PRINTER'S NO. 874

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

795

Session of

2019

INTRODUCED BY DERMODY, A. DAVIS, DONATUCCI, HARKINS, SIMS,

McNEILL, SAPPEY, MURT, CALTAGIRONE, SCHLOSSBERG, KINSEY,

ZABEL, ISAACSON, YOUNGBLOOD, SOLOMON, ROEBUCK, HILL-EVANS,

"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 Secretary of the Commonwealth, further

filing fees and certificates of filing, for contributions or

expenditures by national banks, corporations or

unincorporated associations and for reports by business

entities and publication and providing for independent

expenditures and for independent expenditure evaluation; and

providing for corporate political accountability.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. The General Assembly finds and declares that:

can be prevented by regulating the contributions that can be

made to elected governmental officials and candidates who are

seeking governmental offices.

Section 2. Section 201 of the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333,

No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, is amended by

adding a subsection to read:

Section 201. Powers and Duties of the Secretary of the

Commonwealth.--The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall exercise

in the manner provided by this act all powers granted to him by

section is amended by adding subsections to read:

Section 1621. Definitions.--As used in this article, the

following words have the following meanings:

* * *

(d) The word "expenditure" shall mean any of the following:

(1) The payment, distribution, loan or advancement of money

or any valuable thing by a candidate, candidate committee,

political committee, political action committee, political party

expenditure of funds from campaign accounts shall be used for

any personal purpose.

(2) The payment, distribution, loan, advance or transfer of

money or other valuable thing between or among political

committees[;].

(3) The providing of a service or other valuable thing for

the purpose of influencing the outcome of a nomination or

election of any person to any public office to be voted for in

this Commonwealth[; or].

(4) The payment or providing of money or other valuable

(1) Any committee established or authorized by a candidate

as part of his or her campaign for a specific campaign for a

designated office.

(2) Any committee established, financed, maintained or

controlled by the same corporation, labor organization,

membership association, not-for-profit organization or trade or

professional association, person or group of persons, including

any parent, subsidiary, branch, division, department or local

accounting services rendered to or on behalf of any political

committee of a political party, an authorized committee of a

candidate or any other political committee, if such services are

solely for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this article.

Such legal or accounting services, however, shall be reported

pursuant to section 1631.

(p) The words "personal purpose" shall mean a purpose that,

by its nature, confers a personal benefit, including

expenditures such as a home mortgage, home rent, utility

payment, clothing purchase, noncampaign automobile expense,

(1) the name of the candidate appears;

(2) a photograph, drawing or other image of the candidate

appears; or

(3) the identity of the candidate or ballot question is

apparent by unambiguous reference.

(r) The word "person" shall include any corporation,

partnership, limited liability company, business trust, other

association, government entity, other than the Commonwealth,

(a) Every political committee shall have a treasurer and a

chairman. No contribution shall be received nor shall any

expenditure be made when there is a vacancy in either one of

these offices. All money received and disbursed by a political

committee must be done through the treasurer of the committee.

(b) Every candidate who authorizes a committee [or

committees,] to receive and disburse funds on behalf of this

candidacy, shall name a sole treasurer[, irrespective of the

number of committees so authorized,] to receive and disburse all

funds [for] of said [committees. Nothing herein shall be

delegate authority, in writing, to any number of assistant

treasurers to receive and disburse moneys collected on behalf of

a candidate for election. Nothing in this section shall prohibit

authorized individuals from selling tickets or soliciting funds

when funds are deposited in the campaign account of the

candidate] committee.

(c) Each candidate and committee shall keep records of the

names and addresses of each person from whom a contribution of

political committee or candidate shall turn such contributions

over to the treasurer of that committee or the candidate within

ten (10) days of its receipt.

Section 1624. Registration.--

(a) Any political committee which receives contributions in

an aggregate amount of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or more

shall file a registration statement, designed by the Secretary

of the Commonwealth, with the appropriate supervisor within

twenty (20) days after the date on which it receives such

amount. [Each committee in existence shall have sixty (60) days

(2) The name, address and phone number of the committee's

treasurer.

(3) The name, address and phone number of the committee's

chairman.

(4) The names, addresses and relationships of other

affiliated or connected organizations.

(5) The candidates, if any, and their names and addresses.

(6) The ballot question, if any, which the committee intends

corporation, labor organization, membership association, not-

for-profit organization or trade or professional association

shall include in its registered name the full name of its

sponsoring organization.

(c) The committee shall inform the appropriate supervisor of

any changes in the information contained in subsection (b)

within thirty (30) days of that change.

(d) No political committee which receives an aggregate

amount of contributions of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or

more may make a contribution to any candidate or political

Section 5. Section 1626(a), (b), (d) and (g) of the act are

amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to

forms, designed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, if the

amount received or expended or liabilities incurred shall exceed

the sum of two hundred fifty dollars ($250). Should such an

amount not exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250), then the

section by signing an affidavit to that effect on his or her

political committee's report or statement.

(b) Each report shall include the following information:

(1) The full name, mailing address, specific occupation and

specific name of the employer, if any, or the principal place of

business, if self-employed, of each person who has made one or

more contributions to or for such committee or candidate within

the reporting period in an aggregate amount or value in excess

of [two hundred fifty dollars ($250)] one hundred dollars

($100), together with the amount and date of such contributions.

dollars ($50), together with the amount and date of such

contributions. The accuracy of the information furnished by the

contributor shall be the responsibility of the contributor.

(3) The total sum of individual contributions made to or for

such committee or candidate during the reporting period and not

reported under clauses (1) and (2).

(4) Each and every expenditure, the date made, the full name

and address of the person to whom made and the purpose for which

entity. In the event the payment is being made by a committee to

a creditor for expenses on behalf of one or more candidates, the

amounts of payments and purposes of the payments shall be broken

down to identify each candidate's share of the incurred

expenses.

(5) Any unpaid debts and liabilities, with the nature and

amount of each, the date incurred and the full name and address

of the person owed.

(6) The account shall include any unexpended balance of

contributions or other receipts appearing from the last account

providing notice to the electronic transfer of funds.

(ii) The official registration number of the committee shall

be included on the disclosure report filed by the committee.

(iii) The official committee registration number shall be

included on each entry for that committee on a candidate's

disclosure report.

* * *

campaign committee packets prepared by the department.

the immediately preceeding election through midnight on the day

of the election.

(n) For purposes of this section, contribution limits shall

apply to each election separately, whether a primary, special,

municipal or general election, unless another limit is

specified.

(o) No person who has a fiduciary contract for services with

the General Assembly may engage in campaign finance activity for

candidates for the offices of Senator or Representative in the

General Assembly, including, but not limited to, making of

municipality's jurisdiction.

(q) A violation of the contribution limits imposed by this

section shall subject the violator to a fine equal to three

times the amount of money that exceeds the limits. This penalty

applies to both the person making the contribution and the

person receiving the contribution.

(r) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall biennially

adjust to the nearest one hundred dollars ($100) the limits in

United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(s) The limitations imposed by this section shall not apply

to contributions from a candidate's personal resources to the

candidate's political committee or a political action committee

acting on behalf of the candidate.

Section 7. Sections 1632(a) and 1633(a) of the act are

amended to read:

Section 1632. Late Filing Fee; Certificate of Filing.--

(a) A late filing fee for each report or statement of

expenditures and contributions which is not filed within the

prescribed period shall be imposed as follows. Such fee shall be

[ten dollars ($10)] twenty dollars ($20) for each day or part of

overdue. An additional fee of ten dollars ($10) is due for each

fees have been paid upon the receipt by the supervisor of an

overdue report. No further late filing fees shall be incurred

once the report or statement is filed notwithstanding the fact

that the report or statement is not considered filed. The late

filing fee is the personal liability of the candidate or

first class mail and is postmarked by the United States Postal

Service on the day prior to the final day on which the report or

statement is to be received: Provided, That this sentence shall

not be applicable to the reporting requirements contained in

section 1628. All Department of State filing and disclosure

requirements for prior campaign activity must be satisfied in

order for a candidate to obtain a place on the ballot.

* * *

Section 1633. Contributions or Expenditures by National

Banks, Corporations or Unincorporated Associations.--(a) (1)

any candidate or for any political purpose whatever except in

connection with any question to be voted on by the electors of

this Commonwealth. Furthermore, it shall be unlawful for any

candidate, political committee, or other person to knowingly

accept or receive any contribution prohibited by this section,

or for any officer or any director of any corporation, bank, or

any unincorporated association to consent to any contribution or

expenditure by the corporation, bank or unincorporated

currently subject to this section.

* * *

Section 8. Section 1641(a) of the act is amended and the

section is amended by adding a subsection to read:

Section 1641. Reports by Business Entities; Publication by

Secretary of the Commonwealth.--

(a) Any business entity including but not limited to a

corporation, company, association, partnership or sole

proprietorship, which has been awarded [non-bid] contracts or

grants over fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) from the

Commonwealth or its political subdivisions during the preceding

[calendar year] two-year period, shall report by February 15 of

the amount of the contract, description of the service provided

partner, individual owner or members of their immediate family

when the contributions exceed an aggregate of one thousand

dollars ($1,000) by any individual during the preceding year; or

(2) any employe or members of his immediate family whose

aggregate political [contribution] contributions exceeded one

business entities, corporations, companies, associations,

partnerships or sole proprietorships receiving grants, contracts

and contracts in excess of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) from

the Commonwealth not later than January 31 of each year for the

preceding two-year period. The list shall be updated quarterly.

Section 9. The act is amended by adding sections to read:

Section 1643. Independent Expenditures.--

(a) A person may make independent expenditures for the

purposes of advocating the election or defeat of a clearly

identified candidate or ballot question.

(b) The following shall apply to expenditures made for a

written, typed or other printed communication or a web-based,

written communication which promotes the success or defeat of a

committee or candidate's agent.

(2) No group of two or more individuals acting together that

receives funds or makes or incurs expenditures not exceeding one

thousand dollars ($1,000) in the aggregate which have not formed

a political committee shall make or incur an independent

individual.

(ii) For a committee other than a party committee, the name

of the committee and its campaign treasurer.

(iii) For a party committee, the name of the committee.

(iv) For a group of two or more individuals that received

funds or makes or incurs expenditures not exceeding one thousand

dollars ($1,000) in the aggregate which have not formed a

political committee, the name of the group and the name and

address of its agent.

(2) The words "approved by" and one of the following:

(c) Expenditures:

(1) The following apply:

(i) No person shall make or incur an independent expenditure

for a written, typed or other printed communication or a web-

based, written communication which promotes the success or

defeat of a candidate for nomination or election or promotes or

opposes a political party or solicits funds to benefit a

political party or committee, unless the communication bears

section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-

514, 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.) or an incorporated tax-exempt

political organization organized under section 527 of the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986, making or incurring an

independent expenditure under subparagraph (i), shall also bear

upon the face of the communication the words "Top Five

Contributors" followed by a list of the five persons making the

largest contributions to the organization during the twelve-

month period before the date of the communication.

(2) Disclosure requirements are as follows:

committee, unless at the end of the advertisement there appears

or includes simultaneously for a period of no less than four

seconds a clear identifiable audio, video, photographic or

similar image of the person's chief executive officer or

equivalent and a personal audio message, in the following form:

I am . . . (name of person's chief executive officer or

equivalent), . . . (title) of . . . (entity). This message

was made independently of any candidate, political committee

the advertisement an easily readable written message in the

following form:

The Top Five Contributors to the organization for this

advertisement are followed by a list of the five persons

making the largest contributions to the organization during

the twelve-month period before the date of the communication.

Section 1644. Independent Expenditure Evaluation.--

(a) When the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and

Legislation audits and evaluates an expenditure that is included

in a report under section 1643 to determine whether the

understanding with a candidate or political committee or other

agent acting on behalf of a candidate or political committee.

(2) An expenditure made by a person for the production,

dissemination, distribution or publication, in whole or in

substantial part, of a broadcast or a written, graphic or other

form of political advertising or campaign communications

prepared by a candidate or political committee or a consultant

or other agent acting on behalf of a candidate or political

made.

(4) An expenditure made by an individual who, in the same

election cycle, is serving or has served as the campaign

chairperson, campaign treasurer or deputy treasurer of a

political committee benefiting from the expenditure, or another

executive or policymaking position, including as a member,

employe, fundraiser, consultant or other agent acting on behalf

of a candidate or political committee.

(5) An expenditure made by a person whose officer, director,

member, employe, fundraiser, consultant or other agent who

(6) An expenditure made by a person for:

(i) fundraising activities with or for a candidate or

political committee or a consultant or other agent acting on

behalf of a candidate or political committee; or

(ii) the solicitation or receipt of contributions on behalf

of a candidate or political committee or a consultant or other

agent acting on behalf of a candidate or political committee.

(7) An expenditure made by a person based on information

making the expenditure.

(8) An expenditure made by a person for a communication that

clearly identifies a candidate or political committee during an

election campaign if the person making the expenditure, or the

person's agent, has informed the candidate who benefits from the

expenditure that the candidate or political committee or a

consultant or other agent acting on behalf of the benefiting

candidate or political committee concerning the communications

content, or of the intended audience, timing, location or mode

or frequency of the dissemination.

in the same election.

(b) As used in this section, the words "agent acting on

behalf of a candidate" include:

(1) an individual or a person paid by a candidate or a

candidate committee; and

(2) any consultant, printing firm, media production company,

Internet website director or webmaster, marketing firm,

(i) The date of the contributions or expenditures.

(v) If the contributions or expenditures were made

(vi) If the contributions or expenditures were made

corporation incorporated in this Commonwealth to shareholders

shall be public records.

shall be:

(i) submitted to the department; and

(ii) posted for at least one year on the

filed under this section shall be filed in electronic form using

filing software approved or developed by the department in

addition to filing in any other form that the department may

require by regulation and shall be published on the department's

publicly accessible Internet website.

(c) Format.--The department shall ensure that, to the

greatest extent practicable, the quarterly reports on political

activities are publicly available through the department's

publicly accessible Internet website in a format that can be

searched, sorted and downloaded.

of the department in meeting the reporting and disclosure

requirements of this article.

(b) Report.--No later than April 1 of each year, the

Department of the Auditor General shall submit to the Governor a

report on the review required by subsection (a) for the

preceding year.

Section 1606-A. Board approval for all corporate political

expenditures.

business or professional association at a regular or special

meeting thereof;

treasurer of a corporation whom the board has specifically

empowered to authorize such contributions or expenditures; or

resolution of the board of directors of a corporation to

authorize contributions or expenditures.

(b) Form of contribution.--No corporation, trade, business

or professional association shall make any contribution or

itself transact intrastate business, is subject to the

requirements of sections 1602-A, 1603-A, 1604-A and 1605-A, if:

as defined in section 401 of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6,

No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, with respect to

the foreign corporation, is more than 50% during its latest

full-income year; and

(b) Determination.--The determination of the property,

payroll and sales factors under subsection (a) with respect to

any parent corporation shall be made on a consolidated basis,

including in a unitary computation, after elimination of

intercompany transactions, the property, payroll and sales of

the parent and all of its subsidiaries in which it owns directly

or indirectly more than 50% of the outstanding shares entitled

to vote for the election of directors, but deducting a

percentage of the property, payroll and sales of any subsidiary

equal to the percentage minority ownership, if any, in the

outstanding. However, if the foreign corporation requests all

nominee holders to certify, with respect to all beneficial

owners for whom securities are held, the number of shares held

for those beneficial owners having addresses as shown on the

records of the nominee holder in this Commonwealth and outside

of this Commonwealth, then all shares so certified shall be

considered outstanding and held of record by persons having

addresses either in this Commonwealth or outside of this

(relating to obligation of registered brokers and dealers in

connection with the prompt forwarding of certain communications

to beneficial owners) or 240.14b-2(b)(3) (relating to obligation

of banks, associations and other entities that exercise

fiduciary powers in connection with the prompt forwarding of

certain communications to beneficial owners) promulgated under

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Public Law 48-881, 15

U.S.C. § 78a et seq.) shall constitute an acceptable

certification with respect to beneficial owners for the purposes

of this subsection.

Market, or any successor thereto.

qualifying shares, are owned directly or indirectly by a

corporation or corporations not subject to this section.

(d) Liability.--Any party who obtains a final determination

by a court of competent jurisdiction that the corporation failed

to provide to the party information required to be provided by

this article or provided the party information of the kind

provision of this act or its application to any person or

circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect

other provisions or applications of this act which can be given

effect without the invalid provision or application.

Section 12. A comprehensive, fully searchable and user-

friendly computerized database to track full implementation of

this act shall be made available to the public by the Department

of State through its publicly accessible Internet website on or

before December 31, 2020.

Section 13. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.