Campaign finance-organizations.

WORKING DRAFT

ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE

NO.
0003

ENROLLED ACT NO. 48, SENATE

SIXTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WYOMING
2011 GENERAL SESSION

AN ACT relating to campaign finance;
providing that
restrictions on
expenditures to advocate the election or defeat of a candidate
do not apply to organizations as specified;
providing a definition;
conforming state law to a United State
s
Supreme Court ruling;
requiring notification in advertising;

requiring reports;
and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1.

W.S. 22
‑
25
‑
102(a)
,
(b) and by creating a new subsection (k)
, 22
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25
‑
106(b)(i) and by creating a new subsection (h), 22
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25
‑
107(a)(vii)
and 22
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25
‑
110(a)

and by creating a new subsection (c)
are amended to read:

22
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25
‑
102.

Contribution of funds or election assistance restricted; limitation on contributions; right to communicate; civil penalty.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided in this section, no organization of any kind including a corporation, partnership, trade union, professional association or civic, fraternal or religious group or other profit or nonprofit entity except a political party, political action committee or candidate's campaign committee organized under W.S. 22
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25
‑
101, directly or indirectly through any officer, member, director or employee, shall contribute funds, other items of value or election assistance

directly
to
aid, promote or prevent the nomination or election of
any candidate or group of candidates
.

or to aid or promote the interests, success or defeat of any political party.

No person shall solicit or receive a payment or contribution from an organization prohibited from making contributions under this subsection.

(b)

Except as otherwise provided in this section, only a natural person, political party, or a political action committee or a candidate's campaign committee organized under W.S. 22
‑
25
‑
101 shall contribute funds or election assistance
in order to aid, promote or prevent the nomination or election of

directly to
any candidate or group of candidates
.
, or in order to aid or promote the interests, success or defeat of any political party.

No person shall solicit or receive a political payment or contribution from any source other than a natural person, political party, political action committee or candidate's campaign committee organized under W.S. 22
‑
25
‑
101.

(k)

The prohibitions in this section shall not be construed to prohibit any
organization of any kind including a corporation, partnership, trade union, professional association or civic, fraternal or religious group or other profit or nonprofit entity
from exercising its first amendment rights to make independent expenditures for speech expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate.
For purposes of this subsection, "independent expenditure" means an expenditure that is made without consultation or coordination with a candidate or an agent of a candidate whose nomination or
e
lection the expenditure supports or whose opponent's nomination or election the expenditure opposes.

22-25-106.

Filing of campaign reports.

(b)

Reports of itemized statements of receipt and statements of receipts and expenditures, and statements of termination shall be made with the appropriate filing officers specified under W.S. 22
‑
25
‑
107 and in accordance with the following:

(i)

Except as otherwise provided in this section, any political action committee, candidate's campaign committee, or any political action committee formed under federal law or the law of another state that contributes to a Wyoming political action committee or to a candidate's campaign committee,
any organization making an independent expenditure under W.S.
2
2
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25
‑
102(k),

and any other organization supporting or opposing any ballot proposition which expends any funds in any primary, general or special election shall file an itemized statement of receipts at least seven (7) days before the election current to any day from the eighth day up to the fourteenth day before the election and shall also file a statement of receipts and expenditures within ten (10) days after a primary, general or special election;

(h)

In addition to any other report required by this section, an organization required by W.S. 22
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25
‑
110(c) to report expenditures shall report as follows:

(i)

The report shall identify the organization making the expenditure and the individual acting on behalf of the organization in making the expenditure;

(ii)

The report shall be filed
at least seven (7) days before the
next
primary, general or special election with information
current to any day from the eighth day up to the fourteenth day before the election
;

(iii)

If not previously reported, the report shall include the disclosure of any source of funding to the organization in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) to further the expenditure.

22
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25
‑
107.

Where statements to be filed.

(a)

All statements required under this chapter shall be filed as follows:

(vii)

Any political action committee or organization supporting or opposing any statewide initiative or referendum petition drive, any statewide ballot proposition or any candidate for statewide office

and any organization making an independent expenditure under W.S. 22
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25
‑
102(k) and filing pursuant to W.S. 22
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25
‑
106(b)(i) or (h)
shall file statements required by this section with the secretary of state.

22
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25
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110.

Campaign advertising in communications media.

(a)

It is unlawful for a candidate, political action committee, organization
, including organizations making expenditures pursuant to W.S. 22
‑
25
‑
102(k)
, candidate's campaign committee, or any political party central committee to pay for campaign literature or campaign advertising in any communication medium without printing or announcing the candidate, organization or committee sponsoring the campaign advertising or campaign literature.
The communications media in using the campaign advertising shall print or announce the name of the candidate, organization or committee paying for the advertising.

(c)

A
ny
organization making an expenditure pursuant to W.S. 22
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25
‑
102(k) which is subject to this subsection and in excess of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall report the expenditure as specified in W.S. 22
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25
‑
106(h).

Section 2.

This act is effective immediately upon co
m
pletion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constit
u
tion.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the Senate.

Chief Clerk

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