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2010 SESSION

10103151D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1261
Offered January 19, 2010
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-956 and 24.2-956.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to political campaign advertisements; disclosure requirements.
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Patrons-- Englin, Morrissey, Sickles and Toscano
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Referred to Committee on Privileges and Elections
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That §§ 24.2-956 and 24.2-956.1 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 24.2-956. Requirements for print media advertisements sponsored by a candidate campaign committee.

It shall be unlawful for any candidate or candidate campaign committee to sponsor a print media advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) unless all of the following conditions are met: 


 1. It bears the legend or includes the statement: "Paid for by  ............
 [Name of candidate or campaign committee]." Alternatively, if the
 advertisement is supporting a candidate who is the sponsor and the
 advertisement makes no reference to any other clearly identified candidate,
 then the statement "Paid for by  ............ [Name of sponsor]" may be
 replaced by the statement "Authorized by  ............ [Name of sponsor]."

2. In an advertisement sponsored by a candidate or a candidate campaign committee that makes reference to any other clearly identified candidate who is not sponsoring the advertisement, the sponsor shall state whether it is authorized by the candidate not sponsoring the advertisement. The visual legend in the advertisement shall state either "Authorized by [Name of candidate], candidate for [Name of office]" or "Not authorized by any other candidate." This subdivision does not apply if the sponsor of the advertisement is the candidate the advertisement supports or that candidate's campaign committee.

3. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall name all the sponsors.

4. Any disclosure statement required by this section shall be displayed in a conspicuous manner.

5. The disclosure statement shall appear as part of the advertisement; however, if the advertisement appears on an Internet website and lacks sufficient space for a conspicuous display of the disclosure statement, the advertisement may meet disclosure requirements by providing a direct link, that contains the word "disclosure," to another Internet website that displays the disclosure statement.

§ 24.2-956.1. Requirements for print media advertisements sponsored by a person or political committee, other than a candidate campaign committee.

It shall be unlawful for any person or political committee to sponsor a print media advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) unless the following requirements are met: 


 1. It bears the legend or includes the statement: "Paid for by  ............
 [Name of person or political committee]." 

2. In an advertisement supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates, the sponsor states whether it is authorized by a candidate. The visual legend in the advertisement shall state either "Authorized by [Name of candidate], candidate for [Name of office]" or "Not authorized by a candidate."

3. In an advertisement that identifies a candidate the sponsor is opposing, the sponsor must disclose in the advertisement the name of the candidate who is intended to benefit from the advertisement, if the sponsor coordinates with, or has the authorization of, the benefited candidate.

4. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall name all the sponsors.

5. Any disclosure statement required by this section shall be displayed in a conspicuous manner.

6. The disclosure statement shall appear as part of the advertisement; however, if the advertisement appears on an Internet website and lacks sufficient space for a conspicuous display of the disclosure statement, the advertisement may meet disclosure requrements by providing a direct link, that contains the word "disclosure," to another Internet website that displays the disclosure statement.