Virginia § 24.2-957.2 - Requirements for television advertisements sponsored by a political committee

§ 24.2-957.2. Requirements for television advertisements sponsored by a political committee

It shall be unlawful for a political committee to sponsor a television advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution 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 political committee]."

2. A television advertisement supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates (i) shall include a disclosure statement, spoken by the chief executive officer or treasurer of the political committee, containing at least the following words: "The [Name of political committee] sponsored this ad."

3. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall include the names of all the sponsors and the disclosing individual shall be one of those sponsors.

4. The disclosure shall be made by visual legend, which shall constitute 20 scan lines in size.

5. The content of these visual legends is specified by the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317 and this section.

6. The political committee may provide the oral disclosure statement required by this section at the same time as the visual disclosure required under the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317, is shown.

7. The advertisement shall include throughout the disclosure statement an unobscured, full-screen picture containing the disclosing individual, either in photographic form or through the actual appearance of the disclosing individual on camera.

8. A political committee may place the disclosure statement required by this section at any point during the advertisement, except if the duration of the advertisement is more than five minutes, the disclosure statement shall be made both at the beginning and end of the advertisement.

9. In its oral disclosure statement, a political committee may choose to identify an advertisement as either supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.

10. If the advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall name all of the sponsors and the disclosing individual shall be one of those sponsors. This provision supersedes any contrary provisions of the Code of Virginia.

2002, c. 487, §§ 24.2-943, 24.2-944; 2003, c. 237; 2004, cc. 55, 457; 2005, c. 369; 2006, cc. 787, 892.