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HB 4646 - Campaign Finance Law Amendments - Key Vote

West Virginia Key Votes

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Legislation - Referred to Committee (Senate) -
Legislation - Bill Passed (House) (61-34) - (Key vote)

Title: Campaign Finance Law Amendments

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote on a bill that requires corporations to get authorization from a majority of stockholders before giving a contribution or expenditure to a political activity and specifies guidelines by which such activity can be undertaken.

Highlights:
-Specifies a "contribution or expenditure" to mean any monetary and non-monetary political contributions and expenditures not deductible under section 162(e)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code and does not include (Article 1):
    -Communication by a corporation to its stockholders and administrative or executive staff and or their families on any subject; -Nonpartisan registration and/or get-out-the-vote campaigns aimed at its stockholders and administrative or executive staff and their families by a corporation; -The establishment, administration, or solicitation by a corporation for contributions to a separate segregated fund to be utilized for political purposes.
-Requires a corporation that plans to make a contribution of $10,000 or more with corporate funds to political activities to meet with shareholders and get approval from a majority of the group in order to make the contribution (Article 7). -Specifies that if a corporation plans to spend less than $10,000 on political activities in a 12-month period, then it does not need shareholder authorization for such spending (Article 7). -Specifies that corporations seeking authorization for expenditures for political activities must get the authority to spend a maximum dollar amount in the next 12 months (Article 7). -Specifies that the corporation must disclose to shareholders whether the aggregated funds are intended to benefit or defeat specific candidates, ballot measures or issue advocacy campaigns, or whether it will be paid to specific nonprofits or trade associations for political activities, if such information is known at the time of the shareholder vote (Article 7). -Requires that approval or disapproval from a shareholder vote on any spending of $10,000 or more to be binding on the corporation (Article 7). -Establishes that if a director of a corporation gives a contribution or expenditure for political activities without shareholder authorization he will be personally liable for (Article 8):
    -The amount of the unauthorized contribution or expenditure; -Damages to the corporation because of the unauthorized expenditure or contribution; and -Interest on the amount of the unauthorized expenditure or contribution beginning on the date when it was made and ending when it is repaid to the corporation.
-Establishes that shareholders must receive notice of the unauthorized expenditure or contribution including the circumstances it was made and by whom the repayment was or is being made (Article 8). -Specifies that a corporation must report to shareholders quarterly throughout the year contributions or expenditures for political activities and that such a report shall include, but not be limited to (Article 16):
    -The nature of the political activities; -The date of the contributions or expenditures; -The amount be contributed; -The identity of the candidate, political party, committee, electioneering communication, ballot measure, campaign or issue advocacy campaign; -The purpose of the political activity; -All expenditures made by a separate segregated fund affiliated with the corporation.
-Specifies that quarterly reports of political activities will be public records and shall be posted on the corporation's website for at least one year (Article 16).
Note:

NOTE: THIS IS A SUBSTITUTE BILL, MEANING THE LANGUAGE OF THE ORIGINAL BILL HAS BEEN REPLACED. THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE SUBSTITUTE BILL TEXT DIFFERS FROM THE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE TEXT CAN VARY GREATLY.

See The Voting Record

Legislation - Introduced (House) -

Title: Limiting Corporate Campaign Spending

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