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PRINTER'S NO. 2206
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1661
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY RABB, SOLOMON, OTTEN, ZABEL, HILL-EVANS, CIRESI
AND MADDEN, JUNE 19, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JUNE 19, 2019
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
"An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
and defining membership of county boards of elections;
imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
elections," in dates of elections and primaries and special
elections, further providing for nominations for special
election for Representative in Congress, Senator and
Representative in the General Assembly and member of council
or legislative body of cities, boroughs, towns and townships,
providing for special election for Senator or Representative
in General Assembly, creating the Special Election Fund and
imposing duties on the Department of State.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 629 of the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333,
No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, is amended to
read:
Section 629. Nominations for Special Election for
Representative in Congress, Senator and Representative in the
General Assembly and Member of Council or Legislative Body of
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Cities, Boroughs, Towns and Townships.--[Candidates] Subject to
section 629.1 of this act, candidates to fill vacancies in the
offices of Representative in Congress, Senator and
Representative in the General Assembly and member of the council
or legislative body of any city, borough, town or township shall
be nominated by political parties, in accordance with the party
rules relating to the filling of vacancies, by means of
nomination certificates, in the form prescribed in section 630
of this act; and by political bodies, by means of nomination
papers, in accordance with the provisions of sections 951, 952
and 954 of this act. Said nomination certificates and nomination
papers for the office of Representative in Congress, Senator and
Representative in the General Assembly shall be filed in the
office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth not later than fifty
(50) days prior to the date of the special election, and for the
office of member of the council or legislative body of a city,
borough, town or township, in the office of the county board of
elections wherein such city, borough, town or township is
situate, not later than fifteen (15) days after the issuance of
the writ of election.
Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 629.1. Special Election for Senator or
Representative in General Assembly.--(a) Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, an individual who seeks consideration as
a candidate in a special election for Senator or Representative
in the General Assembly shall do all of the following:
(1) File with the chairperson of the political party with
whom the individual is affiliated within each county in which
the legislative district is located, on a form prescribed by the
department, the following information:
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(i) The name of the individual.
(ii) The residence and contact information of the
individual, including, as applicable, street address, telephone
number and e-mail address.
(iii) The name of the office for which the individual seeks
to become a candidate in the special election.
(iv) Other information required by the department.
(2) Pay a filing fee in the amount of two hundred fifty
dollars ($250) to the fund, which the department shall
distribute on a pro rata basis to the political party of each
county in which the legislative district is located.
(3) Either of the following:
(i) Prepare a short video announcing the individual's
interest in becoming a candidate in the special election. The
following shall apply:
(A) The video shall be made available to be posted on the
department's publicly accessible Internet website and made
available for public broadcast on the Pennsylvania Cable Network
or its assigns or successors.
(B) The department shall determine whether it would be
appropriate to have the video posted or broadcast on another
form of media, including social media.
(C) The individual shall be responsible for all costs
associated with the preparation of the video and any costs
associated with the posting or broadcast of the video.
(D) For the purpose of enabling the general public to be
better informed regarding prospective candidates for the special
election, the video shall be available no fewer than ten (10)
days prior to the nomination of the candidate for the special
election and shall remain online or otherwise available to the
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general public until the date of the certification of the
candidate for the special election.
(ii) File with the chairperson of the political party with
whom the individual is affiliated within each county in which
the legislative district is located, on a form prescribed by the
department, a statement that the individual wishes to opt out of
preparing the video and having the video posted or broadcast
under subparagraph (i).
(b) Each chairperson of the political party described under
subsection (a)(1) shall schedule a public meeting of elected
party committee members from the legislative district to
consider each individual who seeks consideration as a candidate
in the special election. The following shall apply:
(1) The chairperson shall ensure that each voting district
in the county's legislative district which shall hold the
special election is fairly represented at the public meeting.
(2) For the purpose of conducting the public meeting, no
fewer than a majority of the elected committee members from each
voting district must be present at the public meeting.
(3) The public meeting shall be advertised in at least one
local newspaper of general circulation or on another local media
outlet no fewer than fourteen (14) days before the public
meeting and the nomination of the candidate for the special
election.
(c) The Special Election Fund is established as a separate
restricted account within the General Fund to distribute money
to county political parties as described in subsection (a)(2).
(d) The department shall develop forms and promulgate rules
and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this
section.
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(e) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of State of the Commonwealth.
"Fund." The Special Election Fund established under
subsection (c).
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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