Text: SF00404 Text: SF00406 Text: SF00400 - SF00499 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 56.14A FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES
1 2 – VOLUNTARY PLEDGE.
1 3 1. A candidate for legislative office may, at the time
1 4 that the candidate's committee files a statement of
1 5 organization with the board, pledge to engage in the following
1 6 fair campaign practices:
1 7 a. Voluntarily limiting campaign expenditures as provided
1 8 in this section.
1 9 b. Publishing or authorizing the publication of only those
1 10 statements regarding the candidate's opponent that are true
1 11 and accurately represent the opponent's positions or record.
1 12 2. If a candidate for legislative office pledges to engage
1 13 in fair campaign practices, the candidate may include, on any
1 14 published campaign material or as part of any oral or written
1 15 statement, an affirmative statement that the candidate has
1 16 entered into a voluntary agreement with the board to engage in
1 17 only fair campaign practices. A candidate who fails to abide
1 18 by the terms of the pledge, as determined by the board, shall
1 19 not be permitted to include the statement on any material or
1 20 in any statement. Section 56.16 shall not apply to a failure
1 21 to abide by the terms of the pledge.
1 22 3. For purposes of this section, the maximum expenditure
1 23 levels which are established for a candidate by the candidate
1 24 and the board shall not exceed an amount which equals twice
1 25 the annual salary for the legislative office sought.
1 26 4. The board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A
1 27 that establish standards for determining whether a statement
1 28 is deemed untruthful or misleading. The standards shall
1 29 include, but are not limited to, standards that deem all of
1 30 the following types of statements as false or misleading:
1 31 a. Willful false identification of information sources.
1 32 b. Issuance of statements under the name of another person
1 33 without authorization.
1 34 c. False statements regarding a person's or publication's
1 35 endorsement of or opposition to a candidate.
2 1 d. False statements regarding a candidate's education,
2 2 training, professional licensure, occupational history,
2 3 criminal record, mental or physical health, or voting record.
2 4 5. The board shall also adopt a logo which a candidate who
2 5 agrees to take the pledge to engage in fair campaign practices
2 6 may display on any political material published or distributed
2 7 by or on behalf of the candidate.
2 8 EXPLANATION
2 9 This bill permits candidates to take a voluntary pledge at
2 10 the time that the candidate's committee files a statement of
2 11 organization with the ethics and campaign disclosure board to
2 12 engage in fair campaign practices. The pledge includes an
2 13 agreement between the candidate and the board to voluntarily
2 14 limit the candidate's campaign expenditures and a pledge to
2 15 only publish or authorize the publication of statements which
2 16 are true and accurately represent the candidate's opponent's
2 17 positions or record. A candidate who enters into the pledge
2 18 may include on any material published or as part of any
2 19 statement made by the candidate a statement which says that
2 20 the candidate has voluntarily agreed to engage in only fair
2 21 campaign practices. If a candidate does not abide by the
2 22 terms of the pledge, the candidate may no longer include the
2 23 fair campaign practices statement on campaign material or
2 24 statements. No other penalties apply to the failure to abide
2 25 by the terms of the pledge.
2 26 The bill establishes a ceiling on the amount that the board
2 27 and the candidate can agree to as permissible campaign
2 28 expenditure amounts. The bill also requires the ethics and
2 29 campaign disclosure board to adopt rules which establish
2 30 standards for determining whether a statement is false or
2 31 misleading and provides a list of types of statements that are
2 32 to be deemed false or misleading.
2 33 LSB 2313SS 77
2 34 lh/jw/5
Text: SF00404 Text: SF00406 Text: SF00400 - SF00499 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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