1| HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION |
| |
2| STATE OF OKLAHOMA |
| |
3| 1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023) |
| |
4|COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE |
|FOR |
5|HOUSE BILL NO. 2682 By: Lepak |
| |
6| |
| |
7| COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE |
| |
8| An Act relating to elections; amending Section 1, |
| Chapter 194, O.S.L. 2022 (26 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section |
9| 7-139), which relates to the Prohibit the Private |
| Funding of Elections Act; prohibiting the |
10| contribution, donation, or anything of value for |
| purposes of conducting an election; providing |
11| exceptions; modifying penalties; and providing an |
| effective date. |
12| |
| |
13| |
| |
14|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: |
| |
15| SECTION 1. AMENDATORY Section 1, Chapter 194, O.S.L. |
| |
16|2022 (26 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 7-139), is amended to read as |
| |
17|follows: |
| |
18| Section 7-139. A. This act shall be known and may be cited as |
| |
19|the "Prohibit the Private Funding of Elections Act". |
| |
20| B. As used in this section: |
| |
21| 1. "Person" means any individual, proprietorship, firm, |
| |
22|partnership, joint venture, syndicate, labor union, business trust, |
| |
23|company, association, committee, corporation, whether or not |
| |
24|operated for profit, or any other organization or group of persons |
| |
arsid3212285 HB2682 HFLR Page 1
___________________________________________________________________________
1|acting in concert, or any other nongovernmental third-party entity; |
| |
2|and |
| |
3| 2. "Public funds" means funds derived from taxes, fees, |
| |
4|including candidate filing fees, and other sources of public revenue |
| |
5|lawfully appropriated or expended by Congress, the Legislature, or |
| |
6|any other governmental entity, or funds from an entity that is |
| |
7|authorized to pay for an election pursuant to state law. |
| |
8| C. 1. All costs and expenses of conducting and administrating |
| |
9|elections shall be paid for with public funds; provided nothing in |
| |
10|this section shall apply to franchise elections described in |
| |
11|Sections 5(a) and 5(b) of Article XVIII of the Oklahoma |
| |
12|Constitution. |
| |
13| 2. No government official or election official shall solicit, |
| |
14|take, or otherwise accept from any person, any contribution, |
| |
15|donation, or anything else of value for purposes of conducting or |
| |
16|administrating any election pursuant to the provisions of Title 26 |
| |
17|of the Oklahoma Statutes; provided, donations this title. |
| |
18| 3. No person shall offer or provide any contribution, donation, |
| |
19|or anything else of value for purposes of conducting or |
| |
20|administrating any election pursuant to the provisions of this |
| |
21|title. |
| |
22| D. 1. For the purposes of this section, the following shall |
| |
23|not be considered a contribution, donation, or thing of value: |
| |
24| |
| |
arsid3212285 HB2682 HFLR Page 2
___________________________________________________________________________
1| a. providing space or property for use as a polling |
| |
2| place or in-person absentee voting site at no charge |
| |
3| or at a below-market cost, |
| |
4| b. persons who volunteer their labor as precinct |
| |
5| officials, absentee voting board members, or as |
| |
6| election workers, |
| |
7| c. persons who volunteer their labor to assist the |
| |
8| county election board or the State Election Board |
| |
9| during candidate filing, on Election Day, during |
| |
10| in-person absentee voting, or at other times, |
| |
11| d. persons who serve as unpaid interns or who volunteer |
| |
12| their labor to receive community service credit or |
| |
13| school credit, |
| |
14| e. food or beverage items provided to precinct |
| |
15| officials, absentee voting board members, or election |
| |
16| officials, |
| |
17| f. items of nominal value including, but not limited to, |
| |
18| pens, sanitizer and cleaning supplies, or |
| |
19| g. airing or publication of public service announcements |
| |
20| or press releases issued by the State Election Board |
| |
21| or a county election board. |
| |
22| 2. Donations or contributions of a substantial value, but not |
| |
23|directly related to the administration of elections, may be accepted |
| |
24|by the Secretary of the State Election Board or secretary of the |
| |
arsid3212285 HB2682 HFLR Page 3
___________________________________________________________________________
1|county election board only upon written approval by the Governor and |
| |
2|written notification sent to the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of |
| |
3|Representatives and President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State |
| |
4|Senate. |
| |
5| D. Any person's |
| |
6| E. A willful and intentional violation of the this act shall be |
| |
7|punishable as follows: |
| |
8| 1. A first violation of this act shall constitute a misdemeanor |
| |
9|and, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not to exceed Five |
| |
10|Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00). |
| |
11| 2. A second violation of this act shall constitute a |
| |
12|misdemeanor and, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine not to |
| |
13|exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). |
| |
14| 3. A third or any subsequent violation of this act shall |
| |
15|constitute a felony and, upon conviction, be punishable by a fine |
| |
16|not to exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), or by |
| |
17|imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a |
| |
18|term of not less than two (2) years nor more than five (5) years, or |
| |
19|by both such fine and imprisonment. |
| |
20| SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023. |
| |
21| |
| |
22|COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND ETHICS, dated |
|03/01/2023 - DO PASS, As Amended. |
23| |
| |
24| |
| |
arsid3212285 HB2682 HFLR Page 4
