Current through Register 1518, March 29, 2024
(1)
Definitions. For the purpose of making and receiving
contributions by credit or debit card pursuant to M.G.L. c. 55, § 9 and
970 CMR 1.09, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
Cardholder means the person or
political committee whose name appears on a credit or debit card and who is
directly liable for the payment of any credit extended or funds
expended.
Card Issuing Bank means the bank or
other financial institution that issues a credit or debit card.
Credit Card means a credit or debit
card or other similar device issued by a card issuing bank or other business
authorizing the cardholder to buy goods or services. For purposes of
970 CMR
1.00, credit card contributions also include
contributions made from a contributor's bank account by electronic
transfer.
Internet Transactions include
transactions made via a committee website, a committee
vendor's website, a mobile application "app", crowd funding website or social
media.
Paper Record means a credit card
receipt or other printed record documenting a credit card transaction.
Vendor means a bank or other business
authorized to process credit card transactions, or an individual or entity that
provides services for campaign fundraising on the Internet to political
committees.
(2)
Internet Transactions. Except as provided in 970 CMR
1.09(2)(d), internet transactions may be received only if the contributor,
contemporaneously with the making of the contribution, certifies that the
contributor is using the contributor's own credit card, which is in the
contributor's name, and also certifies that the contributor's personal funds
are the true source of the contribution. In addition, the contribution may be
accepted only if the contributor, contemporaneously with the making of the
contribution, provides his or her name and residential address, and if the
amount contributed by a single contributor is $200 or more in the aggregate
during the calendar year, their occupation and employer. A political committee
may not, except as provided in 970 CMR 1.09(2)(d), process a credit card
transaction made via the Internet if the required
acknowledgment and contributor information is not provided contemporaneously
with the contribution.
(a)
Agreements with Vendors. A political committee must
enter into an agreement with a vendor
i.e., a "user agreement"
in order to receive contributions by credit card over the Internet. Any such
agreement must include procedures that the vendor will follow to ensure
compliance with M.G.L. c. 55, § 9, and 970 CMR 1.09. In addition to any
other requirements of 970 CMR 1.09, such agreement must demonstrate compliance
with the following:
1. The financial agreement
between the political committee and the vendor must be consistent with
customary and usual business practices.
2. The vendor may not provide a discount or
other financial incentive to a political committee that is not available to any
other candidate, political committee or the general public.
3. The committee must, in addition to being
responsible for any portion of contributions deducted during processing by the
vendor, also pay any applicable additional fees established by the
vendor.
(b)
Screening and Compliance. Except as provided in 970
CMR 1.09(2)(d), the vendor, or the political committee, shall cause to be
displayed on the contributor's computer screen, or otherwise display,
appropriate questions requiring a response from the contributor to determine
whether the source and amount of a contribution complies with M.G.L. c. 55 and
970 CMR 1.09. Such questions shall require the contributor to answer with an
affirmative act such as clicking or tapping the cursor in a box or pressing the
enter key on the computer keyboard. In addition, a Website or other Internet
site or app that is used to solicit contributions by credit card must:
1. clearly identify the name of the political
committee that is soliciting such contributions;
2. require that contributors certify by
making an affirmative action that the contributor is responsible for paying all
charges incurred in using the credit card to make a contribution and that the
contributor's personal funds will be the true source of the contribution in
accordance with M.G.L. c. 55, § 10; and
3. make a clear distinction between
information that is required by law or regulation and information that is
optional, if any. For example, a Website could indicate required information
such as a contributor's name and residential address in red and optional
information such as a contributor's interest in working as a volunteer in
green.
(c)
Confirmation of Contribution. The vendor, or the
political committee, must promptly send written confirmation of each
contribution made over the Internet to the contributor by email or, if the
contributor does not have or does not provide an email address, by first class
mail, postage prepaid.
(d)
Contributions Made Using Peer-to-Peer Payment ("P2P")
Applications. Contributions may be received through the use of P2P
applications without contemporaneously obtaining contributor certifications
required by 970 CMR 1.09(2), or the name and residential address of the
contributor at the time of receipt, in the following circumstances:
1. the amount contributed by the contributor
to the candidate or committee through P2P payment is no more than $50 during a
calendar year;
2. the contribution
was authorized and withdrawn from the contributor's personal funds;
and
3. the candidate or committee
receiving the contribution knows the identity of the contributor at the time
the contribution is received and obtains, within seven days after the receipt
of the contribution, the residential address of the contributor. The candidate
or committee must maintain records regarding all contributions, regardless of
amount, and anonymous contributions are prohibited. Recipient candidates and
committees must keep records of all contributions received, and such records
must include the residential address of all contributors, regardless of
amount.
(e)
Anonymous Contributions. If unable to determine or
verify the identity of a contributor, funds received must be purged in
accordance with the residual funds clause of M.G.L. c. 55, § 18.
(3)
Credit Card
Contributions Not Made via the Internet - Credit Card Agreements.
A political committee may enter into an agreement with a vendor in order to
receive contributions by credit card other than via the
Internet, except as prohibited in 970 CMR 1.09(4). All contributions received
pursuant to 970 CMR 1.09(3) must be documented by an electronic or back-up
paper record. Any such agreement between a political committee and a vendor
must comply with 970 CMR 1.09 including, but not limited to, 970 CMR
1.09(2).
(4)
Credit
Card Contributions by Verbal Communication by Phone. Such
contributions are prohibited.
(5)
Recordkeeping and Disclosure.
(a) A political committee soliciting or
receiving contributions by credit card shall maintain printed and, if a
contribution is received over the Internet, electronic and back-up printed
records of each contribution. Such records, which shall be maintained for six
years from the date of the relevant election, shall include the:
1. name and residential address of an
individual contributor;
2. date
received and amount of the contribution;
3. occupation and employer if the
contribution is equal to or greater than $200 or if the aggregate of all
contributions received from a contributor within any one calendar year is equal
to or greater than $200;
4. any
costs or fees deducted by or paid to the vendor; and
5. the billing address used by the
contributor for receipt of credit or card bills, if different from the
residential address of the contributor.
(b) For credit card contributions authorized
in any month other than December that are received by a non-depository
committee, contributions made by credit card shall be disclosed as received by
a political committee on the day that the committee has access to the funds.
Credit card contributions authorized in December, but not received until the
following calendar year, are considered "received" in the year in which the
contributions were authorized, and are reported in the year-end report for that
calendar year.
(c) A political
committee receiving contributions by credit card must report as receipts, on
the committee's campaign finance reports, the full (gross) amount of each
contribution before the payment of any fees or deductions to the vendor, or
card issuing bank. In addition, all fees paid to or deducted from contributions
by a vendor for processing such contributions must be reported by the committee
as expenditures in accordance with M.G.L. c. 55, and 970 CMR 1.09.
(d) In accordance with
970 CMR
1.04(8), political
committees must review all contributions received by credit card to determine
that such contributions comply with both the source and limitation requirements
of the campaign finance law. Any contribution determined to be illegal or in
excess of the limits of M.G.L. c. 55 shall be refunded in accordance with
970 CMR 1.04(8)
to the contributor.
(e) Political committees that receive credit
card contributions must obtain processing information from the vendor
reflecting contributions received, which itemizes actual deposits made by the
vendor to the committee's account, and lists all contributions that cleared or
were declined by the issuing bank and also must obtain all information required
by 970 CMR 1.09(5)(a);
(f) After
receiving the processing information from the vendor, the political committee
must reconcile the information to the information provided by the committee's
bank regarding actual deposits, to ensure the accuracy of information the
committee will file with OCPF.
(6)
Depository
Committees.
(a) Within seven
business days of receipt of the contribution from the card issuing bank, the
vendor or committee shall deposit the total amount of the contribution into the
political committee's depository account, unless the agreement between the
political committee and the vendor authorizes the vendor to deduct transaction
costs or fees from a credit card contribution received in which case the vendor
may deposit the net proceeds of such contribution into the political
committee's depository account. For purposes of filing disclosure reports
required by the campaign finance law, a deposit of a contribution made by
credit card is deemed to take place on the day the funds are received into the
committee's account either by check or electronic transfer, if the contribution
was authorized in any month other than December. A credit card contribution
authorized in December but not received until the following calendar year is
considered a "receipt in transit" and is reported in the previous year's
year-end report.
(b) Each candidate
and each treasurer of a political committee required to designate a depository
account shall file reports of credit card receipts with the Director. These
reports shall be filed no later than the fifth day of each month, complete as
of the first day of that month. The reports shall contain the following
information regarding the credit card contributions deposited in the
committee's account during the reporting period:
1. The full name and residential address of
each contributor where the contribution was in excess of $50.00 or where the
aggregate of all contributions received from that contributor within the
calendar year has exceeded $50.00, along with the date of the deposit and
amount of contribution, and the contributor's occupation and employer if
aggregate contributions by that contributor has equaled or exceeded $200.00 for
the calendar year. In the case of a credit card contribution by a trust,
foundation or association, other than a political committee, the names and
addresses of its principal officers shall also be disclosed as required by
M.G.L. c. 55, § 10;
2. The
total amount of contributions itemized pursuant to 970 CMR
1.09(6)(b)1.;
3. The total amount
of contributions $50.00 and under;
4. The total amount of credit card receipts;
and
5. The total proceeds of credit
card contributions deposited in the committee account. If this amount is less
than total amount of credit card receipts for the reporting period due to a
vendor having deducted a fee prior to depositing a contribution into the
committee's depository account in accordance with 970 CMR 1.09(6)(a), then the
total amount of fees deducted by the vendor during the reporting period shall
also be disclosed. This figure should be calculated by subtracting the
aggregate proceeds of credit card contributions deposited during the reporting
period from the total amount of credit card receipts reported pursuant to 970
CMR 1.09(6)(b)4, and entered on the deposit report as a "merchant provider
fee".
(c) The information
required to be forwarded in accordance with 970 CMR 1.09(6)(b) shall be
submitted electronically in compliance with M.G.L. c. 55, § 18C.
(d) Depository committees that receive
contributions by credit card must request information from vendors and obtain
information regarding contributions received in accordance with 970 CMR
1.09(5)(e) and perform the reconciliation required by 970 CMR 1.09(5)(f) prior
to filing each report of contributions received with OCPF.
