HOUSE BILL No. 4523
April 20, 1999, Introduced by Reps. Richner, Pappageorge, Mortimer, DeHart, O'Neil, Bishop, Rick Johnson, Allen, Stamas, Law, Bovin, Birkholz and Cassis and referred to the Committee on Constitutional Law and Ethics. A bill to amend 1976 PA 388, entitled "Michigan campaign finance act," by amending sections 33 and 35 (MCL 169.233 and 169.235), section 33 as amended by 1995 PA 264 and section 35 as amended by 1989 PA 95. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 33. (1) A committee, other than an independent commit- 2 tee or a political committee required to file with the secretary 3 of state, supporting or opposing a candidate shall file campaign 4 statements as required by this act according to the following 5 schedule: 6 (a) A preelection campaign statement shall be filed not 7 later than the eleventh day before an election. The closing date 8 for a campaign statement filed under this subdivision shall be 9 IS the sixteenth day before the election. 00743'99 *** KKR 2 1 (b) A postelection campaign statement shall be filed not 2 later than the thirtieth day following the election. The closing 3 date for a campaign statement filed under this subdivision shall 4 be IS the twentieth day following the election. A committee 5 supporting a candidate who loses the primary election shall file 6 closing campaign statements in accordance with this section. If 7 all liabilities of such a candidate or committee are paid before 8 the closing date and additional contributions are not expected, 9 the campaign statement may be filed at any time after the elec- 10 tion, but not later than the thirtieth day following the 11 election. 12 (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), THE FOLLOWING 13 APPLY: 14 (a) A candidate committee shall file a preelection campaign 15 statement and a postelection campaign statement for each election 16 in which the candidate seeks nomination or election, except if an 17 individual becomes a candidate after the closing date for the 18 preelection campaign statement only the postelection campaign 19 statement is required for that election. 20 (b) A committee other than a candidate committee shall file 21 a campaign statement for each period during which expenditures 22 are made for the purpose of influencing the nomination or elec- 23 tion of a candidate or for the qualification, passage, or defeat 24 of a ballot question. 25 (3) An independent committee or a political committee other 26 than a house political party caucus committee or senate political 27 party caucus committee required to file with the secretary of 00743'99 *** 3 1 state shall file campaign statements as required by this act 2 according to the following schedule: 3 (a) In an odd numbered year: 4 (i) Not later than January 31 of that year with a closing 5 date of December 31 of the previous year. 6 (ii) Not later than July 25 with a closing date of July 20. 7 (iii) Not later than October 25 with a closing date of 8 October 20. 9 (b) In an even numbered year: 10 (i) Not later than April 25 of that year with a closing date 11 of April 20 of that year. 12 (ii) Not later than July 25 with a closing date of July 20. 13 (iii) Not later than October 25 with a closing date of 14 October 20. 15 (4) A house political party caucus committee or a senate 16 political party caucus committee required to file with the secre- 17 tary of state shall file campaign statements as required by this 18 act according to the following schedule: 19 (a) Not later than January 31 of each year with a closing 20 date of December 31 of the immediately preceding year. 21 (b) Not later than April 25 of each year with a closing date 22 of April 20 of that year. 23 (c) Not later than July 25 of each year with a closing date 24 of July 20 of that year. 25 (d) Not later than October 25 of each year with a closing 26 date of October 20 of that year. 00743'99 *** 4 1 (e) For the period beginning on the fourteenth day 2 immediately preceding a primary or special primary election and 3 ending on the day immediately following the primary or special 4 primary election, not later than 4 p.m. each business day with a 5 closing date of the immediately preceding day, only for a contri- 6 bution received or expenditure made that exceeds $1,000.00 per 7 day. 8 (f) For the period beginning on the fourteenth day immedi- 9 ately preceding a general or special election and ending on the 10 day immediately following the general or special election, not 11 later than 4 p.m. each business day with a closing date of the 12 immediately preceding day, only for a contribution received or 13 expenditure made that exceeds $1,000.00 per day. 14 (5) Notwithstanding subsection (3) or (4) or section 51, if 15 an independent expenditure is made within 45 days before a spe- 16 cial election by an independent committee or a political commit- 17 tee required to file a campaign statement with the secretary of 18 state, THE COMMITTEE SHALL FILE a report of the INDEPENDENT 19 expenditure shall be filed by the committee with the secretary 20 of state within 48 hours after the expenditure. The report shall 21 be made on a form provided by the secretary of state and shall 22 include the date of the independent expenditure, the amount of 23 the expenditure, a brief description of the nature of the expen- 24 diture, and the name and address of the person to whom the expen- 25 diture was paid. The brief description of the INDEPENDENT expen- 26 diture shall include either the name of the candidate and the 27 office sought by the candidate or the name of the ballot question 00743'99 *** 5 1 and shall state whether the expenditure supports or opposes the 2 candidate or ballot question. This subsection does not apply if 3 the committee is required to report the independent expenditure 4 in a campaign statement that is required to be filed before the 5 date of the election for which the expenditure was made. 6 (6) A candidate committee or a committee other than a candi- 7 date committee that files a written statement under section 24(5) 8 or (6) need not file a campaign statement under subsection (1), 9 (3), or (4) unless it received or expended an amount in excess of 10 $1,000.00. If the committee receives or expends an amount in 11 excess of $1,000.00 during a period covered by a filing, the com- 12 mittee is then subject to the campaign filing requirements under 13 this act. 14 (7) A FOR A COMMITTEE OTHER THAN A CANDIDATE COMMITTEE, 15 THE committee, candidate, treasurer, or other individual desig- 16 nated as responsible for the committee's record keeping, report 17 preparation, or report filing who fails to file a statement as 18 required by this section shall pay a late filing fee of $25.00 19 $50.00 for each business day the statement remains unfiled. FOR 20 A CANDIDATE COMMITTEE, THE CANDIDATE WHO FAILS TO FILE OR HAVE 21 FILED A STATEMENT AS REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION SHALL PAY A LATE 22 FILING FEE OF $50.00 FOR EACH BUSINESS DAY THE STATEMENT REMAINS 23 UNFILED. The late filing fee UNDER THIS SUBSECTION shall not 24 exceed $500.00 $1,000.00. If a candidate, FOR A COMMITTEE 25 OTHER THAN A CANDIDATE COMMITTEE, IF THE treasurer , or other 26 individual designated as responsible for the committee's record 27 keeping, report preparation, or report filing fails to file 2 00743'99 *** 6 1 statements required by this section or section 35 and both of the 2 statements remain unfiled for more than 30 days, that 3 candidate, treasurer , or other designated individual is 4 guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than 5 $1,000.00 , or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or 6 both. FOR A CANDIDATE COMMITTEE, IF THE CANDIDATE FAILS TO FILE 7 OR HAVE FILED 2 STATEMENTS REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION OR SECTION 35 8 AND BOTH OF THE STATEMENTS REMAIN UNFILED FOR MORE THAN 30 DAYS, 9 THAT CANDIDATE IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR, PUNISHABLE BY A FINE 10 OF NOT MORE THAN $1,000.00 OR IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT MORE THAN 90 11 DAYS, OR BOTH. A CANDIDATE WHO IS REQUIRED TO PAY A LATE FILING 12 FEE OR WHO IS FINED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION SHALL NOT USE COMMITTEE 13 FUNDS TO PAY THAT FEE OR FINE. 14 (8) A CANDIDATE WHO HAS BEEN ELECTED TO OFFICE AND WHO HAS 15 AN UNFILED REPORT OR UNPAID FEE OR FINE STILL DUE UNDER THIS SEC- 16 TION FORFEITS HIS OR HER RIGHT TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION FROM A 17 PUBLIC BODY FOR THAT OFFICE WHILE THE REPORT REMAINS UNFILED OR 18 THE FEE OR FINE REMAINS UNPAID. A PUBLIC BODY SHALL NOT PAY COM- 19 PENSATION TO THE CANDIDATE FOR THAT OFFICE WHILE THE REPORT 20 REMAINS UNFILED OR THE FEE OR FINE REMAINS UNPAID, AS CERTIFIED 21 BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE. UPON THE REQUEST OF THE SECRETARY OF 22 STATE, THE PUBLIC BODY SHALL TRANSFER ALL OR A PORTION OF THE 23 COMPENSATION FORFEITED BY A CANDIDATE UNDER THIS SUBSECTION TO BE 24 CREDITED AGAINST THE CANDIDATE'S UNPAID FEE OR FINE UNDER THIS 25 SECTION, IF ANY. 26 (9) (8) If a candidate subject to this section is found 27 guilty, the circuit court for that county, on application by the 00743'99 *** 7 1 attorney general or the prosecuting attorney of that county, may 2 prohibit that candidate from assuming the duties of a public 3 office or from receiving compensation from public funds, or 4 both. 5 (10) (9) If a treasurer or other individual designated as 6 responsible for a committee's record keeping, report preparation, 7 or report filing knowingly files an incomplete or inaccurate 8 statement or report required by this section, that treasurer or 9 other designated individual is subject to a civil fine of not 10 more than $1,000.00. 11 Sec. 35. (1) In addition to any other requirements of this 12 act for filing a campaign statement, a committee, other than an 13 independent committee or a political committee required to file 14 with the secretary of state, shall also file a campaign statement 15 not later than January 31 of each year. The campaign statement 16 shall have a closing date of December 31 of the previous year. 17 The period covered by the campaign statement filed pursuant to 18 this subsection shall begin BEGINS the day after the closing 19 date of the previous campaign statement. A campaign statement 20 filed pursuant to this subsection shall be waived if a postelec- 21 tion campaign statement has been filed which THAT has a filing 22 deadline within 30 days of the closing date of the campaign 23 statement required by this subsection. 24 (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a candidate committee 25 for an officeholder who is a judge or a supreme court justice, or 26 who holds an elective office for which the salary is less than 27 $100.00 a month and who does not receive any contribution or make 00743'99 *** 8 1 any expenditure during the time which THAT would be otherwise 2 covered in the statement. 3 (3) A FOR A COMMITTEE OTHER THAN A CANDIDATE COMMITTEE, 4 THE committee, candidate, treasurer, or other individual desig- 5 nated as responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, 6 or report filing for a candidate THE committee of a candidate 7 for state elective office or a judicial office who fails to file 8 a campaign statement under this section shall pay a late filing 9 fee of $25.00 $50.00 for each business day the campaign state- 10 ment remains not filed in violation of this section. FOR A CAN- 11 DIDATE COMMITTEE, THE CANDIDATE WHO FAILS TO FILE OR HAVE FILED A 12 STATEMENT AS REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION SHALL PAY A LATE FILING FEE 13 OF $50.00 FOR EACH BUSINESS DAY THE STATEMENT REMAINS UNFILED. 14 The late filing fee UNDER THIS SUBSECTION shall not exceed 15 $500.00 $1,000.00. A committee, treasurer, or other individ- 16 ual designated as responsible for the record keeping, report 17 preparation, or report filing for a committee other than a candi- 18 date committee of a candidate for state elective office or a 19 judicial office who fails to file a campaign statement under this 20 section shall pay a late filing fee of $25.00 for each business 21 day the committee statement remains not filed in violation of 22 this section. The late filing fee shall not exceed $500.00. A 23 CANDIDATE WHO IS REQUIRED TO PAY A LATE FILING FEE OR WHO IS 24 FINED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION SHALL NOT USE COMMITTEE FUNDS TO PAY 25 THAT FEE OR FINE. 26 (4) A committee filing a written statement pursuant to 27 section 24(5) or (6) need not file a statement in accordance with 00743'99 *** 9 1 subsection (1). If a committee receives or expends more than 2 $1,000.00 during a time period prescribed by section 24(5) or 3 (6), the committee is then subject to the campaign filing 4 requirements under this act and shall file a campaign statement 5 for the period beginning the day after the closing date of the 6 last postelection campaign statement or an annual campaign state- 7 ment which THAT is waived pursuant to subsection (1), whichever 8 occurred earlier. 9 (5) If a candidate, treasurer, or other individual desig- 10 nated as responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, 11 or report filing fails to file 2 statements required by this sec- 12 tion or section 33 and both of the statements remain unfiled for 13 more than 30 days, that candidate, treasurer, or other designated 14 individual is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of 15 not more than $1,000.00 , or imprisonment for not more than 90 16 days, or both. 17 (6) If a treasurer or other individual designated as respon- 18 sible for the record keeping, report preparation, or report 19 filing for a committee required to file a campaign statement 20 under subsection (1) knowingly files an incomplete or inaccurate 21 statement or report required by this section, that treasurer or 22 other designated individual is subject to a civil fine of not 23 more than $1,000.00. 24 (7) A CANDIDATE WHO HAS BEEN ELECTED TO OFFICE AND WHO HAS 25 AN UNFILED REPORT OR UNPAID FEE OR FINE STILL DUE UNDER THIS SEC- 26 TION FORFEITS HIS OR HER RIGHT TO RECEIVE COMPENSATION FROM A 27 PUBLIC BODY FOR THAT OFFICE WHILE THE REPORT REMAINS UNFILED OR 00743'99 *** 10 1 THE FEE OR FINE REMAINS UNPAID. A PUBLIC BODY SHALL NOT PAY 2 COMPENSATION TO THE CANDIDATE FOR THAT OFFICE WHILE THE REPORT 3 REMAINS UNFILED OR THE FEE OR FINE REMAINS UNPAID, AS CERTIFIED 4 BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE. UPON THE REQUEST OF THE SECRETARY OF 5 STATE, THE PUBLIC BODY SHALL TRANSFER ALL OR A PORTION OF THE 6 COMPENSATION FORFEITED BY A CANDIDATE UNDER THIS SUBSECTION TO BE 7 CREDITED AGAINST THE CANDIDATE'S UNPAID FEE OR FINE UNDER THIS 8 SECTION, IF ANY. 00743'99 *** Final page. KKR