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TO AMEND SECTION 8-13-1300, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO DEFINITION FOR "COMMITTEE" FOR PURPOSES OF THE PROVISIONS RELATING TO CAMPAIGN PRACTICES, SO AS TO INCLUDE A "LEADERSHIP POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE" WITHIN THE DEFINITION; TO AMEND SECTION 8-13-1308, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO FILING CAMPAIGN REPORTS BY CANDIDATES AND COMMITTEES, SO AS TO REQUIRE A LEADERSHIP POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE TO FILE CERTIFIED CAMPAIGN REPORTS UPON THE RECEIPT OF CONTRIBUTIONS THAT MAY BE USED FOR THE PAYMENT OF OPERATION EXPENSES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 8-13-1340, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS BY ONE CANDIDATE TO ANOTHER, SO AS TO DELETE THE PROHIBITION THAT CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS DO NOT APPLY TO A LEADERSHIP POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE THAT IS DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ESTABLISHED AND FINANCED BY A CANDIDATE OR PUBLIC OFFICIAL IF IT IS THE ONLY ONE IN ADDITION TO A COMMITTEE FORMED BY THE CANDIDATE OR PUBLIC OFFICIAL TO SOLELY PROMOTE HIS OWN CANDIDACY AND ONE LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS COMMITTEE AND TO PREVENT A LEADERSHIP POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FROM MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS TO OR ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER CANDIDATE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 8-13-1300(6) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 76 of 2003, is further amended to read:
"(6) 'Committee' means an association, a club, an organization, or a group of persons which, to influence the outcome of an elective office, receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate during an election cycle. It also means a person who, to influence the outcome of an elective office, makes:
(a) contributions aggregating at least twenty-five thousand dollars during an election cycle to or at the request of a candidate or a committee, or a combination of them; or
(b) independent expenditures aggregating five hundred dollars or more during an election cycle for the election or defeat of a candidate.
'Committee' includes a party committee, a legislative caucus committee, a noncandidate committee, or a committee that is not a campaign committee for a candidate but that is organized by a candidate for the purpose of influencing an election, including a leadership political action committee."
SECTION 2. Section 8-13-1308(G) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 76 of 2003, is amended to read:
"(G) Notwithstanding any other reporting requirements in this chapter, a political party, legislative caucus committee, leadership political action committee, and a party committee must shall file a certified campaign report upon the receipt of anything of value which that totals in the aggregate five hundred dollars or more. For purposes of this section, 'anything of value' includes contributions received which that may be used for the payment of operation expenses of a political party, legislative caucus committee, or a party committee. A political party also must shall comply with the reporting requirements of subsections (B), (C), and (F) of this section 8-13-1308 in the same manner as a candidate or committee."
SECTION 3. Section 8-13-1340 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 76 of 2003, is further amended to read:
"Section 8-13-1340. (A) Except as provided in subsections subsection (B) and (E), a candidate or public official shall not make a contribution to another candidate or make an independent expenditure on behalf of another candidate or public official from the candidate's or public official's campaign account or through a committee, except legislative caucus committees, directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained, or controlled by the candidate or public official.
(B) This section does not prohibit a candidate from:
(1) making a contribution from the candidate's own personal funds on behalf of the candidate's candidacy or to another candidate for a different office; or
(2) providing the candidate's surplus funds or material assets upon final disbursement to a legislative caucus committee or party committee in accordance with the procedures for the final disbursement of a candidate under pursuant to Section 8-13-1370 of this article.
(C) Assets or funds which that are the proceeds of a campaign contribution and which that are held by or under the control of a public official or a candidate for public office on January 1, 1992, are considered to be funds held by a candidate and subject to subsection (A).
(D) A committee is considered to be directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained, or controlled by a candidate or public official if any of the following are applicable:
(1) the candidate or public official, or an agent of either, has signature authority on the committee's checks;
(2) funds contributed or disbursed by the committee are authorized or approved by the candidate or public official;
(3) the candidate or public official is clearly identified on either the stationery or letterhead of the committee;
(4) the candidate or public official signs solicitation letters or other correspondence on behalf of the entity;
(5) the candidate, public official, or his campaign staff, office staff, or immediate family members, or any other agent of either, has the authority to approve, alter, or veto the committee's solicitations, contributions, donations, disbursements, or contracts to make disbursements; or
(6) the committee pays for travel by the candidate or public official, his campaign staff or office staff, or any other agent of the candidate or public official, in excess of one hundred dollars per each calendar year.
(E) The provisions of subsection (A) do not apply to a committee directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained, or controlled by a candidate or public official if the candidate or public official directly or indirectly establishes, finances, maintains, or controls only one committee in addition to any committee formed by the candidate or public official to solely promote his own candidacy and one legislative caucus committee.
(F) No committee operating under the provisions of Section 8-13-1340(E) may:
(1) solicit or accept a contribution from a registered lobbyist if that lobbyist engages in lobbying the public office or public body for which the candidate is seeking election; or
(2) transfer anything of value to any other committee except as a contribution under the limitations of Section 8-13-1314(A) or the dissolution provisions of Section 8-13-1370."
SECTION 4. Upon approval by the Governor, this act takes effect January 1, 2007.
This web page was last updated on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 2:44 P.M.