| Sec. 3517.01. (A)(1) A political party within the meaning of | 34 |
|
Title XXXV of the Revised Code is any group of voters
that, at
the | 35 |
|
most recent regular state election, polled
for its
candidate for | 36 |
|
governor in the state or nominees for presidential
electors at | 37 |
|
least five per cent of the entire vote cast for
that office or | 38 |
|
that filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to any
election | 39 |
|
in which it received less than five per cent of that
vote, a | 40 |
|
petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to
at least | 41 |
|
one per cent of the total vote for governor or nominees
for | 42 |
|
presidential electors at the most recent
election,
declaring their | 43 |
|
intention of organizing a political party, the
name of which shall | 44 |
|
be stated in the declaration, and of
participating in the | 45 |
|
succeeding primary election, held in
even-numbered years, that | 46 |
|
occurs more than one hundred twenty
days after the date of filing. | 47 |
|
No such group of electors shall
assume a name or designation that | 48 |
|
is similar, in the opinion of
the secretary of state, to that of | 49 |
|
an existing political party as
to confuse or mislead the voters at | 50 |
|
an election. If any political party fails
to cast five per cent
of | 51 |
|
the total vote
cast at an election for the office of governor
or | 52 |
|
president, it
shall cease to be a political party. | 53 |
| (3)
"Candidate" has the same meaning as in division (H) of | 66 |
|
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code and also includes any person | 67 |
|
who, at any time before or after an election, receives | 68 |
|
contributions or makes expenditures or other use of
contributions, | 69 |
|
has given consent for another to receive
contributions or make | 70 |
|
expenditures or other use of contributions,
or appoints a campaign | 71 |
|
treasurer, for the purpose of bringing
about the person's | 72 |
|
nomination or election to public office.
When two persons jointly | 73 |
|
seek the offices of governor and lieutenant governor,
"candidate" | 74 |
|
means the pair of candidates jointly.
"Candidate" does not
include | 75 |
|
candidates for election to the
offices of member of a
county or | 76 |
|
state central committee,
presidential elector, and
delegate to a | 77 |
|
national convention or
conference of a political
party. | 78 |
| (4)
"Continuing association" means an association, other
than | 79 |
|
a
campaign committee, political party, legislative campaign
fund, | 80 |
|
political contributing entity, or labor
organization, that
is | 81 |
|
intended to be a permanent organization that has a
primary
purpose | 82 |
|
other than supporting or opposing specific candidates,
political | 83 |
|
parties, or ballot issues, and that functions on a
regular basis | 84 |
|
throughout the year. "Continuing association" includes | 85 |
|
organizations that are determined to be not organized for profit | 86 |
|
under subsection 501 and that are described in subsection | 87 |
|
501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. | 88 |
| (5)
"Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit,
forgiveness | 89 |
|
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or transfer
of funds | 90 |
|
or
anything of value, including a transfer of funds
from
an inter | 91 |
|
vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the
payment | 92 |
|
by any
person other than the person to whom the services
are | 93 |
|
rendered
for the personal services of another person, which | 94 |
|
contribution
is made, received, or used for the purpose of | 95 |
|
influencing the
results of an election.
Any loan, gift, deposit, | 96 |
|
forgiveness of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or | 97 |
|
transfer of funds or of anything of value, including a transfer of | 98 |
|
funds from an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's | 99 |
|
estate, and the payment by any campaign committee, political | 100 |
|
action committee, legislative campaign fund, political party, | 101 |
|
political contributing entity, or person other than the person to | 102 |
|
whom the services are rendered for the personal services of | 103 |
|
another person, that is made, received, or used by a state or | 104 |
|
county political party, other than moneys a state or county | 105 |
|
political party receives from the Ohio political party fund | 106 |
|
pursuant to section 3517.17 of the Revised Code and the moneys a | 107 |
|
state or county political party may receive under sections | 108 |
|
3517.101, 3517.1012, and 3517.1013 of the Revised Code, shall be | 109 |
|
considered to be a "contribution" for the purpose of section | 110 |
|
3517.10 of the Revised Code and shall be included on a statement | 111 |
|
of contributions filed under that section. | 112 |
| (6)
"Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a | 135 |
|
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an | 136 |
|
election or of making a charitable donation under division (G) of | 137 |
|
section 3517.08 of the Revised Code. Any disbursement or use of a | 138 |
|
contribution by a state or county political party is an | 139 |
|
expenditure and shall be considered either to be made for the | 140 |
|
purpose of influencing the results of an election or to be made as | 141 |
|
a charitable donation under division (G) of section 3517.08 of the | 142 |
|
Revised Code and shall be reported on a statement of expenditures | 143 |
|
filed under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. During the thirty | 144 |
|
days preceding a primary or general election, any disbursement to | 145 |
|
pay the direct costs of producing or airing a broadcast, cable, or | 146 |
|
satellite communication that refers to a clearly identified | 147 |
|
candidate shall be considered to be made for the purpose of | 148 |
|
influencing the results of that election and shall be reported as | 149 |
|
an expenditure or as an independent expenditure under section | 150 |
|
3517.10 or 3517.105 of the Revised Code, as applicable, except | 151 |
|
that the information required to be reported regarding | 152 |
|
contributors for those expenditures or independent expenditures | 153 |
|
shall be the same as the information required to be reported under | 154 |
|
divisions (D)(1) and (2) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code. | 155 |
| (8)
"Political action committee" means a combination of
two | 162 |
|
or more persons, the primary or major purpose of
which is
to | 163 |
|
support or oppose any candidate, political party, or issue, or
to | 164 |
|
influence the result of any election through express advocacy, and | 165 |
|
that is
not a political
party, a campaign committee, a political | 166 |
|
contributing entity,
or a
legislative campaign fund. "Political | 167 |
|
action committee" does not include either of the following: | 168 |
| (16)
"In-kind contribution" means anything of
value other | 199 |
|
than money that is used to influence the results of
an election or | 200 |
|
is transferred to or used in support of or in
opposition to a | 201 |
|
candidate, campaign committee, legislative
campaign fund, | 202 |
|
political party, political action committee, or political | 203 |
|
contributing entity and
that is made with the consent of, in | 204 |
|
coordination, cooperation,
or consultation with, or at the request | 205 |
|
or suggestion of the
benefited candidate, committee, fund, party, | 206 |
|
or entity. The financing of
the
dissemination, distribution, or | 207 |
|
republication, in whole or part,
of any broadcast or of any | 208 |
|
written, graphic, or other form of
campaign materials prepared by | 209 |
|
the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or their | 210 |
|
authorized agents is an in-kind
contribution to the candidate and | 211 |
|
an expenditure by the candidate. | 212 |
| (d)
"Made in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation
with, | 232 |
|
or at the request or suggestion of, any
candidate or the
campaign | 233 |
|
committee or agent of the
candidate" means made pursuant
to any | 234 |
|
arrangement,
coordination, or direction by the candidate,
the | 235 |
|
candidate's
campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior
to | 236 |
|
the
publication, distribution,
display, or broadcast of the | 237 |
|
communication. An expenditure is
presumed to be so made when it
is | 238 |
|
any of the following: | 239 |
| (18)
"Labor organization" means a labor
union; an employee | 260 |
|
organization; a federation of labor unions,
groups, locals, or | 261 |
|
other employee organizations; an auxiliary of
a labor union, | 262 |
|
employee organization, or federation of labor unions, groups, | 263 |
|
locals, or other employee organizations; or any other bona fide | 264 |
|
organization in
which employees participate and that exists for | 265 |
|
the purpose, in
whole or in part, of dealing with employers | 266 |
|
concerning
grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and other | 267 |
|
terms and
conditions of employment. | 268 |
| (25) "Political contributing entity" means any entity, | 286 |
|
including a corporation or labor organization, that may lawfully | 287 |
|
make contributions and expenditures and that is not an individual | 288 |
|
or a political action committee, continuing association, campaign | 289 |
|
committee, political party, legislative campaign fund, designated | 290 |
|
state campaign committee, or state candidate fund. For purposes of | 291 |
|
this division, "lawfully" means not prohibited by any section of | 292 |
|
the Revised Code, or authorized by a final judgment of a court of | 293 |
|
competent jurisdiction. | 294 |
| Sec. 3517.10. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this | 295 |
|
division, every campaign committee, political action committee, | 296 |
|
legislative campaign fund, political party, and political | 297 |
|
contributing entity
that made or received a contribution or made | 298 |
|
an expenditure in connection with the nomination or election of | 299 |
|
any candidate or in connection with any ballot issue or question | 300 |
|
at any election held or to be held in this state shall file, on a | 301 |
|
form prescribed under this section or by electronic means of | 302 |
|
transmission as provided in this section and section 3517.106 of | 303 |
|
the Revised
Code, a
full, true,
and
itemized
statement, made under | 304 |
|
penalty of election
falsification, setting
forth in detail the | 305 |
|
contributions and
expenditures, not later than
four p.m. of the | 306 |
|
following dates: | 307 |
| The statement required under division (A)(1) of this
section | 332 |
|
shall not be required of any campaign committee,
political action | 333 |
|
committee, legislative campaign
fund, political party, or | 334 |
|
political contributing entity that has
received
contributions of | 335 |
|
less than one thousand dollars and has made
expenditures of less | 336 |
|
than one thousand dollars at the close of
business on the | 337 |
|
twentieth day before the election. Those contributions and | 338 |
|
expenditures shall be reported in the statement required under | 339 |
|
division (A)(2)
of this section. | 340 |
| No statement under division (A)(3) of this section shall be | 354 |
|
required for any year in which a campaign committee, political | 355 |
|
action committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, or | 356 |
|
political contributing entity is required to
file a
postgeneral | 357 |
|
election statement under
division (A)(2)
of this
section.
However,
| 358 |
|
a statement under division (A)(3) of this section may be filed, at | 359 |
|
the option
of the
campaign
committee, political action committee, | 360 |
|
legislative
campaign fund,
political party, or political | 361 |
|
contributing entity. | 362 |
| Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph and in the | 368 |
|
next paragraph of this section, the only campaign committees | 369 |
|
required to file a statement under division (A)(4) of this section | 370 |
|
are the campaign committee of a statewide candidate and the | 371 |
|
campaign committee of a candidate for county office. The campaign | 372 |
|
committee of a candidate for any other nonjudicial office is | 373 |
|
required to file a statement under division (A)(4) of this section | 374 |
|
if that campaign committee receives, during that period, | 375 |
|
contributions exceeding ten thousand dollars. | 376 |
| No statement under division (A)(4) of this section shall be | 377 |
|
required of a campaign committee, a political action committee, a | 378 |
|
legislative campaign fund, a political party, or a political | 379 |
|
contributing entity for any year in which the campaign committee, | 380 |
|
political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political | 381 |
|
party, or political contributing entity is required to file a | 382 |
|
postprimary election statement under division (A)(2) of this | 383 |
|
section. However, a statement under division (A)(4) of this | 384 |
|
section may be filed at the option of the campaign committee, | 385 |
|
political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political | 386 |
|
party, or political contributing entity. | 387 |
| No statement under division (A)(3) or (4) of this section | 388 |
|
shall be
required if the campaign committee, political action | 389 |
|
committee,
legislative campaign fund, political party, or | 390 |
|
political contributing entity has no
contributions that it has | 391 |
|
received and
no expenditures that it has made since the
last date | 392 |
|
reflected in
its last previously filed statement.
However, the | 393 |
|
campaign
committee, political action committee,
legislative | 394 |
|
campaign fund,
political party, or political contributing entity | 395 |
|
shall
file a
statement to that effect, on a form prescribed under | 396 |
|
this
section
and made under penalty of election falsification, on | 397 |
|
the
date
required in division (A)(3) or (4) of this section, as | 398 |
|
applicable. | 399 |
| The campaign committee of a statewide candidate shall
file a | 400 |
|
monthly statement of contributions received during each of
the | 401 |
|
months of July, August, and September
in the year of the general | 402 |
|
election in which the candidate seeks
office. The campaign | 403 |
|
committee of a statewide candidate shall
file the monthly | 404 |
|
statement
not later than three business days after the last day of | 405 |
|
the
month covered by the statement. During the period
beginning
on | 406 |
|
the
nineteenth day before the general election in which a | 407 |
|
statewide candidate
seeks election to office and extending through | 408 |
|
the day of that general
election, each time the campaign committee | 409 |
|
of the joint candidates for the
offices of governor and
lieutenant | 410 |
|
governor or of a candidate for the office of secretary of state, | 411 |
|
auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general receives | 412 |
|
a
contribution from a contributor that causes the aggregate amount | 413 |
|
of contributions received from that contributor during that
period | 414 |
|
to equal or exceed ten thousand dollars and each time
the
campaign | 415 |
|
committee of a candidate for the office of chief
justice or | 416 |
|
justice of the supreme court receives a contribution
from a | 417 |
|
contributor that causes the aggregate amount of
contributions | 418 |
|
received from that contributor during that period to
exceed ten | 419 |
|
thousand dollars, the campaign committee
shall file a | 420 |
|
two-business-day statement reflecting that
contribution. During | 421 |
|
the period beginning on the nineteenth
day before a
primary | 422 |
|
election in which a candidate for statewide
office seeks | 423 |
|
nomination to office and extending through the day
of that primary | 424 |
|
election, each time either the campaign committee of a
statewide | 425 |
|
candidate in that primary election that files a
notice under | 426 |
|
division (C)(1) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code or the | 427 |
|
campaign committee
of a statewide candidate in that primary | 428 |
|
election to which, in
accordance with division (D) of section | 429 |
|
3517.103 of the
Revised Code, the contribution limitations | 430 |
|
prescribed in
section 3517.102 of the Revised Code
no longer apply | 431 |
|
receives a contribution
from a contributor that causes the | 432 |
|
aggregate amount of
contributions received from that contributor | 433 |
|
during that period
to exceed ten thousand dollars,
the campaign | 434 |
|
committee shall file a two-business-day statement
reflecting
that | 435 |
|
contribution.
Contributions reported on a
two-business-day | 436 |
|
statement
required to be filed by a campaign
committee of a | 437 |
|
statewide
candidate in a primary election shall
also be included | 438 |
|
in the postprimary election statement required to
be filed by
that | 439 |
|
campaign committee under division (A)(2) of this
section. A | 440 |
|
two-business-day statement required by this
paragraph
shall be | 441 |
|
filed not
later than two business days after receipt of
the | 442 |
|
contribution. The
statements required by this paragraph shall
be | 443 |
|
filed in
addition to any other statements required by this | 444 |
|
section. | 445 |
| Subject to the secretary
of state
having implemented, tested, | 446 |
|
and verified the successful
operation of any system the secretary | 447 |
|
of state prescribes pursuant
to
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of | 448 |
|
this
section and division
(H)(1) of section 3517.106 of the | 449 |
|
Revised Code for the
filing
of
campaign finance statements by | 450 |
|
electronic means of transmission,
a campaign committee
of a | 451 |
|
statewide
candidate shall file a two-business-day
statement under | 452 |
|
the
preceding paragraph
by electronic means of transmission if the | 453 |
|
campaign committee
is required to file a pre-election, | 454 |
|
postelection, or
monthly statement of contributions and | 455 |
|
expenditures by
electronic means of transmission under this | 456 |
|
section or section
3517.106 of the Revised
Code. | 457 |
| If a campaign committee or political action committee has
no | 458 |
|
balance on hand and no outstanding obligations and desires to | 459 |
|
terminate itself, it shall file a statement to that effect, on a | 460 |
|
form prescribed under this section and made under penalty of | 461 |
|
election falsification, with the official with whom it files a | 462 |
|
statement under division (A) of this section after filing a final | 463 |
|
statement of contributions and a final statement of expenditures, | 464 |
|
if contributions have been received or expenditures made since
the | 465 |
|
period reflected in its last previously filed statement. | 466 |
| (b)(i) The full name and address of each person, political | 485 |
|
party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund,
political | 486 |
|
action committee, or political contributing entity
from whom | 487 |
|
contributions are received and the
registration number assigned to | 488 |
|
the
political action committee under division (D)(1) of this | 489 |
|
section. The requirement of filing the full address does not
apply | 490 |
|
to any statement filed by a state or local committee of a | 491 |
|
political
party, to a finance committee of
such committee, or to a | 492 |
|
committee recognized by a state or local
committee as its | 493 |
|
fund-raising auxiliary. Notwithstanding
division (F) of this | 494 |
|
section, the requirement of filing the full
address shall be | 495 |
|
considered as being met if the address filed is
the same address | 496 |
|
the contributor provided under division
(E)(1) of this section. | 497 |
| (ii) If a political action committee, political contributing | 498 |
|
entity, legislative campaign fund, or political party that is | 499 |
|
required to file campaign finance statements by electronic means | 500 |
|
of transmission under section 3517.106 of the Revised Code or a | 501 |
|
campaign committee of a statewide candidate or
candidate for the | 502 |
|
office of member of the general assembly
receives a
contribution | 503 |
|
from an individual that exceeds one
hundred dollars, the name of | 504 |
|
the individual's current employer,
if
any, or, if the individual | 505 |
|
is self-employed, the
individual's
occupation and the name of the | 506 |
|
individual's business, if any; | 507 |
| (iii) If a campaign committee of a statewide candidate or | 508 |
|
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly | 509 |
|
receives a
contribution transmitted pursuant to
section 3599.031 | 510 |
|
of the Revised Code from
amounts deducted from the wages and | 511 |
|
salaries of two or more
employees that exceeds
in the aggregate | 512 |
|
one hundred dollars during any one filing period
under division | 513 |
|
(A)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section, the full
name of the | 514 |
|
employees' employer and the full name of the labor organization
of | 515 |
|
which the employees are members, if any. | 516 |
| (e) A separately itemized account of all contributions and | 520 |
|
expenditures regardless of the amount, except a receipt of a | 521 |
|
contribution from a person in the sum of twenty-five dollars or | 522 |
|
less at one social or fund-raising activity and a receipt of a | 523 |
|
contribution
transmitted pursuant to section 3599.031 of the | 524 |
|
Revised Code from amounts
deducted from the wages and salaries of | 525 |
|
employees if the contribution from the
amount deducted from the | 526 |
|
wages and salary of any one employee is twenty-five
dollars or | 527 |
|
less aggregated in a calendar year. An account of the total | 528 |
|
contributions from each social or fund-raising activity shall | 529 |
|
include a
description of and the value of each in-kind | 530 |
|
contribution received at that
activity from any person who made | 531 |
|
one or more
such contributions whose aggregate value exceeded two | 532 |
|
hundred
fifty dollars and shall be listed separately, together | 533 |
|
with the expenses
incurred and paid in connection with that | 534 |
|
activity. A campaign committee,
political action committee, | 535 |
|
legislative campaign fund, political
party, or political | 536 |
|
contributing entity
shall keep records of contributions from each | 537 |
|
person in the amount of
twenty-five dollars or less at one social | 538 |
|
or fund-raising activity and
contributions from amounts deducted | 539 |
|
under section 3599.031 of the Revised Code
from the wages and | 540 |
|
salary of each employee in the amount of twenty-five
dollars or | 541 |
|
less aggregated in a calendar year. No continuing association
that | 542 |
|
is recognized by a state or local committee of a political
party | 543 |
|
as an
auxiliary of the party and that makes a contribution
from | 544 |
|
funds derived solely
from regular dues paid by members of the | 545 |
|
auxiliary shall be required to list
the name or address of any | 546 |
|
members who paid those dues. | 547 |
| (f) In the case of a campaign committee of a
state elected | 553 |
|
officer, if a person doing business with the state elected
officer | 554 |
|
in the officer's official capacity makes a contribution to
the | 555 |
|
campaign committee of that officer, the information required
under | 556 |
|
division (B)(4) of this section in regard to that
contribution, | 557 |
|
which shall be filed together with and considered a
part of the | 558 |
|
committee's statement of contributions as required
under division | 559 |
|
(A) of this section but shall be filed on
a separate form provided | 560 |
|
by the secretary of state. As used in
this division: | 561 |
| (C)(1) The statement of contributions and expenditures
shall | 580 |
|
be signed by the person completing the form. If a statement of | 581 |
|
contributions and expenditures is filed by electronic means of | 582 |
|
transmission
pursuant to this
section or section 3517.106 of the | 583 |
|
Revised Code, the
electronic signature of the person who executes | 584 |
|
the statement and transmits
the statement by electronic means of | 585 |
|
transmission, as
provided in division (H) of section 3517.106 of | 586 |
|
the Revised
Code, shall be attached to or associated with the | 587 |
|
statement and shall
be binding on all persons and for all purposes | 588 |
|
under the campaign finance
reporting law as if the
signature had | 589 |
|
been handwritten in ink on a printed form. | 590 |
| (5) The campaign committee of any person who attempts to | 608 |
|
become
a candidate and who, for any reason, does not become | 609 |
|
certified in
accordance with Title XXXV of the Revised Code for | 610 |
|
placement on
the official ballot of a primary, general, or special | 611 |
|
election to
be held in this state, and who, at any time prior to | 612 |
|
or after an
election, receives contributions or makes | 613 |
|
expenditures, or has
given consent for another to receive | 614 |
|
contributions or make
expenditures, for the purpose of bringing | 615 |
|
about the person's
nomination or election to public office, shall | 616 |
|
file the statement
or statements prescribed by this section and a | 617 |
|
termination
statement, if applicable. Division (C)(5) of this | 618 |
|
section does not
apply to any
person with respect to an election | 619 |
|
to the offices of
member of a
county or state central committee, | 620 |
|
presidential
elector, or
delegate to a national convention or | 621 |
|
conference of a
political
party. | 622 |
| (b) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form for all | 628 |
|
statements
required to be
filed under this section
and
shall | 629 |
|
furnish the forms to the boards of elections in
the several | 630 |
|
counties. The boards
of elections shall supply printed copies of | 631 |
|
those forms without charge. The
secretary of state
shall
prescribe | 632 |
|
the appropriate methodology, protocol, and data file
structure for | 633 |
|
statements required or permitted to
be filed by
electronic means | 634 |
|
of transmission under division (A) of
this
section,
divisions (E), | 635 |
|
(F), and (G) of section 3517.106, division (D) of section | 636 |
3517.1011, division (B) of section 3517.1012, and division (C) of | 637 |
|
section 3517.1013, and divisions (D) and (H) of section 3517.1014 | 638 |
|
of
the
Revised Code.
Subject to division (A) of this
section, | 639 |
|
divisions
(E), (F),
and (G) of section 3517.106, division (D) of | 640 |
section 3517.1011, division (B) of section 3517.1012, and division | 641 |
|
(C) of section 3517.1013, and divisions (D) and (H) of section | 642 |
|
3517.1014 of the
Revised
Code, the statements
required to be | 643 |
|
stored on
computer by the secretary of state under
division (B) of | 644 |
|
section
3517.106 of the Revised Code
shall be
filed in whatever | 645 |
|
format
the secretary of state considers
necessary to enable
the | 646 |
|
secretary of state to store the
information contained in
the | 647 |
|
statements on computer. Any such
format shall be of a type and | 648 |
|
nature that is readily available to
whoever is
required to file | 649 |
|
the statements in that format. | 650 |
| (c) The secretary of state shall assess the need for
training | 651 |
|
regarding the filing of campaign finance statements by
electronic | 652 |
|
means of
transmission and regarding associated
technologies for | 653 |
|
candidates, campaign committees, political action
committees, | 654 |
|
legislative campaign funds, political parties, or political | 655 |
|
contributing entities,
for individuals, partnerships, or
other | 656 |
entities, or for persons making disbursements to pay the direct | 657 |
|
costs of producing or airing electioneering communications, or for | 658 |
|
treasurers of transition funds, required or
permitted to file | 659 |
|
statements by
electronic means of transmission under this
section | 660 |
or section
3517.105, 3517.106, 3517.1011, 3517.1012, or 3517.1013, | 661 |
|
or 3517.1014 of the Revised Code. If, in the opinion of
the | 662 |
|
secretary
of state,
training in these areas is necessary, the | 663 |
|
secretary of state shall arrange
for the provision of voluntary | 664 |
|
training programs for candidates, campaign
committees, political | 665 |
|
action committees, legislative campaign funds, political
parties, | 666 |
|
or political contributing entities,
for individuals, partnerships, | 667 |
and
other entities, or for persons making disbursements to pay the | 668 |
|
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering communications, | 669 |
| or for treasurers of transition funds, as appropriate. | 670 |
| (D)(1) Prior to receiving a contribution or making an | 676 |
|
expenditure, every
campaign committee, political action
committee, | 677 |
|
legislative campaign fund, political party, or political | 678 |
|
contributing entity
shall appoint a treasurer and shall
file, on a | 679 |
|
form prescribed by the secretary of state, a
designation of that | 680 |
|
appointment,
including the full name and address of the treasurer | 681 |
|
and of the
campaign committee, political
action committee, | 682 |
|
legislative campaign fund, political
party, or political | 683 |
|
contributing entity. That designation shall
be filed with
the | 684 |
|
official with whom the campaign committee,
political action | 685 |
|
committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, or | 686 |
|
political contributing entity is required to
file statements under | 687 |
|
section 3517.11 of the
Revised Code. The name of a campaign | 688 |
|
committee shall include at least the
last name of the campaign | 689 |
|
committee's candidate. If two or more candidates are the | 690 |
|
beneficiaries of a single campaign committee under division (B) of | 691 |
|
section 3517.081 of the Revised Code, the name of the campaign | 692 |
|
committee shall include at least the last name of each candidate | 693 |
|
who is a beneficiary of that campaign committee. The secretary of | 694 |
|
state shall assign a
registration number to each political action | 695 |
|
committee that files
a designation of the appointment of a | 696 |
|
treasurer under
this division
if the political action committee is | 697 |
|
required
by division (A)(1) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code | 698 |
|
to file the
statements prescribed by this section with the | 699 |
|
secretary of state. | 700 |
| (c) A state or county political party may
establish a state | 712 |
|
candidate fund that is separate from an account that
contains the | 713 |
|
public moneys received from the Ohio political party fund
under | 714 |
|
section 3517.17 of the Revised Code and from all other funds. A | 715 |
|
state
or county political party may deposit into its state | 716 |
|
candidate fund any
amounts of monetary contributions that are made | 717 |
|
to or accepted by the
political party subject to the applicable | 718 |
|
limitations, if any, prescribed in
section 3517.102 of the Revised | 719 |
|
Code. A state or county political party
shall deposit all other | 720 |
|
monetary contributions received by the
party into one or more | 721 |
|
accounts
that are separate from its state candidate fund and from | 722 |
|
its account that contains the public moneys received from the Ohio | 723 |
|
political party fund under section 3517.17 of the Revised Code. | 724 |
| (d) Each state political party shall have only one | 725 |
|
legislative campaign fund
for each house of the general assembly. | 726 |
|
Each such fund shall be separate from
any other funds or accounts | 727 |
|
of that state party. A legislative campaign fund
is authorized to | 728 |
|
receive contributions and make expenditures for the primary | 729 |
|
purpose of furthering the election of candidates who are members | 730 |
|
of that
political party to the house of the general assembly with | 731 |
|
which that
legislative campaign fund is associated. Each | 732 |
|
legislative campaign fund shall
be administered and controlled in | 733 |
|
a manner designated by the caucus. As used
in this division, | 734 |
|
"caucus" has the same meaning as in
section
3517.01 of the Revised | 735 |
|
Code and includes, as an ex officio member,
the
chairperson of the | 736 |
|
state political party with which the caucus
is
associated or that | 737 |
|
chairperson's designee. | 738 |
| (b) The manner of
preserving the contribution and | 760 |
|
expenditure, contribution and disbursement, deposit and | 761 |
disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation and | 762 |
|
disbursement information in the statements described in division | 763 |
|
(D)(6)(a) of this section.
The secretary of state
shall
preserve | 764 |
|
the contribution and expenditure, contribution and disbursement, | 765 |
deposit and disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation | 766 |
|
and disbursement information in those
statements for at least
ten | 767 |
|
years after the year in which they are
filed by electronic means | 768 |
|
of transmission. | 769 |
| (7) The secretary of state, pursuant to division
(I) of | 770 |
|
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code, shall
make available online | 771 |
|
to the public through the internet the contribution and | 772 |
|
expenditure, contribution and disbursement, deposit and | 773 |
disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation and | 774 |
|
disbursement information in
all statements, all addenda, | 775 |
|
amendments, or other corrections to statements,
and all amended | 776 |
|
statements filed with the secretary of state by electronic or | 777 |
|
other means of transmission under this section, division
(B)(2)(b) | 778 |
|
or (C)(2)(b) of
section 3517.105, or section 3517.106, 3517.1011, | 779 |
|
3517.1012, 3517.1013, 3517.1014, or 3517.11
of the Revised Code. | 780 |
|
The secretary of state
may remove the
information from the | 781 |
|
internet after a reasonable period of
time. | 782 |
| (E)(1) Any person, political party, campaign committee, | 783 |
|
legislative campaign fund,
political action committee, or | 784 |
|
political contributing entity
that makes a contribution in | 785 |
|
connection with the nomination or election of any candidate or in | 786 |
|
connection with any ballot issue or question at any election held | 787 |
|
or to be held in this state shall provide its full name and | 788 |
|
address to the recipient of the contribution at the time the | 789 |
|
contribution is made. The political action committee also
shall | 790 |
|
provide the registration number assigned to the committee under | 791 |
|
division
(D)(1) of this section to the recipient of the | 792 |
|
contribution at the time the
contribution is made. | 793 |
| (2) Any individual who makes a contribution that
exceeds one | 794 |
|
hundred dollars to a political action committee, political | 795 |
|
contributing entity, legislative campaign fund, or political party | 796 |
|
or to a campaign committee of a statewide candidate
or candidate | 797 |
|
for the office of member of the general assembly shall provide
the | 798 |
|
name of the individual's current employer, if
any, or, if
the | 799 |
|
individual is
self-employed, the individual's
occupation and the | 800 |
|
name of the individual's business, if any, to
the recipient of the | 801 |
|
contribution at the time the
contribution is
made. Sections | 802 |
|
3599.39 and 3599.40 of the Revised
Code do not apply to division | 803 |
|
(E)(2) of this section. | 804 |
| (3) If a campaign committee shows that it has exercised its | 805 |
|
best efforts to
obtain, maintain, and submit the information | 806 |
|
required under divisions
(B)(4)(b)(ii) and (iii) of this section, | 807 |
|
that committee is considered to have
met the requirements of those | 808 |
|
divisions. A campaign committee shall not be
considered to have | 809 |
|
exercised its best efforts unless, in connection with written | 810 |
|
solicitations,
it regularly includes a written request for the | 811 |
|
information required under
division (B)(4)(b)(ii) of this section | 812 |
|
from the contributor or the information
required under division | 813 |
|
(B)(4)(b)(iii) of this section from whoever transmits
the | 814 |
|
contribution. | 815 |
| (c) If an
address is required in this section, a
campaign | 831 |
|
committee, political action committee, legislative campaign fund, | 832 |
|
political party, or political contributing entity may use
the | 833 |
|
business or residence address of its treasurer or deputy | 834 |
|
treasurer. The post-office box number of the campaign committee, | 835 |
|
political action committee, legislative campaign fund,
political | 836 |
|
party, or political contributing entity may be used in
addition to | 837 |
|
that address. | 838 |
| (e) As used with regard to the reporting under this section | 848 |
|
of any expenditure, "address" means all of the following if they | 849 |
|
exist: apartment number, street, road, or highway name and number, | 850 |
|
rural delivery route number, city or village, state, and zip code | 851 |
|
as used in a person's post-office address, or post-office box. If | 852 |
|
an address concerning any expenditure is required in this section, | 853 |
|
a campaign committee, political action committee, legislative | 854 |
|
campaign fund, political party, or political contributing entity | 855 |
|
may use the business or residence address of its treasurer or | 856 |
|
deputy treasurer or its post-office box number. | 857 |
| (H)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(2)
of | 873 |
|
this section, if, during the combined pre-election and | 874 |
|
postelection
reporting periods
for an election, a campaign | 875 |
|
committee has
received contributions of five
hundred dollars or | 876 |
|
less and has
made expenditures in the total amount of five
hundred | 877 |
|
dollars or
less, it may file a statement to that effect, under | 878 |
|
penalty
of
election falsification, in lieu of the statement | 879 |
|
required by
division
(A)(2) of this section. The statement shall | 880 |
|
indicate the
total
amount of contributions received and the total | 881 |
|
amount of
expenditures made
during those combined reporting | 882 |
|
periods. | 883 |
| (2) In the case of a successful candidate at a primary | 884 |
|
election, if either
the
total contributions received by or the | 885 |
|
total expenditures made by the
candidate's campaign committee | 886 |
|
during the preprimary, postprimary, pregeneral,
and postgeneral | 887 |
|
election periods combined equal more than five hundred
dollars, | 888 |
|
the campaign committee may file the statement under division | 889 |
|
(H)(1)
of this section only for the primary election. The first | 890 |
|
statement that the
campaign committee files in regard to the | 891 |
|
general election shall reflect all
contributions received and all | 892 |
|
expenditures made during the preprimary and
postprimary election | 893 |
|
periods. | 894 |
| (K)(1) In addition to filing a designation of appointment
of | 947 |
|
a treasurer under division
(D)(1) of this section, the campaign | 948 |
|
committee of any candidate
for an elected municipal office that | 949 |
|
pays an annual amount of
compensation of five thousand dollars or | 950 |
|
less, the campaign
committee of any candidate for member of a | 951 |
|
board of education
except member of the state board of education, | 952 |
|
or the campaign
committee of any candidate for township trustee or | 953 |
|
township
fiscal officer may sign, under penalty of election | 954 |
|
falsification,
a
certificate attesting that the committee will not | 955 |
|
accept
contributions during an election period that exceed in the | 956 |
|
aggregate two thousand dollars from all contributors and one | 957 |
|
hundred dollars from any one individual, and that the campaign | 958 |
|
committee will not make expenditures during an election period | 959 |
|
that exceed in the aggregate two thousand dollars. | 960 |
| (3) If, after filing a certificate under division (K)(1)
of | 970 |
|
this section, a campaign committee exceeds any of the
limitations | 971 |
|
described in that division during an election
period, the | 972 |
|
certificate is void and thereafter the campaign
committee shall | 973 |
|
file the statements required by
division (A) of this section. If | 974 |
|
the
campaign committee has not previously
filed a statement, then | 975 |
|
on
the first statement the campaign
committee is required to file | 976 |
|
under division (A) of this section
after
the committee's | 977 |
|
certificate is
void, the committee shall report all
contributions | 978 |
|
received and
expenditures made from the time the
candidate filed | 979 |
|
the
candidate's declaration of candidacy and
petition, nominating | 980 |
|
petition, or declaration of intent to be a
write-in candidate. | 981 |
| (4) As used in division (K) of this section, "election | 982 |
|
period" means the period of time beginning on the day a person | 983 |
|
files a declaration of candidacy and petition, nominating | 984 |
|
petition, or declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate | 985 |
|
through the day of the election at which the person seeks | 986 |
|
nomination to office if the person is not elected to office, or, | 987 |
|
if the
candidate was nominated in a primary election,
the day of | 988 |
|
the election at which the candidate seeks office. | 989 |
| (L) A political contributing entity that receives | 990 |
|
contributions from the dues, membership fees, or other assessments | 991 |
|
of its members or from its officers, shareholders, and employees | 992 |
|
may report the aggregate amount of contributions received from | 993 |
|
those contributors and the number of individuals making those | 994 |
|
contributions, for each filing period under divisions (A)(1), (2), | 995 |
|
(3), and (4) of this section, rather than reporting information as | 996 |
|
required under division (B)(4) of this section, including, when | 997 |
|
applicable, the name of the current employer, if any, of a | 998 |
|
contributor whose contribution exceeds one hundred dollars or, if | 999 |
|
such a contributor is self-employed, the contributor's occupation | 1000 |
|
and the name of the contributor's business, if any. Division | 1001 |
|
(B)(4) of this section applies to a political contributing entity | 1002 |
|
with regard to contributions it receives from all other | 1003 |
|
contributors. | 1004 |
| (C)(1) The secretary of state shall make
available to the | 1049 |
|
campaign committees, political action
committees, political | 1050 |
|
contributing entities, legislative
campaign funds, political | 1051 |
|
parties, individuals,
partnerships, corporations, labor | 1052 |
|
organizations, treasurers of transition funds, and other entities | 1053 |
|
described in division (B) of
this section, and to
members of the | 1054 |
|
news
media and other
interested persons, for a reasonable fee, | 1055 |
|
computer programs that
are compatible with the secretary of | 1056 |
|
state's
method of storing the
information contained in the | 1057 |
|
statements. | 1058 |
| (E)(1) Subject to division (L) of this section and subject to | 1069 |
|
the secretary of state having implemented,
tested, and verified | 1070 |
|
the successful operation of any system the
secretary of
state | 1071 |
|
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this
section and | 1072 |
|
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section
3517.10
of
the Revised | 1073 |
|
Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by
electronic | 1074 |
|
means of
transmission,
the campaign
committee of each candidate | 1075 |
|
for statewide office may
file the
statements prescribed by section | 1076 |
|
3517.10 of the
Revised
Code by electronic means of
transmission | 1077 |
|
or, if the total amount
of the contributions received
or the total | 1078 |
|
amount of the
expenditures made by the campaign
committee for the | 1079 |
|
applicable
reporting period as specified in
division (A) of | 1080 |
|
section 3517.10
of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand
dollars, | 1081 |
|
shall file those
statements by electronic means of transmission. | 1082 |
| Except as otherwise provided in this division,
within five | 1083 |
|
business days after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a | 1084 |
|
candidate for statewide office is received by the secretary of | 1085 |
|
state by
electronic or other means of transmission, the secretary | 1086 |
|
of state shall make
available online to the public
through the | 1087 |
|
internet, as provided in division (I) of this section,
the | 1088 |
|
contribution and expenditure information in that statement.
The | 1089 |
|
secretary
of state shall not make available online to the public | 1090 |
|
through the
internet any contribution or expenditure information | 1091 |
|
contained in a
statement for any candidate until the secretary of | 1092 |
|
state is able to make
available online to the public through the | 1093 |
|
internet the
contribution and expenditure information for all | 1094 |
|
candidates for a
particular office, or until the applicable filing | 1095 |
|
deadline for that statement has passed, whichever is sooner. As | 1096 |
|
soon as the secretary of
state has
available all of the | 1097 |
|
contribution and expenditure information for all candidates for a | 1098 |
|
particular office, or as soon as the applicable filing deadline | 1099 |
|
for a statement has passed, whichever is sooner, the secretary of | 1100 |
|
state shall
simultaneously make available online to the public | 1101 |
|
through the
internet the information for all candidates for that | 1102 |
|
office. | 1103 |
| (2) Subject
to the
secretary of state having implemented, | 1121 |
|
tested, and verified
the successful
operation of any system the | 1122 |
|
secretary of state
prescribes pursuant to division
(H)(1) of this | 1123 |
|
section and
divisions (C)(6)(b)
and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of | 1124 |
|
the Revised
Code for the filing
of campaign finance statements by | 1125 |
|
electronic
means of transmission,
a
political
action committee and | 1126 |
|
a political contributing entity described in
division
(B)(1)(b) of | 1127 |
|
this section,
a legislative campaign fund, and
a state political | 1128 |
|
party may file
the statements prescribed by
section 3517.10 of the | 1129 |
|
Revised
Code by electronic means of
transmission or, if the total | 1130 |
|
amount of the contributions received or the total amount of the | 1131 |
|
expenditures made by the political action committee, political | 1132 |
|
contributing entity, legislative campaign fund, or state political | 1133 |
|
party for the applicable reporting period as specified in division | 1134 |
|
(A) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand | 1135 |
|
dollars, shall file those statements by electronic means of | 1136 |
|
transmission. | 1137 |
| Within five business days after
a statement filed by a | 1138 |
|
political action committee or a political contributing entity | 1139 |
|
described in division
(B)(1)(b) of this section, a legislative | 1140 |
|
campaign fund, or a state
political party is received by the | 1141 |
|
secretary of state by electronic or other
means of transmission, | 1142 |
|
the secretary of state shall make available online to
the public | 1143 |
|
through the internet, as provided in division (I) of this section, | 1144 |
|
the contribution and expenditure information in that statement. | 1145 |
| If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is | 1146 |
|
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the | 1147 |
|
statement
for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division | 1148 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the political | 1149 |
|
action
committee, political contributing entity, legislative | 1150 |
|
campaign
fund, or state political party shall file by electronic | 1151 |
|
means of transmission
any addendum to the
statement that provides | 1152 |
|
the information necessary to complete or
correct the statement or, | 1153 |
|
if required by the secretary of state under that
division, an | 1154 |
|
amended statement. | 1155 |
| Within five business days after the secretary of state | 1156 |
|
receives from a
political action committee or a political | 1157 |
|
contributing entity described in division (B)(1)(b) of this | 1158 |
|
section,
a
legislative campaign fund, or a state political party | 1159 |
|
an
addendum to the statement or an amended statement by electronic | 1160 |
|
or
other means
of transmission under this
division or division | 1161 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of | 1162 |
|
state shall make the contribution and expenditure information in | 1163 |
|
the addendum
or amended statement
available online to the public | 1164 |
|
through the internet as provided in division (I) of this section. | 1165 |
| (3) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented, | 1166 |
|
tested, and
verified the successful operation of any system the | 1167 |
|
secretary of state
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this | 1168 |
|
section and divisions
(C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of | 1169 |
|
the Revised Code
for the filing of campaign finance statements by | 1170 |
|
electronic means of
transmission,
a county political party
shall | 1171 |
|
file the
statements prescribed by section 3517.10 of the
Revised | 1172 |
|
Code with respect to its state candidate fund by
electronic means | 1173 |
|
of
transmission to the office of the secretary of state. | 1174 |
| (F)(1) Subject to division (L) of this section and
subject to | 1198 |
|
the secretary of
state having implemented, tested, and
verified | 1199 |
|
the successful operation of any
system the secretary of
state | 1200 |
|
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1)
of this section and | 1201 |
|
divisions (C)(6)(b) and
(D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the Revised | 1202 |
|
Code for the filing of campaign
finance statements by electronic | 1203 |
|
means of transmission,
a campaign committee of a
candidate for the | 1204 |
|
office of member
of the general assembly or a campaign committee | 1205 |
|
of a candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals may | 1206 |
|
file the statements prescribed by
section 3517.10 of the
Revised | 1207 |
|
Code in accordance with division (A)(2) of section 3517.11 of the | 1208 |
|
Revised Code or by electronic means of
transmission to the office | 1209 |
|
of the secretary of state or, if the total amount of the | 1210 |
|
contributions received by the campaign committee for the | 1211 |
|
applicable reporting period as specified in division (A) of | 1212 |
|
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand dollars, | 1213 |
|
shall file those statements by electronic means of transmission to | 1214 |
|
the office of the secretary of state. | 1215 |
| Except as otherwise provided in this division, within five | 1216 |
|
business days
after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a | 1217 |
|
candidate for the office
of member of the general assembly or a | 1218 |
|
campaign committee of a candidate for the office of judge of a | 1219 |
|
court of appeals is
received by the secretary of state by | 1220 |
|
electronic or other means of
transmission,
the secretary of state | 1221 |
|
shall make available online
to the public
through the internet, as | 1222 |
|
provided in division (I) of
this section,
the contribution and | 1223 |
|
expenditure information in
that
statement. The secretary
of state | 1224 |
|
shall not make available online
to the public through the
internet | 1225 |
|
any contribution or expenditure
information contained in a | 1226 |
|
statement for any candidate until the
secretary of state is able | 1227 |
|
to make
available online to the public
through the internet the | 1228 |
|
contribution and expenditure information
for all candidates for a | 1229 |
|
particular office, or until the applicable filing deadline for | 1230 |
|
that statement has passed, whichever is sooner. As soon as the | 1231 |
|
secretary of state has
available all of the contribution and | 1232 |
|
expenditure information for all candidates for a particular | 1233 |
|
office, or as soon as the applicable filing deadline for a | 1234 |
|
statement has passed, whichever is sooner, the
secretary of state | 1235 |
|
shall
simultaneously make available online to
the public through | 1236 |
|
the
internet the information for all candidates
for that
office. | 1237 |
| If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission
is | 1238 |
|
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the
examination of the | 1239 |
|
statement
for completeness and accuracy
pursuant to division | 1240 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the campaign | 1241 |
|
committee
shall file by electronic means of
transmission to the | 1242 |
|
office of the secretary
of state
any addendum to the statement | 1243 |
|
that provides the
information
necessary to complete or correct the | 1244 |
|
statement or, if required by
the secretary of state under that | 1245 |
|
division, an amended statement. | 1246 |
| Within five business days after the secretary of state | 1247 |
|
receives from a
campaign committee of a candidate
for the office | 1248 |
|
of member of the general assembly or a campaign committee of a | 1249 |
|
candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals an | 1250 |
|
addendum to the
statement or
an amended statement by electronic or | 1251 |
|
other means of transmission
under this division
or division | 1252 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised Code, the
secretary of | 1253 |
|
state shall
make the
contribution and expenditure information in | 1254 |
|
the addendum or
amended
statement available online to
the public | 1255 |
|
through the
internet as provided in division (I) of this
section. | 1256 |
| (2) If a statement,
addendum, or amended statement is not | 1257 |
|
filed by electronic means of
transmission to the office of the | 1258 |
|
secretary of state but
is filed by printed version
only under | 1259 |
|
division (A)(2) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code with the | 1260 |
|
appropriate board of elections, the campaign committee of a | 1261 |
|
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly or a | 1262 |
|
campaign committee of a candidate for the office of judge of a | 1263 |
|
court of appeals shall
file two copies of the printed
version of | 1264 |
|
the statement, addendum,
or amended statement with the
board of | 1265 |
|
elections. The
board of elections shall send
one of those copies | 1266 |
|
by certified mail to the secretary
of
state before the close of | 1267 |
|
business on the day the board of
elections receives the statement, | 1268 |
|
addendum, or amended statement. | 1269 |
| (G) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented, | 1270 |
|
tested, and
verified the
successful operation of any system the | 1271 |
|
secretary of
state prescribes pursuant
to division (H)(1) of this | 1272 |
|
section and
divisions
(C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of | 1273 |
|
the Revised
Code
for the filing of campaign finance statements by | 1274 |
|
electronic
means of
transmission,
any
individual, partnership, or | 1275 |
|
other entity that makes independent
expenditures in support of or | 1276 |
|
opposition to a statewide candidate
or a statewide ballot issue or | 1277 |
|
question as provided in division
(B)(2)(b) or
(C)(2)(b) of section | 1278 |
|
3517.105 of the Revised Code may
file the statement
specified in | 1279 |
|
that division by electronic means
of transmission or, if the total | 1280 |
|
amount of independent expenditures made during the reporting | 1281 |
|
period under that division exceeds ten thousand dollars, shall | 1282 |
|
file the statement specified in that division by electronic means | 1283 |
|
of transmission. | 1284 |
| If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is | 1291 |
|
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the
examination of the | 1292 |
|
statement for completeness and accuracy
pursuant to division | 1293 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the individual, | 1294 |
|
partnership, or other entity shall file by electronic means of | 1295 |
|
transmission any addendum to the statement that provides the | 1296 |
|
information necessary to complete or correct the statement or, if | 1297 |
|
required by the secretary of state under that division, an amended | 1298 |
|
statement. | 1299 |
| Within five business days after the secretary of state | 1300 |
|
receives from an
individual, partnership, or other entity | 1301 |
|
described in division
(B)(2)(b) or
(C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105 | 1302 |
|
of
the Revised Code an addendum to the statement or an
amended | 1303 |
|
statement by electronic or other means of transmission under this | 1304 |
|
division or division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the
Revised | 1305 |
|
Code, the secretary of
state shall make the expenditure | 1306 |
|
information in the addendum or amended
statement
available online | 1307 |
|
to the public through the internet as provided in
division (I) of | 1308 |
|
this section. | 1309 |
| (H)(1) The secretary of
state, by rule adopted pursuant to | 1310 |
|
section 3517.23 of the
Revised
Code, shall prescribe one or
more | 1311 |
|
techniques by which a person who executes
and transmits by | 1312 |
|
electronic means a statement of contributions
and expenditures, a | 1313 |
|
statement of independent expenditures, a disclosure of | 1314 |
|
electioneering communications statement, a deposit and | 1315 |
disbursement statement, or a gift and disbursement statement, or a | 1316 |
|
donation and disbursement statement, an
addendum to any of those | 1317 |
|
statements, an amended statement of
contributions and | 1318 |
|
expenditures,
an amended statement of
independent expenditures, | 1319 |
|
an amended disclosure of electioneering
communications statement, | 1320 |
an amended deposit and disbursement
statement, or an amended gift | 1321 |
|
and disbursement statement, or an amended donation and | 1322 |
|
disbursement statement, under
this
section or section
3517.10, | 1323 |
3517.105, 3517.1011, 3517.1012,
or 3517.1013, or 3517.1014 of the | 1324 |
|
Revised
Code shall
electronically sign
the
statement, addendum, | 1325 |
|
or amended statement.
Any technique
prescribed by
the secretary | 1326 |
|
of state pursuant to
this division
shall create an electronic | 1327 |
|
signature that satisfies
all of the
following: | 1328 |
| (2) An electronic signature prescribed by the secretary of | 1338 |
|
state under
division
(H)(1) of this section shall be
attached to | 1339 |
|
or associated with the statement of contributions
and | 1340 |
|
expenditures, the statement of independent expenditures,
the | 1341 |
|
disclosure of electioneering communications statement, the deposit | 1342 |
and disbursement statement, or the gift and disbursement | 1343 |
|
statement, or the donation and disbursement statement, the | 1344 |
|
addendum to any of those statements, the amended
statement of | 1345 |
|
contributions
and expenditures, the amended statement
of | 1346 |
|
independent expenditures, the amended disclosure of | 1347 |
|
electioneering communications statement, the amended deposit and | 1348 |
disbursement statement, or the amended gift and disbursement | 1349 |
|
statement, or the amended donation and disbursement statement
that | 1350 |
|
is executed and
transmitted by
electronic means by
the person to | 1351 |
|
whom the
electronic signature is
attributed. The
electronic | 1352 |
|
signature
that is attached to or
associated with the
statement, | 1353 |
|
addendum, or amended
statement
under this division
shall be | 1354 |
|
binding on all persons and for all
purposes under the
campaign | 1355 |
|
finance reporting law as if the
signature had
been
handwritten in | 1356 |
|
ink on a printed form. | 1357 |
| (I) The secretary of state shall make the contribution and | 1358 |
|
expenditure, the contribution and disbursement, the deposit and | 1359 |
disbursement, or the gift and disbursement, or the donation and | 1360 |
|
disbursement information in all
statements, all addenda to the | 1361 |
|
statements, and
all amended
statements that are filed with the | 1362 |
|
secretary of state by
electronic or other means of transmission | 1363 |
|
under this section or
section
3517.10, 3517.105, 3517.1011, | 1364 |
|
3517.1012, 3517.1013, 3517.1014, or
3517.11 of the
Revised Code | 1365 |
|
available
online to the public by any
means that are
searchable, | 1366 |
|
viewable, and
accessible through the
internet. | 1367 |
| (K) It is an affirmative defense to a complaint or charge | 1400 |
|
brought against any campaign committee, political action | 1401 |
|
committee, political contributing entity,
legislative campaign | 1402 |
|
fund, or political party,
any individual, partnership, or other | 1403 |
entity, or any person making disbursements to pay the direct costs | 1404 |
|
of producing or airing electioneering communications, or any | 1405 |
|
treasurer of a transition fund,
for the
failure to file by | 1406 |
|
electronic
means of transmission a
campaign
finance
statement as | 1407 |
|
required by this section or section
3517.10,
3517.105, 3517.1011, | 1408 |
3517.1012, or 3517.1013, or 3517.1014 of the Revised Code
that | 1409 |
|
all of the
following
apply to the campaign committee,
political | 1410 |
|
action committee, political contributing entity,
legislative | 1411 |
|
campaign fund, or political party,
the individual,
partnership, | 1412 |
or other entity, or the person making disbursements
to pay the | 1413 |
|
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering | 1414 |
|
communications, or the treasurer of a transition fund that failed | 1415 |
|
to so
file: | 1416 |
| (1) The campaign committee, political action committee, | 1417 |
|
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or | 1418 |
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or | 1419 |
|
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of | 1420 |
|
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the | 1421 |
|
treasurer of a transition fund attempted to
file by electronic | 1422 |
|
means of
transmission the required
statement
prior to the deadline | 1423 |
|
set forth in the applicable section. | 1424 |
| (2) The campaign committee, political action committee, | 1425 |
|
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or | 1426 |
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or | 1427 |
|
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of | 1428 |
|
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the | 1429 |
|
treasurer of a transition fund was unable to
file by electronic | 1430 |
|
means of
transmission due to an
expected or
unexpected shutdown of | 1431 |
|
the whole or part of the electronic
campaign finance | 1432 |
|
statement-filing system, such as for maintenance
or because
of | 1433 |
|
hardware, software, or network connection failure. | 1434 |
| (3) The campaign committee, political action committee, | 1435 |
|
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or | 1436 |
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or | 1437 |
|
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of | 1438 |
|
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the | 1439 |
|
treasurer of a transition fund filed by
electronic means of | 1440 |
|
transmission the required statement within a
reasonable period of | 1441 |
|
time after
being unable to so file it under
the circumstance | 1442 |
|
described in division
(K)(2) of this section. | 1443 |
| (L)(1) The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to | 1444 |
|
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to permit a campaign committee of | 1445 |
|
a candidate for statewide office that makes expenditures of less | 1446 |
|
than twenty-five thousand dollars during the filing period or a | 1447 |
|
campaign committee for the office of member of the general | 1448 |
|
assembly or the office of judge of a court of appeals that would | 1449 |
|
otherwise be required to file campaign finance statements by | 1450 |
|
electronic means of transmission under division (E) or (F) of this | 1451 |
|
section to file those statements by paper with the office of the | 1452 |
|
secretary of state. Those rules shall provide for all of the | 1453 |
|
following: | 1454 |
| (f) If an eligible campaign committee whose candidate has | 1488 |
|
filed a notice in accordance with rules adopted under division | 1489 |
|
(L)(1)(d) of this section subsequently fails to file that | 1490 |
|
statement on paper by the applicable deadline established in rules | 1491 |
|
adopted under division (L)(1)(a) of this section, penalties for | 1492 |
|
the late filing of the campaign finance statement shall apply to | 1493 |
|
that campaign committee for each day after that paper filing | 1494 |
|
deadline, as if the campaign committee had filed the statement | 1495 |
|
after the applicable deadline set forth in division (A) of section | 1496 |
|
3517.10 of the Revised Code. | 1497 |
| (2) The process for permitting campaign committees that would | 1498 |
|
otherwise be required to file campaign finance statements by | 1499 |
|
electronic means of transmission to file those statements on paper | 1500 |
|
with the office of the secretary of state that is required to be | 1501 |
|
developed under division (L)(1) of this section shall be in effect | 1502 |
|
and available for use by eligible campaign committees for all | 1503 |
|
campaign finance statements that are required to be filed on or | 1504 |
|
after June 30, 2005. Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised | 1505 |
|
Code to the contrary, if the process the secretary of state is | 1506 |
|
required to develop under division (L)(1) of this section is not | 1507 |
|
in effect and available for use on and after June 30, 2005, all | 1508 |
|
penalties for the failure of campaign committees to file campaign | 1509 |
|
finance statements by electronic means of transmission shall be | 1510 |
|
suspended until such time as that process is in effect and | 1511 |
|
available for use. | 1512 |
| Sec. 3517.11. (A)(1) Campaign committees of candidates
for | 1661 |
|
statewide office or the state board of education, political
action | 1662 |
|
committees or political contributing entities that make | 1663 |
|
contributions to campaign committees
of candidates that are | 1664 |
|
required to file the statements prescribed by section
3517.10 of | 1665 |
|
the Revised Code with the secretary of state,
political action | 1666 |
|
committees or political contributing entities that
make | 1667 |
|
contributions to campaign
committees of candidates for member of | 1668 |
|
the general assembly,
political action committees or political | 1669 |
|
contributing entities that
make contributions to state and | 1670 |
|
national political parties and to legislative campaign
funds, | 1671 |
|
political action committees or political contributing entities | 1672 |
|
that
receive contributions or make expenditures in connection with | 1673 |
|
a
statewide ballot issue, political action committees or political | 1674 |
|
contributing entities that make
contributions to other political | 1675 |
|
action committees or political contributing entities, political | 1676 |
|
parties, and campaign committees, except as set forth in division | 1677 |
|
(A)(3) of this section, legislative campaign funds,
and state and | 1678 |
|
national political parties
shall file the statements prescribed by | 1679 |
|
section 3517.10 of the
Revised Code with the secretary of state. | 1680 |
| (b) A campaign committee of a candidate for office of member | 1687 |
|
of
the
general assembly or a campaign committee of a candidate for | 1688 |
|
the office of judge of a court of appeals shall file two copies of | 1689 |
|
the printed version
of
any statement, addendum, or amended | 1690 |
|
statement if the committee
does not file pursuant to division | 1691 |
|
(F)(1) or (L) of section 3517.106 of the
Revised Code but files by | 1692 |
|
printed version only with
the
appropriate board of elections. The | 1693 |
|
board of elections shall send
one of
those copies by certified | 1694 |
|
mail to the secretary
of state
before
the close of business on | 1695 |
|
the day the board of
elections
receives
the statement, addendum, | 1696 |
|
or amended statement. | 1697 |
| (3) Political action committees or political contributing | 1698 |
|
entities
that only contribute to a
county political party, | 1699 |
|
contribute to campaign committees of
candidates whose nomination | 1700 |
|
or election is to be submitted only
to electors within a county, | 1701 |
|
subdivision, or district, excluding
candidates for member of the | 1702 |
|
general assembly, and receive
contributions or make expenditures | 1703 |
|
in connection with ballot
questions or issues to be submitted only | 1704 |
|
to electors within a
county, subdivision, or district shall file | 1705 |
|
the statements
prescribed by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code | 1706 |
|
with the board
of elections in that county or in the county | 1707 |
|
contained in whole
or part within the subdivision or district | 1708 |
|
having a population
greater than that of any other county | 1709 |
|
contained in whole or part
within that subdivision or district, as | 1710 |
|
the case may be. | 1711 |
| (2) On or before the tenth day before the dates on which | 1724 |
|
statements are required to be filed by section 3517.10 of the | 1725 |
|
Revised Code, every candidate subject to the provisions of this | 1726 |
|
section and sections 3517.10 and
3517.106 of the Revised
Code | 1727 |
|
shall be notified
of the requirements and applicable penalties of | 1728 |
|
those sections.
The secretary of state, by certified mail, return | 1729 |
|
receipt
requested, shall
notify all candidates required to file | 1730 |
|
those statements with the secretary of state's office. The
board | 1731 |
|
of elections of every
county shall notify by first class mail any | 1732 |
|
candidate who has
personally appeared at the office of the board | 1733 |
|
on or before the
tenth day before the statements are required to | 1734 |
|
be
filed and signed a form,
to be provided by the secretary of | 1735 |
|
state, attesting that the
candidate has been notified of the | 1736 |
|
candidate's obligations
under the campaign
finance law. The board | 1737 |
|
shall forward the completed form to
the
secretary of state. The | 1738 |
|
board shall use certified mail,
return receipt requested, to | 1739 |
|
notify all other candidates required
to file those statements with | 1740 |
|
it. | 1741 |
| (3)(a) Any statement required to be filed under sections | 1742 |
|
3517.081
to 3517.17 of the Revised Code that is found
to be | 1743 |
|
incomplete or inaccurate by the officer to whom it is submitted | 1744 |
|
shall be
accepted on a conditional basis, and the person who filed | 1745 |
|
it
shall be notified by certified mail as to the incomplete or | 1746 |
|
inaccurate nature of the statement. The secretary of state
may | 1747 |
|
examine statements filed for candidates for the office of
member | 1748 |
|
of the general assembly and candidates for the office of judge of | 1749 |
|
a court of appeals for completeness and accuracy.
The secretary of | 1750 |
|
state shall examine
for
completeness and accuracy statements that | 1751 |
|
campaign committees
of candidates for the office
of member of the | 1752 |
|
general assembly and campaign committees of candidates for the | 1753 |
|
office of judge of a court of appeals
file
pursuant to division | 1754 |
|
(F) or (L)
of section 3517.106
of the Revised Code. If
an officer | 1755 |
|
at the
board of elections where a statement filed for a candidate | 1756 |
|
for the
office of member of the general
assembly or for a | 1757 |
|
candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals was | 1758 |
|
submitted finds the
statement to be incomplete or
inaccurate, the | 1759 |
|
officer shall
immediately notify the
secretary of state of
its | 1760 |
|
incomplete or
inaccurate nature. If either an officer at the
board | 1761 |
|
of elections
or the secretary of state finds a statement filed for | 1762 |
|
a
candidate
for the office of member of the general
assembly or | 1763 |
|
for a candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals to | 1764 |
|
be incomplete
or inaccurate, only the
secretary of state shall | 1765 |
|
send the
notification as to the incomplete or
inaccurate nature of | 1766 |
|
the
statement. | 1767 |
| Within twenty-one
days
after
receipt of the notice, in the | 1768 |
|
case of a
pre-election statement, a
postelection
statement, a | 1769 |
|
monthly statement, an annual statement, or a semiannual statement | 1770 |
|
prescribed
by section 3517.10, an annual statement
prescribed by | 1771 |
|
section
3517.101, or a statement
prescribed by
division (B)(2)(b) | 1772 |
|
or
(C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105 or
section 3517.107 of the | 1773 |
|
Revised
Code,
the recipient shall file an addendum, amendment, or | 1774 |
|
other
correction to the statement providing
the information | 1775 |
|
necessary to
complete or correct the statement.
The secretary of | 1776 |
|
state may
require that, in lieu of filing
an addendum, amendment, | 1777 |
|
or other
correction to a statement that
is filed by electronic | 1778 |
|
means of
transmission to the office of
the secretary of state | 1779 |
|
pursuant to
section 3517.106 of the
Revised Code, the recipient of | 1780 |
|
the
notice
described in this division file by electronic means of | 1781 |
|
transmission an amended statement that incorporates
the | 1782 |
|
information necessary
to complete or correct the statement.
| 1783 |
| The provisions of sections 3517.10,
3517.106, 3517.1011, | 1803 |
3517.1012, and 3517.1013, and 3517.1014 of the Revised Code | 1804 |
|
pertaining to
the
filing of
statements of contributions and | 1805 |
|
expenditures, statements
of
independent expenditures, disclosure | 1806 |
|
of electioneering
communications statements, deposit and | 1807 |
disbursement statements,
and gift and disbursement statements, | 1808 |
|
and donation and disbursement statements by electronic means of | 1809 |
|
transmission apply to the filing of addenda, amendments, or other | 1810 |
|
corrections to those
statements by electronic means of | 1811 |
|
transmission and
the
filing of amended statements by electronic | 1812 |
|
means of
transmission. | 1813 |
| (b) Within five business days after the secretary
of state | 1814 |
|
receives, by electronic or other means of transmission, an | 1815 |
|
addendum,
amendment, or other correction to a statement or an | 1816 |
|
amended statement under
division (B)(3)(a) of this section, the | 1817 |
|
secretary of
state, pursuant to divisions (E), (F), (G), and
(I) | 1818 |
|
of section 3517.106 or division (D) of section 3517.1011 of the | 1819 |
|
Revised Code, shall make the
contribution and
expenditure, | 1820 |
contribution and disbursement, deposit and disbursement, or gift | 1821 |
|
and disbursement, or donation and disbursement information in that | 1822 |
|
addendum,
amendment,
correction, or amended statement available | 1823 |
|
online to
the
public
through the internet. | 1824 |
| (C)(1) In the event of a failure to file or a late filing
of | 1839 |
|
a statement required to be filed under sections 3517.081 to | 1840 |
|
3517.17 of the Revised Code, or if a filed statement or any | 1841 |
|
addendum, amendment, or other correction to a statement or any | 1842 |
|
amended statement, if an addendum, amendment, or other correction | 1843 |
|
or an amended statement is required to be
filed,
is incomplete or | 1844 |
|
inaccurate or appears to disclose a failure to
comply with or a | 1845 |
|
violation of law, the official whose duty
it is
to examine the | 1846 |
|
statement shall promptly file a complaint
with the
Ohio elections | 1847 |
|
commission
under section 3517.153 of the Revised
Code if the law | 1848 |
|
is one over which the
commission has
jurisdiction
to hear | 1849 |
|
complaints, or the official
shall promptly report the
failure or | 1850 |
|
violation to the board of elections and the board shall
promptly | 1851 |
|
report it to the prosecuting attorney in accordance with
division | 1852 |
|
(J)
of section 3501.11 of the Revised Code. If the
official
files | 1853 |
|
a complaint with the
commission, the commission
shall proceed in | 1854 |
|
accordance with sections 3517.154
to 3517.157 of
the Revised Code. | 1855 |
| (2) For purposes of division (C)(1) of this section, a | 1856 |
|
statement
or an addendum, amendment, or other correction to a | 1857 |
|
statement or an amended statement required to be
filed under | 1858 |
|
sections 3517.081 to 3517.17 of the
Revised
Code is incomplete or | 1859 |
|
inaccurate under this section if the statement, addendum, | 1860 |
|
amendment, other correction, or amended statement fails
to | 1861 |
disclose substantially all contributions or, gifts, or donations | 1862 |
|
that are
received
or deposits that are made that are required to | 1863 |
|
be
reported under
sections
3517.10, 3517.107, 3517.108, | 1864 |
3517.1011,
3517.1012, and 3517.1013, and 3517.1014 of the
Revised | 1865 |
|
Code or if the
statement,
addendum, amendment, other correction, | 1866 |
|
or amended statement fails
to disclose at least ninety per cent | 1867 |
of the total
contributions or,
gifts, or donations received or | 1868 |
|
deposits made or of the total expenditures
or
disbursements made | 1869 |
|
during
the reporting period. | 1870 |
| Sec. 3517.153. (A) Upon the filing of a
complaint with the | 1877 |
|
Ohio elections commission, which shall
be made by affidavit of any | 1878 |
|
person, on personal knowledge, and
subject to the penalties for | 1879 |
|
perjury, or upon the filing of a
complaint made by the secretary | 1880 |
|
of state or an official at the
board of elections, setting forth a | 1881 |
|
failure to comply with or
a violation of any provision in sections | 1882 |
|
3517.08 to 3517.13, 3517.17, 3517.18,
3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03, | 1883 |
|
or 3599.031 of the Revised
Code, the commission shall proceed in | 1884 |
|
accordance with
sections 3517.154 to 3517.157 of the Revised
Code. | 1885 |
| (B) The commission shall prescribe the
form for complaints | 1886 |
|
made under division (A) of this
section. The secretary of state | 1887 |
|
and boards of elections shall
furnish the information that the | 1888 |
|
commission requests. The
commission or a member of the commission | 1889 |
|
may administer oaths,
and the commission may issue subpoenas to | 1890 |
|
any person in the state
compelling the attendance of witnesses and | 1891 |
|
the production of
relevant papers, books, accounts, and reports. | 1892 |
|
Section 101.42 of
the Revised Code governs the issuance of | 1893 |
|
subpoenas insofar as applicable. Upon the refusal of any person to | 1894 |
|
obey a subpoena or to be sworn or to answer as a witness, the | 1895 |
|
commission may apply to the court of common pleas of
Franklin | 1896 |
|
county under section 2705.03 of the
Revised Code. The court shall | 1897 |
|
hold proceedings
in accordance with Chapter 2705. of the Revised | 1898 |
|
Code. | 1899 |
| (D) The commission may recommend legislation
and render | 1907 |
|
advisory opinions concerning sections 3517.08,
3517.082, 3517.092, | 1908 |
|
3517.102, 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.1014,
3517.13, 3517.18, 3517.20 | 1909 |
|
to
3517.22, 3599.03, and
3599.031 of the Revised Code for persons | 1910 |
|
over
whose acts it has or may have jurisdiction. When the | 1911 |
|
commission
renders an advisory opinion relating to a specific set | 1912 |
|
of
circumstances involving any of those sections stating that | 1913 |
|
there
is no violation of a provision in those sections, the person | 1914 |
|
to whom the
opinion
is directed or a person who is similarly | 1915 |
|
situated may
reasonably rely on the opinion and is immune from | 1916 |
|
criminal
prosecution and a civil action, including, without | 1917 |
|
limitation,
a civil action for removal from public office or | 1918 |
|
employment, based
on facts and circumstances covered by the | 1919 |
|
opinion. | 1920 |
| Sec. 3517.154. (A)(1) The full-time attorney
for the Ohio | 1927 |
|
elections commission shall review each
complaint filed with the | 1928 |
|
commission under section 3517.153 of the
Revised Code, shall | 1929 |
|
determine the nature of the
complaint, and, unless division | 1930 |
|
(A)(2)(a)
of this section requires that the complaint receive an | 1931 |
|
automatic
expedited hearing, shall make a recommendation to the | 1932 |
|
commission for
its disposition, in accordance with this section. | 1933 |
|
The attorney
shall make the determination and the recommendation, | 1934 |
|
if required,
not later than one business day after the complaint | 1935 |
|
is filed. | 1936 |
| (b) If the attorney determines that the
complaint sets forth | 1947 |
|
a failure to comply with or a violation
of division (G), (I), (J), | 1948 |
|
(O),
(P), or (Q) of section 3517.13, division
(A) of section | 1949 |
|
3517.21, or division (A) of
section 3517.22 of the Revised Code | 1950 |
|
and that the complaint is filed during
one of the periods of time | 1951 |
|
specified in division (B)(1) of section
3517.156 of the Revised | 1952 |
|
Code, the attorney shall
recommend to the commission that the | 1953 |
|
complaint receive an
expedited hearing under section 3517.156 of | 1954 |
|
the Revised
Code, and the complaint shall receive such a hearing. | 1955 |
| (c) If the attorney determines that the
complaint sets forth | 1956 |
|
a failure to comply with or a violation
of a section of the | 1957 |
|
Revised Code over which the commission has jurisdiction to
hear | 1958 |
|
complaints other than the sections described in divisions | 1959 |
|
(A)(2)(a) and (b) of this section,
and unless the attorney makes a | 1960 |
|
determination as provided for in division
(A)(3) of this section, | 1961 |
|
the attorney shall recommend to the
commission that the complaint | 1962 |
|
be submitted to the commission
under section 3517.155 of the | 1963 |
|
Revised Code.
After the attorney makes that recommendation, the | 1964 |
|
attorney shall notify
all parties to the complaint of the | 1965 |
|
attorney's recommendation. | 1966 |
| (ii) If the complaint involves a statement
required to be | 1981 |
|
filed under section 3517.10, division (E) of section
3517.102, or | 1982 |
|
section 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.107, 3517.108, 3517.109, | 1983 |
3517.1011, or 3517.1012, or 3517.1014 of
the Revised
Code or an | 1984 |
|
addendum required to be filed under section
3517.11 of the Revised | 1985 |
|
Code that is filed late,
how late the filing is and how much time | 1986 |
|
has elapsed between the
deadline for filing the statement or | 1987 |
|
addendum and the filing of
the complaint; | 1988 |
| (iii) If the complaint involves contributions
and | 1989 |
|
expenditures, contributions and disbursements, deposits and | 1990 |
disbursements, or gifts and disbursements, or donations and | 1991 |
|
disbursements required to be reported under section 3517.10, | 1992 |
|
division
(E) of section 3517.102, or section 3517.105, 3517.107, | 1993 |
3517.108,
3517.109, 3517.1011, 3517.1012, or 3517.1013, or | 1994 |
|
3517.1014 of
the Revised Code that are either not reported or | 1995 |
|
reported late, the number of contributions and expenditures, | 1996 |
contributions and disbursements, deposits and disbursements, or | 1997 |
|
gifts and disbursements, or donations and disbursements not | 1998 |
|
reported or how late they were reported; | 1999 |
| (4) The attorney may join two or more complaints if the | 2040 |
|
attorney
determines that the allegations in each complaint are of | 2041 |
|
the same
or similar character, are based on the same act or | 2042 |
|
failure to
act, or are based on two or more acts or failures to | 2043 |
|
act
constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. If one | 2044 |
|
complaint
contains two or more allegations, the attorney may | 2045 |
|
separate the
allegations if they are not of the same or similar | 2046 |
|
character,
if they are not based on the same act or failure to | 2047 |
|
act, or if
they are not based on two or more acts or failures to | 2048 |
|
act
constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. If the attorney | 2049 |
|
separates the allegations in a complaint, the attorney may make | 2050 |
|
separate
recommendations under division (A)(2) or (3) of this | 2051 |
|
section for each allegation. | 2052 |
| (B) Whenever a person or other entity files a
complaint with | 2053 |
|
the commission setting forth a failure to comply
with or a | 2054 |
|
violation of a section of the Revised Code as described in | 2055 |
|
division
(A)(2)(c) of this section and the complaint is filed | 2056 |
|
during one of the
periods of time specified in division (B)(1) of | 2057 |
|
section 3517.156
of the Revised Code, the person or
entity may | 2058 |
|
request an expedited hearing under that section at the time
the | 2059 |
|
complaint is
filed. The attorney for the commission shall inform | 2060 |
|
the members
of the commission of that request at the time the | 2061 |
|
attorney makes a
recommendation under division (A) of this | 2062 |
|
section. The
commission may grant the request for an expedited | 2063 |
|
hearing under this division
if it
determines that an expedited | 2064 |
|
hearing is practicable. | 2065 |
| Sec. 3599.03. (A)(1) Except to carry on activities specified | 2327 |
|
in sections 3517.082 and 3517.1011, division (A)(2) of section | 2328 |
|
3517.1012, division (B) of section 3517.1013, division (C)(1) of | 2329 |
|
section 3517.1014, and section 3599.031 of the Revised Code and | 2330 |
|
except
as provided in divisions (D), (E), and
(F) of this section, | 2331 |
|
no
corporation, no nonprofit
corporation, and no labor | 2332 |
|
organization, directly or
indirectly, shall pay or use, or offer, | 2333 |
|
advise, consent,
or agree to pay or
use, the corporation's money | 2334 |
|
or property, or the
labor organization's
money, including dues, | 2335 |
|
initiation fees, or other assessments paid
by members,
or | 2336 |
|
property, for or in aid of or
opposition to a political party, a | 2337 |
|
candidate for election or
nomination to public office, a political | 2338 |
|
action committee including a political action committee of the | 2339 |
|
corporation or labor organization, a
legislative campaign fund, or | 2340 |
|
any
organization that supports or opposes any such candidate, or | 2341 |
|
for
any partisan political purpose, shall violate any law | 2342 |
|
requiring the
filing of an affidavit or statement respecting such | 2343 |
|
use of
those funds, or shall pay or use the corporation's
or labor | 2344 |
|
organization's money
for the expenses of
a social fund-raising | 2345 |
|
event for its political action committee if
an employee's or labor | 2346 |
|
organization member's
right
to attend such an event is
predicated | 2347 |
|
on the employee's or member's contribution to the
corporation's
or | 2348 |
|
labor organization's political action committee. | 2349 |
| (B)(1) No officer, stockholder, attorney, or agent of a | 2353 |
|
corporation or nonprofit
corporation, no member, including an | 2354 |
|
officer, attorney, or agent, of a labor
organization, and no | 2355 |
|
candidate, political party official, or other individual
shall | 2356 |
|
knowingly aid, advise, solicit, or receive money or other property | 2357 |
|
in
violation of division (A)(1) of this section. | 2358 |
| (C) A corporation, a
nonprofit
corporation, or a labor | 2362 |
|
organization may
use its funds or property for or in aid of or | 2363 |
|
opposition to a
proposed or certified ballot issue. Such use of | 2364 |
|
funds or
property shall be reported on a form prescribed by the | 2365 |
|
secretary
of state. Reports of contributions in connection with | 2366 |
|
statewide
ballot issues shall be filed with the secretary of | 2367 |
|
state.
Reports of contributions in connection with local issues | 2368 |
|
shall be
filed with the board of elections of the most populous | 2369 |
|
county of
the district in which the issue is submitted or to be | 2370 |
|
submitted
to the electors. Reports made pursuant to this division | 2371 |
|
shall be
filed by the times specified in divisions (A)(1) and (2) | 2372 |
|
of
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. | 2373 |
| (3) The use by a corporation or labor organization of its | 2401 |
|
money or property for communicating information for a purpose | 2402 |
|
specified in division (A) of this section is not a violation of | 2403 |
|
that division if it is not a communication made by mass broadcast | 2404 |
|
such as radio or television or made by advertising in a newspaper | 2405 |
|
of general circulation but is a communication sent exclusively to | 2406 |
|
members, employees, officers, or trustees of that labor | 2407 |
|
organization or shareholders, employees, officers, or directors of | 2408 |
|
that corporation or to members of the immediate families of any | 2409 |
|
such individuals or if the communication intended to be so sent | 2410 |
|
exclusively is unintentionally sent as well to a de minimis number | 2411 |
|
of other individuals. | 2412 |
