Political Parties, Candidates, Advertising Agencies, and Media Outlets RE: ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS BROADCAST CONTRACTS

Transcription

1 Circular Letter OCE Political Parties, Candidates, Advertising Agencies, and Media Outlets RE: ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS BROADCAST CONTRACTS The communication media and advertising agencies may place advertisements requested by a political party, aspirant, candidate or committees provided they have received from the requestor the corresponding payment for the total expenditures incurred in placing the requested advertisement. Act prohibits that advertising agencies and communication media fund electioneering communications of parties, aspirants, candidates and committees. Section 8.003(g) of Act establishes said prohibition: Advertising agencies and media outlets are hereby prohibited to fund with their own resources the cost of placing electioneering communications for any party, aspirant, or candidate for an elective office, or political action committee or any other type of committee that requests the placement of such electioneering communications for the purpose of positively or negatively impacting the election of a candidate, aspirant, ideology in a general election, candidacy or in a consultation, plebiscite, or referendum. PLACEMENT THROUGH ADVERTISING AGENCIES: Section 8.003(e) provides that: Advertising agencies may place advertisements requested by an aspirant, candidate, party, political action committee, or other type of committee, provided that they have already received from the requestor the corresponding payment for the total expenditures incurred in placing the requested advertisement. In the case that

2 the expenditure is to be defrayed by the Special Fund established in Chapter X of this Act, the advertising agencies shall request the certifications of collections and fund availability provided by this Act. Pursuant to the above stated, in order for a media outlet to place an advertisement requested by an advertising agency for a party, aspirant, candidate or committee it must have received from the advertising agency the total payment for the placing of the advertisement or advertisements that are to be broadcast. The advertising agency shall, in turn, have received the total payment for the expenditures incurred in the ads that it contracted with the media outlet. The media outlet shall request that the advertising agency certifies to it that the party, aspirant, candidate or committee has paid for the ads to be broadcast. In the case of an ad or ads that are to be defrayed by the Election Fund, the Special Fund for Election Campaign Funding or by any other Fund created by a special law, the media outlet must have received the total payment of the advertisement or advertisements by part of the advertising agency that serves as an intermediary and evidence that the advertising agency billed the party, candidate or committee for said ads and that the latter processed the payment voucher and control sheet with the Department of the Treasury. On its part, the advertising agency shall bill the party, candidate or committee for the total cost of the ad or ads to be contracted with the communication media. The agency shall ensure that said invoice is processed at the Department of the Treasury for its payment in advance. Together with the payment to the communications media, the advertising agency shall remit copy of the Payment Voucher (Model SC 735.3) and the Accounting System Control Sheet (Model SC 2

3 714) used by the Department of the Treasury to process the transaction, duly registered for the payment of ads contracted with the communication media. Once the payment has been issued by the Department of the Treasury, the party or candidate shall remit the same to the advertising agency within a term that shall not exceed five (5) business days. DIRECT ADVERTISING On the other hand, Section allows the communication media to accept requests for direct placement from a party, candidate, aspirant and committees provided the payment for the total expenditures for the ad or ads is received before broadcasting the advertisement. To such effects, subsection (f) provides: Media outlets shall also agree to place advertisements requested by a candidate, aspirant, political action committee, or any other type of committee through direct advertising, provided that they have already received from the requestor the corresponding payment for the total expenditures incurred in placing the requested advertisement over the media. In the case that the expenditure is to be defrayed with the resources of the Special Fund established in Chapter X of this Act, media outlets shall request the certifications of collections and availability of funds provided by this Act. Media outlets shall request, prior to placing the advertisement, a signed and sworn statement by the treasurer of the party, aspirant, candidate, political action committee, or any other type of committee that requests the media placement of electioneering communications, certifying, under penalty of perjury, that the funds have been already collected and registered with the Election Comptroller, and that the advertising agency serving as intermediary received the payment for the total cost of all the media placements sought to be contracted for a specific timeframe when this transaction is made through an advertising agency. In the case that such cost is to be defrayed with the resources of the Special Fund established in Chapter X of this Act, 3

4 it shall be certified that the necessary funds have been collected and reported and are already available. (Emphasis supplied) A media outlet may place an ad requested by an aspirant, candidate, political party and any other committee provided the total cost of the advertisement has been paid before the same is aired. If the advertisement is to be paid through the Election Fund, the Special Fund for Election Campaign Funding or by any other fund created by a special law for election purposes, the communication media shall bill the party and its candidate for governor, or the independent candidate for governor for the total amount of the advertisements to be contracted before the ad is aired. The party and its candidate for governor or the independent candidate for governor shall immediately process a payment voucher in order for the Department of the Treasury to authorize an advance payment and remit evidence thereof to the communication media. To such effect, the communication media shall require, in addition to the certification issued by the treasurer attesting that the funds are available, a Payment Voucher from the Department of the Treasury (Model SC 735.3) and the Accounting System Control Sheet (Model SC 714) used by the Department of the Treasury to process the transaction, duly registered for the payment of ads contracted with the communication media prior to broadcasting the advertisement. Once the payment has been issued by the Department of the Treasury, the party or candidate shall remit the same to the media outlet within a term that shall not exceed five (5) business days. 4

5 Act prohibits corporations or individuals who own communication media to accept or air electioneering communication for which all requirements of law have not been strictly complied. Failure to comply with Act , specifically with Section 8.003, shall entail the imposition of administrative fines that could amount to two thousand five hundred (2,500) dollars in the case of a natural person for the first violation and up to five thousand (5,000) dollars for subsequent violations. In the case of juridical persons, the Election Comptroller could impose penalties of up to fifteen thousand (15,000) dollars for the first violation and up to thirty thousand for subsequent violations. For all the abovestated, and by virtue of the powers conferred on me by Section 3.003(e) of Act and Section 8.003(g) of Act , I issue this Circular Letter in order to establish the additional requirements that must be complied by political parties, aspirants, candidates and committees to place electioneering advertisements in the media outlets and the rules to be followed by the latter when accepting said advertisements. Likewise, requirements are imposed on advertising agencies that serve as intermediaries between parties, aspirants, candidates and committees to contract with media outlets. However, any electioneering communication aired by a communication media upon request of an advertising agency for a party, aspirant, candidate or committee, or directly requested by any of these before this Circular Letter takes effect shall be legal, provided there has been strict compliance with Section of Act , and that the communication media has received the payment in advance for the advertisement or the duly sworn certification of availability of funds in the 5

6 Election Fund issued by the treasurer of the party committee, aspirant, candidate or committee. Nothing of the herein provided shall be construed as to rendering ineffective the remaining provisions in effect of Act Given in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the 13 th day of June (signed) Manuel A. Torres-Nieves 6