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Corporate Election Advertising

SECTION 34.   Chapter 55 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 18F, inserted by section 43 of chapter 28 of the acts of 2009, the following section:-

Section 18G. An independent expenditure or electioneering communication which is transmitted through paid radio, television or internet advertising shall include a statement disclosing the identity of the individual, corporation, group or association paying for the advertisement. If the independent expenditure or electioneering communication is a radio or television advertisement, the advertisement shall include a statement by the individual paying for the advertisement in which the person acknowledges that he paid for the message and his city or town of residence. If the radio or television advertisement is paid for by a corporation, group, association or a labor union, the following statement shall be made by the chief executive officer of the corporation, the chairman or principal officer of the group or association or the chief executive or business manager of a labor union: "I am _________________ (name) the ______________________ (office held) of _____________________ (name of corporation, group, association or labor union) and ______________ (name of corporation, group, association or labor union) approves and paid for this message." Such statements in television advertisements shall be conveyed by an unobscured, full-screen view of the person making the statement. If an independent expenditure or electioneering communication is transmitted through internet advertising, the statement shall appear in a clearly readable manner with a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the printed statement.

Whoever violates this section shall be punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 1 year or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.