Constituent and Legislative Services

An elected officer’s political committee may pay or expend money or other things of value for the provision of constituent or legislative services, including the opening and maintaining of a district office. (1) General Expenditures. The following expenditures, as well as any expenditure which is similar to the following and not inconsistent with M.G.L. c. 55 and 970 CMR, shall be permitted by an elected officer’s political committee: (a) The reasonable costs of providing services to constituents, including requests for information, assistance in gaining access to governmental services, and responding to district issues and concerns by an elected officer if each of the following requirements are met: 1. the service is provided to a member of the public who is not a family member of the elected officer; 2. the service is provided by an elected officer or an officer’s aide in the officer’s or aide’s official capacity; and 3. the provision of said service is not otherwise prohibited by M.G.L. c. 55 or 970 CMR. (b) The reasonable and necessary costs associated with carrying out the customary or official duties or responsibilities of a legislator which otherwise comply with M.G.L. c. 55 and 970 CMR including, but not limited to, payments for the use of meeting rooms, food and beverages provided that such costs are not: 1. usual costs associated with the ordinary course of everyday living or recreational activities; or 2. made primarily for the elected officer’s or any other person’s personal use. (2) District Offices. (a) Political committees organized on behalf of legislators may pay the reasonable costs of opening and maintaining a district office. 1. Examples of such costs may include: a. the purchase, lease and use of telephones, office furniture, office equipment including computers, copying machines, fax machines, typewriters and postage meters and utilities; b. the cost of leasing or renting but not purchasing office space; and c. all other necessary and reasonable costs associated with the opening and maintenance of a district office. 2. All expenditures authorized by 970 CMR 2.15 shall be reasonable and consistent with the use and purpose of a district office. 3. No district office, nor any of the district office’s equipment, shall be used for the personal use of a candidate or any other person. (b) Campaign activities may be undertaken in a district office provided each of the following requirements are satisfied and such activity is otherwise permitted by law: 1. Public resources may not be used to support the candidate’s campaign. Such resources include, but are not limited to, legislative aides during their work hours, stationery, and other materials or services provided by or paid for by the state or other public entity. 2. Campaign activities may not be performed during the hours the office is open for constituent services, unless campaign and constituent service functions are physically separated and the candidate clearly delineates that part of the office used for constituent services from that part used for campaign purposes. 3. Such use of a district office for campaign purposes must comply with M.G.L. c. 55, § 14. (3) Campaign Finance Reports. A political committee may file a constituent and legislative services report as an attachment to any campaign finance report in order to identify the purpose of each constituent and legislative expenditure or portion thereof and the total of all such expenditures or portions thereof reported on a political committee’s campaign finance report which were made for the purposes set forth in 970 CMR 2.15. The attachment authorized by 970 CMR 2.15 shall be voluntary and does not supersede a political committee’s obligation to provide the information regarding expenditures required by M.G.L c. 55, § 18. (4) Nothing in 970 CMR 2.15 shall be construed to authorize a political committee to pay for any district office expense which is otherwise paid or reimbursed by the Commonwealth.