HERTEL Jennifer From: HERTEL Jennifer Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2014 1:06 PM To: Kevin Neely Subject: RE: Opinion request personal services (volunteer) Kevin: We have considered your question as to whether or not activities by an individual that is a self?employed consultant are required to be reported as a contribution by the Kitzhaber campaign. In your September 23, 2014, email request for an opinion, you stated that the activities constitute discussing campaign issues with the candidate, coordinating discussions with other interested parties and discussing hiring decisions with the candidate. Further you stated that this individual is not being compensated by any person while conducting these activities with the campaign. We understand that no other good, product or thing of value was supplied to the campaign other than the described discussions and advice. To answer your question, we have reviewed ORS chapter 260 and similar federal regulations, researched the legislative history, and consulted with legal counsel. Under Oregon law, political campaigns are required to report contributions. "Contribution" is defined in ORS 260.005i3lla) as "The payment, loan, gift, forgiving of indebtedness, or furnishing without equivalent compensation or consideration, of money, services other than personal services for which no compensation is asked or given, supplies, equipment or other thing of value." Unlike other contributions like money, loans, goods or supplies, the legislature established a broad exception for volunteer services provided to campaigns. Under this legislatively created exception, "personal services for which no compensation is asked or given" are explicitly excluded from the definition of l?contribution" under ORS Under this statutory exception, so long as no compensation is asked or given, the personal services provided are not contributions and do not have to be reported. I'Personal services" is a broad category that would include, but not be limited to, stuffing envelopes, handing out campaign literature, answering telephones, discussing issues with a candidate, or giving advice. The statutory exception for "personal services for which no compensation is asked or given" appears to date to at least 1973. We have reviewed the legislative history of HB 3077 from 1973 which proposed this language. The discussions during the legislative hearings at the time demonstrate that a broad exception was contemplated by the legislature. See Testimony of Sen. Ted Hallock and Jack Thompson, Senate Committee on Elections (HB 3077), June 18, 1973, tape 10, side 2 at 177-181. Further, the definition of "personal services" as used elsewhere in the Oregon Revised Statutes also appears to include professional services. See, ORS (defining "professional" as a person who provides a "personal service? like those of certain listed professional license-holders). Finally, this broad definition of personal services in state law is also consistent with the federal regulations on campaign volunteering. See 11 CFR 100.74. In an abundance of caution, a campaign may nevertheless choose to report these personal services for which no compensation is asked or given. Reporting those personal services is not prohibited, and campaigns have done so over the years. Therefore, based on the information provided in your email request on Tuesday, September 23, 2014, the services that were provided are not contributions but are personal services that are not required to be reported. As you know, we received a complaint on Wednesday, October 1, 2014, making additional allegations regarding this matter. We will investigate those aliegations, and our conclusions in this opinion may be revised to reflect any new or additional facts discovered during our investigation. Sincerely, Jennifer Hertel State Elections Division Compliance Specialist From: Kevin Neely Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 10:25 AM To: HERTEL Jennifer Subject: Opinion request Jennifer, On behalf of Kitzhaber for Governor request advice as to the following situation. A self?employed consultant, who charges for professional communication and management services, responds to requests from a candidate related to campaign activities. The activities include discussing campaign issues with the ca ndidate, coordinating discussions with other interested parties and discussing hiring decisions with the candidate. There is no formal role, no specific hours, no expectation of pay, and no pay received from any source, and the discussions were on the individual?s personal time. The time commitment represented is between 5 and 10 hours over a month. Again, during the period of time in which the discussions occur the consultant does not have a specific role (such as management consultant or media consultant) with the campaign. The consultant did have a defined professional role with the campaign in 2010, and may have such a role in 2014. In this scenario is the campaign required to report the time as an in-kind expenditure. If so, at what point is there a distinction between providing volunteer advice to a friend/colleague and providing professional services that require reporting? Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please let me know if you need additional details. Sincerely, Kevin Kevin Neely Systems 3321 SE 20*? Avenue Fortland, OR 97202 (503) 2954351