PRINTER'S NO. 3991
No. 2832 Session of 1990
INTRODUCED BY VEON, DOMBROWSKI, MRKONIC, COLE, MORRIS, PRESSMANN
AND RYBAK, JULY 1, 1990
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JULY 1, 1990
AN ACT
1 Establishing a Code of Fair Campaign Practices to ensure
2 openness, honesty and fair play in Pennsylvania elections.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Fair Campaign
7 Practices Act.
8 Section 2. Purpose.
9 The General Assembly believes that an open, honest and fair
10 election is essential to a true democratic society. It is the
11 intent of the General Assembly to encourage every candidate for
12 public office to subscribe to the Fair Campaign Practices Code
13 embodied in this act. A candidate who voluntarily adheres to
14 this code will follow basic rules of decency, honesty and fair
15 play which will encourage a democratic campaign with free,
16 uninhibited debate centered on legitimate issues and
17 qualifications of candidates. The legislature recognizes that
1 healthy competition among candidates is vital to the election
2 process and renounces all practices which deliberately confuse
3 or distort the issues and unjustifiably attack an opponent.
4 Section 3. Code of Fair Campaign Practices.
5 When a person files to run for public office and requests the
6 necessary paper work from the Board or Bureau of Elections, he
7 or she will also receive a blank form of the Code of Fair
8 Campaign Practices and a copy of this act. The clerk shall
9 inform each candidate for public office that subscription to the
10 code is on a voluntary basis. The text of the code shall read as
11 follows:
12 CODE OF FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES
13 There are basic principles of decency, honesty and fair
14 play which every candidate for public office in the
15 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a moral obligation to
16 uphold in order that, after vigorously contested, but
17 fairly conducted campaigns, our citizens may exercise
18 their constitutional right to a free and untrammeled
19 choice and the will of the people may be fully and
20 clearly expressed on the issues.
21 THEREFORE:
22 (1) I PLEDGE TO CONDUCT my campaign in an open,
23 honest and democratic fashion. I will discuss the issues
24 as they appear to me and present my record and policies
25 in a sincere and frank manner. I will legitimately
26 criticize the record and policies of my opponents or
27 opposing political parties without fear when such
28 criticism is merited.
29 (2) I PLEDGE TO CONDUCT my campaign without the use
30 of character defamation, whispering campaigns, libel,
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1 slander or scurrilous attacks on any candidate or his or
2 her personal or family life.
3 (3) I PLEDGE TO CONDUCT my campaign without any
4 appeal to negative prejudice based on race, sex,
5 religion, national origin, physical health status or age.
6 (4) I PLEDGE TO CONDUCT my campaign without any
7 deceptive practices which undermine the American system
8 of free elections or which prevent individual voters from
9 expressing their constitutionally protected rights. I
10 shall not engage in acts intended to hinder or prevent
11 any eligible person from registering to vote, enrolling
12 to vote or voting.
13 (5) I PLEDGE TO CONDUCT my campaign without coercing
14 election help or campaign contributions from my employees
15 for my candidacy or for any other candidate.
16 (6) I PLEDGE TO IMMEDIATELY AND PUBLICLY REPUDIATE
17 any campaign tactics that come from other candidates
18 which I have pledged to denounce. I shall take immediate
19 and stern action against any subordinate in my campaign
20 who violates any provision of this code or the laws
21 governing elections.
22 (7) I PLEDGE TO DEFEND the constitutional right of
23 every qualified citizen to participate openly and freely
24 in the American election process.
25 I, the undersigned candidate for election to public
26 office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or member of
27 any political committee in support of or opposition to a
28 question of public policy, hereby voluntarily endorse,
29 subscribe to, and solemly pledge to conduct my campaign
30 in accordance with the above principles and practices.
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2 DATE SIGNATURE
3 Section 4. Publication and distribution of forms.
4 The State Ethics Commission shall print, or caused to be
5 printed, copies of the Code of Fair Campaign Practices and
6 distribute this document to the Bureau of Elections and county
7 board of elections.
8 Section 5. Completed forms are public records.
9 Any form completed by a candidate or chairman of a political
10 committee relating to this matter shall be open for public
11 inspection. The State Ethics Commission shall accept all
12 completed forms and shall retain them for public inspection
13 until 30 days after the election.
14 Section 6. Public disclosure.
15 Any candidate or chairman of a political committee who
16 subscribes to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices may publicly
17 indicate so in any campaign advertisement in a manner determined
18 by the State Ethics Commission.
19 Section 7. Subscription to code is voluntary.
20 No candidate or chairperson of a political committee can be
21 mandated to subscribe to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices.
22 The code is strictly on a voluntary basis for all candidates or
23 chairpersons of a political committee.
24 Section 8. Effective date.
25 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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