STATE OF OKLAHOMA

1st Session of the 54th Legislature (2013)

HOUSE BILL 1889	By:	Cockroft

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to crimes and punishments; amending 21 O.S. 2011, Section 187.1, which relates to limits on contributions to candidates; allowing certain political parties to be treated as separate entities; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     21 O.S. 2011, Section 187.1, is amended to read as follows:
Section 187.1  A.  No person or family may contribute more than:
1.  Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) in any calendar year to a committee other than a candidate committee;
2.  Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) to a candidate for state office, to a candidate for municipal office in a municipality with a population of over two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) persons, according to the most recent Federal Decennial Census, to a candidate for county office in a county with a population of over two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) persons, according to the most recent Federal Decennial Census, or to a candidate committee authorized by such a candidate to receive contributions or make expenditures on his or her behalf, for any campaign; or
3.  One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) to a candidate for other local office, or to a candidate committee authorized by such a candidate to receive contributions or make expenditures on his or her behalf, for any campaign.
B.  No candidate, candidate committee, or other committee shall knowingly accept contributions in excess of the amounts provided herein.  For purposes of this section, a state political party and a county political party shall be treated as separate entities as to the political party’s contribution limit to a candidate.
C.  These restrictions shall not apply to a committee supporting or opposing a ballot measure or local question or to a candidate making a contribution of his or her own funds to his or her own campaign.
D.  It shall be prohibited for a campaign contribution to be made to a particular candidate or committee through an intermediary or conduit for the purpose of:
1.  Evading requirements of effective Rules of the Ethics Commission promulgated pursuant to Article XXIX of the Oklahoma Constitution or laws relating to the reporting of contributions and expenditures; or
2.  Exceeding the contribution limitations imposed by subsection A of this section.
Any person making a contribution in violation of this subsection or serving as an intermediary or conduit for such a contribution, upon conviction, shall be subject to the penalties prescribed in subsections E and F of this section.
E.  Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any provision of this section where the aggregate amount contributed exceeds the contribution limitation specified in subsection A of this section by Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of up to four times the amount exceeding the contribution limitation or by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for up to one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
F.  Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any provision of this section where the aggregate amount contributed is less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) in excess of the contribution limitation specified in subsection A of this section, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than three times the amount exceeding the contribution limitation or One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), whichever is greater, or by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
G.  No lobbyist or lobbyist principal as defined in Section 4249 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall make or promise to make a contribution to, or solicit or promise to solicit a contribution for a member of the Oklahoma Legislature or a candidate for a state legislative office during any regular legislative session, beginning the first Monday in February, through its adjournment, and for five (5) calendar days following sine die adjournment.  A member of the Oklahoma Legislature or a candidate for a state legislative office shall not intentionally solicit or accept a contribution from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal as defined in Section 4249 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes during any regular legislative session and for five (5) calendar days after sine die adjournment.  For the purposes of this subsection, a candidate shall mean any person who has filed a statement of organization for a state legislative office pursuant to Oklahoma Statutes, Title 74, Chapter 62 Appendix, Rule 257:10-1-8.
H.  Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any provision of subsection G of this section, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 2.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2013.

54-1-5466	LRB	01/04/13