Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 17, April 26, 2024
Section 146-1-3 - General Prohibition3.1. Except as permitted below by this rule, no officer of any corporation or membership organization, or agent or person, on behalf of such corporation or membership organization, shall directly or indirectly make, or authorize to be made, or consent to a contribution to any political committee or a coordinated expenditure in connection with election to any local or state office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any local or state office.3.2. No candidate, political committee or any other person shall knowingly accept or receive any payment prohibited by this section.3.3. No corporation or membership organization shall facilitate the making of contributions as further described in this Section:3.3.1. Corporations and membership organizations (including officers, directors or other representatives acting as agents of corporations or membership organizations) are prohibited from facilitating the making of contributions to candidates or political committees, other than to the political action committee that is a separate segregated fund of the corporations or membership organizations. Facilitation means using corporate or membership organization resources or facilities to engage in fundraising activities in connection with any candidate for election. A corporation or membership organization does not facilitate the making of a contribution to a candidate or political committee if it provides goods or services in the ordinary course of its business as a commercial vendor in accordance with W. Va. Code § 3-8-9 at the usual and normal charge. 3.3.2. Examples of facilitating the making of contributions include but are not limited to: 3.3.2.a. Fundraising activities by corporations and membership organizations (except commercial vendors): 3.3.2.a.1. Officials or employees of the corporation and membership organizations ordering or directing subordinates or support staff (who therefore are not acting as volunteers) to plan, organize or carry out the fundraising project as a part of their work responsibilities using corporate or membership organization resources, unless the corporation or membership organization receives advance payment for the fair market value of such services;3.3.2.a.2. Failure to reimburse a corporation or membership organization within a commercially reasonable time for the use of corporate or membership organization facilities in connection with such fundraising activities;3.3.2.a.3. Using a corporate or membership organization list of customers, clients, vendors or others who are not in the restricted group to solicit contributions or distribute invitations to the fundraiser, unless the corporation or membership organization receives advance payment for the fair market value of the list;3.3.2.a.4. Using meeting rooms that are not customarily made available to clubs, civic or community organizations or other groups; or3.3.2.a.5. Providing catering or other food services operated or obtained by the corporation or membership organization, unless the corporation or membership organization receives advance payment for the fair market value of the services;3.3.2.b. Providing materials for the purpose of transmitting or delivering contributions, such as stamps, envelopes addressed to a candidate or political committee other than the corporation's or membership organization's separate segregated fund, or other similar items which would assist in transmitting or delivering contributions, but not including providing the address of the candidate or political committee;3.3.2.c. Soliciting contributions earmarked for a candidate that are to be collected and forwarded by the corporation's or membership organization's separate segregated fund, except to the extent such contributions also are treated as contributions to and by the separate segregated fund; or3.3.2.d. Using coercion, such as the threat of a detrimental job action, the threat of any other financial reprisal, or the threat of force, to urge any individual to make a contribution or engage in fundraising activities on behalf of a candidate or political committee.3.3.3. Facilitating the making of contributions does not include the following activities if conducted by a separate segregated fund: 3.3.3.a. Any activity specifically permitted under W. Va. Code § 3-8-9, including soliciting contributions to a political committee, and making in kind contributions to a political committee; and3.3.3.b. Collecting and forwarding contributions earmarked to a candidate in accordance with 3.3.b.3. of this section.3.3.4. Facilitating the making of contributions also does not include the following activities if conducted by a corporation or membership organization: 3.3.4.a. Enrolling members of a corporation's or membership organization's restricted group in a payroll deduction plan or check-off system which deducts contributions from dividend or payroll checks to make contributions to the corporation's or membership organization's separate segregated fund, checkoff system or an employee participation plan, and are subject to the solicitation requirements of W. Va. Code § 3-8-8;3.3.4.b. Soliciting contributions to be sent directly to candidates if the solicitation is directed to the restricted group; and3.3.4.c. Soliciting contributions earmarked for a candidate that are to be collected and forwarded by the corporation's or membership organization's separate segregated fund, to the extent such contributions also are treated as contributions to and by the separate segregated fund.3.3.5. Facilitating the making of contributions also does not include the provision of incidental services by a corporation or membership organization to collect and forward contributions from its employee stockholders and executive and administrative personnel to the separate segregated fund of a trade association of which the corporation or membership organization is a member, including collection through a payroll deduction or check-off system.3.3.6. Any use of corporate or membership organization property as described in Sections 4.3 and 4.4 of this Rule is conditioned on such corporation or membership organization also permitting any group of employees represented by a corporate political action committee or membership organization political action committee registered with either the Secretary of State of West Virginia or the Federal Election Commission, to use, without reimbursement, the real property of such corporation or membership organization solely to establish, administer and solicit contributions to such corporate political action committee or membership organization political action committee. No such group of employees may use any such real property in such a manner as to significantly disrupt the normal operations or activities of the corporation or membership organization. 3.3.6.a. A corporation or membership organization is prohibited from soliciting any contributions by use or threat of any physical force, job discrimination, financial reprisals or as a condition of employment, or by paying any contributor for his or her contribution through a bonus, expense account or other form of direct or indirect compensation.3.3.6.b. Any person soliciting for a contribution to a separate segregated fund of a corporation or membership organization must, at the time of the solicitation, inform the person or member being solicited of the political purposes of such separate segregated fund of a corporation or membership organization.3.3.6.c. Any person soliciting for a contribution to a separate segregated fund of a corporation or membership organization must at the time of the solicitation inform the person or member being solicited of the right to refuse to so contribute without any reprisal.3.3.6.d. A guideline for contributions may be suggested, and not enforced by any direct or indirect means: Provided, that the person soliciting, or the solicitation, informs the person being solicited: 3.3.6.d.1. That the guidelines are merely suggestions; and3.3.6.d.2. That a person is free to contribute more or less than the guidelines suggest and that the corporation or membership organization will not favor or disadvantage anyone by reason of the amount of their contribution or their decision not to contribute.3.3.6.e. Any written solicitation for a contribution to a separate segregated fund of a corporation or membership organization must contain statements which comply with the requirements of paragraph (2) and (3) of this subdivision, and if a guideline is suggested, statements which comply with the requirements of paragraph (4) of this subdivision.3.3.6.f. Subject to this rule, a corporation or membership organization may, in making solicitations aimed solely at its restricted group for contributions to its separate segregated fund of a corporation or membership organization, utilize a payroll deduction plan, checkoff system or other plan which deducts contributions from dividend or payroll checks of its restricted group.3.3.6.g. Accidental or inadvertent solicitation by a corporation or membership organization, of persons beyond those whom it is permitted to solicit, will not be deemed a violation, provided that the corporation or membership organization has used its best efforts to comply with the limitations regarding the persons it may solicit and that the method of solicitation is corrected forthwith after the discovery of such erroneous solicitation.