Bill Text: VA HB1556 | 2020 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Political campaign advertisements; authorization statement, name of candidate defined.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-04-02 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0615) [HB1556 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-HB1556-Comm_Sub.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§24.2-501, 24.2-956, 24.2-956.1, 24.2-957.1, 24.2-958.1, and 24.2-959 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§24.2-501. Statement of qualification as requirement of candidacy.
It shall be a requirement of candidacy for any office of the Commonwealth, or of its governmental units, that a person must file a written statement under oath, on a form prescribed by the State Board, that he is qualified to vote for and hold the office for which he is a candidate. Every candidate for election to statewide office, the United States House of Representatives, or the General Assembly shall file the statement with the State Board. Every candidate for any other office shall file the statement with the general registrar of the county or city where he resides. Each general registrar shall transmit to the State Board, immediately after the filing deadline, a list of the candidates who have filed statements of qualification.
The candidate may shall state, as part of his
statement of qualification, how he would like his name to appear on the ballot;
however, all. All names printed on the ballot shall be required
to meet the criteria established by the State Board.
§24.2-956. Requirements for print media advertisements sponsored by a candidate campaign committee.
It shall be unlawful for any candidate or candidate campaign committee to sponsor a print media advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) unless all of the following conditions are met:
1. It bears the legend or includes the statement: "Paid
for by _______________ [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot or
campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]."
Alternatively, if the advertisement is supporting a candidate who is the
sponsor and the advertisement makes no reference to any other clearly
identified candidate, then the statement "Paid for by _______________
[Name of sponsor candidate as it appears on the ballot]" may
be replaced by the statement "Authorized by _______________ [Name of
sponsor candidate as it appears on the ballot]."
2. In an advertisement sponsored by a candidate or a candidate campaign committee that makes reference to any other clearly identified candidate who is not sponsoring the advertisement, the sponsor shall state whether it is authorized by the candidate not sponsoring the advertisement. The visual legend in the advertisement shall state either "Authorized by [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot], candidate for [Name of office]" or "Not authorized by any other candidate." This subdivision does not apply if the sponsor of the advertisement is the candidate the advertisement supports or that candidate's campaign committee.
3. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall name all the sponsors.
4. Any disclosure statement required by this section shall be displayed in a conspicuous manner in a minimum font size of seven point.
5. Any print media advertisement appearing in electronic format shall display the disclosure statement in a minimum font size of seven point; however, if the advertisement lacks sufficient space for a disclosure statement in a minimum font size of seven point, the advertisement may meet disclosure requirements if, by clicking on the print media advertisement appearing in electronic format, the viewer is taken to a landing page or a home page that displays the disclosure statement in a conspicuous manner.
§24.2-956.1. Requirements for print media advertisements sponsored by a person or political committee, other than a candidate campaign committee.
It shall be unlawful for any person or political committee to sponsor a print media advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§24.2-945 et seq.) unless the following requirements are met:
1. It bears the legend or includes the statement: "Paid for by _______________ [Name of person or political committee]."
2. In an advertisement supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates, the sponsor states whether it is authorized by a candidate. The visual legend in the advertisement shall state either "Authorized by [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot], candidate for [Name of office]" or "Not authorized by a candidate."
3. In an advertisement that identifies a candidate the sponsor is opposing, the sponsor must disclose in the advertisement the name of the candidate, as it appears on the ballot, who is intended to benefit from the advertisement, if the sponsor coordinates with, or has the authorization of, the benefited candidate.
4. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall name all the sponsors.
5. Any disclosure statement required by this section shall be displayed in a conspicuous manner in a minimum font size of seven point.
6. Any print media advertisement appearing in electronic format shall display the disclosure statement in a minimum font size of seven point; however, if the advertisement lacks sufficient space for a disclosure statement in a minimum font size of seven point, the advertisement may meet disclosure requirements if, by clicking on the print media advertisement appearing in electronic format, the viewer is taken to a landing page or a home page that displays the disclosure statement in a conspicuous manner.
§24.2-957.1. Requirements for television advertisements sponsored by a candidate or candidate campaign committee.
It shall be unlawful for any candidate or a candidate campaign committee to sponsor a television advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§24.2-945 et seq.) unless the following requirements are met:
1. It bears the legend or includes the statement: "Paid for by _______________ [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot or campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]." Alternatively, if the advertisement is supporting that candidate and the advertisement makes no reference to any other clearly identified candidate, then the statement "Paid for by _______________ [Name of sponsor]" may be replaced by the statement "Authorized by _______________ [Name of sponsor]."
The disclosure shall be made by visual legend, which shall constitute 20 scan lines in size. The content of these visual legends is specified by the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§315 and 317 and this section.
2. If the advertisement sponsored by the candidate or the candidate campaign committee makes reference to another clearly identified candidate, it must include a disclosure statement spoken by the sponsoring candidate containing at least the following words: "I am _______________ (or 'This is _______________') [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot], candidate for [Name of] office, and I (or 'my campaign') sponsored this ad."
The candidate or the candidate campaign committee may provide the oral disclosure statement required by this section at the same time as the visual disclosure required under the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317, is shown.
3. The advertisement shall include throughout the disclosure statement an unobscured, full-screen picture containing the candidate, either in photographic form or through the actual appearance of the candidate on camera.
4. The candidate or the campaign committee may place the disclosure statement required by this section at any point during the advertisement, except if the duration of the advertisement is more than five minutes, the disclosure statement shall be made both at the beginning and end of the advertisement.
5. In its oral disclosure statement, the sponsor may choose to identify an advertisement as either supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.
6. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall include the names of all the sponsors and the candidate shall be the disclosing individual. If more than one candidate is the sponsor, at least one of the candidates shall be the disclosing individual.
§24.2-958.1. Requirements for radio advertisements sponsored by a candidate or candidate campaign committee.
It shall be unlawful for a candidate or a candidate campaign committee to sponsor a radio advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§24.2-945 et seq.) unless all of the following requirements are met:
1. The advertisement shall include the statement "Paid for by........… [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]." Alternatively, if the advertisement makes no reference to any clearly identified candidate other than the candidate who is sponsoring the advertisement or whose campaign committee is sponsoring the advertisement, then the statement "Paid for by........… [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]" may be replaced by the statement "Authorized by........… [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]."
2. If the advertisement supports or opposes the election or nomination of a clearly identified candidate other than the sponsoring candidate or supports or opposes the election or nomination of the sponsoring candidate and makes reference to another clearly identified candidate, it must include a disclosure statement spoken by the sponsoring candidate containing at least the following words: "I am (or 'This is............') [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot], candidate for [Name of office], and this ad was paid for by (or 'sponsored by' or 'furnished by') [Name of candidate as it appears on the ballot or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]."
3. The disclosure statement shall last at least two seconds and the statement shall be spoken so that its contents may be easily understood. The placement of the oral disclosure statement shall also comply with the requirements of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§315 and 317.
4. In its oral disclosure statement, the candidate or the candidate campaign committee may choose to identify an advertisement as either supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.
5. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall include the names of all the sponsors and the candidate shall be the disclosing individual. If more than one candidate is the sponsor, at least one of the candidates shall be the disclosing individual.
§24.2-959. Requirements for campaign telephone calls sponsored by a candidate or candidate campaign committee.
It shall be unlawful for any candidate or candidate campaign committee to make campaign telephone calls without disclosing, before the conclusion of each telephone call, information to identify the candidate or candidate campaign committee who has authorized and is paying for the calls unless such call is terminated prematurely by means beyond the maker's control.
The person making the telephone call shall disclose the name of the candidate as it appears on the ballot.
It shall be unlawful for any candidate or candidate campaign committee making campaign telephone calls to intentionally modify the caller identification information of any campaign telephone call for the purpose of misleading the recipient as to the identity of the caller. If the call is made from an automatic dialing-announcing device and caller identification information includes a name associated with the telephone number, then the caller identification information shall include either the name of the candidate as it appears on the ballot or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization that has authorized and is paying for the calls, or the vendor conducting the calls on behalf of the candidate or candidate campaign committee. "Automatic dialing-announcing device" means the same as that term is defined in §59.1-518.1.
It shall also be unlawful (i) for any candidate or candidate campaign committee who contracts for campaign telephone calls to fail to provide to the persons making the telephone calls the identifying information required by this section or (ii) for any person to provide a false or fictitious name or address when providing the identifying information required.
2. That the provisions of this act shall become effective on January 1, 2021.
3. That print media advertisements paid for or distributed prior to the effective date of this act shall not be subject to the provisions of this act.
