SENATE, No. 443

SECTION 1. Section 1 of Chapter 55 of the General Laws, as so appearing in 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the end thereof the following:-

"Independent expenditure'' shall mean an expenditure by an individual, group, or association not defined as a political committee made for the purpose of promoting the election or defeat of any candidate or candidates or otherwise designed to aid, injure, or defeat any candidate for public office which is made without cooperation or consultation with any candidate, or a nonelected political committee organized on behalf of a candidate, or any agent of a candidate and which is not made in concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, any candidate, or any nonelected political committee organized on behalf of a candidate or agent of such candidate.

SECTION 2.  Chapter 55 of the General Laws, as so appearing in 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out Section 18A and inserting the following in place thereof:-

Section 18A. Every individual, group or association not defined as a political committee, who makes an independent expenditure or expenditures in an aggregate amount exceeding one hundred dollars during any calendar year for the purpose of promoting the election or defeat of any candidate or candidates shall file with the director, as outlined in section 18C, or with the city or town clerk if such candidate or candidates seek public office at a city or town election, within seven business days after making such independent expenditure or expenditures, on a form prescribed by the director, a report stating the name and address of the individual, group or association making the expenditure or expenditures; the name of the candidate or candidates whose election or defeat the expenditure promoted; the name and address of the person or persons to whom the expenditure or expenditures were made; and the total amount or value; the purpose and the date of the expenditure or expenditures.

Any person, group or association that makes or contracts to make independent expenditures aggregating $1,000 or more after the 20th day, but more than 24 hours, before the date of an election shall file a report describing the expenditures within 24 hours. Said person, group or association shall file an additional report within 24 hours after each time the person makes or contracts to make independent expenditures aggregating an additional $1,000 with respect to the same election as that to which the initial report relates.

Violation of any provision of this section or section 18C shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars.

SECTION 3.  Section 18C of Chapter 55, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (b)(3) the following the the following:-

(4)   Every individual, group, or association who makes an independent expenditure or expenditures in an aggregate amount exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars during any calendar year for the purpose of promoting the election or defeat of any candidate or candidates.

(5)   Any person, group, or association that makes or contracts to make independent expenditures aggregating $1,000 or more after the 20th day, but more than 24 hours, before the date of an election shall file a report describing the expenditures within 24 hours.

(6)   After a person files a report as outlined in (a), the person shall file an additional report within 24 hours after each time the person makes or contracts to make independent expenditures aggregating an additional $1,000 with respect to the same election as that to which the initial report relates.

SECTION 4.  Chapter 56 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is amended by striking section 39 and inserting in place thereof the following:-

Section 39. No person, group, organization or association shall publish or broadcast or cause to be published or broadcast in a newspaper, periodical, radio broadcast, television broadcast, including cable or other means of electronic dissemination, any paid advertisement designed or tending to aid, injure, or defeat any candidate for public office or any question submitted to the voters, unless the name of the chairman or secretary or the names of two officers of the political or other organization advertising the same, or the name of one or more persons eighteen years of age or older who are responsible therefore, with the residence and the street and number thereof, of each such person eighteen years of age or older appears therein in the case of any of the aforementioned visual media in a clearly visible and prominent typeface and in the case of a radio broadcast clearly audible statement; provided, however, that each such person eighteen years of age or older has signed his name in the presence of a witness to the following statement authorizing the insertion or broadcast of such advertisement. The statement shall be retained by the newspaper, periodical, radio broadcast, television broadcast, including cable, for not less than one year, shall be available to any person upon request, and shall be in substantially the following form:

I hereby authorize the affixing of my name to the attached political advertisement on behalf of or in opposition to, candidate for in the election to be held in the current year, or on behalf of or in opposition to a question being submitted to the voters in the election in the current year.

SECTION 5. If any of section shall be deemed unconstitutional, it shall be struck without rendering the remaining sections unconstitutional.