111-4-08 Solicitation of contributions for a particular candidate prohibited; administrative expenses which may and may not be paid by a connected corporation.

(A) A corporation, nonprofit corporation, or labor organization may not solicit contributions to its Ohio PAC or FSL PAC for a particular Ohio state or local candidate or a political party. However, an Ohio PAC or FSL PAC may permit their contributors to voluntarily earmark their contributions for any particular candidate, political action committee, political contributing entity, legislative campaign fund, or political party of their choice.

(B) Except as provided in paragraph (D) of this rule, expenses associated with activities of an Ohio PAC or FSL PAC, which aid Ohio state or local candidates, any legislative campaign fund, or any political party, are not administrative expenses under section 3517.082 of the Revised Code, and a corporation including a nonprofit corporation may not use its money or property for such activities. Such activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Nonmonetary (in-kind) contributions to Ohio state or local candidates, political parties, and legislative campaign funds;

(2) Independent expenditures to influence state or local candidate elections other than ballot issue elections;

(3) Receptions or other social events for state or local candidates, political parties, and legislative campaign funds; and

(4) Communications to stockholders, members, employees, directors, officers, or trustees of the corporation regarding state or local candidates. This provision does not include a regular communication to the PAC’s contributors, reporting how PAC funds were spent, including the names of candidates and officeholders to whom contributions were made and the voting record of such officeholders.

(C) An Ohio corporate PAC or FSL corporate PAC may conduct the activities specified in paragraphs (B)(1), (B)(2), (B)(3), and (B)(4) of this rule if the PAC pays all associated expenses from its political action committee or separate segregated fund established under section 3517.082 of the Revised Code.

(D) A corporation, nonprofit corporation, or labor organization may use its money and property for the following activities of its Ohio PAC or FSL PAC in connection with Ohio state or local elections, but only if such activities are designed so as not to aid any particular candidate or political party:

(1) Voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities;

(2) Candidate debates and other functions at which candidates are permitted to address or meet voters, but only if each candidate for the same office is offered the same opportunity to appear and speak at such function. No effort may be made at such functions to express support for a candidate or to solicit contributions for a candidate;

(3) Printed material intended to educate voters as to the qualifications, records and positions of candidates consisting of questions directed to all candidates for the same office and their verbatim responses to such questions, provided that the number of words per response may be limited at the time the questions are sent.

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 05/30/2006 and 01/01/2011

Promulgated Under: 119.03

Statutory Authority: 3517.23

Rule Amplifies: 3517.082

Prior Effective Dates: 3/7/88, 1/1/02