Title 2 . Administration

Chapter 50 . Public Information

Section 250. Contributions

2 AAC 50.250. Contributions

(a) In AS 15.13 and this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this section, "contribution"

(1) has the meaning given in AS 15.13.400 ;

(2) includes a

(A) subscription, advance, transfer, forgiveness of all or part of a debt, relaxation of credit, or anything of value made or provided by a person, group, or nongroup entity for the purpose of influencing an election for state or municipal office or influencing the passage or defeat of a ballot proposition or question; and

(B) personal contribution as described in 2 AAC 50.254; and

(3) does not include

(A) costs incurred in covering or carrying a news story, editorial, or commentary by a broadcasting station, newspaper, or periodical of regular publication, unless the media organization is owned or controlled by a political party, group, or candidate; if the media organization is owned or controlled by a political party, group, or candidate, the cost of the news story is a contribution, unless the news story is a bona fide news account and is part of a general pattern of campaign-related news accounts that gives reasonably equal coverage to all opposing candidates in the circulation or listening area;

(B) a non-monetary contribution or in-kind donation of a single item with a normal cost of $50 or less;

(C) a payment made by an individual for the individual's own travel expenses, if the payment is voluntary and is made without an understanding that the payment will be directly or indirectly repaid;

(D) a payment made by a business, corporation, trade association, labor union, or other organization not organized primarily to influence elections to communicate directly with the organization's members or employees, or their families, on any subject, if the communication is of the same format used by the organization when it has communicated in the past on nonpolitical subjects, and does not solicit contributions or any action other than voting for or against a candidate or ballot proposition or question;

(E) a gift, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value made with respect to a recount of a state or municipal election;

(F) costs incurred to provide necessary administrative services associated with a payroll withholding plan; these costs may not include expenses associated with soliciting contributions;

(G) provision of a service or facility to a candidate, group, or nongroup entity if the entity providing the service or facility is paid at a commercially reasonable rate within a commercially reasonable time or makes the service or facility available to all candidates for a particular office;

(H) provision of an organization's membership or mailing list to the group or nongroup entity affiliated with the organization;

(I) the use of personal money or credit by a campaign treasurer or deputy treasurer for an expenditure allowable under AS 15.13.112 , if the amount

(i) does not exceed $500; and

(ii) is repaid before the end of the report cycle in which the expenditure was made; or

(J) the use of personal money or credit by a candidate for an authorized campaign expenditure, if the amount is repaid within three days after the date of the expenditure.

(b) As used in the definition of "contribution" in AS 15.13.400 , a loan or loan guarantee includes an endorsement and any other form of security. A loan may not exceed the contribution limitations of AS 15.13.070 , whether or not it is repaid. A loan is a contribution at the time it is made. A loan is a contribution by each endorser or guarantor. Each endorser or guarantor is considered to have contributed that portion of the total amount for which the endorser or guarantor agreed to be liable in an oral or written agreement. If the agreement does not indicate the portion of the loan for which each endorser or guarantor is liable, the loan is considered a loan by each endorser or guarantor in the same proportion that each endorser or guarantor bears to the total number of endorsers or guarantors.

(c) The provision of goods or services without charge, or at a charge that is less than the normal charge for the goods and services in the market, is a contribution unless a lower rate is extended to all campaigns. If goods or services are provided at less than the normal charge in the market, the amount of the nonmonetary contribution is the difference between the normal charge for the goods or services at the time of the contribution and the amount charged.

(d) The entire amount paid to attend or participate in a fund-raising activity or other political event and the entire amount paid as the purchase price for a fund-raising item sold by a group, nongroup entity, or candidate is a contribution.

(e) The payment by a person of compensation for the personal services of an individual to a group, nongroup entity, or candidate for any purpose, except for legal and accounting services necessary to complete reports, is a contribution unless the individual works voluntarily and on personal time.

(f) The extension of credit by a person to a candidate, group, or nongroup entity for a length of time beyond normal business practice is a contribution, unless the creditor has made a commercially reasonable attempt to collect the debt using the methods that the creditor ordinarily uses in a manner similar in intensity to that employed by the creditor in pursuit of a debt unrelated to a campaign.

(g) A contribution to a subordinate unit of a political party is a contribution to the political party.

History: Eff. 1/1/2001, Register 156; am 2/20/2005, Register 173

Authority: AS 15.13.030

AS 15.13.040

AS 15.13.070

AS 15.13.078

AS 15.13.400

Editor's note: The substance of 2 AAC 50.250 was formerly located at 2 AAC 50.313. The history note does not reflect the history of the earlier regulation.