GOVERNMENT BILL 112

 

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

An act to Revise the student body elective process as dealing with campaign finances

 

 

Section 1.        Student Body Statutes §7-4 shall be amended by striking:

 

§7-4.17. Spending Limits.

 

(a)Candidates may spend no more than the following in a general election:

Student Body President: $300

Student Senate President: $250

Student Body Treasurer: $250

Chief Justice: $250

Senator: $100

Other Elective Offices: $200

Department-level Elective Offices: $50

(b)For a run-off election, candidates may spend anew up to half the expense limit of the general election.

(c)Donations may not total more than half of the allowable expenses in each election and do not count towards the spending limit. Time, services, and/or materials donated by someone who normally charges shall count towards total donations.

 

§7-4.18. Frequency of Expense Reports.

 

(a)Candidates shall be required to submit an expense report by 5:00 PM each Monday class day between the All Candidates meeting and last general or run-off election they are a candidate in. Such a report must be accurate as of least 5:00PM the preceding Friday and include at least all expenses since the last report. Such weekly reports shall be required only for elective races with a spending limit of at least two hundred ($200) dollars.

(b)Candidates shall submit a final expense report no later than 9:00 AM the day after polls have closed. Such a report shall be comprehensive of all expenses of the campaign, regardless of date of expenditure. No candidate shall assume office until the final campaign expense sheet has been submitted and inspected.

 

§7-4.19. Filing of Expense Reports.

 

Expense reports shall be filed with the Board of Elections, via the Student Government Office, and shall include:

 

(a) expense sheets and worksheets from the Elections Packet; and

(b) original receipts for the final report or copies of receipts for a weekly report, provided that original receipts are available on request of the Commission.

 

§7-4.20. Availability of Expense Information.

 

Campaign expense sheets shall be considered public records, and any individual may have access to information contained in the sheets. The Commission shall cause the regular posting of expense information on the Elections Website.

 

§7-4.21. Expenses prior to All Candidates Meeting.

 

Any funds expended prior to the all candidates meeting shall be included in the campaign expense reports.

 

§7-4.22. Penalties Concerning Expenses.

 

(a) Failure to submit expense reports on time shall be a violation, and shall be brought to the attention of the commission by the chair;

(b) Falsifying information in an expense report is punishable by the Judicial Board.

 

§7-4.23. Joint Expenses.

 

Prior to expending funds on joint campaign expense, both candidates must file a joint campaign finance declaration, which shall be a public record. Joint expenses shall be considered any expense that, with the knowledge of both campaigns, benefits both campaigns by design. The joint expense may be divided amongst the campaigns at their own discretion. Once joint finance declarations are filed, both campaigns shall be liable for each other’s expense violations. This statute shall not limit campaigns from stating their endorsement of another candidate, unless such endorsement is the primary purpose of the purchased medium.

 

Section 2.        Student Body Statutes §7-4 shall be amended by inserting:

 

§7-4.18. Campaign Finances.

Any funds spent directly by a campaign, by others on behalf of or for a campaign,  the value of goods received as in kind gifts or donations, and the cost of any goods or services provided to voters shall be deemed to be campaign expenses and shall be accounted as delineated in these statutes.

 

§7-4.19. Expense Limits.

(a)  Candidates may expend, as defined in §7-4.17, the following in a general election:

                1.  Elected Student Body Officers   $400

                2.  Student Senator  $150

                3.  Department-Level Elective Offices  $75

                4.  Other Elective Offices $300

(b)  Candidates may expend, as defined in §7-4.17, the following in a run-off election:

                1.  Elected Student Body Officers   $200

                2.  Student Senator  $75

                3.  Department-Level Elective Offices  $37.50

                4.  Other Elective Offices $150

 

§7-4.20. Donations.

The value of any good or service donated to a campaign shall be deemed an elections expense and contribute towards the campaigns expense limit, as delineated in §7-4.18.  Value of a good or service shall be declared by a campaign in its weekly and final expense reports with documentation provided by the donor of the good or service attesting to the nature of the transfer and the value of said good or service.   The value should be declared by the donor to be as close to the estimated cost to produce a good or direct cost to render a service as possible.

 

§7-4.21. Discounts of Purchased Goods.

At no time shall it be deemed inappropriate for campaigns to negotiate discounts on any goods or services purchased.  However, if a discount reduces the cost beyond the value of the said good or service if it had been donated, the campaign shall declare the effective expense of the good or service to be the donation value.

 

§7-4.22.  Distribution of Items of Value.

Campaigns shall be free to distribute items to the electorate, provided that:

1.        There is no explicit or implicit quid pro quo of an item in exchange for a vote for a candidate or candidates.

2.        The number of items distributed must be reported in the weekly and final expense reports, with the value of an individual item being noted, as well as the total expense to the campaign.

 

§7-4.23.  Coupons.

Campaigns shall be free to distribute coupons in the manner proscribed in §7-4.21, provided that the candidate does so in partnership with a legitimate business, the business is following standard business practices, and no items are given away without purchase.

 

§7-4.24. Expenses prior to All Candidates Meeting.

Any campaign expenses prior to the all candidates meeting shall be included in the campaign expense reports and shall count towards the expense limit.

 

§7-4.25.  Joint Expenses.

Prior to making any joint campaign expense, both candidates must file a joint campaign finance declaration, which shall be a public record. No candidates may file a joint campaign declaration unless both campaigns are subject to the same expense limit. Joint expenses shall be considered any expense that, with the knowledge of both campaigns, benefits both campaigns by design. The joint expense may be divided amongst the campaigns at their own discretion. Once joint finance declarations are filed, both campaigns shall be liable for each other’s expense violations. This statute shall not limit campaigns from stating their endorsement of another candidate, unless such endorsement is the primary purpose of the purchased medium. 

 

§7-4.26. Frequency of Expense Reports.

(a) Candidates shall be required to submit an expense report by 5:00 PM each Monday class day between the All Candidates meeting and last general or run-off election they are a candidate in. Such a report must be accurate as of least 5:00PM the preceding Friday and include at least all expenses since the last report. Such weekly reports shall be required only for elective races with a spending limit of at least two hundred ($200) dollars.

(b) Candidates shall submit a final expense report no later than 9:00 AM the day after polls have closed. Such a report shall be comprehensive of all expenses of the campaign, regardless of date of expenditure. No candidate shall assume office until the final campaign expense sheet has been submitted and inspected.

 

§7-4.27.  Contents of Expense Reports.

Each weekly and final expense report shall contain:

(a)     Contributors and amount contributed during reporting period.

(b)     Amount expended during reporting period as delineated in §7-4.17 and original receipts for the final report or copies of receipts for a weekly report.

(c)     Copies of all donation materials as required in §7-4.20.

(d)     Tallies of distributed items.

(e)     Totals of all expenses to date.

 

§7-4.28. Filing of Expense Reports.

Expense reports shall be filed with the Board of Elections, via the Student Government Office.

 

§7-4.29. Availability of Expense Information.

All campaign expense filings shall be considered public records, and any individual may have access to information contained therein. The Commission shall cause the regular posting of expense information on the Elections Website.

 

§7-4.30. Penalties Concerning Expenses.

(a) Failure to submit expense reports on time shall be a violation, and shall be brought to the attention of the commission by the chair;

(b) Falsifying information in an expense report is punishable by the Judicial Board, in addition to being adjudicated by the Elections Commission through the violations process.

 

Section 3.        This act shall be effective upon its enrollment.