Bill Text: GA SB248 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Ethics; limit the amount of funds; transferred from one candidate's campaign account to certain other accounts
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-03-10 - Senate Read and Referred [SB248 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-SB248-Introduced.html
11
LC 35 2192
Senate
Bill 248
By:
Senators Henson of the 41st, Brown of the 26th, Stoner of the 6th, Carter of the
42nd, Tate of the 38th and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 5 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to ethics in government, so as to limit the amount of funds that can be
transferred from one candidate's campaign account to certain other accounts; to
change a certain definition; to prohibit direct or indirect use of contributions
for a campaign for a different office; to provide for a cap on the amount of any
gift from a lobbyist to any elected official; to provide for certain
restrictions on elected officials and certain staff regarding when such
officials and staff may work as a lobbyist; to prohibit lobbyists from giving
gifts in excess of a certain value to public officers; to provide for related
matters; to provide for effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and for
other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
5 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to ethics in
government, is amended by revising paragraph (14) of Code Section 21-5-3,
relating to definitions regarding ethics in government, as follows:
"(14)
'Gift' means any gratuitous transfer to a public officer or any member of the
family of the public officer or a loan of property or services which is not a
contribution as defined in paragraph (7) of this Code section
and which
is more than $100.00."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code
Section 21-5-33, relating to the disposition of contributions, as
follows:
"(b)(1)
All contributions received by a candidate or such candidate's campaign committee
or a public officer holding elective office in excess of those necessary to
defray expenses pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section and as
determined by such candidate or such public officer may only be used as
follows:
(A)
As contributions to any charitable organization described in 26 U.S.C. 170(c) as
said federal statute exists on March 1, 1986, and which additionally shall
include educational, eleemosynary, and nonprofit organizations;
(B)
Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (D) of this paragraph, for
only so long
as the public officer holds that elective office for which the contributions
were received for transferral
without
limitation
not to exceed
an aggregated amount of $10,000.00 per election
cycle to any national, state, or local
committee of any political
party, to any
political action committee, or to any
candidate; and
no such transfers shall be made in the case of:
(i)
A candidate who is not elected to public office or a person who has ceased to
hold the elective office for which the contributions were received;
(ii)
A public officer who has qualified for election to or has filed a declaration of
intention to accept campaign contributions for an elective office other than
that for which the contributions were received; or
(iii)
A public officer who has not qualified for reelection to succeed himself or
herself as of the close of qualifying;
(C)
For transferral without limitation to persons making such contributions, not to
exceed the total amount cumulatively contributed by each such
transferee;
(D)
For use in future campaigns for only that elective office for which those
contributions were received.
With
respect to contributions held on January 1, 1992, or received thereafter, in the
event the candidate, campaign committee, or public officer holding elective
office has not designated, prior to receiving contributions to which this Code
section is applicable, the office for which campaign contributions are received
thereby, those contributions shall be deemed to have been received for the
elective office which the candidate held at the time the contributions were
received or, if the candidate did not then hold elective office, those
contributions shall be deemed to have been received for that elective office for
which that person was a candidate most recently following the receipt of such
contributions
It is
specifically declared unlawful to make any transfer with the intent or knowledge
that all or any part of the funds transferred:
(i)
Shall be used to reimburse, directly or indirectly, any person for a
contribution made to any campaign by the candidate or officer for any other
public office; or
(ii)
Shall be used directly or indirectly by any person to make a contribution to any
campaign by the candidate or officer for any other public office;
and
it is specifically declared unlawful for any person receiving a transfer to
directly or indirectly make a contribution to any campaign by the candidate or
officer for any other public office; or
(E)
For repayment of any prior campaign obligations incurred as a
candidate."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-5-75, relating to
postemployment restrictions on public officers, as follows:
"21-5-75.
(a)
Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section,
on and
after January 8, 2007, persons identified
in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (22) of Code Section
21-5-3,
and
the executive director of each state board, commission, or
authority, and
all persons appointed to a full-time salaried position by the Governor who have
served a minimum of three months in such
position shall be prohibited from
registering as a lobbyist or engaging in lobbying under this article for a
period of one year after terminating such employment or leaving such
office.
(b)
The lobbying prohibition contained in subsection (a) of this Code section shall
not apply to persons who terminate such employment or leave such office but who
remain employed in state government."
SECTION
4.
Said
chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"21-5-77.
It
shall be unlawful for a lobbyist to make a gift to a public officer where the
value of the gift is more than
$100.00."
SECTION
5.
Section
2 of this Act shall become effective on January 1, 2012. All remaining sections
of this Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
6.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.