Campaign finance requirements for Massachusetts ballot measures
 in Massachusetts |
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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Massachusetts must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.
Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.[1][2]
| In Massachusetts, groups that accept contributions or make expenditures in support of or in opposition to a ballot measure are considered ballot question committees. Ballot question committees can receive unlimited contributions from individuals, political action committees, and state party committees. |
The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.
Massachusetts ballot measures
- See also: Ballot measure
A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues or tax proposals.
In Massachusetts, ballot measures come in the following forms: legislatively referred state statutes, initiated state statutes, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, initiated constitutional amendments, and veto referenda.
Organizational requirements
In Massachusetts, "a political committee which receives or expends money or other things of value for the purpose of favoring or opposing the adoption or rejection" of a ballot measure is considered a ballot question committee. A ballot question committee cannot accept contributions or make expenditures until it has filed a Form CPF 101 BQ with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. This form must provide the committee's name identify the committee's chairman and treasurer.[3]
See form: Form CPF 101 BQ
Contribution limits
Generally speaking, a ballot question committee can accept unlimited contributions from most sources, including individuals, certain candidates, political action committees, and state party committees. According to state law, "committees organized on behalf of candidates for statewide constitutional office are prohibited from contributing money or anything of value to a ballot question committee.[3][4]
Reporting requirements
A ballot question committee is required to file regular campaign finance reports. These reports must detail the committee's receipts, expenditures, in-kind contributions, and liabilities. All contributions exceeding $50 must be itemized; the name and address of the contributor must be provided. Similarly, for all expenditures exceeding $50, the name and address of the recipient must be provided. Below is the statutory filing schedule for state ballot question committees:[3]
- Initial report: "This report should be filed along with Form CPF 101 BQ (Statement of Organization) to disclose any activity that has occurred since the last state election up to the date Form CPF 101 BQ is filed. In most cases, a ballot question committee will have no receipts or expenditures to disclose on its initial report."
- 60th day prior to the election report: This report is "filed on or before the 60th day prior to the election. This report discloses activity undertaken subsequent to the filing of Form CPF 101 BQ and the Initial Report described above, complete as of the preceding fifth day."
- 5th and 20th day of the month reports: "After filing the report due on the 60th day prior to the election, the committee then files reports on the 5th and 20th day of each month, up to and including November 20th, complete as of the preceding 1st and 15th day of the month, respectively. A committee may dissolve as of the Nov. 20 report, provided it has no remaining assets or liabilities."
- January 20 report: "All existing ballot question committees must file a report on January 20, regardless of whether their respective questions were on the ballot in the most recent election. The report must run from the day after the closing date of the previous report through December 31 and be filed as long as the committee remains in existence."
Contributions equaling $500 or more that are made within 18 days of an election must be reported with 72 hours of receipt. All campaign finance reports must be filed online.[3]
Year-specific reporting dates
2016
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Massachusetts in 2016.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Massachusetts, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Initial report | November 4, 2014 - date of organization | Date of organization |
| 60th day prior to the election report | Date of organization (plus one day) - September 4, 2016 | September 9, 2016 |
| 20th day of the month report | September 5, 2016 - September 15, 2016 | September 20, 2016 |
| 5th day of the money report | September 16, 2016 - October 1, 2016 | October 5, 2016 |
| 20th day of the month report | October 2, 2016 - October 15, 2016 | October 20, 2016 |
| 5th day of the money report | October 16, 2016 - November 1, 2016 | November 7, 2016 |
| November 20 report | November 2, 2016 - November 15, 2016 | November 21, 2016 |
| Year-end report (January report) | November 16, 2016 - December 31, 2016 | January 20, 2017 |
| Source: Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "Ballot Question Committee Schedule," accessed December 7, 2015 | ||
State agencies
In Massachusetts, there are two primary agencies involved in campaign finance regulation: the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance and the Massachusetts Attorney General. The former administers the state's campaign finance law. The latter prosecutes civil violations and refers alleged criminal violations to district attorneys for prosecution.[5][6]
- Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance
- One Ashburton Place, Room 411
- Boston, Massachusetts 02108
- Telephone: (617) 979-8300
- Fax: (617) 727-6549
- Email: ocpf@cpf.state.ma.us
- Massachusetts Attorney General
- One Ashburton Place
- Boston, Massachusetts 02108-1518
- Telephone: (617) 727-2200
- Email: ago@state.ma.us
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Massachusetts state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Massachusetts campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance requirements in Massachusetts
- Campaign finance agencies in Massachusetts
- List of Massachusetts ballot measures
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "Campaign Finance Guide: State Ballot Question Committees," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "Contribution Limits," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Massachusetts General Law, "Chapter 55, Section 3," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, "About Us," accessed August 10, 2015
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