any time before or after an election, receives contributions or
makes expenditures or other use of contributions, has given consent
for another to receive contributions or make expenditures or other
use of contributions, or appoints a campaign treasurer, for the
purpose of bringing about the person's nomination or election to
public office. When two persons jointly seek the offices of governor
and lieutenant governor, "candidate" means the pair of
candidates jointly. "Candidate" does not include candidates
for election to the offices of member of a county or state central
committee, presidential elector, and delegate to a national
convention or conference of a political party.

(4)
"Continuing association" means an association, other than a
campaign committee, political party, legislative campaign fund,
political contributing entity, or labor organization, that is
intended to be a permanent organization that has a primary purpose
other than supporting or opposing specific candidates, political
parties, or ballot issues, and that functions on a regular basis
throughout the year. "Continuing association" includes
organizations that are determined to be not organized for profit
under subsection 501 and that are described in subsection 501(c)(3),
501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(5)
"Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness of
indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or transfer of funds or
anything of value, including a transfer of funds from an inter vivos
or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the payment by any
person other than the person to whom the services are rendered for
the personal services of another person, which contribution is made,
received, or used for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election. Any loan, gift, deposit, forgiveness of indebtedness,
donation, advance, payment, or transfer of funds or of anything of
value, including a transfer of funds from an inter vivos or
testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the payment by any
campaign committee, political action committee, legislative campaign
fund, political party, political contributing entity, or person other
than the person to whom the services are rendered for the personal
services of another person, that is made, received, or used by a
state or county political party, other than the moneys an entity may
receive under sections 3517.101, 3517.1012, and 3517.1013 of the
Revised Code, shall be considered to be a "contribution"
for the purpose of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code and shall be
included on a statement of contributions filed under that section.

"Contribution"
does not include any of the following:

(a)
Services provided without compensation by individuals volunteering a
portion or all of their time on behalf of a person;

(b)
Ordinary home hospitality;

(c)
The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that volunteer
campaign worker;

(d)
Any gift given to an entity pursuant to section 3517.101 of the
Revised Code;

(e)
Any contribution as defined in section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code
that is made, received, or used to pay the direct costs of producing
or airing an electioneering communication;

(f)
Any gift given to a state or county political party for the party's
restricted fund under division (A)(2) of section 3517.1012 of the
Revised Code;

(g)
Any gift given to a state political party for deposit in a Levin
account pursuant to section 3517.1013 of the Revised Code. As used in
this division, "Levin account" has the same meaning as in
that section.

(h)
Any donation given to a transition fund under section 3517.1014 of
the Revised Code.

(6)
"Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election

or
,

of
making a charitable donation
as
permitted
under
division (G) of section 3517.08 of the Revised Code
,
or of refunding a contribution as permitted under division (H) of
that section
.
Any disbursement or use of a contribution by a state or county
political party is an expenditure and
shall
be considered either to be made for the purpose of influencing the
results of an election or to be made as a charitable donation under
division (G) of section 3517.08 of the Revised Code and
shall
be reported on a statement of expenditures filed under section
3517.10 of the Revised Code. During the thirty days preceding a
primary or general election, any disbursement to pay the direct costs
of producing or airing a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication
that refers to a clearly identified candidate shall be considered to
be made for the purpose of influencing the results of that election
and shall be reported as an expenditure or as an independent
expenditure under section 3517.10 or 3517.105 of the Revised Code, as
applicable, except that the information required to be reported
regarding contributors for those expenditures or independent
expenditures shall be the same as the information required to be
reported under divisions (D)(1) and (2) of section 3517.1011 of the
Revised Code.

As
used in this division, "broadcast, cable, or satellite
communication" and "refers to a clearly identified
candidate" have the same meanings as in section 3517.1011 of the
Revised Code.

(7)
"Personal expenses" includes, but is not limited to,
ordinary expenses for accommodations, clothing, food, personal motor
vehicle or airplane, and home telephone.

(8)
"Political action committee" means a combination of two or
more persons, the primary or major purpose of which is to support or
oppose any candidate, political party, or issue, or to influence the
result of any election through express advocacy, and that is not a
political party, a campaign committee, a political contributing
entity, or a legislative campaign fund. "Political action
committee" does not include either of the following:

(a)
A continuing association that makes disbursements for the direct
costs of producing or airing electioneering communications and that
does not engage in express advocacy;

(b)
A political club that is formed primarily for social purposes and
that consists of one hundred members or less, has officers and
periodic meetings, has less than two thousand five hundred dollars in
its treasury at all times, and makes an aggregate total contribution
of one thousand dollars or less per calendar year.

(9)
"Public office" means any state, county, municipal,
township, or district office, except an office of a political party,
that is filled by an election and the offices of United States
senator and representative.

(10)
"Anything of value" has the same meaning as in section 1.03
of the Revised Code.

(11)
"Beneficiary of a campaign fund" means a candidate, a
public official or employee for whose benefit a campaign fund exists,
and any other person who has ever been a candidate or public official
or employee and for whose benefit a campaign fund exists.

(12)
"Campaign fund" means money or other property, including
contributions.

(13)
"Public official or employee" has the same meaning as in
section 102.01 of the Revised Code.

(14)
"Caucus" means all of the members of the house of
representatives or all of the members of the senate of the general
assembly who are members of the same political party.

(15)
"Legislative campaign fund" means a fund that is
established as an auxiliary of a state political party and associated
with one of the houses of the general assembly.

(16)
"In-kind contribution" means anything of value other than
money that is used to influence the results of an election or is
transferred to or used in support of or in opposition to a candidate,
campaign committee, legislative campaign fund, political party,
political action committee, or political contributing entity and that
is made with the consent of, in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of the benefited
candidate, committee, fund, party, or entity. The financing of the
dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or part, of
any broadcast or of any written, graphic, or other form of campaign
materials prepared by the candidate, the candidate's campaign
committee, or their authorized agents is an in-kind contribution to
the candidate and an expenditure by the candidate.

(17)
"Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by a person
advocating the election or defeat of an identified candidate or
candidates, that is not made with the consent of, in coordination,
cooperation, or consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of
any candidate or candidates or of the campaign committee or agent of
the candidate or candidates. As used in division (C)(17) of this
section:

(a)
"Person" means an individual, partnership, unincorporated
business organization or association, political action committee,
political contributing entity, separate segregated fund, association,
or other organization or group of persons, but not a labor
organization or a corporation unless the labor organization or
corporation is a political contributing entity.

(b)
"Advocating" means any communication containing a message
advocating election or defeat.

(c)
"Identified candidate" means that the name of the candidate
appears, a photograph or drawing of the candidate appears, or the
identity of the candidate is otherwise apparent by unambiguous
reference.

(d)
"Made in coordination, cooperation, or consultation with, or at
the request or suggestion of, any candidate or the campaign committee
or agent of the candidate" means made pursuant to any
arrangement, coordination, or direction by the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior to the
publication, distribution, display, or broadcast of the
communication. An expenditure is presumed to be so made when it is
any of the following:

(i)
Based on information about the candidate's plans, projects, or needs
provided to the person making the expenditure by the candidate, or by
the candidate's campaign committee or agent, with a view toward
having an expenditure made;

(ii)
Made by or through any person who is, or has been, authorized to
raise or expend funds, who is, or has been, an officer of the
candidate's campaign committee, or who is, or has been, receiving any
form of compensation or reimbursement from the candidate or the
candidate's campaign committee or agent;

(iii)
Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of section 3517.105 of
the Revised Code, made by a political party in support of a
candidate, unless the expenditure is made by a political party to
conduct voter registration or voter education efforts.

(e)
"Agent" means any person who has actual oral or written
authority, either express or implied, to make or to authorize the
making of expenditures on behalf of a candidate, or means any person
who has been placed in a position with the candidate's campaign
committee or organization such that it would reasonably appear that
in the ordinary course of campaign-related activities the person may
authorize expenditures.

(18)
"Labor organization" means a labor union; an employee
organization; a federation of labor unions, groups, locals, or other
employee organizations; an auxiliary of a labor union, employee
organization, or federation of labor unions, groups, locals, or other
employee organizations; or any other bona fide organization in which
employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in
part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor
disputes, wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.

(19)
"Separate segregated fund" means a separate segregated fund
established pursuant to the Federal Election Campaign Act.

(20)
"Federal Election Campaign Act" means the "Federal
Election Campaign Act of 1971," 86 Stat. 11, 2 U.S.C.A. 431, et
seq., as amended.

(21)
"Restricted fund" means the fund a state or county
political party must establish under division (A)(1) of section
3517.1012 of the Revised Code.

(22)
"Electioneering communication" has the same meaning as in
section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.

(23)
"Express advocacy" means a communication that contains
express words advocating the nomination, election, or defeat of a
candidate or that contains express words advocating the adoption or
defeat of a question or issue, as determined by a final judgment of a
court of competent jurisdiction.

(24)
"Political committee" has the same meaning as in section
3517.1011 of the Revised Code.

(25)
"Political contributing entity" means any entity, including
a corporation or labor organization, that may lawfully make
contributions and expenditures and that is not an individual or a
political action committee, continuing association, campaign
committee, political party, legislative campaign fund, designated
state campaign committee, or state candidate fund. For purposes of
this division, "lawfully" means not prohibited by any
section of the Revised Code, or authorized by a final judgment of a
court of competent jurisdiction.

(26)
"Internet identifier of record" has the same meaning as in
section 9.312 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
3517.08.
(A)
The personal expenses of a candidate paid for by the candidate, from
the candidate's personal funds, shall not be considered as a
contribution by or an expenditure by the candidate and shall not be
reported under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1)
An expenditure by a political action committee or a political
contributing entity shall not be considered a contribution by the
political action committee or the political contributing entity or an
expenditure by or on behalf of the candidate if the purpose of the
expenditure is to inform only its members by means of mailed
publications of its activities or endorsements.

(2)
An expenditure by a political party shall not be considered a
contribution by the political party or an expenditure by or on behalf
of the candidate if the purpose of the expenditure is to inform
predominantly the party's members by means of mailed publications or
other direct communication of its activities or endorsements, or for
voter contact such as sample ballots, absent voter's ballots
application mailings, voter registration, or get-out-the-vote
activities.

(C)
An expenditure by a continuing association, political contributing
entity, or political party shall not be considered a contribution to
any campaign committee or an expenditure by or on behalf of any
campaign committee if the purpose of the expenditure is for the staff
and maintenance of the continuing association's, political
contributing entity's, or political party's headquarters, or for a
political poll, survey, index, or other type of measurement not on
behalf of a specific candidate.

(D)
The expenses of maintaining a constituent office paid for, from the
candidate's personal funds, by a candidate who is a member of the
general assembly at the time of the election shall not be considered
a contribution by or an expenditure by or on behalf of the candidate,
and shall not be reported, if the constituent office is not used for
any candidate's campaign activities.

(E)
The net contribution of each social or fund-raising activity shall be
calculated by totaling all contributions to the activity minus the
expenditures made for the activity.

(F)
An expenditure that purchases goods or services shall be attributed
to an election when the disbursement of funds is made, rather than at
the time the goods or services are used. The secretary of state,
under the procedures of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall
establish rules for the attribution of expenditures to a candidate
when the candidate is a candidate for more than one office during a
reporting period and for expenditures made in a year in which no
election is held. The secretary of state shall further define by rule
those expenditures that are or are not by or on behalf of a
candidate.

(G)
An expenditure for the purpose of a charitable donation may be made
if it is made to an organization that is exempt from federal income
taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in subsection
501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(8), 501(c)(10), or 501(c)(19) of the
Internal Revenue Code or is approved by advisory opinion of the Ohio
election integrity commission as a legitimate charitable
organization. Each expenditure under this division shall be
separately itemized on statements made pursuant to section 3517.10 of
the Revised Code.

(H)(1)
A campaign committee may make an expenditure for the purpose of
partially or fully refunding a contribution to the person from whom
the campaign committee received the contribution. The campaign
committee shall report both the contribution and the expenditure in
accordance with section 3517.10 of the Revised Code.

(2)
A political party, legislative campaign fund, political action
committee, or political contributing entity may make an expenditure
for the purpose of partially or fully refunding a contribution only
as specifically permitted or required by this chapter.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 3517.01 and 3517.08 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.