Bill: Draft Political Spending Transparency Act

[HatManMC]

CONGRESS OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF REDMONT​

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A BILL TO
IMPLEMENT TRANSPARENT SPENDING REPORTS FOR POLITICAL PARTIES & ELECTION CANDIDATES



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The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:


PART I — PRELIMINARIES

1. Short Title and Enactment

(1) This Act may be cited as the 'Political Spending Transparency Act' or the 'PSTA'.

(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon its signage.

(3) This Act has been authored by President Antonfr and Vice President-elect _GreyMC, with guidance from former Senator Stanley582.

(4) This Act has been sponsored by Speaker HatManMC, and co-sponsored by Deputy president of the Senate _GreyMC and Senator Lxi404.

(5) This Act amends the following Acts:

(a) Criminal Code Act

2. Reasons and Intent

(1) The purpose of this Act is to enhance transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the democratic process by requiring political parties, Political Action Committees, and election candidates to make timely and accurate disclosures of their political funding and spending.

(2) This Act seeks to prevent the concealment, misrepresentation, or improper management of political finances by giving citizens clear and reliable information on where political money comes from and how it is used.

3. Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) Political Party. A political party registered with the Department of State under §4.

(b) Spending Transparency Report. A financial report submitted by a Political Party, Political Action Committee, or Independent Candidate detailing all income, expenses, balances, and other financial information required under this Act during a Spending Transparency Period.

(c) Spending Transparency Period. The period of time covered by a Spending Transparency Report, as set out in §5(2).

(d) Readable and publicly accessible format. A format, such as a Google document or sheet, that is clearly titled, readable, and can be viewed by anyone without requesting access.

(e) Independent Candidate. A candidate not contesting office on the ticket of a Political Party, and instead contesting as an Independent.

(f) Politically Related Expenses. Any expenditure, transfer of funds, goods, or services made for the purpose of influencing an election or supporting or opposing a Political Party or Candidate.

(g) Politically Related Income. Any funds, donations, contributions, transfers, goods, or services received directly or indirectly for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election or supporting the political activities of a Political Party, Candidate, or Independent Candidate.

(h) Contribution. Any donation, transfer of funds, goods, or services provided to a Political Party, Candidate, Independent Candidate, or Political Action Committee for politically related purposes.

(i) Political Action Committee (PAC). An organisation registered with the Department of State under §8 whose primary purpose is to raise or expend funds for Politically Related Expenses, including making Contributions to Political Parties or Candidates and making Independent Expenditures.

(j) Candidate. A person contesting or elected to any federal or local public office.

(k) Independent Expenditure. A Politically Related Expense made without consultation, cooperation, coordination, or prior arrangement with a Political Party, Candidate, or their authorised representatives.

(l) Election Period. The period from the opening of declarations of candidacy for an election under the Redmont Electoral Act until the publication of that election's results under §12 of the Redmont Electoral Act.

(m) Responsible Officer. The person designated under §4(3) who is legally responsible for a Spending Transparency Report.

(2) Goods and services provided as Contributions or Politically Related Expenses shall be valued at their fair market price.

PART II — SPENDING TRANSPARENCY

4. Registration and Responsible Officers

(1) A political party shall register with the Department of State, by providing its name, abbreviation, party leader, and Responsible Officer, before any candidate may be officially affiliated with it under §6 of the Redmont Electoral Act.

(2) The Department of State shall maintain a publicly accessible register of all registered Political Parties and Political Action Committees, including the Responsible Officer of each.

(3) Every Political Party and Political Action Committee shall designate a Responsible Officer to the Department of State. Where no Responsible Officer has been designated, the party leader or the owner of the Political Action Committee shall be the Responsible Officer.

(4) An Independent Candidate shall be their own Responsible Officer.

(5) The Responsible Officer shall keep records supporting each Spending Transparency Report for at least three (3) months after it is submitted.

5. Spending Transparency Periods

(1) A Spending Transparency Report shall be prepared and submitted:

(a) Within seven (7) days after the publication of the results of an election, by a Political Party, Political Action Committee, or applicable Independent Candidate that spent or received three thousand dollars ($3,000) or more during that Election Period; and

(b) Within seven (7) days after the end of a calendar month, by a Political Party or Political Action Committee that spent or received three thousand dollars ($3,000) or more during that month.

(2) The Spending Transparency Period shall be:

(a) for reports under subsection (1)(a), the Election Period; or

(b) for reports under subsection (1)(b), the calendar month.

(3) No monthly report is required for a month in which a Political Party or Political Action Committee neither spent nor received three thousand dollars ($3,000) or more.

(4) A report under subsection (1)(a) is in addition to, and does not replace, the monthly reports under subsection (1)(b). A monthly report need not repeat transactions already listed in an election report, but shall refer to that report.

(5) The first Spending Transparency Period of any kind shall begin on the enactment of this Act. Nothing done before the enactment of this Act is required to be reported.

6. Spending Transparency Reports

(1) Every Political Party, every Political Action Committee, and every Independent Candidate required to submit a report under this Act shall, through its Responsible Officer, submit a Spending Transparency Report to the Department of State, except as otherwise provided for local elections under §11, containing:

(a) The total balance of the Political Party, Independent Candidate or Political Action Committee at the beginning of the Spending Transparency Period;

(b) The total balance of the Political Party, Independent Candidate or Political Action Committee at the end of the Spending Transparency Period;

(c) All Politically Related Expenses made during the Spending Transparency Period, including:

(i) The amount spent;

(ii) The recipient of the funds;

(iii) The purpose of the expenditure; and

(iv) The date of payment, if reasonably possible.

(d) All Politically Related Income received during the Spending Transparency Period, including but not limited to:

(i) The purpose of the income;

(ii) The amount received;

(iii) The source of the funds, and where a Contribution was passed on from or made on behalf of another person, that original contributor, or "anonymous" for anonymous Contributions permitted under §10; and

(iv) The date received, if reasonably possible.

(2) An Independent Candidate shall only be required to submit a Spending Transparency Report if they are or were:

(a) Contesting the Office of President;

(b) Elected to Congress or another federal office; or

(c) Elected to Town Government or another local office, where this Act applies to that town's local elections under §11.

(3) Independent Candidates are not subject to the monthly reports under §5(1)(b).

(4) A Candidate contesting office on the ticket of a Political Party shall either:

(a) route all of their Politically Related Income and Politically Related Expenses through that Political Party, to be included in its reports; or

(b) disclose them to the Political Party's Responsible Officer for inclusion in the Political Party's report.

(5) A Candidate under subsection (4) is responsible for providing accurate and complete information to the Responsible Officer before the report is due, and the Responsible Officer is responsible for including that information in the report as provided.

(6) Where a Candidate and the Responsible Officer disagree over any figure, the Responsible Officer shall include the Candidate's figure in the report and note the dispute, and the Candidate may submit a correcting statement to the Department of State, which shall be published alongside the report.

(7) A Spending Transparency Report submitted by a Political Action Committee shall also state whether each Politically Related Expense supported or opposed a Political Party or Candidate, and which one.

7. Publishing of Spending Transparency Reports

(1) The Department of State, or for local elections the authority under §11, shall neutrally publish Spending Transparency Reports in a readable and publicly accessible format.

(2) Reports shall be published:

(a) Within ten (10) days after the publication of the results of an election, for reports under §5(1)(a); or

(b) Within ten (10) days after the end of a calendar month, for reports under §5(1)(b).

(3) The Department of State may request supporting records from a Responsible Officer, and shall refer any apparent violation of this Act to the Department of Justice.

PART III — POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES

8. Registration of Political Action Committees

(1) A person, corporation, organisation, or association, other than a Political Party or Candidate, that makes Politically Related Expenses totalling three thousand dollars ($3,000) or more during an Election Period without acting through a Political Party or Candidate shall register as a Political Action Committee with the Department of State before making further expenditures.

(2) Any other organisation intending to raise or expend funds for politically related purposes may register as a Political Action Committee voluntarily.

(3) Any expenditure made prior to registration within the same Election Period shall also be disclosed in the first Spending Transparency Report submitted by the Political Action Committee.

9. Independence of Political Action Committees

(1) A Political Action Committee may:

(a) Make Contributions to Political Parties;

(b) Make Contributions to Candidates or Independent Candidates;

(c) Make Independent Expenditures supporting or opposing Political Parties, Candidates, or Independent Candidates.

(2) Contributions made under subsection (1)(a) and (1)(b) may be coordinated with the recipient and shall be reported by both the Political Action Committee and the receiving Political Party or Candidate.

(3) Independent Expenditures made under subsection (1)(c) shall not be coordinated with any Political Party, Candidate, Independent Candidate, or their authorised representatives.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), coordination includes:

(a) jointly planning advertisements or campaign activities;

(b) receiving strategic direction regarding expenditures;

(c) acting at the request of a Political Party or Candidate; or

(d) any substantially similar conduct.

(5) Independent Expenditures shall not be considered Contributions.

10. Anonymous Contributions

(1) An anonymous Contribution is a Contribution whose true contributor is not known to the recipient after reasonable steps to identify them, including a Contribution made through an intermediary, alternate account, or any other person in order to hide the true contributor.

(2) A recipient shall take reasonable steps to identify the contributor of every Contribution. Where the contributor is identified, the Contribution is not anonymous and shall be reported under that contributor's name, added together with any other Contributions known to come from them.

(3) This section sets two separate limits, both of which apply:

(a) a donor limit: no person may make anonymous Contributions totalling more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in a calendar month, counted across all recipients combined. Compliance with this limit is the responsibility of the donor; and

(b) a recipient limit: no Political Party, Candidate, Independent Candidate, or Political Action Committee may keep anonymous Contributions totalling more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in a calendar month, counted across all anonymous contributors combined. Compliance with this limit is the responsibility of the recipient.

(4) For the donor limit, Contributions made in several smaller amounts, or through several intermediaries or alternate accounts, by or on behalf of the same person shall be added together. A recipient is not responsible for a donor's breach of the donor limit that the recipient could not reasonably have known about.

(5) Once a recipient's anonymous Contributions for a calendar month exceed the recipient limit, the recipient shall, within seven (7) days, return each further anonymous Contribution to its sender or, where it cannot be returned, transfer it to the Commonwealth Treasury, and shall note each return or transfer in its next Spending Transparency Report. A recipient who does so does not breach this section.

(6) A suspected breach of the donor limit shall be referred to the Department of Justice under §7(3).

PART IV — TOWN RIGHTS

11. Town Rights

(1) This Act shall not apply to local elections in a town unless that town opts in by by-law.

(2) A town that opts in under subsection (1) may, by by-law, establish additional requirements or alter the requirements of this Act for its local elections, including:

(a) The recipient and/or publisher of Spending Transparency Reports;

(b) The requirements and deadlines for submitting reports; and

(c) The contents and format of reports.

(3) Where a town has opted in and its by-laws do not provide otherwise, reports shall be submitted to and published by the Mayor's office, or the town's chief executive office where there is no Mayor.

(4) A town that opts in may not remove the requirement that Spending Transparency Reports be published in a readable and publicly accessible format.

PART V — ENFORCEMENT

12. Amendments to the Criminal Code Act

(1) The following offences shall be appended to PART II: PROPER ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNMENT of the Criminal Code Act:

"11 - Misrepresentation or Concealment of Political Spending
Offence Type: Indictable
Penalty: Up to 200 Penalty Units; Removal from office for up to 1 month
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) knowingly conceals, misrepresents, or fails to disclose information required in a Spending Transparency Report, or required to be provided to a Responsible Officer, under the Political Spending Transparency Act; or
(b) knowingly submits false or misleading information in a Spending Transparency Report under the Political Spending Transparency Act; or
(c) knowingly makes or keeps anonymous Contributions in breach of §10 of the Political Spending Transparency Act, including by dividing them into smaller amounts or routing them through intermediaries or alternate accounts.
It is a defence to a charge under this section if the person:
(d) in the case of a charge under (a) or (b), shows that the error or omission, whether minor or material, was not deliberate and that they corrected it, or where correction was not possible notified the Department of State of it, within seven (7) days of discovering it.
Relevant Law: Act of Congress - Political Spending Transparency Act

12 - Failure to Register as a Political Action Committee
Offence Type: Indictable
Penalty: Up to 150 Penalty Units; Removal from office for up to 1 month
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) knowingly continues to make Politically Related Expenses after being required to register as a Political Action Committee without completing such registration; or
(b) attempts to avoid registration as a Political Action Committee by concealing, dividing, or otherwise structuring expenditures to prevent the total amount of Politically Related Expenses from reaching the registration threshold.
Relevant Law: Act of Congress - Political Spending Transparency Act

13 - Late Spending Transparency Report
Offence Type: Summary
Penalty: 5 Penalty Units per day late, up to 50 Penalty Units
A person commits an offence if the person:
(a) is the Responsible Officer for a Spending Transparency Report required under the Political Spending Transparency Act, and fails without reasonable excuse to submit the report by its deadline.
It is a defence to a charge under this section if the person:
(b) took all reasonable steps to submit the report on time, and submitted it as soon as reasonably possible after the cause of the delay ended.
Relevant Law: Act of Congress - Political Spending Transparency Act"