2024 Legislature

The Commission would like to inform you of the following campaign finance bills which were passed during the 2024 legislative session:

1.  Act 16, SLH 2024 (H.B. 2072 H.D. 1 S.D. 1)

Governor Josh Green signed H.B. 2072 H.D. 1 S.D. 1 into law on May 3, 2024.  Act 16, effective upon approval, prohibits candidate and noncandidate committees from soliciting contributions that refer to a disaster that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the contribution would be used to benefit persons directly affected by the disaster unless the solicitation contains an explicit disclosure that:  (1) it is subject to the campaign finance laws; (2) it may be used to influence a candidate’s election to office or the outcome of a ballot issue; and (3) persons affected by the disaster may not necessarily benefit from the contribution.  A violation of this statute is a class C felony.

2.  Act 191, SLH 2024 (S.B. 2687 S.D. 1 H.D. 2 C.D. 1)

Governor Josh Green signed S.B. 2687 S.D. 1 H.D. 2 C.D. 1 into law on July 3, 2024.  Act 191, effective upon approval, prohibits a person from recklessly distributing, or entering into an agreement to distribute, between the first working day in February to the general election in an even-numbered year, “materially deceptive media” in reckless disregard of the risk of harming the reputation or electoral prospects of a candidate or changing the voting behavior of voters in an election, unless the media contains a disclaimer that:  (1) the media has been manipulated by technical means; and (2) depicts appearance, speech, or conduct that did not occur.  Notably, the disclaimers must appear throughout the entirety of the video (or at the beginning and end of the audio), be clearly visible and readable, be in letters at least as large as the largest size of any text communication, be in the same language used in the media, & be in a pitch that can be easily heard.  This includes political advertising so a disclaimer is required (i.e., person who paid for the advertisement, address, done with or without support from the candidate).

“Materially deceptive media” means any information, including video, image, or audio, that: (1) is an advertisement (disclaimer laws); (2) depicts an individual engaging in speech or conduct which the individual did not in fact engage; (3) would cause a reasonable viewer/listener to believe the speech or conduct; and (4) was created by:  (a) generative adversarial network techniques; (b) artificial intelligence; or (c) digital technology.

Provides for a private cause of action for general or special damages for falsely depicted individuals.  A violation of this statute ranges from a petty misdemeanor to a Class C felony as well as civil remedies.