CHAPTER C. [establishing state or federal "Commission on Ethics" enforcement agency, with independent source of budget from tax or "assessment" on contributions (possibly limited to those originating from out-of state ), and with plenary investigatory, and prosecutorial powers].
CHAPTER D. PUBLIC INTEREST EXCEPTION
1. The corporation code shall be amended to prohibit any for-profit corporation from making electioneering ependitures for or against any elected public official for generalized public interest purposes. For-profit corporations are incorporated or otherwise allowed to do business in this state solely for economic purposes, not political purposes. They are conclusively presumed at all times to make expenditures solely for the purpose of enhancing profits and for related economic interests and not for any other purpose. All corporate electioneering expenditures must comply with the provisions of this law by reporting the precise relationship between any "constitutional speech" payment and the specific economic interests for which the corporation is chartered.
2. Not-for-profit entities or persons which may make a contribution or expenditure for a public interest must disclose the ultimate source of the money contributed, specifically reporting the same information about the "constitutional speech" interests described in Chapter A. If the contribution or expenditure is ultimately found to be made by or to serve the profit or other benefit of private or special interests as decided by the Ethics Commission it will be subject to this law.
3. Contributions or expenditures by any person, association, or non-profit entity organized to serve the public interest by advocating policies and official actions that affect the public at large, or primarily the non-economic interests of any sizable portion of the public and not discernible private or special economic interests of their members or donors shall be exempt from the conflict of interest recusal obligation, provided that each specific "constitutional communication" is made for purposes of supporting a generalized public interest as defined in this law as distinguished from an immediate narrow private or special economic interest. In case of doubt, determinations about whether a constitutional communication serves a public interest will be made by the Ethics Commission based on evidence about,
a) the ultimate source of the funds, whether traceable to special economic interests,
b) the capacity of the policy action to advantage special economic interests,
c) the extent to which the policy action legitimately can or will serve broad public interests that considerably outweigh any private interests involved,
d) organizations that serve the interests of groups of persons in preserving their democratic rights of participation and related liberties are presumed to serve the public interest in protecting the equal participation of all persons in public life and the equal protection of the law for such persons,
e) "astroturf" front organizations designed to give an apparent public interest image to private interests will be identified by the Ethics Commission and labeled as serving those private interests.
CHAPTER E. PROHIBITED DEFENSES
1. An official's defense to a conflict of interest charge that that his or her vote was consistent with previous votes or pre-existing views held about the matter is irrelevant for purposes of recusal. Receipt of money from a privately or specially interested party is conclusive proof of the appearance of a conflict of interest and the official is required to recuse himself or herself from the related matter irrespective of allegedly comparable personal views on the subject, if a reasonable person would conclude that the payment would cause a conflict of interest for an ordinary person.
2. That the official allegedly voted or acted against the interest of the donor or spender on the policy action is not a defense. The official must recuse him or herself from any action in the matter whatsoever to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest arising from an interested "constitutional communication."
CHAPTER F. CAMPAIGN FINANCE EXTORTION
1. If the "constitutional speech" is made in the form of extortion, conditioned by a threat to support an opponent, and the incumbent has been made aware of its content as potential negative "constitutional speech," recusal applies only to any yielding to the extortion and taking official action as demanded. The electioneering expenditure for the opponent would be evidence that the incumbent did not change position as a result of the extortion. The incumbent may vote against the "constitutional speech" extortionist as originally intended. If the threat is delivered to the incumbent, but not the "constitutional speech" for the opponent, any action as demanded by the "speech" extortionist would have the appearance of conflict and therefore is prohibited, provided it was not for deceptively tactical purposes, which provide mitigating circumstances warranting an exception to the rule of recusal.
2. Such an extortionate communication involving a negative threat to oppose the incumbent must be reported in accordance with this law in the same manner as if it were positive "constitutional speech" for the incumbent.
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