Sec. 9-601b. (Formerly Sec. 9-333c). “Expenditure” defined.

(a) As used in this chapter and chapter 157, the term “expenditure” means:

(1) Any purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value, when made to promote the success or defeat of any candidate seeking the nomination for election, or election, of any person or for the purpose of aiding or promoting the success or defeat of any referendum question or the success or defeat of any political party;

(2) Any communication that (A) refers to one or more clearly identified candidates, and (B) is broadcast by radio, television, other than on a public access channel, or by satellite communication or via the Internet, or as a paid-for telephone communication, or appears in a newspaper, magazine or on a billboard, or is sent by mail; or

(3) The transfer of funds by a committee to another committee.

(b) The term “expenditure” does not mean:

(1) A loan of money, made in the ordinary course of business, by a state or national bank;

(2) A communication made by any corporation, organization or association solely to its members, owners, stockholders, executive or administrative personnel, or their families;

(3) Nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns by any corporation, organization or association aimed at its members, owners, stockholders, executive or administrative personnel, or their families;

(4) Uncompensated services provided by individuals volunteering their time on behalf of a party committee, political committee, slate committee or candidate committee, including any services provided for the benefit of nonparticipating and participating candidates under the Citizens' Election Program and any unreimbursed travel expenses made by an individual who volunteers the individual's personal services to any such committee. For purposes of this subdivision, an individual is a volunteer if such individual is not receiving compensation for such services regardless of whether such individual received compensation in the past or may receive compensation for similar services that may be performed in the future;

(5) Any news story, commentary or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine or other periodical, unless such facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, committee or candidate;

(6) The use of real or personal property, a portion or all of the cost of invitations and the cost of food or beverages, voluntarily provided by an individual to a candidate, including a nonparticipating or participating candidate under the Citizens' Election Program, or to a party, political or slate committee, in rendering voluntary personal services at the individual's residential premises or a community room in the individual's residence facility, to the extent that the cumulative value of the invitations, food or beverages provided by an individual on behalf of any candidate or committee does not exceed four hundred dollars with respect to any single event or does not exceed eight hundred dollars for any such event hosted by two or more individuals, provided at least one such individual owns or resides at the residential premises, and further provided the cumulative value of the invitations, food or beverages provided by an individual on behalf of any such candidate or committee does not exceed eight hundred dollars with respect to a calendar year or single election, as the case may be;

(7) A communication described in subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section that includes speech or expression made (A) prior to the ninety-day period preceding the date of a primary or an election at which the clearly identified candidate or candidates are seeking nomination to public office or position, that is made for the purpose of influencing any legislative or administrative action, as defined in section 1-91, or executive action, or (B) during a legislative session for the purpose of influencing legislative action;

(8) An organization expenditure by a party committee, legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee;

(9) A commercial advertisement that refers to an owner, director or officer of a business entity who is also a candidate and that had previously been broadcast or appeared when the owner, director or officer was not a candidate;

(10) A communication containing an endorsement on behalf of a candidate for nomination or election to the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, State Comptroller, Attorney General, state senator or state representative, from a candidate for the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, State Comptroller, Attorney General, state senator or state representative, shall not be an expenditure attributable to the endorsing candidate, if the candidate making the endorsement is unopposed at the time of the communication;

(11) A communication that is sent by mail to addresses in the district for which a candidate being endorsed by another candidate pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision is seeking nomination or election to the office of state senator or state representative, containing an endorsement on behalf of such candidate for such nomination or election, from a candidate for the office of state senator or state representative, shall not be an expenditure attributable to the endorsing candidate, if the candidate making the endorsement is not seeking election to the office of state senator or state representative for a district that contains any geographical area shared by the district for the office to which the endorsed candidate is seeking nomination or election;

(12) Campaign training events provided to multiple individuals by a legislative caucus committee and any associated materials, provided the cumulative value of such events and materials does not exceed six thousand dollars in the aggregate for a calendar year;

(13) A lawful communication by any charitable organization which is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended;

(14) The use of offices, telephones, computers and similar equipment provided by a party committee, legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee that serve as headquarters for or are used by such party committee, legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee; or

(15) An expense or expenses incurred by a human being acting alone in an amount that is two hundred dollars or less, in the aggregate, that benefits a candidate for a single election.

(c) “Expense incurred but not paid” means any receipt of goods or services for which payment is required but not made or a written contract, promise or agreement to make an expenditure.

(d) The provisions of subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of this section concerning the cost of invitations shall not be construed as preventing the candidate or the party, political or slate committee from paying all or any portion of such costs, in which case such amount paid by such candidate or committee shall not count toward the calculation of the cumulative value of the invitations, food or beverages provided pursuant to said subdivision (6).

(P.A. 86-99, S. 4, 34; P.A. 99-275, S. 1, 2; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5, S. 20; P.A. 10-187, S. 13; P.A. 13-180, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 99-275 amended Subsec. (a) by inserting new Subdiv. (2) including certain advertisements in the term “expenditure”, and by renumbering former Subdiv. (2) as (3), effective July 1, 1999; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5 amended Subsec. (a) to apply definition of “expenditure” to Secs. 9-700 to 9-716, inclusive, and amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (8) re organization expenditure by party committee, legislative caucus committee or legislative leadership committee, effective December 31, 2006, and applicable to elections held on or after that date; Sec. 9-333c transferred to Sec. 9-601b in 2007; P.A. 10-187 amended Subsec. (a) by adding reference to primary in Subdiv. (2)(C) and by making a technical change, effective June 8, 2010; P.A. 13-180 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing language re purpose of influencing with language re promotion of the success or defeat of a candidate or party in Subdiv. (1) and by replacing “advertisement” with “communication”, adding language re communications by satellite or via the Internet and paid-for telephone communication and those sent by mail and deleting former Subpara. (C) re 90-day period prior to primary or election in Subdiv. (2), amended Subsec. (b) by adding “solely” in Subdiv. (2), by adding language describing uncompensated services in Subdiv. (4), by adding language specifying costs associated with invitations may be portioned, replacing “or on behalf of a state central or town” with language re nonparticipating or participating candidate, party, political or slate committee, including community room, and limiting restriction to single event not to exceed $400 in the case of an individual hosting, or in the case of two or more individuals hosting, $800 in Subdiv. (6), by replacing existing language re unreimbursed payment for travel expenses with language re speech or expression made during certain time periods and adding Subdiv. (9) re commercial advertisements, Subdivs. (10) and (11) re communication endorsing another candidate, Subdiv. (12) re campaign training events, Subdiv. (13) re lawful communication by a charitable organization, Subdiv. (14) re use of offices and equipment and Subdiv. (15) re expenses less than $200 incurred by human acting alone, and added Subsec. (d) re prohibition against construing language to prevent candidate or committee from paying all or portion of cost of invitations, effective June 18, 2013.