GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 382
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/30/97

Short Title:  Lobbyist Political Activity.	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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March 4, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT LOBBYISTS MAY NOT GIVE TO CANDIDATES FOR CERTAIN OFFICES AT ANY TIME.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 163-278.13A reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-278.13A.  No fund-raising from lobbyists for legislators or Council of State members or candidates for these offices.
(a)	None of the following entities may solicit or accept a contribution from, or at the behest or recommendation of, an individual registered as a lobbyist pursuant to Article 9A of Chapter 120 of the General Statutes:
(1)	A member of or candidate for the Council of State; 
(2)	A member of or candidate for the General Assembly; 
(3)	A political committee the principal purpose of which is to assist a member or members of or a candidate or candidates for the Council of State or General Assembly; or
(4)	A State, county, or congressional district executive committee of a political party.
(b)	No individual registered as a lobbyist under Article 9A of Chapter 120 of the General Statutes may make a contribution to any of the entities listed in subdivisions (1) through (3) of subsection (a) of this section.
(c)	This section does not apply to:
		(3)	Any contribution made by a member of or candidate for the Council of State or General Assembly to a political committee the principal purpose of which is to assist himself; or
(4)	Any contribution made to or any solicitation for a nonprofit organization under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c); or
		(7)	A contribution by a registered lobbyist to the lobbyist's own campaign.
(d)	A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor, but no individual or person shall be prosecuted under this section for accepting or making a contribution unless the State Board of Elections has notified the individual or person of the apparent violation in writing by certified mail, has given the individual or person an opportunity to return or to request the return of the contribution, and, within 10 days of the receipt of the notification, the individual or person has failed to return or to request the return of the contribution.
			(f)	For the purpose of this section, a person is a candidate when that person has (i) filed a statement of organization under this Article or such a statement has been filed for a political committee created to support that person, (ii) filed an official notice of candidacy with the appropriate board of elections for any elective office, (iii) otherwise qualified for a place on the ballot, or (iv) become a write-in candidate under G.S. 163-123."
Section 2.  G.S. 120-47.9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 120-47.9.  Punishment for violation.
(a)	Whoever willfully violates any provision of this Article shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.  In addition, no lobbyist who is convicted of a violation of the provisions of this Article shall in any way act as a lobbyist for a period of two years following his conviction.
(b)	No lobbyist who is convicted of a second violation of G.S. 163-278.13A shall in any way act as a lobbyist for a period of two years following conviction.  No lobbyist who is convicted of a third violation of G.S. 163-278.13A shall in any way act as a lobbyist."
Section 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.