Bill S.418

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1647 FILED ON: 1/19/2023

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 418

By Mr. Finegold, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 418) of Barry R. Finegold for legislation relative to campaign finance reform. Election Laws.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to campaign finance reform.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 55 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “candidate’s committee” the following definition:-

“Child care services”, care services provided to a candidate’s child, including, but not limited to, baby-sitting services by non-profit or for-profit organizations that provide such services and any other costs directly related to such services that occur as a result of campaign activities; provided, however, that expenses related to child-care services shall not include payments to a family member, as defined in section 1 of chapter 50, of a child, unless the family member owns, operates or is employed by a professional daycare or babysitting service and the cost of the service is no greater than the family member would otherwise charge.

SECTION 2. Said section 1 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “independent expenditure” the following definition:-

“In-kind contribution”, anything of value that is provided to a committee or candidate in a non-monetary form, including, but not limited to: (i) the value of goods or services provided free of charge; (ii) the difference between the cost charged and the usual market value charged; or (iii) the amount paid by a person or entity on behalf of the committee or candidate.

SECTION 3. Said section 1 of chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “state office” the following definition:-

“Two-year election cycle”, the period beginning on the January 1st immediately following the last biennial state election and ending on the December 31st immediately following the next biennial state election; provided, however, that for a special election, “two-year election cycle” shall mean the period beginning the day a special general election is called and ending after the certification of the results of the special general election pursuant to section 116 of chapter 54.

SECTION 4. Section 5 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the word “address” in line 10 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

business address.

SECTION 5. Said section 5 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the phrase “the name and residential address” in lines 17 and 18 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

the name and business or residential address.

SECTION 6. Said section 5 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the phrase “residential address” in line 19 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

business or residential address.

SECTION 7. Said section 5 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the phrase “name and address” in line 21 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

name and residential address.

SECTION 8. Said section 5 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the word “addresses” in line 62 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

residential addresses.

SECTON 9. Section 6 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

A political committee, duly organized, may receive, pay or expend money or other things of value for the enhancement of the political future of the candidate or the principle for which the committee was organized; provided, however, that the expenditure shall not be primarily for the candidate’s or any other person’s personal use. The director shall establish reasonable rules and regulations concerning the expenditures.

SECTION 10. Said section 6 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting, after the word “to” in line 64, the following:-

the provision of child care services that would not otherwise exist but for the existence of the campaign, to.

SECTION 11. Said section 6 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the sixth paragraph the following paragraph:-

For the purposes of this section the term “personal use” shall not include expenses related to:

(i) the installation and monitoring of hardware, software or services related to the cybersecurity of the electronic devices of a candidate or campaign worker; provided, however, that such expenses: (1) would not otherwise exist but for the existence of the campaign; (2) are not primarily made to support cybersecurity measures for the personal accounts of a candidate or campaign worker; and (3) are not otherwise paid, provided or reimbursed by the commonwealth or any governmental body; or

(ii) the purchase or rental of personal protective equipment, including bullet-proof vests, body armor, pepper spray or gas masks for a candidate, campaign worker or staff member; provided, however, that: (1) the expenses would not otherwise exist but for the existence of the campaign; (2) the expenses are not otherwise paid, provided or reimbursed by the commonwealth or any governmental body; and (3) if an individual is no longer a candidate, or a staff member or campaign worker is no longer employed or engaged by the candidate or committee, such equipment shall be retained as an asset of the committee.

SECTION 12. The first paragraph of section 7A of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out all words after the word “exceed” in line 4 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

the sum of $2,000 per two-year election cycle, regardless of whether such candidate has appeared or will appear on an election ballot at any point during the given two-year election cycle; provided, however, that the aggregate of contributions by an individual for the benefit of any 1 candidate and the committee of that candidate if such candidate is seeking election to an office with a term of one year shall not exceed the sum of $1,000 in a calendar year.

SECTION 13. Said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 7A the following section:-

Section 7B. Using the federal consumer price index for the Boston statistical area, the director shall biennially index for inflation the contribution and aggregate amount limits referred to in sections 6 and 7A of this chapter. Not later than December 31st of each even numbered year beginning with 2024, the director shall calculate and publish such indexed limits, rounded down to the nearest $50; provided, however, that the director shall use the unrounded limits when indexing the limits for inflation in the subsequent even numbered year.

SECTION 14. Section 14 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:

Section 14. No person shall in any building or part thereof occupied for state, county or

municipal purposes demand, solicit or receive any payment or gift of money or other thing of value for the purposes set forth in section 13 of this chapter; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to an individual, candidate, political committee or a person acting on behalf of such individual, candidate or political committee, that rents or leases a portion of a building occupied for state, county or municipal purposes, other than the state house or a city or town hall, for the purpose of holding a meeting, fundraiser or similar event on the same terms and conditions as offered to a member of the public; and provided further, that no government business is conducted in that portion of the building during the meeting, fundraiser, or event.

SECTION 15. Section 18A of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the phrase “after the tenth day, but more than 24 hours before the date of any election,” and inserting in place thereof the following:-

after the tenth day before the date of the election and up through the date of the election.

SECTION 16. Said section 18A of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (d) and inserting in place thereof the following:-

(d) For the purposes of this section, an ''independent expenditure PAC'' shall be a political committee or other entity that receives contributions to make independent expenditures. An independent expenditure PAC shall organize in accordance with section 5 of this chapter and shall, if organized with the director, appoint a depository bank in accordance with section 19 of this chapter. An independent expenditure PAC that organizes and files reports with the director shall file reports in accordance with the schedule set forth in section 19(b)(2) of this chapter. An independent expenditure PAC that organizes and files reports with a city or town clerk shall file reports in accordance with the schedule set forth in section 18(a)(1) of this chapter.

In addition to any reports required by sections 18 or 19 of this chapter, the independent expenditure PAC shall file reports as required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such reports shall be filed with the director if the independent expenditure PAC is organized with the office of campaign and political finance, or with the city or town clerk if organized with the clerk. Reports filed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall disclose contributions received, expenditures made and liabilities incurred during the reporting period. The reporting period for the first report filed by an independent expenditure PAC pursuant to subsections (a) or (b) of this section shall commence on the day the independent expenditure PAC was organized and shall be complete through the date of the latest expenditure disclosed in the report. The reporting period for the next report shall commence on the date following the last date included in the previous report filed pursuant to subsections (a) or (b) of this section and shall be complete through the date of the latest expenditures disclosed in the report. An independent expenditure PAC shall also file a year-end report by January 20 of each year the independent expenditure PAC remains in existence and shall file a final report upon dissolution. The reporting period for the year-end report shall be cumulative for the calendar year, commencing on January 1 and ending on December 31 of each calendar year. The director shall adopt regulations regarding independent expenditure PACs.

SECTION 17. Section 19 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the phrase “7 days of receipt” in line 34 and inserting in place thereof:-

14 days of receipt.

SECTION 18. Said section 19 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the word “and” in line 47 and inserting after the word “report” in line 48 the following:-

; (iv) a list of all in-kind contributions of more than $50 received as of the last day of the preceding month and since the last statement, including an alphabetical list of names and addresses of each person making such contribution, the date received, the type of in-kind contribution and the value of the in-kind contribution; and (v) a list of new liabilities incurred as of the last day of the preceding month, including the name and address of the person to whom the liability exists, together with a clear statement of purpose for which it was incurred.

SECTION 19. Section 19 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Except as otherwise provided in this section, all payments for campaign purposes made by or for the benefit of a candidate or by the treasurer of a political committee which are in excess of $100 shall be made only from funds on deposit in the depository through checks drawn on the depository and indicating that the checks are drawn on the campaign account of the candidate or the political committee involved, or in another form as permitted by this section. All checks drawn on the campaign account shall be payable to the order of a named payee. The memo line of the check shall be used by the political committee issuing the check to indicate the specific purpose of the expenditure. A political action committee or political party committee making an expenditure to support or oppose a candidate shall identify the candidate on the check.

Notwithstanding the restrictions in the paragraph above, a committee may reimburse individuals, including the candidate or treasurer, in amounts greater than $100; provided, however, that the reimbursement amounts shall not be more than $1,000 in the aggregate in a calendar year; and provided further, that the committee complies with the following requirements: (i) reimbursements shall be made to individuals not later than thirty days after the date of the first reimbursed expenditure; (ii) reimbursement reports shall be filed within three days of the reimbursement check being issued to disclose underlying expenditures; (iii) no person who is authorized to make expenditures for a committee may write a check payable to themself; (iv) detailed records including receipts for reimbursed expenditures shall be maintained; and (v) if a reimbursement is not made consistent with this paragraph the expenditure shall be deemed an in-kind contribution or loan by the individual and subject to all contribution restrictions.

A candidate or treasurer of a political committee required to designate a depository may make expenditures by wire transfer, electronic fund transfer or other electronic means, credit card or debit card; provided, however, that a candidate or treasurer making an expenditure shall ensure that the date, amount and specific purpose of the expenditure is disclosed in accordance with regulations established by the director; and provided further, that a candidate or a treasurer of a candidate's committee for nomination or election to the state senate or house of representatives shall provide such disclosures on the same schedule as set forth in paragraph (3) of subsection (b).

SECTION 20. Section 25 of said chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:-

The director shall retain all statements and reports filed with the office under the provisions of this chapter by candidates and their committees until December 31st of the fifteenth year following the relevant election.

SECTION 21. The director of campaign and political finance shall promulgate additional rules and regulations to implement sections 1, 10, and 11 of this act not later than three months after the effective date of this act.

Name:	District/Address:
Barry R. Finegold	Second Essex and Middlesex