(1) Any employee of a governmental unit or member of a governing body, or appointing authority, or peace officer who shall appoint, promote, transfer, demote, suspend, discharge or change the amount of compensation of any merit system officer or seek, aid or abet the appointment, promotion, transfer, demotion, suspension, discharge or change in the amount of compensation of any merit system officer, or promise or threaten to do so, for giving, withholding, or neglecting to make any contributions or any service for any political purpose, or who solicits, directly or indirectly, any such contribution or service, from a merit system officer, is guilty of a class B misdemeanor. This section does not apply to political speeches or use of mass communications media for political purposes by persons not merit system officers even though merit system officers may be present or within the reach of such media unless the purpose and intent is to violate this section with direct respect to those officers.

(2) No merit system officer may engage in any political activity during the hours of employment, nor shall any person solicit political contributions from merit system officers during hours of employment for political purposes; but nothing in this section shall preclude voluntary contributions by a merit system officer to the party or candidate of the officer’s choice.