PRINTER'S NO. 38
No. 34 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY VITALI, COWELL, KREBS, COY, ROONEY, CARONE,
BELARDI, MASLAND, GORDNER, CAPPABIANCA, CORPORA, WALKO,
TIGUE, VAN HORNE, HUTCHINSON, MANDERINO, RUBLEY, MICHLOVIC,
JOSEPHS, OLIVER, LEVDANSKY AND MELIO, JANUARY 27, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 27, 1997
AN ACT
1 Providing for electronic reporting of campaign finance reports,
2 for definitions and for enforcement; and making an
3 appropriation.
4 TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 Chapter 1. Findings and Purposes
6 Section 101. Short title.
7 Section 102. Findings and declarations.
8 Section 103. Purpose.
9 Chapter 2. Definitions
10 Section 201. Definitions.
11 Chapter 3. Electronic Reporting
12 Section 301. Development of electronic reporting system.
13 Section 302. Implementation of electronic reporting system.
14 Chapter 4. Enforcement
15 Section 401. Enforcement.
16 Chapter 5. Miscellaneous Provisions
17 Section 501. Appropriation.
1 Section 502. Effective date.
2 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
3 hereby enacts as follows:
4 CHAPTER 1
5 FINDINGS AND PURPOSES
6 Section 101. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Electronic
8 Reporting Act.
9 Section 102. Findings and declarations.
10 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
11 (1) The intent of disclosure is to make information
12 about the role of money in politics accessible to the public.
13 (2) The volume of campaign finance reports submitted
14 each year to the Commonwealth renders it virtually
15 impossible, without the aid of computer technology, to derive
16 meaningful conclusions from the records.
17 (3) Computer automation is a necessary and effective
18 means of transmitting, organizing, storing and retrieving
19 vast amounts of data submitted by candidates in election
20 campaigns.
21 (4) Many candidates already rely on computer technology
22 for accounting and fundraising purposes, and requiring that
23 these candidates and their committees submit their campaign
24 finance data electronically poses no undue hardship to them.
25 Section 103. Purpose.
26 It is the purpose of this act to:
27 (1) Make the mass of campaign finance reports submitted
28 to the Commonwealth both accessible in a timely fashion and
29 intelligible to the public.
30 (2) Ease the burden on candidates, candidate committees,
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1 political committees and lobbyists of tabulating, filing and
2 maintaining public records of financial activity.
3 (3) Strengthen both the disclosure and enforcement
4 capabilities of the Department of State.
5 (4) Cooperate in the standardization of reporting
6 formats among states so that interstate as well as intrastate
7 sources of political money can be made known.
8 (5) Allow concerned persons easy and convenient access
9 to the financial records of officeholders, candidates,
10 committees and lobbyists.
11 (6) Provide for a fully informed electorate.
12 (7) Help restore public trust in the governmental and
13 electoral institutions of this Commonwealth.
14 CHAPTER 2
15 DEFINITIONS
16 Section 201. Definitions.
17 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
18 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
19 context clearly indicates otherwise:
20 "Department." The Department of State of the Commonwealth.
21 "Electronic format" or "format." The configuration by which
22 the filing program organizes data. The term includes, but is not
23 limited to, the type of computer operating system, also known as
24 "platform."
25 "Electronic reporting." The electronic process by which a
26 candidate, committee, lobbyist or lobbying firm or any other
27 entity required to submit financial disclosure reports compiles
28 and transmits these reports either via diskette or on-line to
29 the Commonwealth and the electronic process by which the
30 Commonwealth retrieves, stores, analyzes and discloses the
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1 financial reports.
2 "Electronic reporting system." The term includes both filer-
3 side software and government-side software.
4 "Filer." Any candidate, committee, lobbyist or lobbying firm
5 and any other person or group required to submit financial
6 disclosure reports to this Commonwealth.
7 "Filer-side software." Software provided to or used by the
8 filer that enables transmittal of financial reports to the
9 Department of State.
10 "Government-side software." Software used by this
11 Commonwealth in order to receive, store, analyze and disclose to
12 the public campaign finance data or financial activity submitted
13 by filers.
14 "Home page." The primary World Wide Web site from which
15 other secondary Web sites may be directly accessed. The home
16 page for state governments is typically referred to as "the
17 government locator page."
18 "State candidate." Candidates for the Pennsylvania General
19 Assembly, the courts of common pleas and the Philadelphia
20 Municipal Court.
21 "Statewide candidates." Candidates for the office of
22 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor
23 General, Treasurer, Supreme Court, Superior Court and
24 Commonwealth Court.
25 CHAPTER 3
26 ELECTRONIC REPORTING
27 Section 301. Development of electronic reporting system.
28 (a) Development.--The department shall develop an electronic
29 reporting system for the submission, retrieval, storage and
30 public disclosure of campaign finance reports and financial
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1 activity statements required under Article XVI of the act of
2 June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania
3 Election Code.
4 (b) Format.--The department shall determine the electronic
5 format in which campaign finance reports and financial activity
6 statements are to be submitted and may utilize the assistance of
7 experts in the field, both publicly and privately employed, or
8 other interested parties in that determination.
9 (c) Contract authority.--The department has the discretion
10 to develop the electronic reporting system on its own or to
11 contract with private vendors to develop the system or to
12 specify the format in which data is to be filed and to permit
13 the private sector to adapt its filing software to the required
14 format. If the department contracts with a private vendor to
15 develop the filer-side software, the department shall not, under
16 any circumstances, require filers to use that software. The
17 electronic format of the electronic reporting system shall be
18 public information in order that additional private vendors have
19 the opportunity to develop and to market competitive filer-side
20 software products that are compatible with the Commonwealth's
21 electronic reporting system.
22 (d) Access.--The department shall further provide the public
23 with electronic access to all campaign finance data and
24 financial activity statements submitted to the agency,
25 electronically or otherwise, no later than 48 hours after the
26 filing is received. The department shall not charge any fee for
27 electronic access to file financial activity records. The agency
28 has the discretion to determine the most efficient means of
29 providing electronic access to the financial activity data which
30 shall include access through the largest nonproprietary,
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1 nonprofit cooperative public computer network. Access to
2 financial records submitted to the department shall be made
3 available via the home page or government locator page of the
4 Commonwealth.
5 Section 302. Implementation of electronic reporting system.
6 (a) Statewide candidates.--Beginning January 1, 1998, all
7 Statewide candidates and political committees created on behalf
8 of Statewide candidates required to file campaign finance
9 reports and that receive or spend $5,000 or more in any calendar
10 year shall file electronically.
11 (b) State candidates.--Beginning January 1, 1999, all State
12 candidates and political committees created on behalf of State
13 candidates required to file campaign finance reports and that
14 receive or spend $5,000 or more in any calendar shall file
15 electronically.
16 (c) Other political action committees.--Beginning January 1,
17 1999, all other political action committees required to register
18 and file campaign finance reports with the Commonwealth may file
19 electronic reports on a voluntary basis. Beginning January 1,
20 2000, electronic filing of these statements shall be mandatory.
21 (d) Backup reports and statements.--Filers specified in
22 subsections (a), (b) and (c) shall also file paper-generated
23 reports and statements as a form of backup until such time that
24 the department determines that filings pursuant to the
25 electronic filing system meet all pertinent filing and
26 disclosure requirements.
27 (e) Local agencies.--Local government agencies may enact
28 their own electronic filing requirements, provided the data
29 entry format is compatible with that developed by the
30 Commonwealth.
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1 CHAPTER 4
2 ENFORCEMENT
3 Section 401. Enforcement.
4 (a) False reports.--Any attempt to submit reports under a
5 false identity, or to alter data in transmission to the
6 department or received by the department shall be subject to the
7 penalties prescribed by the provisions of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4903
8 (relating to false swearing) for the falsification or tampering
9 with financial disclosure records.
10 (b) Aiding and abetting.--The remedies provided in
11 subsection (a) shall also apply to any person who purposely
12 causes any other person to violate any provision of this act or
13 who aids and abets any other person in a violation.
14 (c) Injunctive relief.--Any person residing in this
15 Commonwealth may sue for injunctive relief to enjoin violations
16 or to compel compliance with the provisions of this act. If a
17 judgment is entered against the defendant or defendants in an
18 action brought under this section, the plaintiff shall receive
19 50% of the amount recovered. The remaining 50% shall be
20 deposited in the General Fund of the Commonwealth. In an action
21 brought by a local civil prosecutor, 50% shall be deposited in
22 the account of the agency bringing the action and 50% shall be
23 paid to the General Fund of the Commonwealth.
24 CHAPTER 5
25 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
26 Section 501. Appropriation.
27 The sum of $375,000 is hereby appropriated to the Department
28 of State for the implementation of this act.
29 Section 502. Effective date.
30 This act shall take effect immediately.
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