(A) No candidate for or person intending to become a candidate for the Department of Employment and Workforce Appellate Panel may seek, directly or indirectly, the pledge of a member of the General Assembly’s vote or contact, directly or indirectly, a member of the General Assembly or the review committee regarding screening for the Department of Employment and Workforce Appellate Panel, until the qualifications of all candidates for that office have been determined by the Department of Employment and Workforce Review Committee, and the review committee has formally released its report as to the qualifications of all candidates for the office to the General Assembly. For purposes of this section, "indirectly seeking a pledge" means the candidate, or someone acting on behalf of or at the request of the candidate, requests a person to contact a member of the General Assembly on behalf of the candidate before the review committee has formally released its report as to the qualifications of all candidates to the General Assembly. The prohibitions of this section do not extend to an announcement of candidacy by the candidate or statement by the candidate detailing the candidate’s qualifications.

(B)(1) No member of the General Assembly may pledge or offer his pledge for his vote for a candidate until the qualifications of all candidates for the Department of Employment and Workforce Appellate Panel have been determined by the Department of Employment and Workforce Review Committee, and the review committee has formally released its report as to the qualifications of all candidates to the General Assembly. The formal release of the report of qualifications must occur no earlier than forty-eight hours after the names of all candidates found qualified by the review committee have been initially released to members of the General Assembly.

(2) No member of the review committee may pledge or offer his pledge to find a candidate qualified prior to the review committee’s determination of qualifications.

(C) No member of the General Assembly may trade anything of value, including pledges to vote for legislation or for other candidates, in exchange for another member’s pledge to vote for a candidate for the Department of Employment and Workforce Appellate Panel.

(D)(1) Violations of this section may be considered by the Department of Employment and Workforce Review Committee when it considers the candidate’s qualifications.

(2) Violations of this section by members of the General Assembly must be reported by the review committee to the House or Senate Ethics Committee, as may be applicable.

(3) Violations of this section by incumbent appellate panelists seeking reelection must be reported by the Department of Employment and Workforce and the Department of Employment and Workforce Appellate Panel to the State Ethics Commission. A violation of this section is a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, the violator must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ninety days, or both. Cases tried under this section may not be transferred from general sessions court pursuant to § 22-3-545.