Bill Text: MS HB667 | 2013 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Campaign finance; require Statement of Intent and notice for failure to file reports for.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2013-03-05 - Died In Committee [HB667 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2013-HB667-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Apportionment and Elections
By: Representative Denny
House Bill 667
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-803, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE A CANDIDATE TO FILE A STATEMENT OF INTENT TO BE A CANDIDATE; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-807, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-813, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO SPECIFY INFORMATION THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE NOTICE TO CANDIDATE AND POLITICAL COMMITTEES FOR FAILURE TO FILE A CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT; TO EXTEND THE DEADLINE FOR DELINQUENT CANDIDATES AND POLITICAL COMMITTEES TO FILE AN OUTSTANDING REPORT AND PAY A CIVIL ASSESSMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 23-15-803, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-803. (1) (a) Statements of organization. Each political committee shall file a statement of organization no later than ten (10) days after receipt of contributions aggregating in excess of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), or no later than ten (10) days after having made expenditures aggregating in excess of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).
(b) Contents of statements. The statement of organization of a political committee shall include:
(i) The name and address of the committee and all officers;
(ii) Designation of a director of the committee and a custodian of books and accounts of the committee, who shall be designated treasurer; and
(iii) If the committee is authorized by a candidate, the name, address, office sought, and party affiliation of the candidate.
(c) Change of information in statements. Any change in information previously submitted in a statement of organization shall be reported and noted on the next regularly scheduled report.
(2) Statements of intent. Each candidate shall file a statement of intent no later than ten (10) days after receipt of contributions aggregating in excess of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), or no later than ten (10) days after having made expenditures aggregating in excess of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).
(a) Contents of statements. The statement of intent of a candidate shall include:
(i) The name, address and telephone number of the candidate;
(ii) The office sought and party affiliation of the candidate; and
(iii) The designation of an agent by name, residence street address, post office address, telephone number, facsimile number and email address, if applicable, authorized by such candidate's appointment to accept and receive written notice for all purposes under the provisions of law regulating the state and federal election code, in the place and stead of the candidate.
(b) Change of information in statements. Any change in information previously submitted in a statement of intent shall be reported and noted on the candidate's qualifying petition and next regularly scheduled report.
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-807, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-807. (a) Each candidate or political committee shall file reports of contributions and disbursements in accordance with the provisions of this section. All candidates or political committees required to report may terminate its obligation to report only upon submitting a final report that it will no longer receive any contributions or make any disbursement and that such candidate or committee has no outstanding debts or obligations. The candidate, treasurer or chief executive officer shall sign each such report.
(b) Candidates who are
seeking election, * * *
nomination for election and candidates who have filed a Statement of Intent
as required by Section 23-15-803, and political committees that make
expenditures for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the
action of voters for or against the nomination for election, or election, of
one or more candidates or balloted measures at such election, shall file the
following reports:
(i) In any calendar year during which there is a regularly scheduled election, a preelection report, which shall be filed no later than the seventh day before any election in which such candidate or political committee has accepted contributions or made expenditures and which shall be complete as of the tenth day before such election;
(ii) In 1987 and every fourth year thereafter, periodic reports, which shall be filed no later than the tenth day after April 30, May 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, and which shall be complete as of the last day of each period; and
(iii) In any calendar years except 1987 and except every fourth year thereafter, a report covering the calendar year which shall be filed no later than January 31 of the following calendar year.
(c) All candidates for judicial office as defined in Section 23-15-975, or their political committees, shall file in the year in which they are to be elected, periodic reports which shall be filed no later than the tenth day after April 30, May 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31.
(d) Contents of reports. Each report under this article shall disclose:
(i) For the reporting
period and the calendar year, the total amount of all contributions and the
total amount of all expenditures of the candidate or reporting committee which
shall include those required to be identified pursuant to * * * paragraph (ii) of this * * * subsection as well as the
total of all other contributions and expenditures during the calendar year.
Such reports shall be cumulative during the calendar year to which they relate;
(ii) The identification of:
1. Each person or political committee who makes a contribution to the reporting candidate or political committee during the reporting period, whose contribution or contributions within the calendar year have an aggregate amount or value in excess of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) together with the date and amount of any such contribution;
2. Each person or
organization, candidate or political committee who receives an expenditure,
payment or other transfer from the reporting candidate, political committee or
its agent, employee, designee, contractor, consultant or other person or
persons acting in its behalf during the reporting period when the expenditure,
payment or other transfer to such person, organization, candidate or political
committee within the calendar year have an aggregate value or amount in excess
of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) together with the date and amount of such
expenditure * * *;
(iii) The total amount of cash on hand of each reporting candidate and reporting political committee;
(iv) In addition to
the contents of reports specified in * * * paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of
this * * *
subsection, each political party shall disclose:
1. Each person or political committee who makes a contribution to a political party during the reporting period and whose contribution or contributions to a political party within the calendar year have an aggregate amount or value in excess of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), together with the date and amount of the contribution;
2. Each person or organization who receives an expenditure by a political party or expenditures by a political party during the reporting period when the expenditure or expenditures to the person or organization within the calendar year have an aggregate value or amount in excess of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), together with the date and amount of the expenditure.
(e) The appropriate office
specified in Section 23-15-805 must be in actual receipt of the reports
specified in this article by 5:00 p.m. on the dates specified in * * * subsection (b) of this
section. If the date specified in * * * subsection (b) of this section
shall fall on a weekend or legal holiday then the report shall be due in the
appropriate office at 5:00 p.m. on the first working day before the date
specified in * * *
subsection (b) of this section. The reporting candidate or reporting
political committee shall ensure that the reports are delivered to the
appropriate office by the filing deadline. The Secretary of State may approve
specific means of electronic transmission of completed campaign finance
disclosure reports, which may include, but not be limited to, transmission by
electronic facsimile (FAX) devices.
(f) (i) If any contribution of more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) is received by a candidate or candidate's political committee after the tenth day, but more than forty-eight (48) hours before 12:01 a.m. of the day of the election, the candidate or political committee shall notify the appropriate office designated in Section 23-15-805, within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt of the contribution. The notification shall include:
1. The name of the receiving candidate;
2. The name of the receiving candidate's political committee, if any;
3. The office sought by the candidate;
4. The identification of the contributor;
5. The date of receipt;
6. The amount of the contribution;
7. If the contribution is in-kind, a description of the in-kind contribution; and
8. The signature of the candidate or the treasurer or director of the candidate's political committee.
(ii) The notification shall be in writing, and may be transmitted by overnight mail, courier service, or other reliable means, including electronic facsimile (FAX), but the candidate or candidate's committee shall ensure that the notification shall in fact be received in the appropriate office designated in Section 23-15-805 within forty-eight (48) hours of the contribution.
SECTION 3. Section 23-15-813, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-813. (a) In addition to any other penalty permitted by law, the Secretary of State shall require any candidate or political committee, as identified in Section 23-15-805(a), and any other political committee registered with the Secretary of State, who fails to file a campaign finance disclosure report as required under Sections 23-15-801 through 23-15-813, or Sections 23-17-47 through 23-17-53, or who shall file a report which fails to substantially comply with the requirements of Sections 23-15-801 through 23-15-813, or Sections 23-17-47 through 23-17-53, to be assessed a civil penalty as follows:
(i) Within five (5)
calendar days after any deadline for filing a report pursuant to Sections 23-15-801
through 23-15-813, or Sections 23-17-47 through 23-17-53, the Secretary of
State shall compile a list of those candidates and political committees who
have failed to file a report. The Secretary of State shall provide each
candidate or political committee, who has failed to file a report, notice of * * *
such failure * * *, which includes
information that explains the intended assessment of a civil penalty in the
amount of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day beginning within five (5) days of the
date of such notice and continuing until a valid report is filed with the
Secretary of State or ten (10) days thereafter, whichever date shall be
earlier, and of the candidate's right to seek a waiver with the Secretary of
State, by written request, which sets forth an explanation of unforeseeable
mitigating circumstances which interfered with the timely filing of the
delinquent report, by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(ii) Beginning with the tenth calendar day after which any report shall be due, the Secretary of State shall assess the delinquent candidate and political committee a civil penalty of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) for each day or part of any day until a valid report is delivered to the Secretary of State, up to a maximum of ten (10) days. However, in the discretion of the Secretary of State, the assessing of the fine may be waived in whole or in part if the Secretary of State determines that unforeseeable mitigating circumstances, such as the health of the candidate, interfered with timely filing of a report. Failure of a candidate or political committee to receive notice of failure to file a report from the Secretary of State is not an unforeseeable mitigating circumstance, and failure to receive the notice shall not result in removal or reduction of any assessed civil penalty.
(iii) Within five (5) calendar days following the ten-day period during which a delinquent candidate or political committee shall be assessed a civil penalty in the amount of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day, the Secretary of State shall provide each candidate or political committee, who has failed to file a report and/or who has had a civil penalty assessed, a written notice that includes:
1. The amount of the civil penalty assessed;
2. The date by which such penalty must be paid to the Secretary of State;
3. The candidate's right to seek a waiver with the Secretary of State, by written request that sets forth the candidate's explanation of unforeseeable mitigating circumstances which interfered with the timely filing of the delinquent report; and
4. The Secretary of State's statutory obligation to provide notice to the Attorney General within twenty (20) calendar days of the date of the notice of those candidates and political committees who have not filed a valid report by certified mail, return receipt requested.
( * * *iv) Filing of the required report
and payment of the fine within * * * twenty (20) calendar days of the
second written notice provided by the Secretary of State pursuant
to subsection (iii) herein, that a required statement has not been filed,
constitutes compliance with Sections 23-15-801 through 23-15-813, or Sections
23-17-47 through 23-17-53.
( * * *v) Payment of the fine without
filing the required report does not in any way excuse or exempt any person
required to file from the filing requirements of Sections 23-15-801 through 23-15-813,
and Sections 23-17-47 through 23-17-53.
( * * *vi) If any candidate or political
committee is assessed a civil penalty, and the penalty is not subsequently
waived by the Secretary of State, the candidate or political committee shall
pay the fine to the Secretary of State within ninety (90) days of the date of
the assessment of the fine. If, after one hundred twenty (120) days of the
assessment of the fine the payment for the entire amount of the assessed fine
has not been received by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall
notify the Attorney General of the delinquency, and the Attorney General shall
file, where necessary, a suit to compel payment of the civil penalty.
(b) (i) Upon the sworn application, made within sixty (60) calendar days of the date upon which the required report is due, of a candidate or political committee against whom a civil penalty has been assessed pursuant to paragraph (a), the Secretary of State shall forward the application to the State Board of Election Commissioners. The State Board of Election Commissioners shall appoint one or more hearing officers who shall be former chancellors, circuit court judges, judges of the Court of Appeals or justices of the Supreme Court, and who shall conduct hearings held pursuant to this article. The hearing officer shall fix a time and place for a hearing and shall cause a written notice specifying the civil penalties that have been assessed against the candidate or political committee and notice of the time and place of the hearing to be served upon the candidate or political committee at least twenty (20) calendar days before the hearing date. The notice may be served by mailing a copy thereof by certified mail, postage prepaid, to the last known business address of the candidate or political committee.
(ii) The hearing officer may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers at the hearing. Process issued by the hearing officer shall extend to all parts of the state and shall be served by any person designated by the hearing officer for the service.
(iii) The candidate or political committee has the right to appear either personally, by counsel or both, to produce witnesses or evidence in his behalf, to cross-examine witnesses and to have subpoenas issued by the hearing officer.
(iv) At the hearing, the hearing officer shall administer oaths as may be necessary for the proper conduct of the hearing. All hearings shall be conducted by the hearing officer, who shall not be bound by strict rules of procedure or by the laws of evidence in the conduct of the proceedings, but the determination shall be based upon sufficient evidence to sustain it. The scope of review at the hearing shall be limited to making a determination of whether failure to file a required report was due to an unforeseeable mitigating circumstance.
(v) Where, in any proceeding before the hearing officer, any witness fails or refuses to attend upon a subpoena issued by the commission, refuses to testify, or refuses to produce any books and papers the production of which is called for by a subpoena, the attendance of the witness, the giving of his testimony or the production of the books and papers shall be enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction of this state in the manner provided for the enforcement of attendance and testimony of witnesses in civil cases in the courts of this state.
(vi) Within fifteen (15) calendar days after conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall reduce his or her decision to writing and forward an attested true copy of the decision to the last known business address of the candidate or political committee by way of United States first-class, certified mail, postage prepaid.
(c) (i) The right to
appeal from the decision of the hearing officer in an administrative hearing
concerning the assessment of civil penalties authorized pursuant to this
section is granted. The appeal shall be to the Circuit Court of Hinds County
and shall include a verbatim transcript of the testimony at the hearing. The
appeal shall be taken within thirty (30) calendar days after * * *
the hearing officer's
mailing of his or her decision to the candidate or political committee by
United States first-class, certified mail. The appeal shall be perfected
upon filing notice of the appeal and by the prepayment of all costs, including
the cost of the preparation of the record of the proceedings by the hearing
officer, and the filing of a bond in the sum of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00),
conditioned that if the decision of the hearing officer be affirmed by the
court, the candidate or political committee will pay the costs of the appeal
and the action in court. If the decision is reversed by the court, the
Secretary of State will pay the costs of the appeal and the action in court.
(ii) If there is an appeal, the appeal shall act as a supersedeas. The court shall dispose of the appeal and enter its decision promptly. The hearing on the appeal may be tried in vacation, in the court's discretion. The scope of review of the court shall be limited to a review of the record made before the hearing officer to determine if the action of the hearing officer is unlawful for the reason that it was 1. not supported by substantial evidence, 2. arbitrary or capricious, 3. beyond the power of the hearing officer to make, or 4. in violation of some statutory or constitutional right of the appellant. The decision of the court may be appealed to the Supreme Court in the manner provided by law.
(d) If, after forty-five
(45) calendar days of the date of the administrative hearing procedure set
forth in paragraph (b), the candidate or political committee identified in
paragraph (a) of this section fails to pay the monetary civil penalty imposed
by the hearing officer, the Secretary of State shall notify the Attorney
General of the delinquency. The Attorney General * * * shall file suit to compel payment of the
unpaid civil penalty.
(e) If, after * * *
forty-five (45)
calendar days of the date upon which a campaign finance disclosure report is
due, a candidate or political committee identified in paragraph (a) of this
section shall not have filed a valid report with the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of State shall notify the Attorney General of those candidates and
political committees who have not filed a valid report, and the Attorney
General shall thereupon prosecute the delinquent candidates and political
committees.
SECTION 4. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.
