Arkansas Regulations § 153.00.11-001 Rules on Ballot and Legislative Question Committees

(a) Approved Political Action Committee - As used in these rules, the term "approved political action committee" means any person who:

(b) Ballot Question - As used in these rules, the term "ballot question" means a question in the form of a statewide, county, municipal, or school district initiative or referendum which is submitted or intended to be submitted to a popular vote at an election, whether or not it qualifies for the ballot.

(c)

(d)

(e) Contribution and Expenditure - As used in these rules, "contribution and expenditure" shall not include activities designed solely to encourage individuals to register to vote or to vote, or any communication by a bona fide church or religious denomination to its own members or adherents for the sole purpose of protecting the right to practice the religious tenets of the church or religious denomination, and "expenditure" shall not include one made for communication by a person strictly with the person's paid members or shareholders.

(f) Disqualification of a Ballot Question - As used in these rules, "disqualification of a ballot question" means any action or process, legal or otherwise, which seeks to prevent a ballot question from being on the ballot at an election.

(g) Expenditure - As used in these rules, the term "expenditure" means a purchase, payment, distribution, gift, loan, or advance of money or anything of value, and a contract, promise, or agreement to make an expenditure, for goods, services, materials, or facilities for the purpose of expressly advocating the qualification, disqualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question or the passage or defeat of a legislative question.

(h) Governmental Body - As used in these rules, the term "governmental body" means any office, department, commission, council, board, committee, legislative body, agency, or other establishment of the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the state, municipality, county, school district, improvement district, or any political district or subdivision thereof.

(i) In-kind Contribution - As used in these rules, the term "in-kind contribution" means a contribution of goods, services, or any other thing of value, or its use, other than money and includes an agreement made or other obligation incurred, whether legally enforceable or not, to make such a contribution in the future. A person makes an "in-kind contribution" whenever, in conjunction with the qualification, disqualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question or the passage or defeat of a legislative question, such person purchases, sells or leases an item, or provides a service to or on behalf of a ballot or legislative question committee without charge or for a charge which is less than the fair market value of the item or service provided. The difference between the fair market value and the charge shall be the value of the in-kind contribution.

(j) Legislative Question - As used in these rules, the term "legislative question" means a question in the form of a measure referred by the General Assembly, a quorum court, a municipality, or a school district to a popular vote at an election.

(k)

(l) Person - As used in these rules, the term "person" means any individual, business, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, labor organization, company, corporation, association, committee, or any other organization or group of persons acting in concert. "Person" includes a public servant or governmental body using public funds to expressly advocate the qualification, disqualification, passage, or defeat of any ballot question or the passage or defeat of any legislative question.

(m) Political Party - As used in these rules, the term "political party" means any group of voters which, at the last preceding general election, polled for its candidate for Governor in the state or nominees for presidential electors at least three percent (3%) of the entire vote cast for the office, or which has filed a petition with the Secretary of State containing at the time of filing the signatures of at least ten thousand (10,000) registered voters in the State of Arkansas, declaring the intention of organizing a political party, the name of which shall be stated in the declaration, and of participating in the next general election, and which has been declared a new political party by the Secretary of State. When any political party fails to obtain three percent (3%) of the total votes cast at an election for the office of Governor or nominees for presidential electors, it shall cease to be a political party.

(n) Prohibited Political Action Committee - As used in these rules, the term "prohibited political action committee" means any person who receives contributions from one (1) or more persons in order to make contributions to candidates but who does not meet the requirements of an approved political action committee. A prohibited political action committee shall not include an organized political party as defined in Ark. Code Ann. § 7-1-101 , the candidate's own campaign committee, a county political party committee, an exploratory committee, or a ballot or legislative question committee.

(o) Public Appointee - As used in these rules, the term "public appointee" means an individual who is appointed to a governmental body. It does not include an individual appointed to an elective office.

(p) Public Employee - As used in these rules, the term "public employee" means an individual who is employed by a governmental body or who is appointed to serve a governmental body. It does not include public officials or public appointees.

(q) Public Official - As used in these rules, the term "public official" means a legislator or any other person holding an elective office of any governmental body, whether elected or appointed to the office, and shall include such persons during the time period between the date they were elected and the date they took office.

(r) Public Servant - As used in these rules, the term "public servant" means all public officials, public employees, and public appointees.

(s) Qualification of a Ballot Question - As used in these rules, "qualification of a ballot question" means any action or process, legal or otherwise, through which a ballot question obtains certification to be on the ballot at an election.

(a) No ballot question committee or legislative question committee shall accept any contribution in cash, meaning currency or coin, which exceeds one hundred dollars ($100).

(b) No ballot question committee or legislative question committee shall accept any contribution from a prohibited political action committee as defined in § 600(m). It shall be unlawful for a prohibited political action committee as defined in § 600(m) to make a contribution to a ballot question committee or a legislative question committee.

(c) No ballot question committee, legislative question committee, or individual shall make an expenditure in cash which exceeds fifty dollars ($50.00) in conjunction with expressly advocating the qualification, disqualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question or the passage or defeat of a legislative question.

(d) No contributions shall be made, directly or indirectly, by any person in a name other than the name by which the person is identified for legal purposes.

(e)

(a) In addition to monetary contributions, committees are required to report the receipt of any "in-kind contributions," as defined in § 600(h) of these rules.

(b) For reporting purposes, the value of an in-kind contribution shall be its fair market value if it had been purchased, sold or leased in the ordinary course of business. An in-kind contribution constitutes a contribution. Those transactions which are specifically excluded from the definition of "contribution" are likewise excluded from the definition of "in-kind contribution."

(c) A person making an in-kind contribution shall place the value on such contribution when given. The committee may question the value set by the donor if it appears unreasonable and shall revalue the in-kind contribution to a reasonable value. The value of an in-kind contribution is a factual determination which shall be made by the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

(d) The costs associated with any news story, commentary or editorial distributed in the ordinary course of business by a broadcasting station, newspaper or other periodical publication do not constitute an in-kind contribution.

(a) In addition to the other exceptions noted in these rules, the value of volunteer services provided without compensation do not constitute an in-kind contribution. Accordingly, an individual may volunteer any personal service provided he or she is not compensated for the service by any other individual or person. This applies both to manual tasks ( i.e. , stuffing envelopes, answering telephones, etc.) and to specialized services ( i.e. , services provided by musicians, accountants, etc.). Whether a contribution has occurred depends upon whether the work performed is considered "volunteer services." Whether time is spent on a volunteer basis depends upon whether the services are rendered during time that is the individual's own time to spend as he or she sees fit. If services are rendered after working hours, they will typically be viewed as exempted volunteer services.

(b) In accordance with subsection (a) above, certain professional services, such as legal and accounting services, which typically have fees associated with them, may be provided to a committee on a volunteer basis, provided the need for the services arises from the committee. For example, accounting or bookkeeping services involved with handling the committee's contributions and expenditures may be provided to a committee on a volunteer basis and will not count as an "in-kind" contribution even if no fees are charged.

(a) The date of an expenditure is the date the amount is readily ascertainable by the person making the expenditure, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) If, under normal business practices, the amount of an expenditure is not known or readily ascertainable until receipt of a periodic bill, the date of the expenditure is the date the bill is received. Examples of expenditures to which this subsection is applicable are expenditures for utilities and telephone bills.

(c) An expenditure by credit card or in other ways charged to an account must be included in the report for the period during which the charge was made, not in the report for the period during which the statement from the credit card company or charge account was received.

(a)

(b) The statement of organization shall include the following information:

(c) When any of the information required in a statement of organization is changed, an amendment shall be filed within ten (10) days to reflect the change, except that changes in individual membership may be filed when the next financial report is required. A committee failing to file a change as required shall be subject to a late filing fee not exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each day the change remains not filed.

(a) A ballot question committee or a legislative question committee which either receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars ($500) for the purpose of expressly advocating the qualification, disqualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question or the passage or defeat of a legislative question shall file with the Arkansas Ethics Commission financial reports as required by §§ 608 through 610.

(b) An individual person who on his or her own behalf expends in excess of five hundred dollars ($500), excluding contributions, for the purpose of expressly advocating the qualification, disqualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question or the passage or defeat of a legislative question shall file with the Arkansas Ethics Commission financial reports as required by §§ 608 through 610.

(c) A public servant or governmental body expending public funds in excess of five hundred dollars ($500) for the purpose of expressly advocating the qualification, disqualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot question or the passage or defeat of a legislative question shall file with the Arkansas Ethics Commission financial reports as required by §§ 608 through 610. (Note: State agencies, boards, and commissions should also see § 613.)

(d) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, any report required by these rules shall be deemed timely filed if it is:

(e) Whenever a report under these rules becomes due on a day which is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the report shall be due the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

(f) A preelection report is timely filed if it is received by the Arkansas Ethics Commission no later than seven (7) days prior to the election for which it is filed.

(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the committee, individual person, public servant, or governmental body filing the statement;

(2)

(3) The name and street address of each person to whom expenditures totaling one hundred dollars ($100) or more were made, together with the date and amount of each separate expenditure to each person during the period covered by the financial report and the purpose of the expenditure.

(a)

(b) A ballot question committee, legislative question committee, or individual person who files a late financial report shall be subject to a late filing fee not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day the report remains unfiled.

(i) the Treasurer of State for the benefit of the General Revenue Fund Account of the State Apportionment Fund;

(ii) a political party as defined in § 600 or a political party caucus of the General Assembly, the Senate, or House of Representatives;

(iii) a nonprofit organization which is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or

(iv) the contributors to the ballot question committee or legislative question committee.

(a) All statements of organization and financial reports required by these rules shall be open to public inspection at the office of the Arkansas Ethics Commission during regular office hours.

(b) All records supporting the reports filed under these rules shall be:

(1) newspaper, television, radio, and other forms of communication;

(2) publication materials;

(3) travel expenses relative to reimbursement;

(4) surveys;

(5) private contracts; and

(6) postage.