Sec. 9-610. (Formerly Sec. 9-333l). Expense sharing by committees. Candidate's expenditures. Use of public funds by incumbent or for promotional campaign or advertisement. Prohibitions on certain - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 9-610. (Formerly Sec. 9-333l). Expense sharing by committees. Candidate's expenditures. Use of public funds by incumbent or for promotional campaign or advertisement. Prohibitions on certain lobbyist contributions and solicitations. (a) Any provision of this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, a candidate committee may join with one or more candidate committees to establish a political committee for the purpose of sponsoring one or more fund-raising events for those candidates. Any individual, other than a candidate benefited, who is eligible and qualifies to serve in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d) of section 9-606 may serve as the campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer of such a political committee. The statements required to be filed by a political committee under this chapter shall apply to any political committee established pursuant to this subsection. After all expenses of the political committee have been paid by its campaign treasurer for each event, he shall distribute all remaining funds from such event to the campaign treasurers of each of the candidate committees which established the political committee. The distribution to each candidate committee shall be made not later than fourteen days after the event, either in accordance with a prior agreement of the candidates or, if no prior agreement was made, in equal proportions to each candidate committee. Any contribution which is made to such political committee shall, for purposes of determining compliance with the limitations imposed by this chapter, be deemed to have been made in equal proportions to each candidate's campaign unless (1) a prior agreement was made by the candidates as to the disposition of remaining funds, and (2) those who contributed to the political committee were notified of such disposition, in which case the contribution shall be deemed to have been made to each candidate's campaign in accordance with the agreement.

      (b) A candidate committee may pay its pro rata share of the expenses of operating a campaign headquarters and of preparing, printing and disseminating any political communication on behalf of that candidate and any other candidate or candidates. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 9-616, a candidate committee may reimburse a party committee for any expenditure such party committee has incurred for the benefit of such candidate committee.

      (c) A candidate may make any expenditure permitted by section 9-607 to aid or promote the success of his campaign for nomination or election from his personal funds, or the funds of his immediate family, which for the purposes of this chapter shall consist of the candidate's spouse and issue. Any such expenditure shall not be deemed a contribution to any committee.

      (d) (1) No incumbent holding office shall, during the three months preceding an election in which he is a candidate for reelection or election to another office, use public funds to mail or print flyers or other promotional materials intended to bring about his election or reelection.

      (2) No official or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state shall authorize the use of public funds for a television, radio, movie theater, billboard, bus poster, newspaper or magazine promotional campaign or advertisement, which (A) features the name, face or voice of a candidate for public office, or (B) promotes the nomination or election of a candidate for public office, during the twelve-month period preceding the election being held for the office which the candidate described in this subdivision is seeking.

      (3) As used in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, "public funds" does not include any grant or moneys paid to a qualified candidate committee from the Citizens' Election Fund under sections 9-700 to 9-716, inclusive.

      (e) For purposes of this subsection and subsection (f) of this section, the exclusions to the term "contribution" in subsection (b) of section 9-601a shall not apply; the term "state office" means the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Comptroller, State Treasurer or Secretary of the State; and the term "state officer" means the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Comptroller, State Treasurer or Secretary of the State. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, during any regular session of the General Assembly, during any special session of the General Assembly held between the adjournment of the regular session in an odd-numbered year and the convening of the regular session in the following even-numbered year or during any reconvened session of the General Assembly held in an odd-numbered year to reconsider vetoed bills, (1) no client lobbyist or political committee established by or on behalf of a client lobbyist shall make or offer to make a contribution to or on behalf of, and no such lobbyist shall solicit a contribution on behalf of, (A) a candidate or exploratory committee established by a candidate for nomination or election to the General Assembly or a state office or (B) a political committee (i) established for an assembly or senatorial district, (ii) established by a member of the General Assembly or a state officer or such member or officer's agent, or in consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of, any such member, officer or agent, or (iii) controlled by such member, officer or agent, to aid or promote the nomination or election of any candidate or candidates to the General Assembly or a state office, and (2) no such candidate or political committee shall accept such a contribution. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a candidate committee established by a member of the General Assembly or a candidate for nomination or election to the General Assembly, at a special election for the General Assembly, from the date on which the candidate or the chairman of the committee files the designation of a campaign treasurer and a depository institution under section 9-602 with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, to the date on which the special election is held, inclusive, or to an exploratory committee established by a member of the General Assembly to promote his candidacy for an office other than the General Assembly.

      (f) A political committee established by two or more individuals under subparagraph (B) of subsection (3) of section 9-601, other than a committee established solely for the purpose of aiding or promoting any candidate or candidates for municipal office or the success or defeat of a referendum question, shall be subject to the prohibition on acceptance of client lobbyist contributions under subsection (e) of this section unless the campaign treasurer of the committee has filed a certification that the committee is not established for an assembly or senatorial district, or by a member of the General Assembly or a state officer, or such member or officer's agent, or in consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of, any such member, officer or agent, or controlled by such member, officer or agent. The campaign treasurer of any political committee established by or controlled by a client lobbyist shall file a certification to that effect. Such certifications shall be filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, on forms prescribed by the commission, on or before November 15, 2008, for all such political committees in existence on such date, or upon the registration of the committee, and on or before November fifteenth biennially thereafter. The commission shall prepare a list of all such committees subject to the prohibitions under subsection (e) of this section, according to the certifications filed, which shall be available prior to the opening of each regular session of the General Assembly, and shall provide a copy of the list to the president pro tempore of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the House of Representatives and each state officer. During each such regular session, the commission shall prepare a supplemental list of committees which register after November fifteenth and are subject to such prohibitions, and the commission shall provide the supplemental list to such legislative leaders and state officers. The filing of the certification by the campaign treasurer of the committee shall not impair the authority of the commission to act under section 9-7b. Any client lobbyist or campaign treasurer who acts in reliance on such lists in good faith shall have an absolute defense in any action brought under subsection (e) and this subsection, subsection (c) of section 9-604, and subsection (f) of section 9-608.

      (g) No communicator lobbyist, member of the immediate family of a communicator lobbyist, or political committee established or controlled by a communicator lobbyist or a member of the immediate family of a communicator lobbyist shall make a contribution or contributions to, or for the benefit of (1) an exploratory committee or a candidate committee established by a candidate for nomination or election to the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Comptroller, State Treasurer, Secretary of the State, state senator or state representative, (2) a political committee established or controlled by any such candidate, (3) a legislative caucus committee or a legislative leadership committee, or (4) a party committee.

      (h) No communicator lobbyist, immediate family member of a communicator lobbyist, agent of a communicator lobbyist, or political committee established or controlled by a communicator lobbyist or any such immediate family member or agent shall solicit (1) a contribution on behalf of a candidate committee or an exploratory committee established by a candidate for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Comptroller, State Treasurer, Secretary of the State, state senator or state representative, a political committee established or controlled by any such candidate, a legislative caucus committee, a legislative leadership committee or a party committee, or (2) the purchase of advertising space in a program for a fund-raising affair sponsored by a town committee, as described in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (10) of section 9-601a.

      (i) The provisions of subsections (g) and (h) of this subsection shall not apply to the campaign of a communicator lobbyist, immediate family member of a communicator lobbyist or agent of a communicator lobbyist who is a candidate for public office or to an immediate family member of a communicator lobbyist who is an elected public official.

      (j) Any person who violates any provision of subsections (g) and (h) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty, imposed by the State Elections Enforcement Commission, of not more than five thousand dollars or twice the amount of any contribution donated or solicited in violation of subsection (g) or (h) of this section, whichever is greater.

      (P.A. 86-99, S. 13, 34; P.A. 90-267, S. 1 P.A. 91-351, S. 12, 28; P.A. 93-251, S. 1, 5; P.A. 94-132, S. 10; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-5, S. 10, 14, 19; P.A. 99-12, S. 2, 3; P.A. 03-223, S. 8; 03-241, S. 63; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5, S. 27-29; P.A. 06-137, S. 24, 25; P.A. 08-2, S. 8, 9.)

      History: P.A. 90-267 added Subsec. (e) re prohibitions on certain contributions and the soliciting of such contributions by lobbyists and political committees established by or on behalf of lobbyists, and Subsec. (f) re the implementation of such prohibitions; P.A. 91-351 amended Subsec. (a) to allow political committee to be established for one or more fund-raising events instead of a single event; P.A. 93-251 amended Subsec. (e) to provide that exclusions to term "contribution" in Sec. 9-333b(b) shall not apply for purposes of Subsecs. (e) and (f), amended Subsec. (f) to require that secretary prescribe political committee certification forms by November 15, 1994, instead of December 1, 1990, that certifications be filed by November fifteenth biennially instead of December first annually, that secretary provide political committee registration reports and copies of registrations and certifications to commission and that commission prepare supplemental list of committees registering after November fifteenth instead of December first, and added Subsec. (g) re lobbyist statements, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-132 deleted Subsec. (g)(1) which had required statement to include name and address of persons on whose behalf one was a lobbyist and renumbered Subdivs. (2) and (3) as (1) and (2); June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-5 amended Subsec. (e) by defining "state office" and "state officer" and applied provisions of Subsecs. (e) and (f) to state officers, effective July 1, 1997, and amended Subsec. (g)(1) by repealing reporting of ticket purchases in connection with fund-raising events, effective July 1, 1997, and applicable to elections and primaries held on or after January 1, 1998; P.A. 99-12 amended Subsec. (d) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and adding Subdiv. (2) prohibiting authorization of use of public funds for candidate promotional campaigns or advertisements, effective January 1, 2000; P.A. 03-223 amended Subsec. (a) to require distribution of funds to be made to each candidate committee not later than 14 days after the event, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 03-241 amended Subsec. (d)(2) by inserting "movie theater, billboard, bus poster," and by making a technical change, effective July 1, 2003; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5 amended Subsec. (d)(2) by changing "five-month" to "twelve-month" and added Subsec. (d)(3) re exclusion from term "public funds", effective January 1, 2006, and applicable to elections held on or after that date, and amended Subsec. (g) by deleting definition of "immediate family" and changing "Secretary of the State" to "State Elections Enforcement Commission", and added Subsecs. (h) and (i) prohibiting contributions by communicator lobbyists, their immediate family members and political committees established or controlled by communicator lobbyists or such immediate family members, and prohibiting solicitations by such lobbyists, family members and political committees and agents of such lobbyists and political committees established or controlled by such agents, effective December 31, 2006, and applicable to elections held on or after that date; P.A. 06-137 amended Subsec. (i) to designate Subdiv. (2) as new Subsec. (j) re exceptions to prohibition, inserting therein "or to an immediate family member of a communicator lobbyist who is an elected public official", and Subdiv. (3) as new Subsec. (k) re civil penalty for violation of prohibition, inserting therein "donated or", and made technical changes, effective December 31, 2006, and applicable to elections held on or after that date, and further amended section to delete former Subsec. (g) and redesignate Subsecs. (h) to (k), inclusive, as Subsecs. (g) to (j), inclusive, and make technical changes, effective October 1, 2007; Sec. 9-333l transferred to Sec. 9-610 in 2007; P.A. 08-2 amended Subsec. (h) to designate existing provisions re contribution solicitation as Subdiv. (1) and add Subdiv. (2) re purchase of advertising space in program for a fund-raising affair sponsored by a town committee, effective April 7, 2008, and amended Subsecs. (e) and (f) to change references from "lobbyist" to "client lobbyist" and "Secretary of the State" to "State Elections Enforcement Commission" and, in Subsec. (f), to replace "on behalf of" with "controlled by" and "1994" with "2008" and eliminate requirement for Secretary of the State to provide political committee registration report to State Elections Enforcement Commission, effective October 1, 2008.

      See Sec. 9-717 re effect of court of competent jurisdiction's prohibiting or limiting the expenditure of funds from the Citizens' Election Fund established in Sec. 9-701.