Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
121.175, as amended by the General Assembly
in extraordinary session in 1993, requires the Registry of Election Finance to
promulgate administrative regulations to specifically define those expenditures
that may lawfully be made from a candidate's campaign account. It is therefore
necessary to promulgate this administrative regulation so that the agency may
fulfill its statutory mandate.
Section
1. Allowable Expenditures. In addition to the general categories
of allowable campaign expenditures provided by law, the following expenditures
shall be considered allowable:
(1)
Expenditures made or items donated to charitable and civic organizations such
as clubs, neighborhood organizations, schools, and churches, provided that the
expenditure furthers a candidacy through advertising;
(2) Expenditures for items of personal
property bearing the name or likeness of the candidate in a conspicuous manner
for distribution by a candidate which are distributed for the purpose of
advertising that individual's candidacy. These items include, but are not
limited to, hats, shirts, calendars, magnets, holiday greeting cards, and
similar items. The purchase of tickets for general distribution for the purpose
of influencing and election, either directly or indirectly, shall not be
allowed under the subsection;
(3)
Reasonable expenditures for services such as distribution of campaign
literature, staff services, and similar services which are primarily and
directly related to the individual's candidacy;
(4) Expenditures for the purchase of
transportation services, including but not limited to the transportation of
voters to the polls, provided that the expenditures are reasonable in light of
the number of persons transported, mileage driven, and time spent. All
transportation expenditures shall be primarily and directly related to the
candidacy of the individual on whose behalf the expenditures are
made;
(5) Expenditures for tickets
to political and other events to be attended by the candidate, his spouse, or a
campaign staff representative, and from which the candidate derives a direct
benefit to his candidacy. The burden shall be on the candidate to prove to the
registry that representation at the event provided a direct benefit to his
candidacy;
(6) The purchase of
American, state, or other flags which are donated to schools, civic, or
charitable organizations;
(7) The
purchase or rental of items such as cellular telephones, copiers, computers,
automobiles, facsimile machines, and similar items. Only that use attributable
to the campaign may be paid for with campaign funds and the burden shall be on
the candidate to prove that an expenditure is allowable under this
subsection.
Section 2.
Unlawful Campaign Expenditures. In addition to the expenditures specifically
prohibited by law, the following categories of campaign expenditures shall not
be considered allowable expenditures from a campaign account:
(1) Payment of dues to professional, civic,
or other organizations to which the individual belongs or desires to
join;
(2) Expenditures made to
defray the costs associated with an individual's performance of his official
duties as an officeholder.
Section
3. If the registry staff, in the course of reviewing a candidate's
or incumbent's campaign finance statements, determines that a questionable
expenditure has been made, whether or not the expenditure was made during an
election year, the burden shall be on the candidate or incumbent to prove that
the expenditure was directly and primarily related to his candidacy.
