Esta ley enmienda la Ley Electoral de Puerto Rico para permitir que los partidos políticos y candidatos que optan por el Fondo Voluntario para el Financiamiento de Campañas Electorales utilicen hasta el 16.66% de su asignación básica para cubrir gastos de campaña incurridos entre el 1 de enero y el 30 de junio del año de la elección general. También elimina un párrafo de la sección sobre la utilización de fondos para ajustarla a esta enmienda.
(Approved January 30, 2004)
To amend subsection
(e) of Section 3.024 of Act No. 4 of December 20, 1977, as amended, to authorize the use of certain resources provided in said Act for the payment or reimbursement of expenses incurred between January 1 and June 30 of the year a general election is held, and to eliminate the second paragraph of Section 3.026 of said Act, to temper it to the amendment.
Section 1.- Subsection
(e) of Section 3.024 of Act No. 4 of December 20, 1977, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Section 3.024.- Voluntary Fund for the Financing of Electoral Campaigns.
A System of shared responsibility is hereby provided to finance the political campaigns with the participation of the citizens, through the creation of a Voluntary Fund which shall be nurtured by private and public resources. Said Fund is a comprehensive integrated program that requires that the parties and the candidates that chose this system of financing, shall fully avail themselves thereof. The resources of the Voluntary Fund shall be available on the first day of July of the year that a general election is held. As an option to private financing of political campaigns, the Voluntary Fund shall be available for the political parties, their candidates for governor and the independent candidates for governor; and as a pilot plan for the financing of Municipal Campaigns, for the candidates of political parties and
independent candidates for Mayor of San Juan, Carolina, Bayamón and Guaynabo. The parties and their candidates for mayor of the abovementioned municipalities who on the date of filing their candidacies for the general elections expressly certify that they shall avail themselves thereof through a sworn statement filed at the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, may participate of the benefits of the Voluntary Fund. Independent candidates, duly certified by the Commission, who run for the abovementioned positions may also avail themselves of this Fund.
Once said certification is filed, the option to avail themselves of the benefits of the Voluntary Fund shall be final and binding and may not be revoked for that specific general election. If the sworn certification is not received within the term for filing candidacies, the party, its candidate for governor, the candidates of the parties for mayor of the municipalities included in the pilot plan, and the independent candidates for these positions, shall be barred from to availing themselves of the benefits of this Fund for that specific general election.
(a) ...
(b) ...
(c) ...
(d) ...
(e) Expenses to be Charged to the Voluntary Fund - The Voluntary Fund shall be used exclusively to defray the campaign expenses of the political party and its candidate for governor and those of the candidates for mayor for a political party in the municipalities included in the pilot plan, and for independent candidates duly-certified by the Commission for those positions who have filed the certification to avail themselves of the benefits of the Fund. The amounts paid into said Fund shall not be used for the
payment of debts incurred before July 1 of the year that general elections are held for which they avail themselves of the financing option provided in this Section; provided, however, that the candidates that avail themselves of the Voluntary Fund may use up to 16.66 percent of their basic corresponding apportionment for the payment of debts incurred for the political campaign between January 1 and June 30 of the year that general elections are held, and, in the case of the political parties and candidates to governor, to reimburse to their Electoral Fund account such campaign expenses charged to the Electoral Fund which have been disbursed during said period. The matching of funds may be made until December 31 of the election year.
(f) $\ldots$
(g) $\ldots$
Section 2- Section 3.026 of Act No. 4 of December 20, 1977, as amended, is hereby amended to eliminate the second paragraph thereof, and to read as follows: "Section 3.026.- Utilization of the Funds The amounts appropriated in this Act for the political parties that qualify to participate in the Electoral Fund, shall be used by them exclusively for the benefit of all the nominated candidates and shall be devoted to administrative campaign expenses and political propaganda in Puerto Rico, including but not to be understood as a limitation, radio, television and theater programs; notice in local newspapers; printing of political party programs and publications; shipping, printing, distribution and transportation expenses of propaganda materials in Puerto Rico; general election expenses; referendums, plebiscites, primaries, conventions, assemblies, and registrations in Puerto Rico; expenses for printed matter, recordings, symbols, flags, films, and the printing of political newssheets to be circulated
in Puerto Rico, as well as general office expenses, including leases, telephone, telegraph and post office services in Puerto Rico; as well as water, electric power, travel expenses and equipment and machinery.
In the event a political party disappears, any equipment or property acquired with monies from the Electoral Fund shall be returned to the Electoral Commission by the incumbent President, at the time of the disappearance of the party in question."
Section 3.- Effectiveness This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 56 (S.B. 2522) of the $7^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend subsection
(e) of Section 3.024 of Act No. 4 of December 20, 1977, as amended, to authorize the use of certain resources provided in said Act for the payment or reimbursement of expenses incurred between January 1 and June 30 of the year a general election is held, and to eliminate the second paragraph of Section 3.026 of said Act, to temper it the amendment, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $10^{ ext {th }}$ of May of 2005.
Luis E. Fusté-Lacourt Director