Miscellaneous Provisions Applicable to All Political Committees

(1) Any expenditure made by a political action committee or a people’s committee for the benefit of a clearly identified candidate must be disclosed as a contribution or contribution in-kind received by that candidate or his or her political committee. This requirement shall not apply to an expenditure which is made by such a political action committee or a people’s committee without the cooperation or prior consent of, or without any consultation with the candidate or any authorized agent of his or her political committee. (2) Items acquired by a political committee must be primarily used by such political committee for the purposes permitted by 970 CMR 2.00. Under no circumstances may the use of an item in a manner other than that permitted by 970 CMR 2.00 be more than incidental to the overall use of the item. A political committee must be reimbursed for any such incidental use of an item. Reimbursement shall be made: (a) By the person or persons to whose benefit that incidental use is attributable; (b) By check payable to the political committee for the reasonable fair market value of that portion of the item’s use for which the political committee is not benefiting. (3) The use of anything of value by a political committee, other than of those things which are owned by the political committee or for which the political committee has paid the fair market value for the use thereof, shall constitute a contribution in-kind to that political committee by the person or entity which has ownership of the thing of value. Such contributions in-kind are subject to all limitation and disclosure requirements of M.G.L. c. 55. 970 CMR 2.07(3) shall include, but not be limited to the use of: (a) office equipment; (b) function rooms; (c) equipment; (d) transportation vehicles. Notwithstanding the above, 970 CMR 2.07(3) shall not apply to the use of space provided free of charge or at less than a fair market value to a political committee when it is a usual and customary practice for the owner to provide such space in such a manner to the general public. (4) No individual, candidate, political committee or person acting on behalf of such individual, candidate or political committee shall make an expenditure for an amount exceeding $50 except by check, other than as provided for in M.G.L. c. 55, § 9 and 970 CMR 2.09. (5) A political committee may invest its funds only in the following: (a) savings accounts, which shall include any interest bearing account or deposit in a bank or savings institution; (b) money market instruments, or in any fund which invests primarily in money market instruments, if such instruments are short term and may include the following: 1. United States Government Obligations: Debt Securities issued by the United States Treasury or by an agency or instrumentality of the United States Government; 2. Certificates of Deposit: Negotiable certificates issued by a savings bank and commercial bank which earn specified rates of interest over given periods; 3. Banker’s Acceptances: Negotiable obligations of a bank to pay a draft which has been drawn on it; 4. Commercial Paper: Short term promissory notes of large corporations with high commercial paper ratings; 5. Repurchase Agreements: The purchase of securities with the condition that the securities will be sold back to the original owner at the end of a specified term for a negotiated rate of interest which yields a higher price, provided however, that such repurchase agreements are limited to member banks of the Federal Reserve System or primary dealers in United States Government Securities. (c) All investments authorized under 970 CMR 2.07(5) shall be made in the exercise of the judgment and care consistent with the prudent man rule, so called. (6) In the event of the dissolution of a political committee, any residual funds, which shall include all funds received as the result of the disposition of the assets of the political committee as provided in 970 CMR 2.08, must be donated in accordance with the provisions of the residual funds clause of M.G.L. c. 55, § 18, clause 18. In accordance with M.G.L. c. 55, § 18, clause 15 of the residual funds clause, residual funds may be donated to the General Fund of the Commonwealth, or to the entities specified in M.G.L. c. 55, § 18, clause 15, parts (ii) through (iv). (7) The disposition of residual funds, as provided in 970 CMR 2.07(7), shall apply to all assets of a political committee organized on behalf of a candidate at the time of the death of said candidate, other than those funds which are necessary to pay the following expenses: (a) Obligations incurred by the committee prior to the candidate’s death, provided that such expenditures are permitted by 970 CMR 2.06; (b) Costs clearly associated with administering the termination of the committee; (c) Obligations to employees which would be reasonable and payable as a usual and customary business practice; (d) Federal and state taxes, such as employee taxes and interest income taxes. (8) Identification Numbers. The Director shall assign each candidate and political committee registered with this office a unique identification number. (a) Each political committee shall include, on any statement, affidavit or report filed with the Director: 1. the political committee’s identification number; and 2. the identification number of any political action committee or people’s committee from which it receives or to which it makes a contribution or transfer of funds. (b) All political action committees and people’s committees shall have the committee’s identification number printed on all committee checks. (9) A person nominated by the governor for a position that requires confirmation by the executive council, if confirmed prior to January 1, 2010, is not required to dissolve any political committee organized on behalf of such person in accordance with M.G.L. c. 55, § 18. (10) In accordance with M.G.L. c. 55, § 5, a candidate who does not have a committee organized on the candidate’s behalf may not sign campaign checks payable to himself or herself. A candidate without a committee must authorize another person to sign checks on the candidate’s behalf if the candidate is to be reimbursed for any campaign expenditures. (11) Political committees, when filing statements of organization in accordance with M.G.L. c. 55, § 5, shall include the email address (if any) of the principal officers of the committee, and of the candidate, if the committee is organized on behalf of a candidate. (12) Treasurer Training. Each treasurer of a political committee that files reports with OCPF shall complete an online training program created by OCPF in accordance with 970 CMR 2.07(12). (a) Treasurers accepting the position of treasurer in accordance with M.G.L. c. 55, § 5 after January 1, 2015 shall complete the training program within 30 days after filing their acceptance. (b) All other treasurers of committees that file reports with OCPF shall be responsible for completing the training program during the first six months of each odd-numbered year, starting in 2015. (c) Failure to complete the training program may result in disqualification as treasurer. (13) Closure of Inactive Committees. A political committee, that files report with OCPF, that has an outstanding balance of $250 or less, which has not received contributions or made expenditures, or incurred liabilities, in excess of $250 during a period of 24 consecutive months, and does not have outstanding liabilities exceeding $250, may be closed administratively by the Director. When a committee is closed, OCPF will notify the treasurer of the committee in writing, and if the committee is organized on behalf of a candidate, the candidate. After notification, a committee may be reopened upon written request from the committee to OCPF. (14) Disclosure of Candidate Address. For purposes of M.G.L. c. 55, § 18 (clause (8), 11th paragraph), a political party committee or political action committee complies with the requirement of disclosing “the name and address… [of] each candidate on whose behalf [an] expenditure was made,” by disclosing either the residential, committee or other address of the candidate supported.