Bill Text: MI SB0411 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced

Michigan Senate Bill 411 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Campaign finance; other; certain campaign contribution limits; reduce. Amends secs. 52, 52a & 69 of 1976 PA 388 (MCL 169.252 et seq.) & repeals sec. 46 of 1976 PA 388 (MCL 169.246).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-08-20 - Referred To Committee On Elections [SB0411 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2019-SB0411-Introduced.html

SENATE BILL No. 411

August 20, 2019, Introduced by Senators MCCANN, BAYER, IRWIN, ANANICH and GEISS and referred to the Committee on Elections.

A bill to amend 1976 PA 388, entitled

"Michigan campaign finance act,"

by amending sections 52, 52a, and 69 (MCL 169.252, 169.252a, and

169.269), section 52 as amended by 2015 PA 269 and sections 52a and

69 as amended by 2013 PA 252; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

Sec. 52. (1) Except as provided in subsection (5) or (11) and

subject to ~~section 46 and~~ subsection (8), a person other than an

independent committee or a political party committee shall not make

contributions to a candidate committee of a candidate for elective

office that, with respect to an election cycle, are more than the

following:

(a) ~~$6,800.00~~ $3,400.00 for a candidate for state elective

office other than the office of state legislator, or for a

candidate for local elective office if the district from which he

or she is seeking office has a population of more than 250,000.

(b) ~~$2,000.00~~ $1,000.00 for a candidate for state senator, or

for a candidate for local elective office if the district from

which he or she is seeking office has a population of more than

85,000 but 250,000 or less.

representative, or for a candidate for local elective office if the

district from which he or she is seeking office has a population of

85,000 or less.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and

subsection (12), an independent committee shall not make

contributions to a candidate committee of a candidate for elective

office that, in the aggregate for that election cycle, are more

than 10 times the amount permitted a person other than an

independent committee or political party committee in subsection

(1). A house political party caucus committee or a senate political

party caucus committee is not limited under this subsection in the

amount of contributions made to the candidate committee of a

candidate for the office of state legislator, except as follows:

(a) A house political party caucus committee or a senate

political party caucus committee shall not pay a debt incurred by a

candidate if that debt was incurred while the candidate was seeking

nomination at a primary election and the candidate was opposed at

that primary.

(b) A house political party caucus committee or a senate

political party caucus committee shall not make a contribution to

or make an expenditure on behalf of a candidate if that candidate

is seeking nomination at a primary election and the candidate is

opposed at that primary.

(3) A political party committee other than a state central

committee shall not make contributions to the candidate committee

of a candidate for elective office that are more than 10 times the

amount permitted a person other than an independent committee or

political party committee in subsection (1).

(4) A state central committee of a political party shall not

make contributions to the candidate committee of a candidate for

state elective office other than a candidate for the legislature

that are more than 20 times the amount permitted a person other

than an independent committee or political party committee in

subsection (1). A state central committee of a political party

shall not make contributions to the candidate committee of a

candidate for state senator, state representative, or local

elective office that are more than 10 times the amount permitted a

person other than an independent committee or political party

committee in subsection (1).

(5) A contribution from a member of a candidate's immediate

family to the candidate committee of that candidate is exempt from

the limitations of subsection (1).

(6) Consistent with the provisions of this section, a

contribution designated in writing for a particular election cycle

is considered made for that election cycle. A contribution made

after the close of a particular election cycle and designated in

writing for that election cycle ~~shall~~ must be made only to the

extent that the contribution does not exceed the candidate

committee's net outstanding debts and obligations from the election

cycle so designated. If a contribution is not designated in writing

for a particular election cycle, all of the following apply to that

contribution:

(a) The contribution is considered made for the election cycle

that corresponds to the date of the written instrument.

(b) The contribution limits for the current election cycle

apply to that contribution.

outstanding debts and obligations from a previous election cycle

regardless of whether the contribution, when aggregated with any

contributions made in that previous election cycle, would exceed

the contribution limits for that previous election cycle.

(7) A candidate committee, a candidate, or a treasurer or

agent of a candidate committee shall not accept a contribution with

respect to an election cycle that exceeds the limitations in

subsection (1), (2), (3), (4), (11), or (12).

(8) The contribution limits in subsection (1) for a candidate

for local elective office are effective on the effective date of

the amendatory act that provides for those contribution limits,

however, only contributions received by that candidate on and after

that date ~~shall~~ may be used to determine if the contribution limit

has been reached.

(9) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of

a misdemeanor punishable, if the person is an individual, by a fine

of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 90

days, or both, or, if the person is not an individual, by a fine of

not more than $10,000.00.

(10) For purposes of the limitations provided in subsections

(1) and (2), all contributions made by political committees or

independent committees established by any corporation, joint stock

company, domestic dependent sovereign, or labor organization,

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

local unit thereof, ~~shall be~~ are considered to have been made by a

single independent committee. By way of illustration and not

limitation, all of the following apply as a result of the

application of this requirement:

(a) All of the political committees and independent committees

established by a for profit corporation or joint stock company, by

a subsidiary of the for profit corporation or joint stock company,

or by any combination thereof, are treated as a single independent

committee.

(b) All of the political committees and independent committees

established by a single national or international labor

organization, by a labor organization of that national or

international labor organization, by a local labor organization of

that national or international labor organization, or by any other

subordinate organization of that national or international labor

organization, or by any combination thereof, are treated as a

single independent committee.

established by an organization of national or international unions,

by a state central body of that organization, by a local central

body of that organization, or by any combination thereof, are

treated as a single independent committee.

(d) All of the political committees and independent committees

established by a nonprofit corporation, by a related state entity

of that nonprofit corporation, by a related local entity of that

nonprofit corporation, or by any combination thereof, are treated

as a single independent committee.

(11) The limitation on a political committee's contributions

under subsection (1) does not apply to contributions that are part

of 1 or more bundled contributions delivered to the candidate

committee of a candidate for statewide elective office and that are

attributed to the political committee as prescribed in section 31.

A political committee shall not make contributions to a candidate

committee of a candidate for statewide elective office that are

part of 1 or more bundled contributions delivered to that candidate

committee, that are attributed to the political committee as

prescribed in section 31, and that, in the aggregate for that

election cycle, are more than the amount permitted a person other

than an independent committee or political party committee in

subsection (1).

(12) The limitation on an independent committee's

contributions under subsection (2) does not apply to contributions

that are part of 1 or more bundled contributions delivered to the

candidate committee of a candidate for statewide elective office

and that are attributed to the independent committee as prescribed

in section 31. An independent committee shall not make

contributions to a candidate committee of a candidate for statewide

elective office that are part of 1 or more bundled contributions

delivered to that candidate committee, that are attributed to the

independent committee as prescribed in section 31, and that, in the

aggregate for that election cycle, are more than 10 times the

amount permitted a person other than an independent committee or

political party committee in subsection (1).

Sec. 52a. (1) ~~Subject to section 46, a~~ A person shall not make

contributions to a house political party caucus committee or a

senate political party caucus committee that exceed $40,000.00 in a

calendar year. A house political party caucus committee or a senate

political party caucus committee or a treasurer or agent of the

committee shall not accept a contribution with respect to a 2-year

election cycle that exceeds the limitation in this section.

(2) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of

a misdemeanor punishable, if the person is an individual, by a fine

of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 90

days, or both, or, if the person is not an individual, by a fine of

not more than $10,000.00.

Sec. 69. (1) Except as provided in subsection (6) or (10), ~~and~~

~~subject to section 46,~~ a person other than an independent committee

or a political party committee shall not make contributions to a

candidate committee of a candidate that are more than ~~$6,800.00~~

$3,400.00 in value for an election cycle.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (11), an independent

committee shall not make contributions to a candidate committee

that for an election cycle are more than 10 times the amount

permitted a person other than an independent committee or political

party committee in subsection (1).

(3) A political party committee that is a state central

committee shall not make contributions to a candidate committee

that for an election cycle are more than $750,000.00.

(4) A political party committee that is a congressional

district or county committee shall not make contributions to a

candidate committee that for an election cycle are more than

$30,000.00.

(5) A candidate committee, a candidate, or a treasurer or

agent shall not accept a contribution with respect to an election

cycle that exceeds a limitation in subsections (1) to (4), or (10).

(6) As used in this subsection, "immediate family" means a

spouse, parent, brother, sister, son, or daughter. A candidate and

members of that candidate's immediate family may not contribute in

total to that person's candidate committee an amount that is more

than $50,000.00 in value for an election cycle.

(7) Sections 5(3) and 52(6) apply to determining when an

election cycle begins and ends and to which election cycle a

particular contribution is attributed.

(8) The candidate committee of a candidate for governor that

does not apply for funds from the state campaign fund and that

accepts from the candidate and the candidate's immediate family

contributions that total for an election cycle more than

$340,000.00 shall notify the secretary of state in writing within

48 hours after receipt of this amount. Within 2 business days after

receipt of this notice, the secretary of state shall send notice to

all candidates who are either seeking the same nomination, in the

case of a primary election, or election to that same office, in the

case of a general election, informing those candidate committees of

all of the following:

(a) That the expenditure limits provided in section 67 are

waived for the remainder of that election for those notified

candidate committees that receive funds from the state campaign

fund under this act.

(b) That the expenditure limits of section 67 are not waived

for the purpose of determining the amount of public funds available

to a candidate under section 64 or 65.

(9) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of

a misdemeanor punishable, if the person is an individual, by a fine

of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 90

days, or both, or, if the person is not an individual, by a fine of

not more than $10,000.00.

(10) The limitation on a political committee's contributions