Bill Text: CT HB06633 | 2013 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

Connecticut House Bill 6633 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: An Act Concerning Campaign Finance Law And Prior Bad Acts.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-15 - File Number 513 [HB06633 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2013-HB06633-Comm_Sub.html

General Assembly		*Substitute Bill No. 6633*
*January Session, 2013*		_____HB06633GAE___032813____

AN ACT CONCERNING CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW AND PRIOR BAD ACTS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 9-7b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(3) (A) To issue an order requiring any person the commission finds to have received any contribution or payment which is prohibited by any of the provisions of chapter 155 or 157, after an opportunity to be heard at a hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of sections 4-176e to 4-184, inclusive, to return such contribution or payment to the donor or payor, or to remit such contribution or payment to the state for deposit in the General Fund or the Citizens' Election Fund, whichever is deemed necessary to effectuate the purposes of chapter 155 or 157, as the case may be;

(B) To issue an order when the commission finds that an intentional violation of any provision of chapter 155 or 157 has been committed, after an opportunity to be heard at a hearing conducted in accordance with sections 4-176e to 4-184, inclusive, which order may contain one or more of the following sanctions: (i) Removal of a campaign treasurer, deputy campaign treasurer or solicitor; (ii) prohibition on serving as a campaign treasurer, deputy campaign treasurer or solicitor; [, for a period not to exceed four years;] and (iii) in the case of a party committee or a political committee, suspension of all political activities, including, but not limited to, the receipt of contributions and the making of expenditures, provided the commission may not order such a suspension unless the commission has previously ordered the removal of the campaign treasurer and notifies the officers of the committee that the commission is considering such suspension;

(C) To issue an order revoking any person's eligibility to be appointed or serve as an election, primary or referendum official or unofficial checker or in any capacity at the polls on the day of an election, primary or referendum, when the commission finds such person has intentionally violated any provision of the general statutes relating to the conduct of an election, primary or referendum, after an opportunity to be heard at a hearing conducted in accordance with sections 4-176e to 4-184, inclusive;

(D) To issue an order to enforce the provisions of the Help America Vote Act, P.L. 107-252, as amended from time to time, as the commission deems appropriate;

(E) To issue an order following the commission's determination of the right of an individual to be or remain an elector when such determination is made (i) pursuant to an appeal taken to the commission from a decision of the registrars of voters or board of admission of electors under section 9-31l, or (ii) following the commission's investigation pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection;

(F) To issue a cease and desist order for violation of any general statute or regulation under the commission's jurisdiction and to take reasonable actions necessary to compel compliance with such statute or regulation;

Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 9-606 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(d) No person shall act as a campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer (1) unless the person is an elector of this state, the person has paid any civil penalties or forfeitures assessed pursuant to chapters 155 to 157, inclusive, and a statement, signed by the chairman in the case of a party committee or political committee or by the candidate in the case of a candidate committee, designating the person as campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer, has been filed in accordance with section 9-603, and (2) if such person has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, in a court of competent jurisdiction, any (A) felony involving fraud, forgery, larceny, embezzlement or bribery, or (B) criminal offense under this title, unless at least eight years have elapsed from the date of the conviction or plea or the completion of any sentence, whichever date is later, without a subsequent conviction of or plea to another such felony or offense. In the case of a political committee, the filing of a statement of organization by the chairman of the committee, in accordance with the provisions of section 9-605, shall constitute compliance with the filing requirements of this section. No provision of this subsection shall prevent the campaign treasurer, deputy campaign treasurer or solicitor of any committee from being the campaign treasurer, deputy campaign treasurer or solicitor of any other committee or prevent any committee from having more than one solicitor, but no candidate shall have more than one campaign treasurer. A candidate shall not serve as the candidate's own campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer, except that a candidate who is exempt from forming a candidate committee under subsection (b) of section 9-604 and has filed a certification that the candidate is financing the candidate's campaign from the candidate's own personal funds or is not receiving or expending in excess of one thousand dollars may perform the duties of a campaign treasurer for the candidate's own campaign.

Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 9-706 of the general statutes is amended by adding subdivision (5) as follows (Effective from passage):

(NEW) (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, no candidate may apply to the State Elections Enforcement Commission for a grant from the fund under the Citizens' Election Program if such candidate has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, in a court of competent jurisdiction, any (A) criminal offense under this title unless at least eight years have elapsed from the date of the conviction or plea or the completion of any sentence, whichever date is later, without a subsequent conviction of or plea to another such offense, or (B) a felony related to the individual's public office, other than an offense under this title in accordance with subparagraph (A) of this subdivision.

Sec. 4. Subsection (b) of section 9-706 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(b) The application shall include a written certification that:

(1) The candidate committee has received the required amount of qualifying contributions;

(2) The candidate committee has repaid all moneys borrowed on behalf of the campaign, as required by subsection (b) of section 9-710;

(3) The candidate committee has returned any contribution of five dollars or more from an individual who does not include the individual's name and address with the contribution;

(4) The candidate committee has returned all contributions or portions of contributions that do not meet the criteria for qualifying contributions under section 9-704 and transmitted all excess qualifying contributions to the Citizens' Election Fund;

(5) The campaign treasurer of the candidate committee will: (A) Comply with the provisions of chapters 155 and 157, and (B) maintain and furnish all records required pursuant to chapters 155 and 157 and any regulation adopted pursuant to such chapters;

(6) All moneys received from the Citizens' Election Fund will be deposited upon receipt into the depository account of the candidate committee;

(7) The campaign treasurer of the candidate committee will expend all moneys received from the fund in accordance with the provisions of subsection (g) of section 9-607 and regulations adopted by the State Elections Enforcement Commission under subsection (e) of this section; [and]

(8) If the candidate withdraws from the campaign, becomes ineligible or dies during the campaign, the candidate committee of the candidate will return to the commission, for deposit in the fund, all moneys received from the fund pursuant to sections 9-700 to 9-716, inclusive, which said candidate committee has not spent as of the date of such occurrence; [.]

(9) All outstanding civil penalties or forfeitures assessed pursuant to chapters 155 to 157, inclusive, against the current or any former committee of the candidate have been paid;

(10) The treasurer has paid any civil penalties or forfeitures assessed pursuant to chapters 155 to 157, inclusive, and has not been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, in a court of competent jurisdiction, any (A) felony involving fraud, forgery, larceny, embezzlement or bribery, or (B) criminal offense under this title, unless at least eight years have elapsed from the date of the conviction or plea or the completion of any sentence, whichever date is later, without a subsequent conviction of or plea to another such felony or offense;

(11) The candidate has not been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, in a court of competent jurisdiction, a criminal offense under this title unless at least eight years have elapsed from the date of the conviction or plea or the completion of any sentence, whichever date is later, without a subsequent conviction of or plea to another such offense; and

(12) The candidate has never been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, in a court of competent jurisdiction, a felony related to the individual's public office, other than a criminal offense under this title in accordance with subdivision (11) of this subsection.


This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	from passage	9-7b(a)(3)
Sec. 2	from passage	9-606(d)
Sec. 3	from passage	9-706(a)
Sec. 4	from passage	9-706(b)