The search committee for the Office of Campaign and Political Finance has named William Campbell as the new director for the independent agency.

The panel has been searching for a new director for the OCPF since Mike Sullivan retired in 2019 after serving as director since 1994.

Campbell is the current Woburn city clerk and will lead the independent agency administering the state’s campaign finance and public financing laws.

On November 26, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a new campaign finance bill into law. The bill amends the state’s law by now requiring House, Senate and all mayoral candidates to use the depository system of campaign finance reporting.

According to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OPCF), “Nearly 500 House and Senate candidates will transition into the depository campaign finance reporting system, as well as about 100 mayoral candidates in cities of 65,000 or less.” House Bill 4087 also requires banks to file monthly disclosure reports on behalf of candidates and certain committees.

Previously, the disclosures were required twice a month. The bill also mandates the OCPF establish regulations concerning social media and its use by appointed public employees.

Additionally, the bill establishes a commission to study the use of campaign funds for family and child care.

A state ban on political contributions to candidates by businesses was upheld by a Suffolk Superior Court judge last week. Massachusetts campaign finance law prohibits contributions from businesses but allows contributions from labor unions.

Two businesses active in a fiscally conservative advocacy group challenged the law hoping for a change in favor of businesses wishing to contribute, asserting the same political contribution rules should apply to businesses and unions.

The Office of Campaign and Political Finance argued businesses are different from unions and the state is within its rights to regulate each entity differently, maintaining the state’s interest in preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption.

Under the upheld law, individuals can contribute $1,000 per year to candidates and labor unions can contribute up to $15,000.

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance (OCPF) is holding a public hearing on May 8 concerning proposed updates to regulations regarding campaign finance disclosure.

The hearing will address revised provisions to the existing code and a new regulatory section “concerning the identification of funding sources for tax exempt and other organizations that raise funds to make contributions or independent expenditures”.

Additional OCPF proposals include addressing the use of a candidate’s legal defense fund, clarifying subvendor reporting requirements, and amending provisions concerning credit and debit card contributions. The draft regulations are available here.

Massachusetts lobbyists using a LinkedIn online discussion group are not prohibited from soliciting contributions for candidates from the group.

The Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) issued an opinion, AO-12-03, on November 20, detailing when a lobbyist can solicit contributions on LinkedIn without being considered a regulated intermediary or conduit bundling contributions. The OCPF considers the use of social media, such as LinkedIn, as a “personal service” that is generally exempt from campaign finance limitations or disclosure requirements.

Asking members of a lobbyist’s LinkedIn group “to contribute directly to candidates does not involve ‘arranging’ for the making of contributions” requiring application the law,” the opinion holds. However, a lobbyist could be regulated if contributions are either “‘delivered, whether in person or by mail [by the regulated intermediary], to a particular candidate or such candidate’s authorized committee or agent’ or made ‘in a manner that identifies in writing the person who arranged the making of the contributions.’” For example, in the instance of direct contributions to a candidate, if a lobbyists “actually instructs the contributors to identity, with a note on their contribution checks, the legislative or executive agent as the person responsible for arranging the contribution, the legislative or executive agent would be subject” to regulation.

The restrictions for bundling apply only if at least one of the bundled contributions is more than $156. The OCPF also opined that persons who are not lobbyists may use LinkedIn or similar sites to solicit contributions for candidates, with certain restrictions for public employees.

Michael Sullivan, the Director of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, has been reappointed for another six-year term to the agency.

According to the Boston Herald, the decision was unanimous to reappoint Sullivan, who has been the director for almost 18 years.

For full news coverage, read:

“Michael Sullivan reappointed as OCPF chief” by Gintautas Dumcius in the Boston Herald.

A thank you goes to Jim Sedor, Editor of News You Can Use, for alerting us to this news.