2006 Massachusetts Code - Chapter 3 — Section 43. Executive and legislative agents; itemized statements of expenditures; notification of persons listed as having received campaign contributions, etc.; filing; public inspection; family gifts restricted.

Section 43. On or before the fifteenth day of July, complete from January first through June thirtieth; and the fifteenth day of January, complete from July first to December thirty-first of the preceding year, every executive and legislative agent appearing on the docket shall render to the state secretary an itemized statement, under oath, listing all campaign contributions as defined in section one of chapter fifty-five; all expenditures, and the total amount thereof, incurred, contributed or paid during the reporting period in the course of his employment as an executive or legislative agent and all expenditures made for or on behalf of statewide constitutional officers, officers and employees of such offices, members of the general court, officers and employees of the general court, officers and employees of the executive branch and officers and employees of an authority, incurred or paid during the reporting period, except that the executive or legislative agent shall not be required to report such expenditures not in the course of his employment made for or on behalf of the immediate family of such executive or legislative agent or a relative within the third degree of consanguinity of the executive or legislative agent or of his spouse or the spouse of any such relative; and except that in the case of all expenditures the executive or legislative agent shall not be required to itemize the expenditures of any one day in which the amount incurred or paid did not total thirty-five dollars or more. Such itemized accounting shall include, but not be limited to, specific expenditures for meals, gifts, transportation, entertainment, advertising, public relations, printing, mailing and telephone; and shall also include the names of the payees and the amount paid to each payee and shall further include the names of the candidate or political committee to whom or to which the contribution was made, and the amount and date of each contribution.

When such expenditure is for meals, entertainment or transportation, said expenditure shall be identified by date, place, amount, and the names of all persons in the group partaking in or of such meal, entertainment or transportation. No expenditure shall be split or divided for the purpose of evading any provision of this section. The state secretary shall, within thirty days of receipt of such accounting, notify persons whose names appear therein as having received campaign contributions, meals, transportation or entertainment, as to the nature of the contribution or expenditure claimed, the date and amount of the contribution or expenditure, and the person or persons who reported the contribution or expenditure.

Every executive and legislative agent shall include in the statement required by this section a list of all bill numbers of legislation the executive or legislative agent acted to promote, oppose or influence during the reporting period in the course of his employment. The disclosure shall only be required if the executive or legislative agent specifically referenced the bill number while acting to promote, oppose or influence legislation.

The state secretary shall assess a penalty for any statement which is filed by an executive or legislative agent later than the prescribed date; or, if such statement has been filed by mailing, where the postmark on such mailing is later than the prescribed date. Said penalty shall be in the amount of two hundred and fifty dollars when such statement has been filed ten days late or less, and in the amount of five hundred dollars when such statement is more than ten days late; provided, however, that the state secretary may waive said penalty for good cause. A waiver for good cause shall not be granted for statements filed more than sixty days late by executive or legislative agents, or groups and organizations employing executive or legislative agents, which have never filed or have never been required to file such statements. In all other instances no waiver for good cause shall be granted when a statement has been filed more than thirty days late.

The state secretary shall prescribe and make available the appropriate statement forms which shall be open and accessible for public inspection during normal working hours.

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, no executive or legislative agent shall knowingly offer or knowingly give to any public official or public employee, as defined in section one of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B, or to a member of such person’s immediate family any gift, as defined in said section one of said chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B, of any kind or nature, nor knowingly pay for any meal, beverage, or other item to be consumed by such public official or employee, whether or not such gift or meal, beverage or other item to be consumed is offered, given or paid for in the course of such agent’s business or in connection with a personal or social event; provided, however, that an executive or legislative agent shall not be prohibited from offering or giving to a public official or public employee who is a member of his immediate family or a relative within the third degree of consanguinity or of such agent’s spouse or the spouse of any such relative any such gift or meal, beverage or other item to be consumed.