| Sec. 3517.01. (A)(1) A political party within the meaning of
| 12 |
|
Title XXXV of the Revised Code is any group of voters
that, at
the
| 13 |
|
most recent regular state election, polled
for its
candidate for
| 14 |
|
governor in the state or nominees for presidential
electors at
| 15 |
|
least five per cent of the entire vote cast for
that office or
| 16 |
|
that filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to any
election
| 17 |
|
in which it received less than five per cent of that
vote, a
| 18 |
|
petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to
at least
| 19 |
|
one per cent of the total vote for governor or nominees
for
| 20 |
|
presidential electors at the most recent
election,
declaring their
| 21 |
|
intention of organizing a political party, the
name of which shall
| 22 |
|
be stated in the declaration, and of
participating in the
| 23 |
|
succeeding primary election, held in
even-numbered years, that
| 24 |
|
occurs more than one hundred twenty
days after the date of filing.
| 25 |
|
No such group of electors shall
assume a name or designation that
| 26 |
|
is similar, in the opinion of
the secretary of state, to that of
| 27 |
|
an existing political party as
to confuse or mislead the voters at
| 28 |
|
an election. If any political party fails
to cast five per cent
of
| 29 |
|
the total vote
cast at an election for the office of governor
or
| 30 |
|
president, it
shall cease to be a political party.
| 31 |
| (3)
"Candidate" has the same meaning as in division (H) of
| 44 |
|
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code and also includes any person
| 45 |
|
who, at any time before or after an election, receives
| 46 |
|
contributions or makes expenditures or other use of
contributions,
| 47 |
|
has given consent for another to receive
contributions or make
| 48 |
|
expenditures or other use of contributions,
or appoints a campaign
| 49 |
|
treasurer, for the purpose of bringing
about the person's
| 50 |
|
nomination or election to public office.
When two persons jointly
| 51 |
|
seek the offices of governor and lieutenant governor,
"candidate"
| 52 |
|
means the pair of candidates jointly.
"Candidate" does not
include
| 53 |
|
candidates for election to the
offices of member of a
county or
| 54 |
|
state central committee,
presidential elector, and
delegate to a
| 55 |
|
national convention or
conference of a political
party.
| 56 |
| (4)
"Continuing association" means an association, other
than
| 57 |
|
a
campaign committee, political party, legislative campaign
fund,
| 58 |
|
political contributing entity, or labor
organization, that
is
| 59 |
|
intended to be a permanent organization that has a
primary
purpose
| 60 |
|
other than supporting or opposing specific candidates,
political
| 61 |
|
parties, or ballot issues, and that functions on a
regular basis
| 62 |
|
throughout the year. "Continuing association" includes
| 63 |
|
organizations that are determined to be not organized for profit
| 64 |
|
under subsection 501 and that are described in subsection
| 65 |
|
501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code.
| 66 |
| (5)
"Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit,
forgiveness
| 67 |
|
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or transfer
of funds
| 68 |
|
or
anything of value, including a transfer of funds
from
an inter
| 69 |
|
vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the
payment
| 70 |
|
by any
person other than the person to whom the services
are
| 71 |
|
rendered
for the personal services of another person, which
| 72 |
|
contribution
is made, received, or used for the purpose of
| 73 |
|
influencing the
results of an election.
Any loan, gift, deposit,
| 74 |
|
forgiveness of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or
| 75 |
|
transfer of funds or of anything of value, including a transfer of
| 76 |
|
funds from an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's
| 77 |
|
estate, and the payment by any campaign committee, political
| 78 |
|
action committee, legislative campaign fund, political party,
| 79 |
|
political contributing entity, or person other than the person to
| 80 |
|
whom the services are rendered for the personal services of
| 81 |
|
another person, that is made, received, or used by a state or
| 82 |
|
county political party, other than moneys a state or county
| 83 |
|
political party receives from the Ohio political party fund
| 84 |
|
pursuant to section 3517.17 of the Revised Code and the moneys a
| 85 |
|
state or county political party may receive under sections
| 86 |
|
3517.101, 3517.1012, and 3517.1013 of the Revised Code, shall be
| 87 |
|
considered to be a "contribution" for the purpose of section
| 88 |
|
3517.10 of the Revised Code and shall be included on a statement
| 89 |
|
of contributions filed under that section.
| 90 |
| (6)
"Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
| 113 |
|
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
| 114 |
|
election or of making a charitable donation under division (G) of
| 115 |
|
section 3517.08 of the Revised Code. Any disbursement or use of a
| 116 |
|
contribution by a state or county political party is an
| 117 |
|
expenditure and shall be considered either to be made for the
| 118 |
|
purpose of influencing the results of an election or to be made as
| 119 |
|
a charitable donation under division (G) of section 3517.08 of the
| 120 |
|
Revised Code and shall be reported on a statement of expenditures
| 121 |
|
filed under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. During the thirty
| 122 |
|
days preceding a primary or general election, any disbursement to
| 123 |
|
pay the direct costs of producing or airing a broadcast, cable, or
| 124 |
|
satellite communication that refers to a clearly identified
| 125 |
|
candidate shall be considered to be made for the purpose of
| 126 |
|
influencing the results of that election and shall be reported as
| 127 |
|
an expenditure or as an independent expenditure under section
| 128 |
|
3517.10 or 3517.105 of the Revised Code, as applicable, except
| 129 |
|
that the information required to be reported regarding
| 130 |
|
contributors for those expenditures or independent expenditures
| 131 |
|
shall be the same as the information required to be reported under
| 132 |
|
divisions (D)(1) and (2) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
| 133 |
| (8)
"Political action committee" means a combination of
two
| 140 |
|
or more persons, the primary or major purpose of
which is
to
| 141 |
|
support or oppose any candidate, political party, or issue, or
to
| 142 |
|
influence the result of any election through express advocacy, and
| 143 |
|
that is
not a political
party, a campaign committee, a political
| 144 |
|
contributing entity,
or a
legislative campaign fund. "Political
| 145 |
|
action committee" does not include either of the following:
| 146 |
| (16)
"In-kind contribution" means anything of
value other
| 177 |
|
than money that is used to influence the results of
an election or
| 178 |
|
is transferred to or used in support of or in
opposition to a
| 179 |
|
candidate, campaign committee, legislative
campaign fund,
| 180 |
|
political party, political action committee, or political
| 181 |
|
contributing entity and
that is made with the consent of, in
| 182 |
|
coordination, cooperation,
or consultation with, or at the request
| 183 |
|
or suggestion of the
benefited candidate, committee, fund, party,
| 184 |
|
or entity. The financing of
the
dissemination, distribution, or
| 185 |
|
republication, in whole or part,
of any broadcast or of any
| 186 |
|
written, graphic, or other form of
campaign materials prepared by
| 187 |
|
the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or their
| 188 |
|
authorized agents is an in-kind
contribution to the candidate and
| 189 |
|
an expenditure by the candidate.
| 190 |
| (d)
"Made in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation
with,
| 210 |
|
or at the request or suggestion of, any
candidate or the
campaign
| 211 |
|
committee or agent of the
candidate" means made pursuant
to any
| 212 |
|
arrangement,
coordination, or direction by the candidate,
the
| 213 |
|
candidate's
campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior
to
| 214 |
|
the
publication, distribution,
display, or broadcast of the
| 215 |
|
communication. An expenditure is
presumed to be so made when it
is
| 216 |
|
any of the following:
| 217 |
| (18)
"Labor organization" means a labor
union; an employee
| 238 |
|
organization; a federation of labor unions,
groups, locals, or
| 239 |
|
other employee organizations; an auxiliary of
a labor union,
| 240 |
|
employee organization, or federation of labor unions, groups,
| 241 |
|
locals, or other employee organizations; or any other bona fide
| 242 |
|
organization in
which employees participate and that exists for
| 243 |
|
the purpose, in
whole or in part, of dealing with employers
| 244 |
|
concerning
grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and other
| 245 |
|
terms and
conditions of employment.
| 246 |
| (25) "Political contributing entity" means any entity,
| 264 |
|
including a corporation or labor organization, that may lawfully
| 265 |
|
make contributions and expenditures and that is not an individual
| 266 |
|
or a political action committee, continuing association, campaign
| 267 |
|
committee, political party, legislative campaign fund, designated
| 268 |
|
state campaign committee, or state candidate fund. For purposes of
| 269 |
|
this division, "lawfully" means not prohibited by any section of
| 270 |
|
the Revised Code, or authorized by a final judgment of a court of
| 271 |
|
competent jurisdiction.
| 272 |
| Sec. 3517.10. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this
| 273 |
|
division, every campaign committee, political action committee,
| 274 |
|
legislative campaign fund, political party, and political
| 275 |
|
contributing entity
that made or received a contribution or made
| 276 |
|
an expenditure in connection with the nomination or election of
| 277 |
|
any candidate or in connection with any ballot issue or question
| 278 |
|
at any election held or to be held in this state shall file, on a
| 279 |
|
form prescribed under this section or by electronic means of
| 280 |
|
transmission as provided in this section and section 3517.106 of
| 281 |
|
the Revised
Code, a
full, true,
and
itemized
statement, made under
| 282 |
|
penalty of election
falsification, setting
forth in detail the
| 283 |
|
contributions and
expenditures, not later than
four p.m. of the
| 284 |
|
following dates:
| 285 |
| The statement required under division (A)(1) of this
section
| 310 |
|
shall not be required of any campaign committee,
political action
| 311 |
|
committee, legislative campaign
fund, political party, or
| 312 |
|
political contributing entity that has
received
contributions of
| 313 |
|
less than one thousand dollars and has made
expenditures of less
| 314 |
|
than one thousand dollars at the close of
business on the
| 315 |
|
twentieth day before the election. Those contributions and
| 316 |
|
expenditures shall be reported in the statement required under
| 317 |
|
division (A)(2)
of this section.
| 318 |
| No statement under division (A)(3) of this section shall be
| 332 |
|
required for any year in which a campaign committee, political
| 333 |
|
action committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, or
| 334 |
|
political contributing entity is required to
file a
postgeneral
| 335 |
|
election statement under
division (A)(2)
of this
section.
However,
| 336 |
|
a statement under division (A)(3) of this section may be filed, at
| 337 |
|
the option
of the
campaign
committee, political action committee,
| 338 |
|
legislative
campaign fund,
political party, or political
| 339 |
|
contributing entity.
| 340 |
| Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph and in the
| 346 |
|
next paragraph of this section, the only campaign committees
| 347 |
|
required to file a statement under division (A)(4) of this section
| 348 |
|
are the campaign committee of a statewide candidate and the
| 349 |
|
campaign committee of a candidate for county office. The campaign
| 350 |
|
committee of a candidate for any other nonjudicial office is
| 351 |
|
required to file a statement under division (A)(4) of this section
| 352 |
|
if that campaign committee receives, during that period,
| 353 |
|
contributions exceeding ten thousand dollars.
| 354 |
| No statement under division (A)(4) of this section shall be
| 355 |
|
required of a campaign committee, a political action committee, a
| 356 |
|
legislative campaign fund, a political party, or a political
| 357 |
|
contributing entity for any year in which the campaign committee,
| 358 |
|
political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political
| 359 |
|
party, or political contributing entity is required to file a
| 360 |
|
postprimary election statement under division (A)(2) of this
| 361 |
|
section. However, a statement under division (A)(4) of this
| 362 |
|
section may be filed at the option of the campaign committee,
| 363 |
|
political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political
| 364 |
|
party, or political contributing entity.
| 365 |
| No statement under division (A)(3) or (4) of this section
| 366 |
|
shall be
required if the campaign committee, political action
| 367 |
|
committee,
legislative campaign fund, political party, or
| 368 |
|
political contributing entity has no
contributions that it has
| 369 |
|
received and
no expenditures that it has made since the
last date
| 370 |
|
reflected in
its last previously filed statement.
However, the
| 371 |
|
campaign
committee, political action committee,
legislative
| 372 |
|
campaign fund,
political party, or political contributing entity
| 373 |
|
shall
file a
statement to that effect, on a form prescribed under
| 374 |
|
this
section
and made under penalty of election falsification, on
| 375 |
|
the
date
required in division (A)(3) or (4) of this section, as
| 376 |
|
applicable.
| 377 |
| The campaign committee of a statewide candidate shall
file a
| 378 |
|
monthly statement of contributions received during each of
the
| 379 |
|
months of July, August, and September
in the year of the general
| 380 |
|
election in which the candidate seeks
office. The campaign
| 381 |
|
committee of a statewide candidate shall
file the monthly
| 382 |
|
statement
not later than three business days after the last day of
| 383 |
|
the
month covered by the statement. During the period
beginning
on
| 384 |
|
the
nineteenth day before the general election in which a
| 385 |
|
statewide candidate
seeks election to office and extending through
| 386 |
|
the day of that general
election, each time the campaign committee
| 387 |
|
of the joint candidates for the
offices of governor and
lieutenant
| 388 |
|
governor or of a candidate for the office of secretary of state,
| 389 |
|
auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general receives
| 390 |
|
a
contribution from a contributor that causes the aggregate amount
| 391 |
|
of contributions received from that contributor during that
| 392 |
|
period
to equal or exceed ten thousand dollars and each time
the
| 393 |
|
campaign
committee of a candidate for the office of chief
| 394 |
|
justice or
justice of the supreme court receives a contribution
| 395 |
|
from a
contributor that causes the aggregate amount of
| 396 |
|
contributions
received from that contributor during that period | 397 |
|
to
exceed ten
thousand dollars, the campaign committee
shall | 398 |
|
file a
two-business-day statement reflecting that
contribution. | 399 |
|
During
the period beginning on the nineteenth
day before a
| 400 |
|
primary
election in which a candidate for statewide
office seeks
| 401 |
|
nomination to office and extending through the day
of that primary
| 402 |
|
election, each time either the campaign committee of a
statewide
| 403 |
|
candidate in that primary election that files a
notice under
| 404 |
|
division (C)(1) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code or the
| 405 |
|
campaign committee
of a statewide candidate in that primary
| 406 |
|
election to which, in
accordance with division (D) of section
| 407 |
|
3517.103 of the
Revised Code, the contribution limitations
| 408 |
|
prescribed in
section 3517.102 of the Revised Code
no longer apply
| 409 |
|
receives a contribution
from a contributor that causes the
| 410 |
|
aggregate amount of
contributions received from that contributor
| 411 |
|
during that period
to exceed ten thousand dollars,
the campaign
| 412 |
|
committee shall file a two-business-day statement
reflecting
that
| 413 |
|
contribution.
Contributions reported on a
two-business-day
| 414 |
|
statement
required to be filed by a campaign
committee of a
| 415 |
|
statewide
candidate in a primary election shall
also be included
| 416 |
|
in the postprimary election statement required to
be filed by
that
| 417 |
|
campaign committee under division (A)(2) of this
section. A
| 418 |
|
two-business-day statement required by this
paragraph
shall be
| 419 |
|
filed not
later than two business days after receipt of
the
| 420 |
|
contribution. The
statements required by this paragraph shall
be
| 421 |
|
filed in
addition to any other statements required by this
| 422 |
|
section.
| 423 |
| Subject to the secretary
of state
having implemented, tested,
| 424 |
|
and verified the successful
operation of any system the secretary
| 425 |
|
of state prescribes pursuant
to
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of
| 426 |
|
this
section and division
(H)(1) of section 3517.106 of the
| 427 |
|
Revised Code for the
filing
of
campaign finance statements by
| 428 |
|
electronic means of transmission,
a campaign committee
of a
| 429 |
|
statewide
candidate shall file a two-business-day
statement under
| 430 |
|
the
preceding paragraph
by electronic means of transmission if the
| 431 |
|
campaign committee
is required to file a pre-election,
| 432 |
|
postelection, or
monthly statement of contributions and
| 433 |
|
expenditures by
electronic means of transmission under this
| 434 |
|
section or section
3517.106 of the Revised
Code.
| 435 |
| If a campaign committee or political action committee has
no
| 436 |
|
balance on hand and no outstanding obligations and desires to
| 437 |
|
terminate itself, it shall file a statement to that effect, on a
| 438 |
|
form prescribed under this section and made under penalty of
| 439 |
|
election falsification, with the official with whom it files a
| 440 |
|
statement under division (A) of this section after filing a final
| 441 |
|
statement of contributions and a final statement of expenditures,
| 442 |
|
if contributions have been received or expenditures made since
the
| 443 |
|
period reflected in its last previously filed statement.
| 444 |
| (b)(i) The full name and address of each person, political
| 463 |
|
party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund,
political
| 464 |
|
action committee, or political contributing entity
from whom
| 465 |
|
contributions are received and the
registration number assigned to
| 466 |
|
the
political action committee under division (D)(1) of this
| 467 |
|
section. The requirement of filing the full address does not
apply
| 468 |
|
to any statement filed by a state or local committee of a
| 469 |
|
political
party, to a finance committee of
such committee, or to a
| 470 |
|
committee recognized by a state or local
committee as its
| 471 |
|
fund-raising auxiliary. Notwithstanding
division (F) of this
| 472 |
|
section, the requirement of filing the full
address shall be
| 473 |
|
considered as being met if the address filed is
the same address
| 474 |
|
the contributor provided under division
(E)(1) of this section.
| 475 |
| (ii) If a political action committee, political contributing
| 476 |
|
entity, legislative campaign fund, or political party that is
| 477 |
|
required to file campaign finance statements by electronic means
| 478 |
|
of transmission under section 3517.106 of the Revised Code or a
| 479 |
|
campaign committee of a statewide candidate or
candidate for the
| 480 |
|
office of member of the general assembly
receives a
contribution
| 481 |
|
from an individual that exceeds one
hundred dollars, the name of
| 482 |
|
the individual's current employer,
if
any, or, if the individual
| 483 |
|
is self-employed, the
individual's
occupation and the name of the
| 484 |
|
individual's business, if any;
| 485 |
| (iii) If a campaign committee of a statewide candidate or
| 486 |
|
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly
| 487 |
|
receives a
contribution transmitted pursuant to
section 3599.031
| 488 |
|
of the Revised Code from
amounts deducted from the wages and
| 489 |
|
salaries of two or more
employees that exceeds
in the aggregate
| 490 |
|
one hundred dollars during any one filing period
under division
| 491 |
|
(A)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section, the full
name of the
| 492 |
|
employees' employer and the full name of the labor organization
of
| 493 |
|
which the employees are members, if any.
| 494 |
| (e) A separately itemized account of all contributions and
| 498 |
|
expenditures regardless of the amount, except a receipt of a
| 499 |
|
contribution from a person in the sum of twenty-five dollars or
| 500 |
|
less at one social or fund-raising activity and a receipt of a
| 501 |
|
contribution
transmitted pursuant to section 3599.031 of the
| 502 |
|
Revised Code from amounts
deducted from the wages and salaries of
| 503 |
|
employees if the contribution from the
amount deducted from the
| 504 |
|
wages and salary of any one employee is twenty-five
dollars or
| 505 |
|
less aggregated in a calendar year. An account of the total
| 506 |
|
contributions from each social or fund-raising activity shall
| 507 |
|
include a
description of and the value of each in-kind
| 508 |
|
contribution received at that
activity from any person who made
| 509 |
|
one or more
such contributions whose aggregate value exceeded two
| 510 |
|
hundred
fifty dollars and shall be listed separately, together
| 511 |
|
with the expenses
incurred and paid in connection with that
| 512 |
|
activity. A campaign committee,
political action committee,
| 513 |
|
legislative campaign fund, political
party, or political
| 514 |
|
contributing entity
shall keep records of contributions from each
| 515 |
|
person in the amount of
twenty-five dollars or less at one social
| 516 |
|
or fund-raising activity and
contributions from amounts deducted
| 517 |
|
under section 3599.031 of the Revised Code
from the wages and
| 518 |
|
salary of each employee in the amount of twenty-five
dollars or
| 519 |
|
less aggregated in a calendar year. No continuing association
that
| 520 |
|
is recognized by a state or local committee of a political
party
| 521 |
|
as an
auxiliary of the party and that makes a contribution
from
| 522 |
|
funds derived solely
from regular dues paid by members of the
| 523 |
|
auxiliary shall be required to list
the name or address of any
| 524 |
|
members who paid those dues.
| 525 |
| (f) In the case of a campaign committee of a
state elected
| 531 |
|
officer, if a person doing business with the state elected
officer
| 532 |
|
in the officer's official capacity makes a contribution to
the
| 533 |
|
campaign committee of that officer, the information required
under
| 534 |
|
division (B)(4) of this section in regard to that
contribution,
| 535 |
|
which shall be filed together with and considered a
part of the
| 536 |
|
committee's statement of contributions as required
under division
| 537 |
|
(A) of this section but shall be filed on
a separate form provided
| 538 |
|
by the secretary of state. As used in
this division:
| 539 |
| (C)(1) The statement of contributions and expenditures
shall
| 558 |
|
be signed by the person completing the form. If a statement of
| 559 |
|
contributions and expenditures is filed by electronic means of
| 560 |
|
transmission
pursuant to this
section or section 3517.106 of the
| 561 |
|
Revised Code, the
electronic signature of the person who executes
| 562 |
|
the statement and transmits
the statement by electronic means of
| 563 |
|
transmission, as
provided in division (H) of section 3517.106 of
| 564 |
|
the Revised
Code, shall be attached to or associated with the
| 565 |
|
statement and shall
be binding on all persons and for all purposes
| 566 |
|
under the campaign finance
reporting law as if the
signature had
| 567 |
|
been handwritten in ink on a printed form.
| 568 |
| (5) The campaign committee of any person who attempts to
| 586 |
|
become
a candidate and who, for any reason, does not become
| 587 |
|
certified in
accordance with Title XXXV of the Revised Code for
| 588 |
|
placement on
the official ballot of a primary, general, or special
| 589 |
|
election to
be held in this state, and who, at any time prior to
| 590 |
|
or after an
election, receives contributions or makes
| 591 |
|
expenditures, or has
given consent for another to receive
| 592 |
|
contributions or make
expenditures, for the purpose of bringing
| 593 |
|
about the person's
nomination or election to public office, shall
| 594 |
|
file the statement
or statements prescribed by this section and a
| 595 |
|
termination
statement, if applicable. Division (C)(5) of this
| 596 |
|
section does not
apply to any
person with respect to an election
| 597 |
|
to the offices of
member of a
county or state central committee,
| 598 |
|
presidential
elector, or
delegate to a national convention or
| 599 |
|
conference of a
political
party.
| 600 |
| (b) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form for all
| 606 |
|
statements
required to be
filed under this section
and
shall
| 607 |
|
furnish the forms to the boards of elections in
the several
| 608 |
|
counties. The boards
of elections shall supply printed copies of
| 609 |
|
those forms without charge. The
secretary of state
shall
prescribe
| 610 |
|
the appropriate methodology, protocol, and data file
structure for
| 611 |
|
statements required or permitted to
be filed by
electronic means
| 612 |
|
of transmission under division (A) of
this
section,
divisions (E),
| 613 |
|
(F), and (G) of section 3517.106, division (D) of section
| 614 |
3517.1011, division (B) of section 3517.1012, and division (C) of
| 615 |
|
section 3517.1013, and divisions (D) and (I) of section 3517.1014 | 616 |
|
of
the
Revised Code.
Subject to division (A) of this
section,
| 617 |
|
divisions
(E), (F),
and (G) of section 3517.106, division (D) of
| 618 |
section 3517.1011, division (B) of section 3517.1012, and division
| 619 |
|
(C) of section 3517.1013, and divisions (D) and (I) of section
| 620 |
|
3517.1014 of the
Revised
Code, the statements
required to be
| 621 |
|
stored on
computer by the secretary of state under
division (B) of
| 622 |
|
section
3517.106 of the Revised Code
shall be
filed in whatever
| 623 |
|
format
the secretary of state considers
necessary to enable
the
| 624 |
|
secretary of state to store the
information contained in
the
| 625 |
|
statements on computer. Any such
format shall be of a type and
| 626 |
|
nature that is readily available to
whoever is
required to file
| 627 |
|
the statements in that format.
| 628 |
| (c) The secretary of state shall assess the need for
training
| 629 |
|
regarding the filing of campaign finance statements by
electronic
| 630 |
|
means of
transmission and regarding associated
technologies for
| 631 |
|
candidates, campaign committees, political action
committees,
| 632 |
|
legislative campaign funds, political parties, or political
| 633 |
|
contributing entities,
for individuals, partnerships, or
other
| 634 |
entities, or for persons making disbursements to pay the direct
| 635 |
|
costs of producing or airing electioneering communications, or for
| 636 |
|
treasurers of transition funds, required or
permitted to file
| 637 |
|
statements by
electronic means of transmission under this
section
| 638 |
or section
3517.105, 3517.106, 3517.1011, 3517.1012, or 3517.1013,
| 639 |
|
or 3517.1014 of the Revised Code. If, in the opinion of
the
| 640 |
|
secretary
of state,
training in these areas is necessary, the
| 641 |
|
secretary of state shall arrange
for the provision of voluntary
| 642 |
|
training programs for candidates, campaign
committees, political
| 643 |
|
action committees, legislative campaign funds, political
parties,
| 644 |
|
or political contributing entities,
for individuals, partnerships,
| 645 |
and
other entities, or for persons making disbursements to pay the
| 646 |
|
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering communications,
| 647 |
| or for treasurers of transition funds, as appropriate.
| 648 |
| (D)(1) Prior to receiving a contribution or making an
| 654 |
|
expenditure, every
campaign committee, political action
committee,
| 655 |
|
legislative campaign fund, political party, or political
| 656 |
|
contributing entity
shall appoint a treasurer and shall
file, on a
| 657 |
|
form prescribed by the secretary of state, a
designation of that
| 658 |
|
appointment,
including the full name and address of the treasurer
| 659 |
|
and of the
campaign committee, political
action committee,
| 660 |
|
legislative campaign fund, political
party, or political
| 661 |
|
contributing entity. That designation shall
be filed with
the
| 662 |
|
official with whom the campaign committee,
political action
| 663 |
|
committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, or
| 664 |
|
political contributing entity is required to
file statements under
| 665 |
|
section 3517.11 of the
Revised Code. The name of a campaign
| 666 |
|
committee shall include at least the
last name of the campaign
| 667 |
|
committee's candidate. If two or more candidates are the
| 668 |
|
beneficiaries of a single campaign committee under division (B) of
| 669 |
|
section 3517.081 of the Revised Code, the name of the campaign
| 670 |
|
committee shall include at least the last name of each candidate
| 671 |
|
who is a beneficiary of that campaign committee. The secretary of
| 672 |
|
state shall assign a
registration number to each political action
| 673 |
|
committee that files
a designation of the appointment of a
| 674 |
|
treasurer under
this division
if the political action committee is
| 675 |
|
required
by division (A)(1) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code
| 676 |
|
to file the
statements prescribed by this section with the
| 677 |
|
secretary of state.
| 678 |
| (c) A state or county political party may
establish a state
| 690 |
|
candidate fund that is separate from an account that
contains the
| 691 |
|
public moneys received from the Ohio political party fund
under
| 692 |
|
section 3517.17 of the Revised Code and from all other funds. A
| 693 |
|
state
or county political party may deposit into its state
| 694 |
|
candidate fund any
amounts of monetary contributions that are made
| 695 |
|
to or accepted by the
political party subject to the applicable
| 696 |
|
limitations, if any, prescribed in
section 3517.102 of the Revised
| 697 |
|
Code. A state or county political party
shall deposit all other
| 698 |
|
monetary contributions received by the
party into one or more
| 699 |
|
accounts
that are separate from its state candidate fund and from
| 700 |
|
its account that contains the public moneys received from the Ohio
| 701 |
|
political party fund under section 3517.17 of the Revised Code.
| 702 |
| (d) Each state political party shall have only one
| 703 |
|
legislative campaign fund
for each house of the general assembly.
| 704 |
|
Each such fund shall be separate from
any other funds or accounts
| 705 |
|
of that state party. A legislative campaign fund
is authorized to
| 706 |
|
receive contributions and make expenditures for the primary
| 707 |
|
purpose of furthering the election of candidates who are members
| 708 |
|
of that
political party to the house of the general assembly with
| 709 |
|
which that
legislative campaign fund is associated. Each
| 710 |
|
legislative campaign fund shall
be administered and controlled in
| 711 |
|
a manner designated by the caucus. As used
in this division,
| 712 |
|
"caucus" has the same meaning as in
section
3517.01 of the Revised
| 713 |
|
Code and includes, as an ex officio member,
the
chairperson of the
| 714 |
|
state political party with which the caucus
is
associated or that
| 715 |
|
chairperson's designee.
| 716 |
| (b) The manner of
preserving the contribution and
| 738 |
|
expenditure, contribution and disbursement, deposit and
| 739 |
disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation and
| 740 |
|
disbursement information in the statements described in division
| 741 |
|
(D)(6)(a) of this section.
The secretary of state
shall
preserve
| 742 |
|
the contribution and expenditure, contribution and disbursement,
| 743 |
deposit and disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation
| 744 |
|
and disbursement information in those
statements for at least
ten
| 745 |
|
years after the year in which they are
filed by electronic means
| 746 |
|
of transmission.
| 747 |
| (7) The secretary of state, pursuant to division
(I) of
| 748 |
|
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code, shall
make available online
| 749 |
|
to the public through the internet the contribution and
| 750 |
|
expenditure, contribution and disbursement, deposit and
| 751 |
disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation and
| 752 |
|
disbursement information in
all statements, all addenda,
| 753 |
|
amendments, or other corrections to statements,
and all amended
| 754 |
|
statements filed with the secretary of state by electronic or
| 755 |
|
other means of transmission under this section, division
(B)(2)(b)
| 756 |
|
or (C)(2)(b) of
section 3517.105, or section 3517.106, 3517.1011,
| 757 |
|
3517.1012, 3517.1013, 3517.1014, or 3517.11
of the Revised Code.
| 758 |
|
The secretary of state
may remove the
information from the
| 759 |
|
internet after a reasonable period of
time.
| 760 |
| (E)(1) Any person, political party, campaign committee,
| 761 |
|
legislative campaign fund,
political action committee, or
| 762 |
|
political contributing entity
that makes a contribution in
| 763 |
|
connection with the nomination or election of any candidate or in
| 764 |
|
connection with any ballot issue or question at any election held
| 765 |
|
or to be held in this state shall provide its full name and
| 766 |
|
address to the recipient of the contribution at the time the
| 767 |
|
contribution is made. The political action committee also
shall
| 768 |
|
provide the registration number assigned to the committee under
| 769 |
|
division
(D)(1) of this section to the recipient of the
| 770 |
|
contribution at the time the
contribution is made.
| 771 |
| (2) Any individual who makes a contribution that
exceeds one
| 772 |
|
hundred dollars to a political action committee, political
| 773 |
|
contributing entity, legislative campaign fund, or political party
| 774 |
|
or to a campaign committee of a statewide candidate
or candidate
| 775 |
|
for the office of member of the general assembly shall provide
the
| 776 |
|
name of the individual's current employer, if
any, or, if
the
| 777 |
|
individual is
self-employed, the individual's
occupation and the
| 778 |
|
name of the individual's business, if any, to
the recipient of the
| 779 |
|
contribution at the time the
contribution is
made. Sections
| 780 |
|
3599.39 and 3599.40 of the Revised
Code do not apply to division
| 781 |
|
(E)(2) of this section.
| 782 |
| (3) If a campaign committee shows that it has exercised its
| 783 |
|
best efforts to
obtain, maintain, and submit the information
| 784 |
|
required under divisions
(B)(4)(b)(ii) and (iii) of this section,
| 785 |
|
that committee is considered to have
met the requirements of those
| 786 |
|
divisions. A campaign committee shall not be
considered to have
| 787 |
|
exercised its best efforts unless, in connection with written
| 788 |
|
solicitations,
it regularly includes a written request for the
| 789 |
|
information required under
division (B)(4)(b)(ii) of this section
| 790 |
|
from the contributor or the information
required under division
| 791 |
|
(B)(4)(b)(iii) of this section from whoever transmits
the
| 792 |
|
contribution.
| 793 |
| (c) If an
address is required in this section, a
campaign
| 809 |
|
committee, political action committee, legislative campaign fund,
| 810 |
|
political party, or political contributing entity may use
the
| 811 |
|
business or residence address of its treasurer or deputy
| 812 |
|
treasurer. The post-office box number of the campaign committee,
| 813 |
|
political action committee, legislative campaign fund,
political
| 814 |
|
party, or political contributing entity may be used in
addition to
| 815 |
|
that address.
| 816 |
| (e) As used with regard to the reporting under this section
| 826 |
|
of any expenditure, "address" means all of the following if they
| 827 |
|
exist: apartment number, street, road, or highway name and number,
| 828 |
|
rural delivery route number, city or village, state, and zip code
| 829 |
|
as used in a person's post-office address, or post-office box. If
| 830 |
|
an address concerning any expenditure is required in this section,
| 831 |
|
a campaign committee, political action committee, legislative
| 832 |
|
campaign fund, political party, or political contributing entity
| 833 |
|
may use the business or residence address of its treasurer or
| 834 |
|
deputy treasurer or its post-office box number.
| 835 |
| (H)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(2)
of
| 851 |
|
this section, if, during the combined pre-election and
| 852 |
|
postelection
reporting periods
for an election, a campaign
| 853 |
|
committee has
received contributions of five
hundred dollars or
| 854 |
|
less and has
made expenditures in the total amount of five
hundred
| 855 |
|
dollars or
less, it may file a statement to that effect, under
| 856 |
|
penalty
of
election falsification, in lieu of the statement
| 857 |
|
required by
division
(A)(2) of this section. The statement shall
| 858 |
|
indicate the
total
amount of contributions received and the total
| 859 |
|
amount of
expenditures made
during those combined reporting
| 860 |
|
periods.
| 861 |
| (2) In the case of a successful candidate at a primary
| 862 |
|
election, if either
the
total contributions received by or the
| 863 |
|
total expenditures made by the
candidate's campaign committee
| 864 |
|
during the preprimary, postprimary, pregeneral,
and postgeneral
| 865 |
|
election periods combined equal more than five hundred
dollars,
| 866 |
|
the campaign committee may file the statement under division
| 867 |
|
(H)(1)
of this section only for the primary election. The first
| 868 |
|
statement that the
campaign committee files in regard to the
| 869 |
|
general election shall reflect all
contributions received and all
| 870 |
|
expenditures made during the preprimary and
postprimary election
| 871 |
|
periods.
| 872 |
| (K)(1) In addition to filing a designation of appointment
of
| 925 |
|
a treasurer under division
(D)(1) of this section, the campaign
| 926 |
|
committee of any candidate
for an elected municipal office that
| 927 |
|
pays an annual amount of
compensation of five thousand dollars or
| 928 |
|
less, the campaign
committee of any candidate for member of a
| 929 |
|
board of education
except member of the state board of education,
| 930 |
|
or the campaign
committee of any candidate for township trustee or
| 931 |
|
township
fiscal officer may sign, under penalty of election
| 932 |
|
falsification,
a
certificate attesting that the committee will not
| 933 |
|
accept
contributions during an election period that exceed in the
| 934 |
|
aggregate two thousand dollars from all contributors and one
| 935 |
|
hundred dollars from any one individual, and that the campaign
| 936 |
|
committee will not make expenditures during an election period
| 937 |
|
that exceed in the aggregate two thousand dollars.
| 938 |
| (3) If, after filing a certificate under division (K)(1)
of
| 948 |
|
this section, a campaign committee exceeds any of the
limitations
| 949 |
|
described in that division during an election
period, the
| 950 |
|
certificate is void and thereafter the campaign
committee shall
| 951 |
|
file the statements required by
division (A) of this section. If
| 952 |
|
the
campaign committee has not previously
filed a statement, then
| 953 |
|
on
the first statement the campaign
committee is required to file
| 954 |
|
under division (A) of this section
after
the committee's
| 955 |
|
certificate is
void, the committee shall report all
contributions
| 956 |
|
received and
expenditures made from the time the
candidate filed
| 957 |
|
the
candidate's declaration of candidacy and
petition, nominating
| 958 |
|
petition, or declaration of intent to be a
write-in candidate.
| 959 |
| (4) As used in division (K) of this section, "election
| 960 |
|
period" means the period of time beginning on the day a person
| 961 |
|
files a declaration of candidacy and petition, nominating
| 962 |
|
petition, or declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate
| 963 |
|
through the day of the election at which the person seeks
| 964 |
|
nomination to office if the person is not elected to office, or,
| 965 |
|
if the
candidate was nominated in a primary election,
the day of
| 966 |
|
the election at which the candidate seeks office.
| 967 |
| (L) A political contributing entity that receives
| 968 |
|
contributions from the dues, membership fees, or other assessments
| 969 |
|
of its members or from its officers, shareholders, and employees
| 970 |
|
may report the aggregate amount of contributions received from
| 971 |
|
those contributors and the number of individuals making those
| 972 |
|
contributions, for each filing period under divisions (A)(1), (2),
| 973 |
|
(3), and (4) of this section, rather than reporting information as
| 974 |
|
required under division (B)(4) of this section, including, when
| 975 |
|
applicable, the name of the current employer, if any, of a
| 976 |
|
contributor whose contribution exceeds one hundred dollars or, if
| 977 |
|
such a contributor is self-employed, the contributor's occupation
| 978 |
|
and the name of the contributor's business, if any. Division
| 979 |
|
(B)(4) of this section applies to a political contributing entity
| 980 |
|
with regard to contributions it receives from all other
| 981 |
|
contributors.
| 982 |
| (C)(1) The secretary of state shall make
available to the
| 1027 |
|
campaign committees, political action
committees, political
| 1028 |
|
contributing entities, legislative
campaign funds, political
| 1029 |
|
parties, individuals,
partnerships, corporations, labor
| 1030 |
|
organizations, treasurers of transition funds, and other entities
| 1031 |
|
described in division (B) of
this section, and to
members of the
| 1032 |
|
news
media and other
interested persons, for a reasonable fee,
| 1033 |
|
computer programs that
are compatible with the secretary of
| 1034 |
|
state's
method of storing the
information contained in the
| 1035 |
|
statements.
| 1036 |
| (E)(1) Subject to division (L) of this section and subject to
| 1047 |
|
the secretary of state having implemented,
tested, and verified
| 1048 |
|
the successful operation of any system the
secretary of
state
| 1049 |
|
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this
section and
| 1050 |
|
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section
3517.10
of
the Revised
| 1051 |
|
Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by
electronic
| 1052 |
|
means of
transmission,
the campaign
committee of each candidate
| 1053 |
|
for statewide office may
file the
statements prescribed by section
| 1054 |
|
3517.10 of the
Revised
Code by electronic means of
transmission
| 1055 |
|
or, if the total amount
of the contributions received
or the total
| 1056 |
|
amount of the
expenditures made by the campaign
committee for the
| 1057 |
|
applicable
reporting period as specified in
division (A) of
| 1058 |
|
section 3517.10
of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand
dollars,
| 1059 |
|
shall file those
statements by electronic means of transmission.
| 1060 |
| Except as otherwise provided in this division,
within five
| 1061 |
|
business days after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a
| 1062 |
|
candidate for statewide office is received by the secretary of
| 1063 |
|
state by
electronic or other means of transmission, the secretary
| 1064 |
|
of state shall make
available online to the public
through the
| 1065 |
|
internet, as provided in division (I) of this section,
the
| 1066 |
|
contribution and expenditure information in that statement.
The
| 1067 |
|
secretary
of state shall not make available online to the public
| 1068 |
|
through the
internet any contribution or expenditure information
| 1069 |
|
contained in a
statement for any candidate until the secretary of
| 1070 |
|
state is able to make
available online to the public through the
| 1071 |
|
internet the
contribution and expenditure information for all
| 1072 |
|
candidates for a
particular office, or until the applicable filing
| 1073 |
|
deadline for that statement has passed, whichever is sooner. As
| 1074 |
|
soon as the secretary of
state has
available all of the
| 1075 |
|
contribution and expenditure information for all candidates for a
| 1076 |
|
particular office, or as soon as the applicable filing deadline
| 1077 |
|
for a statement has passed, whichever is sooner, the secretary of
| 1078 |
|
state shall
simultaneously make available online to the public
| 1079 |
|
through the
internet the information for all candidates for that
| 1080 |
|
office.
| 1081 |
| (2) Subject
to the
secretary of state having implemented,
| 1099 |
|
tested, and verified
the successful
operation of any system the
| 1100 |
|
secretary of state
prescribes pursuant to division
(H)(1) of this
| 1101 |
|
section and
divisions (C)(6)(b)
and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of
| 1102 |
|
the Revised
Code for the filing
of campaign finance statements by
| 1103 |
|
electronic
means of transmission,
a
political
action committee and
| 1104 |
|
a political contributing entity described in
division
(B)(1)(b) of
| 1105 |
|
this section,
a legislative campaign fund, and
a state political
| 1106 |
|
party may file
the statements prescribed by
section 3517.10 of | 1107 |
|
the
Revised
Code by electronic means of
transmission or, if the | 1108 |
|
total
amount of the contributions received or the total amount | 1109 |
|
of the
expenditures made by the political action committee, | 1110 |
|
political
contributing entity, legislative campaign fund, or | 1111 |
|
state political
party for the applicable reporting period as | 1112 |
|
specified in division
(A) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code | 1113 |
|
exceeds ten thousand
dollars, shall file those statements by | 1114 |
|
electronic means of
transmission.
| 1115 |
| Within five business days after
a statement filed by a
| 1116 |
|
political action committee or a political contributing entity
| 1117 |
|
described in division
(B)(1)(b) of this section, a legislative
| 1118 |
|
campaign fund, or a state
political party is received by the
| 1119 |
|
secretary of state by electronic or other
means of transmission,
| 1120 |
|
the secretary of state shall make available online to
the public
| 1121 |
|
through the internet, as provided in division (I) of this section,
| 1122 |
|
the contribution and expenditure information in that statement.
| 1123 |
| If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is
| 1124 |
|
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the
| 1125 |
|
statement
for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division
| 1126 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the political
| 1127 |
|
action
committee, political contributing entity, legislative
| 1128 |
|
campaign
fund, or state political party shall file by electronic
| 1129 |
|
means of transmission
any addendum to the
statement that provides
| 1130 |
|
the information necessary to complete or
correct the statement or,
| 1131 |
|
if required by the secretary of state under that
division, an
| 1132 |
|
amended statement.
| 1133 |
| Within five business days after the secretary of state
| 1134 |
|
receives from a
political action committee or a political
| 1135 |
|
contributing entity described in division (B)(1)(b) of this
| 1136 |
|
section,
a
legislative campaign fund, or a state political party
| 1137 |
|
an
addendum to the statement or an amended statement by electronic
| 1138 |
|
or
other means
of transmission under this
division or division
| 1139 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of
| 1140 |
|
state shall make the contribution and expenditure information in
| 1141 |
|
the addendum
or amended statement
available online to the public
| 1142 |
|
through the internet as provided in division (I) of this section.
| 1143 |
| (3) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented,
| 1144 |
|
tested, and
verified the successful operation of any system the
| 1145 |
|
secretary of state
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this
| 1146 |
|
section and divisions
(C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of
| 1147 |
|
the Revised Code
for the filing of campaign finance statements by
| 1148 |
|
electronic means of
transmission,
a county political party
shall
| 1149 |
|
file the
statements prescribed by section 3517.10 of the
Revised
| 1150 |
|
Code with respect to its state candidate fund by
electronic means
| 1151 |
|
of
transmission to the office of the secretary of state.
| 1152 |
| (F)(1) Subject to division (L) of this section and
subject to
| 1176 |
|
the secretary of
state having implemented, tested, and
verified
| 1177 |
|
the successful operation of any
system the secretary of
state
| 1178 |
|
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1)
of this section and
| 1179 |
|
divisions (C)(6)(b) and
(D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the Revised
| 1180 |
|
Code for the filing of campaign
finance statements by electronic
| 1181 |
|
means of transmission,
a campaign committee of a
candidate for the
| 1182 |
|
office of member
of the general assembly or a campaign committee
| 1183 |
|
of a candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals may
| 1184 |
|
file the statements prescribed by
section 3517.10 of the
Revised
| 1185 |
|
Code in accordance with division (A)(2) of section 3517.11 of the
| 1186 |
|
Revised Code or by electronic means of
transmission to the office
| 1187 |
|
of the secretary of state or, if the total amount of the
| 1188 |
|
contributions received by the campaign committee for the
| 1189 |
|
applicable reporting period as specified in division (A) of
| 1190 |
|
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand dollars,
| 1191 |
|
shall file those statements by electronic means of transmission to
| 1192 |
|
the office of the secretary of state.
| 1193 |
| Except as otherwise provided in this division, within five
| 1194 |
|
business days
after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a
| 1195 |
|
candidate for the office
of member of the general assembly or a
| 1196 |
|
campaign committee of a candidate for the office of judge of a
| 1197 |
|
court of appeals is
received by the secretary of state by
| 1198 |
|
electronic or other means of
transmission,
the secretary of state
| 1199 |
|
shall make available online
to the public
through the internet, as
| 1200 |
|
provided in division (I) of
this section,
the contribution and
| 1201 |
|
expenditure information in
that
statement. The secretary
of state
| 1202 |
|
shall not make available online
to the public through the
internet
| 1203 |
|
any contribution or expenditure
information contained in a
| 1204 |
|
statement for any candidate until the
secretary of state is able
| 1205 |
|
to make
available online to the public
through the internet the
| 1206 |
|
contribution and expenditure information
for all candidates for a
| 1207 |
|
particular office, or until the applicable filing deadline for
| 1208 |
|
that statement has passed, whichever is sooner. As soon as the
| 1209 |
|
secretary of state has
available all of the contribution and
| 1210 |
|
expenditure information for all candidates for a particular
| 1211 |
|
office, or as soon as the applicable filing deadline for a
| 1212 |
|
statement has passed, whichever is sooner, the
secretary of state
| 1213 |
|
shall
simultaneously make available online to
the public through
| 1214 |
|
the
internet the information for all candidates
for that
office.
| 1215 |
| If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission
is
| 1216 |
|
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the
examination of the
| 1217 |
|
statement
for completeness and accuracy
pursuant to division
| 1218 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the campaign
| 1219 |
|
committee
shall file by electronic means of
transmission to the
| 1220 |
|
office of the secretary
of state
any addendum to the statement
| 1221 |
|
that provides the
information
necessary to complete or correct the
| 1222 |
|
statement or, if required by
the secretary of state under that
| 1223 |
|
division, an amended statement.
| 1224 |
| Within five business days after the secretary of state
| 1225 |
|
receives from a
campaign committee of a candidate
for the office
| 1226 |
|
of member of the general assembly or a campaign committee of a
| 1227 |
|
candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals an
| 1228 |
|
addendum to the
statement or
an amended statement by electronic or
| 1229 |
|
other means of transmission
under this division
or division
| 1230 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised Code, the
secretary of
| 1231 |
|
state shall
make the
contribution and expenditure information in
| 1232 |
|
the addendum or
amended
statement available online to
the public
| 1233 |
|
through the
internet as provided in division (I) of this
section.
| 1234 |
| (2) If a statement,
addendum, or amended statement is not
| 1235 |
|
filed by electronic means of
transmission to the office of the
| 1236 |
|
secretary of state but
is filed by printed version
only under
| 1237 |
|
division (A)(2) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code with the
| 1238 |
|
appropriate board of elections, the campaign committee of a
| 1239 |
|
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly or a
| 1240 |
|
campaign committee of a candidate for the office of judge of a
| 1241 |
|
court of appeals shall
file two copies of the printed
version of
| 1242 |
|
the statement, addendum,
or amended statement with the
board of
| 1243 |
|
elections. The
board of elections shall send
one of those copies
| 1244 |
|
by certified mail to the secretary
of
state before the close of
| 1245 |
|
business on the day the board of
elections receives the statement,
| 1246 |
|
addendum, or amended statement.
| 1247 |
| (G) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented,
| 1248 |
|
tested, and
verified the
successful operation of any system the
| 1249 |
|
secretary of
state prescribes pursuant
to division (H)(1) of this
| 1250 |
|
section and
divisions
(C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of
| 1251 |
|
the Revised
Code
for the filing of campaign finance statements by
| 1252 |
|
electronic
means of
transmission,
any
individual, partnership, or
| 1253 |
|
other entity that makes independent
expenditures in support of or
| 1254 |
|
opposition to a statewide candidate
or a statewide ballot issue or
| 1255 |
|
question as provided in division
(B)(2)(b) or
(C)(2)(b) of section
| 1256 |
|
3517.105 of the Revised Code may
file the statement
specified in
| 1257 |
|
that division by electronic means
of transmission or, if the total
| 1258 |
|
amount of independent expenditures made during the reporting
| 1259 |
|
period under that division exceeds ten thousand dollars, shall
| 1260 |
|
file the statement specified in that division by electronic means
| 1261 |
|
of transmission.
| 1262 |
| If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is
| 1269 |
|
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the
examination of the
| 1270 |
|
statement for completeness and accuracy
pursuant to division
| 1271 |
|
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the individual,
| 1272 |
|
partnership, or other entity shall file by electronic means of
| 1273 |
|
transmission any addendum to the statement that provides the
| 1274 |
|
information necessary to complete or correct the statement or, if
| 1275 |
|
required by the secretary of state under that division, an amended
| 1276 |
|
statement.
| 1277 |
| Within five business days after the secretary of state
| 1278 |
|
receives from an
individual, partnership, or other entity
| 1279 |
|
described in division
(B)(2)(b) or
(C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105
| 1280 |
|
of
the Revised Code an addendum to the statement or an
amended
| 1281 |
|
statement by electronic or other means of transmission under this
| 1282 |
|
division or division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the
Revised
| 1283 |
|
Code, the secretary of
state shall make the expenditure
| 1284 |
|
information in the addendum or amended
statement
available online
| 1285 |
|
to the public through the internet as provided in
division (I) of
| 1286 |
|
this section.
| 1287 |
| (H)(1) The secretary of
state, by rule adopted pursuant to
| 1288 |
|
section 3517.23 of the
Revised
Code, shall prescribe one or
more
| 1289 |
|
techniques by which a person who executes
and transmits by
| 1290 |
|
electronic means a statement of contributions
and expenditures, a
| 1291 |
|
statement of independent expenditures, a disclosure of
| 1292 |
|
electioneering communications statement, a deposit and
| 1293 |
disbursement statement, or a gift and disbursement statement, or a
| 1294 |
|
donation and disbursement statement, an
addendum to any of those
| 1295 |
|
statements, an amended statement of
contributions and
| 1296 |
|
expenditures,
an amended statement of
independent expenditures,
| 1297 |
|
an amended disclosure of electioneering
communications statement,
| 1298 |
an amended deposit and disbursement
statement, or an amended gift
| 1299 |
|
and disbursement statement, or an amended donation and
| 1300 |
|
disbursement statement, under
this
section or section
3517.10,
| 1301 |
3517.105, 3517.1011, 3517.1012,
or 3517.1013, or 3517.1014 of the
| 1302 |
|
Revised
Code shall
electronically sign
the
statement, addendum,
| 1303 |
|
or amended statement.
Any technique
prescribed by
the secretary
| 1304 |
|
of state pursuant to
this division
shall create an electronic
| 1305 |
|
signature that satisfies
all of the
following:
| 1306 |
| (2) An electronic signature prescribed by the secretary of
| 1316 |
|
state under
division
(H)(1) of this section shall be
attached to
| 1317 |
|
or associated with the statement of contributions
and
| 1318 |
|
expenditures, the statement of independent expenditures,
the
| 1319 |
|
disclosure of electioneering communications statement, the deposit
| 1320 |
and disbursement statement, or the gift and disbursement
| 1321 |
|
statement, or the donation and disbursement statement, the
| 1322 |
|
addendum to any of those statements, the amended
statement of
| 1323 |
|
contributions
and expenditures, the amended statement
of
| 1324 |
|
independent expenditures, the amended disclosure of
| 1325 |
|
electioneering communications statement, the amended deposit and
| 1326 |
disbursement statement, or the amended gift and disbursement
| 1327 |
|
statement, or the amended donation and disbursement statement
that
| 1328 |
|
is executed and
transmitted by
electronic means by
the person to
| 1329 |
|
whom the
electronic signature is
attributed. The
electronic
| 1330 |
|
signature
that is attached to or
associated with the
statement,
| 1331 |
|
addendum, or amended
statement
under this division
shall be
| 1332 |
|
binding on all persons and for all
purposes under the
campaign
| 1333 |
|
finance reporting law as if the
signature had
been
handwritten in
| 1334 |
|
ink on a printed form.
| 1335 |
| (I) The secretary of state shall make the contribution and
| 1336 |
|
expenditure, the contribution and disbursement, the deposit and
| 1337 |
disbursement, or the gift and disbursement, or the donation and
| 1338 |
|
disbursement information in all
statements, all addenda to the
| 1339 |
|
statements, and
all amended
statements that are filed with the
| 1340 |
|
secretary of state by
electronic or other means of transmission
| 1341 |
|
under this section or
section
3517.10, 3517.105, 3517.1011,
| 1342 |
|
3517.1012, 3517.1013, 3517.1014, or
3517.11 of the
Revised Code
| 1343 |
|
available
online to the public by any
means that are
searchable,
| 1344 |
|
viewable, and
accessible through the
internet.
| 1345 |
| (K) It is an affirmative defense to a complaint or charge
| 1378 |
|
brought against any campaign committee, political action
| 1379 |
|
committee, political contributing entity,
legislative campaign
| 1380 |
|
fund, or political party,
any individual, partnership, or other
| 1381 |
entity, or any person making disbursements to pay the direct costs
| 1382 |
|
of producing or airing electioneering communications, or any
| 1383 |
|
treasurer of a transition fund,
for the
failure to file by
| 1384 |
|
electronic
means of transmission a
campaign
finance
statement as
| 1385 |
|
required by this section or section
3517.10,
3517.105, 3517.1011,
| 1386 |
3517.1012, or 3517.1013, or 3517.1014 of the Revised Code
that
| 1387 |
|
all of the
following
apply to the campaign committee,
political
| 1388 |
|
action committee, political contributing entity,
legislative
| 1389 |
|
campaign fund, or political party,
the individual,
partnership,
| 1390 |
or other entity, or the person making disbursements
to pay the
| 1391 |
|
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering
| 1392 |
|
communications, or the treasurer of a transition fund that failed
| 1393 |
|
to so
file:
| 1394 |
| (1) The campaign committee, political action committee,
| 1395 |
|
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or
| 1396 |
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or | 1397 |
|
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of
| 1398 |
|
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the
| 1399 |
|
treasurer of a transition fund attempted to
file by electronic
| 1400 |
|
means of
transmission the required
statement
prior to the deadline
| 1401 |
|
set forth in the applicable section.
| 1402 |
| (2) The campaign committee, political action committee,
| 1403 |
|
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or
| 1404 |
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or | 1405 |
|
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of
| 1406 |
|
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the
| 1407 |
|
treasurer of a transition fund was unable to
file by electronic
| 1408 |
|
means of
transmission due to an
expected or
unexpected shutdown of
| 1409 |
|
the whole or part of the electronic
campaign finance
| 1410 |
|
statement-filing system, such as for maintenance
or because
of
| 1411 |
|
hardware, software, or network connection failure.
| 1412 |
| (3) The campaign committee, political action committee,
| 1413 |
|
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or
| 1414 |
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or | 1415 |
|
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of
| 1416 |
|
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the
| 1417 |
|
treasurer of a transition fund filed by
electronic means of
| 1418 |
|
transmission the required statement within a
reasonable period of
| 1419 |
|
time after
being unable to so file it under
the circumstance
| 1420 |
|
described in division
(K)(2) of this section.
| 1421 |
| (L)(1) The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to
| 1422 |
|
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to permit a campaign committee of
| 1423 |
|
a candidate for statewide office that makes expenditures of less
| 1424 |
|
than twenty-five thousand dollars during the filing period or a
| 1425 |
|
campaign committee for the office of member of the general
| 1426 |
|
assembly or the office of judge of a court of appeals that would
| 1427 |
|
otherwise be required to file campaign finance statements by
| 1428 |
|
electronic means of transmission under division (E) or (F) of this
| 1429 |
|
section to file those statements by paper with the office of the
| 1430 |
|
secretary of state. Those rules shall provide for all of the
| 1431 |
|
following:
| 1432 |
| (f) If an eligible campaign committee whose candidate has
| 1466 |
|
filed a notice in accordance with rules adopted under division
| 1467 |
|
(L)(1)(d) of this section subsequently fails to file that
| 1468 |
|
statement on paper by the applicable deadline established in rules
| 1469 |
|
adopted under division (L)(1)(a) of this section, penalties for
| 1470 |
|
the late filing of the campaign finance statement shall apply to
| 1471 |
|
that campaign committee for each day after that paper filing
| 1472 |
|
deadline, as if the campaign committee had filed the statement
| 1473 |
|
after the applicable deadline set forth in division (A) of section
| 1474 |
|
3517.10 of the Revised Code.
| 1475 |
| (2) The process for permitting campaign committees that would
| 1476 |
|
otherwise be required to file campaign finance statements by
| 1477 |
|
electronic means of transmission to file those statements on paper
| 1478 |
|
with the office of the secretary of state that is required to be
| 1479 |
|
developed under division (L)(1) of this section shall be in effect
| 1480 |
|
and available for use by eligible campaign committees for all
| 1481 |
|
campaign finance statements that are required to be filed on or
| 1482 |
|
after June 30, 2005. Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised
| 1483 |
|
Code to the contrary, if the process the secretary of state is
| 1484 |
|
required to develop under division (L)(1) of this section is not
| 1485 |
|
in effect and available for use on and after June 30, 2005, all
| 1486 |
|
penalties for the failure of campaign committees to file campaign
| 1487 |
|
finance statements by electronic means of transmission shall be
| 1488 |
|
suspended until such time as that process is in effect and
| 1489 |
|
available for use.
| 1490 |
| (3) The secretary of state shall specify, by rule, the form
| 1708 |
|
of the termination statement required to be filed under division
| 1709 |
|
(I)(1) or (2) of this section. The rule shall require that a copy
| 1710 |
|
of all available statements from the bank or other financial
| 1711 |
|
institution that held transition fund moneys be filed with the
| 1712 |
|
termination statement. The bank or financial institution
| 1713 |
|
statements shall contain a zero balance confirming that all
| 1714 |
|
transition fund moneys were disposed of prior to the termination
| 1715 |
|
of the transition fund. If final bank or financial institution
| 1716 |
|
statements are not available at the time of the filing of the
| 1717 |
|
termination statement, the rule shall require the treasurer of the
| 1718 |
|
transition fund to do both of the following: | 1719 |
| Sec. 3517.11. (A)(1) Campaign committees of candidates
for
| 1730 |
|
statewide office or the state board of education, political
action
| 1731 |
|
committees or political contributing entities that make
| 1732 |
|
contributions to campaign committees
of candidates that are
| 1733 |
|
required to file the statements prescribed by section
3517.10 of
| 1734 |
|
the Revised Code with the secretary of state,
political action
| 1735 |
|
committees or political contributing entities that
make
| 1736 |
|
contributions to campaign
committees of candidates for member of
| 1737 |
|
the general assembly,
political action committees or political
| 1738 |
|
contributing entities that
make contributions to state and
| 1739 |
|
national political parties and to legislative campaign
funds,
| 1740 |
|
political action committees or political contributing entities
| 1741 |
|
that
receive contributions or make expenditures in connection with
| 1742 |
|
a
statewide ballot issue, political action committees or political
| 1743 |
|
contributing entities that make
contributions to other political
| 1744 |
|
action committees or political contributing entities, political
| 1745 |
|
parties, and campaign committees, except as set forth in division
| 1746 |
|
(A)(3) of this section, legislative campaign funds,
and state and
| 1747 |
|
national political parties
shall file the statements prescribed by
| 1748 |
|
section 3517.10 of the
Revised Code with the secretary of state.
| 1749 |
| (b) A campaign committee of a candidate for office of member
| 1756 |
|
of
the
general assembly or a campaign committee of a candidate for
| 1757 |
|
the office of judge of a court of appeals shall file two copies of
| 1758 |
|
the printed version
of
any statement, addendum, or amended
| 1759 |
|
statement if the committee
does not file pursuant to division
| 1760 |
|
(F)(1) or (L) of section 3517.106 of the
Revised Code but files by
| 1761 |
|
printed version only with
the
appropriate board of elections. The
| 1762 |
|
board of elections shall send
one of
those copies by certified
| 1763 |
|
mail to the secretary
of state
before
the close of business on
| 1764 |
|
the day the board of
elections
receives
the statement, addendum,
| 1765 |
|
or amended statement.
| 1766 |
| (3) Political action committees or political contributing
| 1767 |
|
entities
that only contribute to a
county political party,
| 1768 |
|
contribute to campaign committees of
candidates whose nomination
| 1769 |
|
or election is to be submitted only
to electors within a county,
| 1770 |
|
subdivision, or district, excluding
candidates for member of the
| 1771 |
|
general assembly, and receive
contributions or make expenditures
| 1772 |
|
in connection with ballot
questions or issues to be submitted only
| 1773 |
|
to electors within a
county, subdivision, or district shall file
| 1774 |
|
the statements
prescribed by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code
| 1775 |
|
with the board
of elections in that county or in the county
| 1776 |
|
contained in whole
or part within the subdivision or district
| 1777 |
|
having a population
greater than that of any other county
| 1778 |
|
contained in whole or part
within that subdivision or district, as
| 1779 |
|
the case may be.
| 1780 |
| (2) On or before the tenth day before the dates on which
| 1793 |
|
statements are required to be filed by section 3517.10 of the
| 1794 |
|
Revised Code, every candidate subject to the provisions of this
| 1795 |
|
section and sections 3517.10 and
3517.106 of the Revised
Code
| 1796 |
|
shall be notified
of the requirements and applicable penalties of
| 1797 |
|
those sections.
The secretary of state, by certified mail, return
| 1798 |
|
receipt
requested, shall
notify all candidates required to file
| 1799 |
|
those statements with the secretary of state's office. The
board
| 1800 |
|
of elections of every
county shall notify by first class mail any
| 1801 |
|
candidate who has
personally appeared at the office of the board
| 1802 |
|
on or before the
tenth day before the statements are required to
| 1803 |
|
be
filed and signed a form,
to be provided by the secretary of
| 1804 |
|
state, attesting that the
candidate has been notified of the
| 1805 |
|
candidate's obligations
under the campaign
finance law. The board
| 1806 |
|
shall forward the completed form to
the
secretary of state. The
| 1807 |
|
board shall use certified mail,
return receipt requested, to
| 1808 |
|
notify all other candidates required
to file those statements with
| 1809 |
|
it.
| 1810 |
| (3)(a) Any statement required to be filed under sections
| 1811 |
|
3517.081
to 3517.17 of the Revised Code that is found
to be
| 1812 |
|
incomplete or inaccurate by the officer to whom it is submitted
| 1813 |
|
shall be
accepted on a conditional basis, and the person who filed
| 1814 |
|
it
shall be notified by certified mail as to the incomplete or
| 1815 |
|
inaccurate nature of the statement. The secretary of state
may
| 1816 |
|
examine statements filed for candidates for the office of
member
| 1817 |
|
of the general assembly and candidates for the office of judge of
| 1818 |
|
a court of appeals for completeness and accuracy.
The secretary of
| 1819 |
|
state shall examine
for
completeness and accuracy statements that
| 1820 |
|
campaign committees
of candidates for the office
of member of the
| 1821 |
|
general assembly and campaign committees of candidates for the
| 1822 |
|
office of judge of a court of appeals
file
pursuant to division
| 1823 |
|
(F) or (L)
of section 3517.106
of the Revised Code. If
an officer
| 1824 |
|
at the
board of elections where a statement filed for a candidate
| 1825 |
|
for the
office of member of the general
assembly or for a
| 1826 |
|
candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals was
| 1827 |
|
submitted finds the
statement to be incomplete or
inaccurate, the
| 1828 |
|
officer shall
immediately notify the
secretary of state of
its
| 1829 |
|
incomplete or
inaccurate nature. If either an officer at the
board
| 1830 |
|
of elections
or the secretary of state finds a statement filed for
| 1831 |
|
a
candidate
for the office of member of the general
assembly or
| 1832 |
|
for a candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals to
| 1833 |
|
be incomplete
or inaccurate, only the
secretary of state shall
| 1834 |
|
send the
notification as to the incomplete or
inaccurate nature of
| 1835 |
|
the
statement.
| 1836 |
| Within twenty-one
days
after
receipt of the notice, in the
| 1837 |
|
case of a
pre-election statement, a
postelection
statement, a
| 1838 |
|
monthly statement, an annual statement, or a semiannual statement
| 1839 |
|
prescribed
by section 3517.10, an annual statement
prescribed by
| 1840 |
|
section
3517.101, or a statement
prescribed by
division (B)(2)(b)
| 1841 |
|
or
(C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105 or
section 3517.107 of the
| 1842 |
|
Revised
Code,
the recipient shall file an addendum, amendment, or
| 1843 |
|
other
correction to the statement providing
the information
| 1844 |
|
necessary to
complete or correct the statement.
The secretary of
| 1845 |
|
state may
require that, in lieu of filing
an addendum, amendment,
| 1846 |
|
or other
correction to a statement that
is filed by electronic
| 1847 |
|
means of
transmission to the office of
the secretary of state
| 1848 |
|
pursuant to
section 3517.106 of the
Revised Code, the recipient of
| 1849 |
|
the
notice
described in this division file by electronic means of
| 1850 |
|
transmission an amended statement that incorporates
the
| 1851 |
|
information necessary
to complete or correct the statement.
| 1852 |
| The provisions of sections 3517.10,
3517.106, 3517.1011,
| 1872 |
3517.1012, and 3517.1013, and 3517.1014 of the Revised Code
| 1873 |
|
pertaining to
the
filing of
statements of contributions and
| 1874 |
|
expenditures, statements
of
independent expenditures, disclosure
| 1875 |
|
of electioneering
communications statements, deposit and
| 1876 |
disbursement statements,
and gift and disbursement statements,
| 1877 |
|
and donation and disbursement statements by electronic means of
| 1878 |
|
transmission apply to the filing of addenda, amendments, or other
| 1879 |
|
corrections to those
statements by electronic means of
| 1880 |
|
transmission and
the
filing of amended statements by electronic
| 1881 |
|
means of
transmission.
| 1882 |
| (b) Within five business days after the secretary
of state
| 1883 |
|
receives, by electronic or other means of transmission, an
| 1884 |
|
addendum,
amendment, or other correction to a statement or an
| 1885 |
|
amended statement under
division (B)(3)(a) of this section, the
| 1886 |
|
secretary of
state, pursuant to divisions (E), (F), (G), and
(I)
| 1887 |
|
of section 3517.106 or division (D) of section 3517.1011 of the
| 1888 |
|
Revised Code, shall make the
contribution and
expenditure,
| 1889 |
contribution and disbursement, deposit and disbursement, or gift
| 1890 |
|
and disbursement, or donation and disbursement information in that
| 1891 |
|
addendum,
amendment,
correction, or amended statement available
| 1892 |
|
online to
the
public
through the internet.
| 1893 |
| (C)(1) In the event of a failure to file or a late filing
of
| 1908 |
|
a statement required to be filed under sections 3517.081 to
| 1909 |
|
3517.17 of the Revised Code, or if a filed statement or any
| 1910 |
|
addendum, amendment, or other correction to a statement or any
| 1911 |
|
amended statement, if an addendum, amendment, or other correction
| 1912 |
|
or an amended statement is required to be
filed,
is incomplete or
| 1913 |
|
inaccurate or appears to disclose a failure to
comply with or a
| 1914 |
|
violation of law, the official whose duty
it is
to examine the
| 1915 |
|
statement shall promptly file a complaint
with the
Ohio elections
| 1916 |
|
commission
under section 3517.153 of the Revised
Code if the law
| 1917 |
|
is one over which the
commission has
jurisdiction
to hear
| 1918 |
|
complaints, or the official
shall promptly report the
failure or
| 1919 |
|
violation to the board of elections and the board shall
promptly
| 1920 |
|
report it to the prosecuting attorney in accordance with
division
| 1921 |
|
(J)
of section 3501.11 of the Revised Code. If the
official
files
| 1922 |
|
a complaint with the
commission, the commission
shall proceed in
| 1923 |
|
accordance with sections 3517.154
to 3517.157 of
the Revised Code.
| 1924 |
| (2) For purposes of division (C)(1) of this section, a
| 1925 |
|
statement
or an addendum, amendment, or other correction to a
| 1926 |
|
statement or an amended statement required to be
filed under
| 1927 |
|
sections 3517.081 to 3517.17 of the
Revised
Code is incomplete or
| 1928 |
|
inaccurate under this section if the statement, addendum,
| 1929 |
|
amendment, other correction, or amended statement fails
to
| 1930 |
disclose substantially all contributions or, gifts, or donations | 1931 |
|
that are
received
or deposits that are made that are required to
| 1932 |
|
be
reported under
sections
3517.10, 3517.107, 3517.108,
| 1933 |
3517.1011,
3517.1012, and 3517.1013, and 3517.1014 of the
Revised
| 1934 |
|
Code or if the
statement,
addendum, amendment, other correction,
| 1935 |
|
or amended statement fails
to disclose at least ninety per cent
| 1936 |
of the total
contributions or,
gifts, or donations received or
| 1937 |
|
deposits made or of the total expenditures
or
disbursements made
| 1938 |
|
during
the reporting period.
| 1939 |
| Sec. 3517.153. (A) Upon the filing of a
complaint with the
| 1946 |
|
Ohio elections commission, which shall
be made by affidavit of any
| 1947 |
|
person, on personal knowledge, and
subject to the penalties for
| 1948 |
|
perjury, or upon the filing of a
complaint made by the secretary
| 1949 |
|
of state or an official at the
board of elections, setting forth a
| 1950 |
|
failure to comply with or
a violation of any provision in sections
| 1951 |
|
3517.08 to 3517.13, 3517.17, 3517.18,
3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03,
| 1952 |
|
or 3599.031 of the Revised
Code, the commission shall proceed in
| 1953 |
|
accordance with
sections 3517.154 to 3517.157 of the Revised
Code.
| 1954 |
| (B) The commission shall prescribe the
form for complaints
| 1955 |
|
made under division (A) of this
section. The secretary of state
| 1956 |
|
and boards of elections shall
furnish the information that the
| 1957 |
|
commission requests. The
commission or a member of the commission
| 1958 |
|
may administer oaths,
and the commission may issue subpoenas to
| 1959 |
|
any person in the state
compelling the attendance of witnesses and
| 1960 |
|
the production of
relevant papers, books, accounts, and reports.
| 1961 |
|
Section 101.42 of
the Revised Code governs the issuance of
| 1962 |
|
subpoenas insofar as applicable. Upon the refusal of any person to
| 1963 |
|
obey a subpoena or to be sworn or to answer as a witness, the
| 1964 |
|
commission may apply to the court of common pleas of
Franklin
| 1965 |
|
county under section 2705.03 of the
Revised Code. The court shall
| 1966 |
|
hold proceedings
in accordance with Chapter 2705. of the Revised
| 1967 |
|
Code.
| 1968 |
| (D) The commission may recommend legislation
and render
| 1976 |
|
advisory opinions concerning sections 3517.08,
3517.082, 3517.092,
| 1977 |
|
3517.102, 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.1014,
3517.13, 3517.18, 3517.20
| 1978 |
|
to
3517.22, 3599.03, and
3599.031 of the Revised Code for persons
| 1979 |
|
over
whose acts it has or may have jurisdiction. When the
| 1980 |
|
commission
renders an advisory opinion relating to a specific set
| 1981 |
|
of
circumstances involving any of those sections stating that
| 1982 |
|
there
is no violation of a provision in those sections, the person
| 1983 |
|
to whom the
opinion
is directed or a person who is similarly
| 1984 |
|
situated may
reasonably rely on the opinion and is immune from
| 1985 |
|
criminal
prosecution and a civil action, including, without
| 1986 |
|
limitation,
a civil action for removal from public office or
| 1987 |
|
employment, based
on facts and circumstances covered by the
| 1988 |
|
opinion.
| 1989 |
| Sec. 3517.154. (A)(1) The full-time attorney
for the Ohio
| 1996 |
|
elections commission shall review each
complaint filed with the
| 1997 |
|
commission under section 3517.153 of the
Revised Code, shall
| 1998 |
|
determine the nature of the
complaint, and, unless division
| 1999 |
|
(A)(2)(a)
of this section requires that the complaint receive an
| 2000 |
|
automatic
expedited hearing, shall make a recommendation to the
| 2001 |
|
commission for
its disposition, in accordance with this section.
| 2002 |
|
The attorney
shall make the determination and the recommendation,
| 2003 |
|
if required,
not later than one business day after the complaint
| 2004 |
|
is filed.
| 2005 |
| (b) If the attorney determines that the
complaint sets forth
| 2016 |
|
a failure to comply with or a violation
of division (G), (I), (J),
| 2017 |
|
(O),
(P), or (Q) of section 3517.13, division
(A) of section
| 2018 |
|
3517.21, or division (A) of
section 3517.22 of the Revised Code
| 2019 |
|
and that the complaint is filed during
one of the periods of time
| 2020 |
|
specified in division (B)(1) of section
3517.156 of the Revised
| 2021 |
|
Code, the attorney shall
recommend to the commission that the
| 2022 |
|
complaint receive an
expedited hearing under section 3517.156 of
| 2023 |
|
the Revised
Code, and the complaint shall receive such a hearing.
| 2024 |
| (c) If the attorney determines that the
complaint sets forth
| 2025 |
|
a failure to comply with or a violation
of a section of the
| 2026 |
|
Revised Code over which the commission has jurisdiction to
hear
| 2027 |
|
complaints other than the sections described in divisions
| 2028 |
|
(A)(2)(a) and (b) of this section,
and unless the attorney makes a
| 2029 |
|
determination as provided for in division
(A)(3) of this section,
| 2030 |
|
the attorney shall recommend to the
commission that the complaint
| 2031 |
|
be submitted to the commission
under section 3517.155 of the
| 2032 |
|
Revised Code.
After the attorney makes that recommendation, the
| 2033 |
|
attorney shall notify
all parties to the complaint of the
| 2034 |
|
attorney's recommendation.
| 2035 |
| (ii) If the complaint involves a statement
required to be
| 2050 |
|
filed under section 3517.10, division (E) of section
3517.102, or
| 2051 |
|
section 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.107, 3517.108, 3517.109,
| 2052 |
3517.1011, or 3517.1012, or 3517.1014 of
the Revised
Code or an
| 2053 |
|
addendum required to be filed under section
3517.11 of the Revised
| 2054 |
|
Code that is filed late,
how late the filing is and how much time
| 2055 |
|
has elapsed between the
deadline for filing the statement or
| 2056 |
|
addendum and the filing of
the complaint;
| 2057 |
| (iii) If the complaint involves contributions
and
| 2058 |
|
expenditures, contributions and disbursements, deposits and
| 2059 |
disbursements, or gifts and disbursements, or donations and
| 2060 |
|
disbursements required to be reported under section 3517.10,
| 2061 |
|
division
(E) of section 3517.102, or section 3517.105, 3517.107,
| 2062 |
3517.108,
3517.109, 3517.1011, 3517.1012, or 3517.1013, or
| 2063 |
|
3517.1014 of
the Revised Code that are either not reported or
| 2064 |
|
reported late, the number of contributions and expenditures,
| 2065 |
contributions and disbursements, deposits and disbursements, or | 2066 |
|
gifts and disbursements, or donations and disbursements not
| 2067 |
|
reported or how late they were reported;
| 2068 |
| (4) The attorney may join two or more complaints if the
| 2109 |
|
attorney
determines that the allegations in each complaint are of
| 2110 |
|
the same
or similar character, are based on the same act or
| 2111 |
|
failure to
act, or are based on two or more acts or failures to
| 2112 |
|
act
constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. If one
| 2113 |
|
complaint
contains two or more allegations, the attorney may
| 2114 |
|
separate the
allegations if they are not of the same or similar
| 2115 |
|
character,
if they are not based on the same act or failure to
| 2116 |
|
act, or if
they are not based on two or more acts or failures to
| 2117 |
|
act
constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. If the attorney
| 2118 |
|
separates the allegations in a complaint, the attorney may make
| 2119 |
|
separate
recommendations under division (A)(2) or (3) of this
| 2120 |
|
section for each allegation.
| 2121 |
| (B) Whenever a person or other entity files a
complaint with
| 2122 |
|
the commission setting forth a failure to comply
with or a
| 2123 |
|
violation of a section of the Revised Code as described in
| 2124 |
|
division
(A)(2)(c) of this section and the complaint is filed
| 2125 |
|
during one of the
periods of time specified in division (B)(1) of
| 2126 |
|
section 3517.156
of the Revised Code, the person or
entity may
| 2127 |
|
request an expedited hearing under that section at the time
the
| 2128 |
|
complaint is
filed. The attorney for the commission shall inform
| 2129 |
|
the members
of the commission of that request at the time the
| 2130 |
|
attorney makes a
recommendation under division (A) of this
| 2131 |
|
section. The
commission may grant the request for an expedited
| 2132 |
|
hearing under this division
if it
determines that an expedited
| 2133 |
|
hearing is practicable.
| 2134 |
| Sec. 3599.03. (A)(1) Except to carry on activities specified
| 2395 |
|
in sections 3517.082 and 3517.1011, division (A)(2) of section
| 2396 |
|
3517.1012, division (B) of section 3517.1013, division (C)(1) of
| 2397 |
|
section 3517.1014, and section 3599.031 of the Revised Code and
| 2398 |
|
except
as provided in divisions (D), (E), and
(F) of this section,
| 2399 |
|
no
corporation, no nonprofit
corporation, and no labor
| 2400 |
|
organization, directly or
indirectly, shall pay or use, or offer,
| 2401 |
|
advise, consent,
or agree to pay or
use, the corporation's money
| 2402 |
|
or property, or the
labor organization's
money, including dues,
| 2403 |
|
initiation fees, or other assessments paid
by members,
or
| 2404 |
|
property, for or in aid of or
opposition to a political party, a
| 2405 |
|
candidate for election or
nomination to public office, a political
| 2406 |
|
action committee including a political action committee of the
| 2407 |
|
corporation or labor organization, a
legislative campaign fund, or
| 2408 |
|
any
organization that supports or opposes any such candidate, or
| 2409 |
|
for
any partisan political purpose, shall violate any law
| 2410 |
|
requiring the
filing of an affidavit or statement respecting such
| 2411 |
|
use of
those funds, or shall pay or use the corporation's
or labor
| 2412 |
|
organization's money
for the expenses of
a social fund-raising
| 2413 |
|
event for its political action committee if
an employee's or labor
| 2414 |
|
organization member's
right
to attend such an event is
predicated
| 2415 |
|
on the employee's or member's contribution to the
corporation's
or
| 2416 |
|
labor organization's political action committee.
| 2417 |
| (B)(1) No officer, stockholder, attorney, or agent of a
| 2421 |
|
corporation or nonprofit
corporation, no member, including an
| 2422 |
|
officer, attorney, or agent, of a labor
organization, and no
| 2423 |
|
candidate, political party official, or other individual
shall
| 2424 |
|
knowingly aid, advise, solicit, or receive money or other property
| 2425 |
|
in
violation of division (A)(1) of this section.
| 2426 |
| (C) A corporation, a
nonprofit
corporation, or a labor
| 2430 |
|
organization may
use its funds or property for or in aid of or
| 2431 |
|
opposition to a
proposed or certified ballot issue. Such use of
| 2432 |
|
funds or
property shall be reported on a form prescribed by the
| 2433 |
|
secretary
of state. Reports of contributions in connection with
| 2434 |
|
statewide
ballot issues shall be filed with the secretary of
| 2435 |
|
state.
Reports of contributions in connection with local issues
| 2436 |
|
shall be
filed with the board of elections of the most populous
| 2437 |
|
county of
the district in which the issue is submitted or to be
| 2438 |
|
submitted
to the electors. Reports made pursuant to this division
| 2439 |
|
shall be
filed by the times specified in divisions (A)(1) and (2)
| 2440 |
|
of
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code.
| 2441 |
| (3) The use by a corporation or labor organization of its
| 2469 |
|
money or property for communicating information for a purpose
| 2470 |
|
specified in division (A) of this section is not a violation of
| 2471 |
|
that division if it is not a communication made by mass broadcast
| 2472 |
|
such as radio or television or made by advertising in a newspaper
| 2473 |
|
of general circulation but is a communication sent exclusively to
| 2474 |
|
members, employees, officers, or trustees of that labor
| 2475 |
|
organization or shareholders, employees, officers, or directors of
| 2476 |
|
that corporation or to members of the immediate families of any
| 2477 |
|
such individuals or if the communication intended to be so sent
| 2478 |
|
exclusively is unintentionally sent as well to a de minimis number
| 2479 |
|
of other individuals.
| 2480 |