Bill > H2764

This bill, titled "Relative to prohibiting pay-to-play schemes," aims to prevent conflicts of interest by restricting political contributions from investment advisors who do business with government entities. It defines key terms such as "contribution" (any gift or loan made to influence elections or pay for election-related expenses), "government entity" (any state or local government body), "investment adviser" (a firm providing investment advice to a government entity, including to private investment companies), and "official" (an elected official whose office can influence the awarding of investment advisory contracts). The bill makes it illegal for an investment advisor to provide services to a government entity for compensation if they, or their key personnel or controlled political action committees, have made a contribution to an official of that government entity within two years prior to the contribution or are currently seeking to provide services. It also prohibits investment advisors from soliciting contributions for officials of government entities they are serving or seeking to serve, and prevents government officials from soliciting or accepting contributions from investment advisors and then awarding them contracts. While there are some exceptions for small personal contributions, the bill allows the office of campaign and political finance to grant exemptions under certain conditions, such as if the advisor had procedures in place to prevent violations and took steps to recover contributions. Violations can result in fines or imprisonment for both the investment advisor and the government official involved.