24.2-957.1 - Requirements for television advertisements sponsored by a candidate or candidate campaign committee.
§ 24.2-957.1. Requirements for television advertisements sponsored by acandidate or candidate campaign committee.
It shall be unlawful for any candidate or a candidate campaign committee tosponsor a television advertisement that constitutes an expenditure orcontribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.)unless the following requirements are met:
1. It bears the legend or includes the statement: "Paid for by ............
[Name of candidate or campaign committee]." Alternatively, if the
advertisement is supporting that candidate and the advertisement makes no
reference to any other clearly identified candidate, then the statement "Paid
for by ............ [Name of sponsor]" may be replaced by the statement
"Authorized by ............ [Name of sponsor]."
The disclosure shall be made by visual legend, which shall constitute 20 scanlines in size. The content of these visual legends is specified by theCommunications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317 and this section.
2. If the advertisement sponsored by the candidate or the candidate campaign
committee makes reference to another clearly identified candidate, it must
include a disclosure statement spoken by the sponsoring candidate containing
at least the following words: "I am ............ (or 'This is ............
[Name of candidate], candidate for [Name of] office, and I (or 'my campaign')
sponsored this ad."
The candidate or the candidate campaign committee may provide the oraldisclosure statement required by this section at the same time as the visualdisclosure required under the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315and 317, is shown.
3. The advertisement shall include throughout the disclosure statement anunobscured, full-screen picture containing the candidate, either inphotographic form or through the actual appearance of the candidate on camera.
4. The candidate or the campaign committee may place the disclosure statementrequired by this section at any point during the advertisement, except if theduration of the advertisement is more than five minutes, the disclosurestatement shall be made both at the beginning and end of the advertisement.
5. In its oral disclosure statement, the sponsor may choose to identify anadvertisement as either supporting or opposing the nomination or election ofone or more clearly identified candidates.
6. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shallinclude the names of all the sponsors and the candidate shall be thedisclosing individual. If more than one candidate is the sponsor, at leastone of the candidates shall be the disclosing individual.
(2002, c. 487, § 24.2-944; 2004, cc. 55, 457; 2005, c. 369; 2006, cc. 787,892.)