HB 1218 - AS INTRODUCED
1998 SESSION
98-2860
03/01
HOUSE BILL 1218
AN ACT requiring the secretary of state to print a question to the voters relative to the public financing of political campaigns on the 1998 general election ballot.
SPONSORS: Rep. J. Foster, Hills 33; Sen. Hollingworth, Dist 23; Sen. Rubens, Dist 5
COMMITTEE: Election Law
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the secretary of state to place a question to the voters on the 1998 general election ballot asking them if the legislature should adopt campaign finance laws which provide public funds to candidates who agree to spending limits.
This bill is a result of the study committee established in 1997, 276.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
98-2860
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight
AN ACT requiring the secretary of state to print a question to the voters relative to the public financing of political campaigns on the 1998 general election ballot.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Purpose. The general court acknowledges the increasing interest across the country in the adoption of laws which provide for the public financing of political campaigns in an effort to limit overall campaign expenditures. Such reforms have been adopted in Kentucky in 1992, Maine, by initiative petition in 1996, and in Vermont by the legislature in 1997. Currently, ballot initiatives on publicly funded campaigns are being prepared in a number of states including Arizona, Idaho, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Washington. Generally, under a system of publicly financed campaigns, candidates qualify for public financing by showing evidence of public support by raising a specified amount of money through individual contributions. Upon qualifying, candidates voluntarily decline further private contributions in order to receive public financing. In order to assess the sentiment of the voters of New Hampshire relative to the public financing of political campaigns, the general court feels that it is desirable to place a question to the voters relative to public financing on the 1998 general election ballot.
2 Question on 1998 Ballot. The secretary of state shall include the following question to the voters on the 1998 state general election ballot in the form printed for in RSA 656:13.
"Should the New Hampshire legislature adopt new campaign finance laws which give public funding to candidates for state and federal office who agree to spending limits? (The results of this question are advisory only and are not binding upon the legislature.)"
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.