Provides for disclosures required in certain digital political communications

HB 540 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 18:1463(C)(2) to extend existing disclosure requirements for electioneering communications to digital materials. The bill specifically adds digital materials to the scope of communications subject to disclosure mandates. Currently, the statute requires that whenever a person, political committee, entity, or organization finances an electioneering communication, certain disclosures must appear on that communication. The proposed amendment applies these same disclosure requirements to digital materials, defined in existing law as any material or communication placed or promoted on a public-facing website, web application, or digital application for a fee, including social networks, advertising networks, or search engines. The substantive disclosure obligations remain unchanged: communications must identify whether they are paid for and authorized by a candidate's committee, paid for by others but authorized by a candidate's committee, or paid for by persons not authorized by any candidate, with full names of political committees and no acronyms permitted in all cases.

The practical effect of this legislation extends campaign finance transparency requirements to the digital advertising space where political messages increasingly appear. Political committees, candidates, outside groups, and any organizations financing digital political advertisements will now be subject to the same identification and disclosure rules that apply to traditional broadcast, cable, and satellite electioneering communications. This means that political advertisements on social media platforms, search engines, and other digital channels must display the required sponsor information, including the full name and physical address of non-authorized payers and their telephone numbers and web addresses if available. Candidates and voters are given the right to seek injunctions against violations of these requirements, and violators face criminal penalties of up to two thousand dollars in fines or up to two years imprisonment, or both.

This legislation operates within Louisiana's existing campaign finance disclosure framework established in R.S. 18:1463. The statute previously defined electioneering communications narrowly to cover only broadcast, cable, and satellite communications referring to qualified candidates within sixty days of an election. By extending disclosure obligations to digital materials while retaining the existing definition of electioneering communications, the bill addresses the technological evolution of political advertising without dismantling the existing statutory scheme. The amendment preserves all existing exemptions, procedural rights, and penalties while creating parallel obligations for the digital medium. This approach ensures that candidates and outside groups cannot circumvent campaign finance transparency requirements by shifting their advertising expenditures from traditional broadcast media to digital platforms.