GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

H                                                                                                                                                   D

HOUSE DRH70274-RR-23  (02/17)

Short Title:        Public Campaign Fund Changes.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representative Goodwin.
Referred to:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to Amend the judicial public campaign law by allowing the acceptance of qualifying contributions in the same form as other contributions; by providing that no matching funds will be triggered by communications that support or oppose all candidates; and by making more flexible the word limitations in the voter's guide.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑278.62(15) reads as rewritten:

"(15)    Qualifying contribution. – A contribution of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) in the form of a check or money order prescribed for noncash monetary contributions in G.S. 163‑278.14(b) to the candidate or the candidate's committee that meets both of the following conditions:

a.         Made by any registered voter in this State.

b.         Made during the qualifying period and obtained with the approval of the candidate or candidate's committee."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑278.67 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

"(f) No Matching Funds for Communications Supporting or Opposing All Candidates. – No matching funds are available under this section as a result of a communication that supports all candidates in for the same office or opposes all candidates for the same office."

SECTION 3.  G.S. 163‑278.64(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b)      Demonstration of Support of Candidacy. – Participating candidates who seek certification to receive campaign funds from the Fund shall first, during the qualifying period, obtain qualifying contributions from at least 350 registered voters in an aggregate sum that at least equals the amount of minimum qualifying contributions described in G.S. 163‑278.62(10) but that does not exceed the amount of maximum qualifying contributions described in G.S. 163‑278.62(9).

No payment, gift, or anything of value value, or the opportunity to win anything of value shall be given in exchange for a qualifying contribution."

SECTION 4.  G.S. 163‑278.69(a) reads as rewritten:

"(b)      Candidate Information. – The Judicial Voter Guide shall include information concerning all candidates for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, as provided by those candidates according to a format provided to the candidates by the Board. The Board shall request information for the Guide from each candidate according to the following format:

(1)        Place of residence.

(2)        Education.

(3)        Occupation.

(4)        Employer.

(5)        Date admitted to the bar.

(6)        Legal/judicial experience.

(7)        Candidate statement, limited to 150 words. statement. Concerning that statement, the Board shall send to the candidates instructions as follows: "Your statement may include information such as your qualifications, your endorsements, your ratings, why you are seeking judicial office, why you would make a good judge, what distinguishes you from your opponent(s), your acceptance of spending and fund‑raising limits to qualify to receive funds from the Public Campaign Fund, and any other information relevant to your candidacy. The State Board of Elections will reject any portion of any statement which it determines contains obscene, profane, or defamatory language. The candidate shall have three days to resubmit the candidate statement if the Board rejects a portion of the statement.

The entire entry for a candidate shall be limited to 250 words."

SECTION 5.  Except as otherwise provided in this act, this act is effective when it becomes law.