2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 163-278.39A. Disclosure requirements for television and radio advertisements supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.

§ 163‑278.39A.  Disclosure requirements for television and radio advertisements supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.

(a)       Expanded Disclosure Requirements. – Any political campaign advertisement on radio or television shall comply with the expanded disclosure requirements set forth in this section. To the extent that it provides the same information required by G.S. 163‑278.39, a statement made pursuant to this section satisfies the requirements of G.S. 163‑278.39 for the same advertisement.

(b)       Disclosure Requirements for Television. –

(1)       Candidate advertisements on television. – Television advertisements purchased by a candidate or by a candidate campaign committee supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the candidate and containing at least the following words: "I am (or "This is____") [name of candidate], candidate for [name of office], and I (or "my campaign____") sponsored this ad." This subdivision applies only to an advertisement that mentions the name of, shows the picture of, transmits the voice of, or otherwise refers to an opposing candidate for the same office as the sponsoring candidate.

(2)       Political party advertisements on television. – Television advertisements purchased by a political party organization supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the chair, executive director, or treasurer of the political party organization and containing at least the following words: "The [name of political party organization] sponsored this ad opposing/supporting [name of candidate] for [name of office]." The disclosed name of the political party organization shall include the name of the political party as it appears on the ballot.

(3)       Political action committee advertisements on television. – Television advertisements purchased by a political action committee supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the chief executive officer or treasurer of the political action committee and containing at least the following words: "The [name of political action committee] political action committee sponsored this ad opposing/supporting [name of candidate] for [name of office]." The name of the political action committee used in the advertisement shall be the name that appears on the statement of organization as required in G.S. 163‑278.7(b)(1).

(4)       Advertisements on television by an individual. – Television advertisements purchased by an individual supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the individual and containing at least the following words: "I am [individual's name], and I sponsored this advertisement opposing/supporting [name of candidate] for [name of office]."

(5)       Advertisements on television by another sponsor. – Television advertisements purchased by a sponsor other than a candidate, a candidate campaign committee, a political party organization, a political action committee, or an individual which supports or opposes the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the chief executive or principal decision maker of the sponsor and containing at least the following words: "[Name of sponsor] sponsored this ad."

(6)       All advertisements on television. – In any television advertisement described in subdivisions (1) through (4) of this subsection, an unobscured, full‑screen picture containing the disclosing individual, either in photographic form or through the actual appearance of the disclosing individual on camera, shall be featured throughout the duration of the disclosure statement.

(c)       Disclosure Requirements for Radio. –

(1)       Candidate advertisements on radio. – Radio advertisements purchased by a candidate or by a candidate campaign committee supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the candidate and containing at least the following words: "I am (or "This is____") [name of candidate], candidate for [name of office], and this ad was paid for (or "sponsored" or "furnished") by [name of candidate campaign committee that paid for the advertisement]." This subdivision applies only to an advertisement that mentions the name of, transmits the voice of, or otherwise refers to an opposing candidate for the same office as the sponsoring candidate.

(2)       Political party advertisements on radio. – Radio advertisements purchased by a political party organization supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the chair, executive director, or treasurer of the political party organization and containing at least the following words: "This ad opposing/supporting [name of candidate] for [name of office] was paid for (or "sponsored" or "furnished") by [name of political party]." The disclosed name of the political party organization shall include the name of the political party as it appears on the ballot.

(3)       Political action committee advertisements on radio. – Radio advertisements purchased by a political action committee supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the chief executive officer or treasurer of the political action committee and containing at least the following words: "This ad opposing/supporting [name of candidate] for [name of office] was paid for (or "sponsored" or "furnished") by [name of political action committee] political action committee." The name of the political action committee used in the advertisement shall be the name that appears on the statement of organization as required by G.S. 163‑278.7(b)(1).

(4)       Advertisements on radio by an individual. – Radio advertisements purchased by an individual supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the individual and containing at least the following words: "I am [individual's name], and this ad opposing/supporting [name of candidate] for [name of office] was paid for (or "sponsored" or "furnished") by me."

(5)       Advertisements on radio by another sponsor. – Radio advertisements purchased by a sponsor other than a candidate, a candidate campaign committee, a political party organization, a political action committee, or an individual which supports or opposes the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the chief executive or principal decision maker of the sponsor and containing at least the following words: "[Name of sponsor] paid for (or "sponsored" or "furnished") this ad."

(d)       Placement of Disclosure Statement in Television and Radio Advertisements. – In advertisements on television, a sponsor may place the disclosure statement required by this section at any point during the advertisement, except if the duration of the advertisement is more than five minutes, the disclosure statement shall be made both at the beginning and end of the advertisement. The sponsor may provide the oral disclosure statement required by this section at the same time as the visual disclosure required under the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317, is shown. But any visual disclosure legend shall be at least 32 scan lines in size. For advertisements on radio, the placement of the oral disclosure statement shall comply with the requirements of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317.

(e)       Choice of Supporting or Opposing a Candidate. – In its oral disclosure statement, a sponsoring political party organization, political action committee, individual, or other noncandidate sponsor shall choose either to identify an advertisement as supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.

(e1)     Joint Sponsors. – If an advertisement described in this section is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall name all the sponsors and the disclosing individual shall be one of those sponsors. If a candidate is one of the sponsors, that candidate shall be the disclosing individual, and if more than one candidate is the sponsor, at least one of the candidates shall be the disclosing individual.

(f)        Legal Remedy. – Pursuant to the conditions established in subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection, a candidate for an elective office who complied with the television and radio disclosure requirements throughout that candidate's entire campaign shall have a monetary remedy in a civil action against (i) an opposing candidate or candidate committee whose television or radio advertisement violates these disclosure requirements and (ii) against any political party organization, political action committee, individual, or other sponsor whose advertisement for that elective office violates these disclosure requirements:

(1)       Any plaintiff candidate in a statewide race in an action under this section shall complete and file a Notice of Complaint Regarding Failure to Disclose on Television or Radio Campaign Advertising with the State Board of Elections after the airing of the advertisement but no later than the first Friday after the Tuesday on which the election occurred. Candidates in nonstatewide races may file the notice during the same time period with one county board of elections within the electoral area in which they are candidates. The timely filing of this notice preserves the candidate's right to bring an action in superior court any time within 90 days after the election. A candidate shall bring the civil action in the county where the candidate filed the notice.

(2)       Upon receiving a favorable verdict in accordance with existing law, the plaintiff candidate shall receive a monetary award of actual damages. The price of actual damages shall be calculated as the total dollar amount of television and radio advertising time that was aired and that the plaintiff candidate correctly identifies as being in violation of the disclosure requirements of this section.

The plaintiff candidate shall also receive an award that trebles the amount of actual damages if:

a.         The plaintiff candidate can establish having notified or attempted to notify the sponsor of the advertisement properly by return‑receipt mail about the failure of a particular advertisement or advertisements to comply with the disclosure requirements of this section, and

b.         After the notice or attempted notice, the advertisement continued to be aired.

The treble damages shall be calculated from the date on which the return‑receipt notice was accepted or rejected by a defendant sponsoring candidate or candidate committee, political party organization, political action committee, or individual. The plaintiff candidate or candidate committee shall send a copy of any return‑receipt mailing to the relevant board of elections as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection within five days after the notice is returned to the possession of the candidate or candidate committee.

The plaintiff candidate may bring the civil action personally or authorize his or her candidate campaign committee to bring the civil action.

(3)       A candidate who violates the disclosure requirements of State law in this section and that candidate's campaign committee shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of damages and attorneys' fees. If the candidate is held personally liable for any payment of damages or attorneys' fees, the candidate shall not use or be reimbursed by funds from the candidate's campaign committee in paying any amount.

(g)       Relation to the Communications Act of 1934. – Television advertisements by a sponsor supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall comply with the oral disclosure requirements under State law in this section. Those advertisements shall also comply with disclosure requirements under the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317 by use of visual legends. The content of those visual legends is specified by the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317, and G.S. 163‑278.39(a)(1). The size of those visual legends is determined by G.S. 163‑278.39(b), which satisfies requirements under the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317. In the case of radio advertisements, the oral disclosure requirements under State law in this section incorporate the content requirements under the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317.

(h)       No Additional Liability of Television or Radio Outlets. – Television or radio outlets shall not be liable under this Part for carriage of political advertisements that fail to include the disclosure requirements provided for in this Part.

(i)        No Criminal Liability. – Nothing in this section regarding the disclosure requirements in subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall be relied upon or otherwise interpreted to create criminal liability. (1999‑453, s. 2(a); 2000‑140, ss. 83, 84; 2001‑317, s. 2.)