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S. B. No. 10 As IntroducedAs Introduced
128th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2009-2010 |
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A BILL
To amend sections 3517.01, 3517.10, 3517.106,
3517.11, 3517.153, 3517.154, 3517.992, and 3599.03
and to enact sections 1701.96, 1702.85, and
3517.1014 of the Revised Code
to permit
individuals elected or appointed to
state office
to establish transition funds to
receive
donations and to make expenditures for
transition
activities and inaugural celebrations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3517.01, 3517.10, 3517.106,
3517.11, 3517.153, 3517.154, 3517.992, and 3599.03 be amended and
sections 1701.96, 1702.85, and 3517.1014 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as
follows:
Sec. 1701.96. (A) No corporation shall make a disbursement
to pay any costs incurred for transition activities and inaugural
celebrations unless the disbursement is a donation to a transition
account in accordance with section 3517.1014 of the Revised Code.
(B) A corporation that violates division (A) of this section
shall be fined an amount equal to three times the amount disbursed
in violation of that division.
(C) As used in this section, "costs incurred for transition
activities and inaugural celebrations" and "donation" have the
same meanings as in section 3517.1014 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 1702.85. (A) No nonprofit corporation shall make a
disbursement to pay any costs incurred for transition activities
and inaugural celebrations unless the disbursement is a donation
to a transition account in accordance with section 3517.1014 of
the Revised Code.
(B) A nonprofit corporation that violates division (A) of
this section shall be fined an amount equal to three times the
amount disbursed in violation of that division.
(C) As used in this section, "costs incurred for transition
activities and inaugural celebrations" and "donation" have the
same meanings as in section 3517.1014 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3517.01. (A)(1) A political party within the meaning of
Title XXXV of the Revised Code is any group of voters
that, at
the
most recent regular state election, polled
for its
candidate for
governor in the state or nominees for presidential
electors at
least five per cent of the entire vote cast for
that office or
that filed with the secretary of state, subsequent to any
election
in which it received less than five per cent of that
vote, a
petition signed by qualified electors equal in number to
at least
one per cent of the total vote for governor or nominees
for
presidential electors at the most recent
election,
declaring their
intention of organizing a political party, the
name of which shall
be stated in the declaration, and of
participating in the
succeeding primary election, held in
even-numbered years, that
occurs more than one hundred twenty
days after the date of filing.
No such group of electors shall
assume a name or designation that
is similar, in the opinion of
the secretary of state, to that of
an existing political party as
to confuse or mislead the voters at
an election. If any political party fails
to cast five per cent
of
the total vote
cast at an election for the office of governor
or
president, it
shall cease to be a political party.
(2) A campaign committee shall be legally liable for any
debts, contracts, or expenditures incurred or executed in its
name.
(B) Notwithstanding the definitions found in section
3501.01
of the Revised Code, as used in this section and
sections 3517.08
to
3517.14, 3517.99, and 3517.992 of the Revised Code:
(1)
"Campaign committee" means a candidate or a
combination
of two or more persons authorized by a candidate
under section
3517.081 of the Revised Code to receive
contributions and make
expenditures.
(2)
"Campaign treasurer" means an individual appointed by
a
candidate under section 3517.081 of the Revised Code.
(3)
"Candidate" has the same meaning as in division (H) of
section 3501.01 of the Revised Code and also includes any person
who, at any time before or after an election, receives
contributions or makes expenditures or other use of
contributions,
has given consent for another to receive
contributions or make
expenditures or other use of contributions,
or appoints a campaign
treasurer, for the purpose of bringing
about the person's
nomination or election to public office.
When two persons jointly
seek the offices of governor and lieutenant governor,
"candidate"
means the pair of candidates jointly.
"Candidate" does not
include
candidates for election to the
offices of member of a
county or
state central committee,
presidential elector, and
delegate to a
national convention or
conference of a political
party.
(4)
"Continuing association" means an association, other
than
a
campaign committee, political party, legislative campaign
fund,
political contributing entity, or labor
organization, that
is
intended to be a permanent organization that has a
primary
purpose
other than supporting or opposing specific candidates,
political
parties, or ballot issues, and that functions on a
regular basis
throughout the year. "Continuing association" includes
organizations that are determined to be not organized for profit
under subsection 501 and that are described in subsection
501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(5)
"Contribution" means a loan, gift, deposit,
forgiveness
of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or transfer
of funds
or
anything of value, including a transfer of funds
from
an inter
vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's estate, and the
payment
by any
person other than the person to whom the services
are
rendered
for the personal services of another person, which
contribution
is made, received, or used for the purpose of
influencing the
results of an election.
Any loan, gift, deposit,
forgiveness of indebtedness, donation, advance, payment, or
transfer of funds or of anything of value, including a transfer of
funds from an inter vivos or testamentary trust or decedent's
estate, and the payment by any campaign committee, political
action committee, legislative campaign fund, political party,
political contributing entity, or person other than the person to
whom the services are rendered for the personal services of
another person, that is made, received, or used by a state or
county political party, other than moneys a state or county
political party receives from the Ohio political party fund
pursuant to section 3517.17 of the Revised Code and the moneys a
state or county political party may receive under sections
3517.101, 3517.1012, and 3517.1013 of the Revised Code, shall be
considered to be a "contribution" for the purpose of section
3517.10 of the Revised Code and shall be included on a statement
of contributions filed under that section.
"Contribution" does not
include any of the following:
(a) Services provided without compensation by individuals
volunteering a portion or all of their time on behalf of a
person;
(b) Ordinary home hospitality;
(c) The personal expenses of a volunteer paid for by that
volunteer campaign worker;
(d) Any gift given to a state or county political party
pursuant to section 3517.101 of the Revised Code. As used in
division (B)(5)(d) of this section,
"political party" means only
a
major political party;
(e) Any contribution as defined in section 3517.1011 of the
Revised Code that is made, received, or used to pay the direct
costs of producing or airing an electioneering communication;
(f) Any gift given to a state or county political party for
the party's restricted fund under division (A)(2) of section
3517.1012 of the Revised Code;
(g) Any gift given to a state political party for deposit in
a Levin account pursuant to section 3517.1013 of the Revised Code.
As used in this division, "Levin account" has the same meaning as
in that section.
(h) Any donation given to a transition fund under section
3517.1014 of the Revised Code.
(6)
"Expenditure" means the disbursement or use of a
contribution for the purpose of influencing the results of an
election or of making a charitable donation under division (G) of
section 3517.08 of the Revised Code. Any disbursement or use of a
contribution by a state or county political party is an
expenditure and shall be considered either to be made for the
purpose of influencing the results of an election or to be made as
a charitable donation under division (G) of section 3517.08 of the
Revised Code and shall be reported on a statement of expenditures
filed under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. During the thirty
days preceding a primary or general election, any disbursement to
pay the direct costs of producing or airing a broadcast, cable, or
satellite communication that refers to a clearly identified
candidate shall be considered to be made for the purpose of
influencing the results of that election and shall be reported as
an expenditure or as an independent expenditure under section
3517.10 or 3517.105 of the Revised Code, as applicable, except
that the information required to be reported regarding
contributors for those expenditures or independent expenditures
shall be the same as the information required to be reported under
divisions (D)(1) and (2) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
As used in this division, "broadcast, cable, or satellite
communication" and "refers to a clearly identified candidate" have
the same meanings as in section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
(7)
"Personal expenses" includes, but is not limited to,
ordinary expenses for accommodations, clothing, food, personal
motor vehicle or airplane, and home telephone.
(8)
"Political action committee" means a combination of
two
or more persons, the primary or major purpose of
which is
to
support or oppose any candidate, political party, or issue, or
to
influence the result of any election through express advocacy, and
that is
not a political
party, a campaign committee, a political
contributing entity,
or a
legislative campaign fund. "Political
action committee" does not include either of the following:
(a) A continuing association that makes disbursements for the
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering communications
and that does not engage in express advocacy;
(b) A political club that is formed primarily for social
purposes and that consists of one hundred members or less, has
officers and periodic meetings, has less than two thousand five
hundred dollars in its treasury at all times, and makes an
aggregate total contribution of one thousand dollars or less per
calendar year.
(9)
"Public office" means any state, county, municipal,
township, or district office, except an office of a political
party, that is filled by an election and the offices of United
States senator and
representative.
(10)
"Anything of value" has the same meaning as in
section
1.03 of the Revised Code.
(11)
"Beneficiary of a campaign fund" means a candidate, a
public official or employee for whose benefit a campaign fund
exists, and any other person who has ever been a candidate or
public official or employee and for whose benefit a campaign fund
exists.
(12)
"Campaign fund" means money or other property,
including
contributions.
(13)
"Public official or employee" has the same meaning as
in
section 102.01 of the Revised Code.
(14)
"Caucus" means all of the
members of the house of
representatives or all of the members of
the senate of the general
assembly who are members of the same
political party.
(15)
"Legislative campaign fund" means a fund that is
established as an auxiliary of a state political party and
associated with one
of the houses of the general assembly.
(16)
"In-kind contribution" means anything of
value other
than money that is used to influence the results of
an election or
is transferred to or used in support of or in
opposition to a
candidate, campaign committee, legislative
campaign fund,
political party, political action committee, or political
contributing entity and
that is made with the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation,
or consultation with, or at the request
or suggestion of the
benefited candidate, committee, fund, party,
or entity. The financing of
the
dissemination, distribution, or
republication, in whole or part,
of any broadcast or of any
written, graphic, or other form of
campaign materials prepared by
the candidate, the
candidate's campaign committee, or their
authorized agents is an in-kind
contribution to the candidate and
an expenditure by the candidate.
(17)
"Independent expenditure" means an
expenditure by a
person advocating the election or
defeat of an identified
candidate or candidates, that is
not made with
the consent of, in
coordination, cooperation, or consultation
with, or at the request
or suggestion of any candidate or
candidates or of the campaign
committee or agent of the candidate
or candidates. As used in
division (B)(17) of this section:
(a)
"Person" means an individual,
partnership,
unincorporated
business organization or association,
political
action committee,
political contributing entity,
separate
segregated
fund,
association, or other organization or group
of persons,
but not a
labor organization or a corporation unless the labor organization
or corporation is a political contributing entity.
(b)
"Advocating" means any
communication containing a
message
advocating election or defeat.
(c)
"Identified candidate"
means that the name of the
candidate appears, a photograph or
drawing of the candidate
appears, or the identity of the
candidate is otherwise apparent by
unambiguous reference.
(d)
"Made in coordination, cooperation, or
consultation
with,
or at the request or suggestion of, any
candidate or the
campaign
committee or agent of the
candidate" means made pursuant
to any
arrangement,
coordination, or direction by the candidate,
the
candidate's
campaign committee, or the candidate's agent prior
to
the
publication, distribution,
display, or broadcast of the
communication. An expenditure is
presumed to be so made when it
is
any of the following:
(i) Based on information about the candidate's
plans,
projects, or needs provided to the person making the
expenditure
by the candidate, or by the candidate's campaign
committee or
agent, with a view toward having an expenditure
made;
(ii) Made by or through any person who is, or
has been,
authorized to raise or expend funds, who is, or has
been, an
officer of the candidate's campaign committee, or who
is, or has
been, receiving any form of compensation or
reimbursement from the
candidate or the candidate's campaign
committee or agent;
(iii) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of section
3517.105 of the Revised Code, made by a political party in support
of a
candidate,
unless the expenditure is made by a political
party to
conduct
voter registration or voter education efforts.
(e)
"Agent" means any person who has
actual oral or written
authority, either express or implied, to
make or to authorize the
making of expenditures on behalf of a
candidate, or means any
person who has been placed in a position
with the candidate's
campaign committee or organization such that
it would reasonably
appear that in the ordinary course of
campaign-related activities
the person may authorize
expenditures.
(18)
"Labor organization" means a labor
union; an employee
organization; a federation of labor unions,
groups, locals, or
other employee organizations; an auxiliary of
a labor union,
employee organization, or federation of labor unions, groups,
locals, or other employee organizations; or any other bona fide
organization in
which employees participate and that exists for
the purpose, in
whole or in part, of dealing with employers
concerning
grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, and other
terms and
conditions of employment.
(19)
"Separate segregated fund" means a
separate segregated
fund established pursuant to the
Federal Election Campaign
Act.
(20)
"Federal Election Campaign Act" means
the
"Federal
Election Campaign Act
of 1971," 86 Stat. 11, 2 U.S.C.A. 431, et
seq., as amended.
(21)
"Restricted fund" means the fund a state or county
political party must establish under division (A)(1) of section
3517.1012 of the Revised Code.
(22) "Electioneering communication" has the same meaning as
in section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
(23) "Express advocacy" means a communication that contains
express words advocating the nomination, election, or defeat of a
candidate or that contains express words advocating the adoption
or defeat of a question or issue, as determined by a final
judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(24) "Political committee" has the same meaning as in section
3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
(25) "Political contributing entity" means any entity,
including a corporation or labor organization, that may lawfully
make contributions and expenditures and that is not an individual
or a political action committee, continuing association, campaign
committee, political party, legislative campaign fund, designated
state campaign committee, or state candidate fund. For purposes of
this division, "lawfully" means not prohibited by any section of
the Revised Code, or authorized by a final judgment of a court of
competent jurisdiction.
Sec. 3517.10. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this
division, every campaign committee, political action committee,
legislative campaign fund, political party, and political
contributing entity
that made or received a contribution or made
an expenditure in connection with the nomination or election of
any candidate or in connection with any ballot issue or question
at any election held or to be held in this state shall file, on a
form prescribed under this section or by electronic means of
transmission as provided in this section and section 3517.106 of
the Revised
Code, a
full, true,
and
itemized
statement, made under
penalty of election
falsification, setting
forth in detail the
contributions and
expenditures, not later than
four p.m. of the
following dates:
(1) The twelfth day before the election to reflect
contributions received and expenditures made from the close of
business on the last day reflected in the last previously filed
statement, if any, to the close of business on the twentieth day
before the election;
(2) The thirty-eighth day after the election to reflect
the
contributions received and expenditures made from the close
of
business on the last day reflected in the last previously
filed
statement, if any, to the close of business on the seventh
day
before the filing of the statement;
(3) The last business day of January of every year to
reflect
the contributions received and expenditures made from the
close of
business on the last day reflected in the last
previously
filed
statement, if any, to the close of business on
the last day
of
December of the previous year;
(4) The last business day of July of every year to reflect
the contributions received and expenditures made from the close of
business on the last day reflected in the last previously filed
statement, if any, to the close of business on the last day of
June of that year.
A campaign committee shall only be required to file the
statements prescribed under divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this
section in connection with the nomination or election of the
committee's candidate.
The statement required under division (A)(1) of this
section
shall not be required of any campaign committee,
political action
committee, legislative campaign
fund, political party, or
political contributing entity that has
received
contributions of
less than one thousand dollars and has made
expenditures of less
than one thousand dollars at the close of
business on the
twentieth day before the election. Those contributions and
expenditures shall be reported in the statement required under
division (A)(2)
of this section.
If an election to select candidates to appear on the
general
election ballot is held within sixty days before a
general
election, the campaign committee of a successful
candidate in the
earlier election may file the statement required
by division
(A)(1) of this section for the general election
instead of the
statement required by division (A)(2) of this
section for the
earlier election if the pregeneral
election
statement reflects the
status of contributions and expenditures
for the period twenty
days before the earlier election to twenty
days before the general
election.
If a person becomes a candidate less than twenty days
before
an election, the candidate's campaign committee is not
required to
file the statement required by division (A)(1) of this section.
No statement under division (A)(3) of this section shall be
required for any year in which a campaign committee, political
action committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, or
political contributing entity is required to
file a
postgeneral
election statement under
division (A)(2)
of this
section.
However,
a statement under division (A)(3) of this section may be filed, at
the option
of the
campaign
committee, political action committee,
legislative
campaign fund,
political party, or political
contributing entity.
No campaign committee of a candidate for the office of chief
justice or justice of the supreme court, and no campaign committee
of a candidate for the office of judge of any court in this state,
shall be required to file a statement under division (A)(4) of
this section.
Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph and in the
next paragraph of this section, the only campaign committees
required to file a statement under division (A)(4) of this section
are the campaign committee of a statewide candidate and the
campaign committee of a candidate for county office. The campaign
committee of a candidate for any other nonjudicial office is
required to file a statement under division (A)(4) of this section
if that campaign committee receives, during that period,
contributions exceeding ten thousand dollars.
No statement under division (A)(4) of this section shall be
required of a campaign committee, a political action committee, a
legislative campaign fund, a political party, or a political
contributing entity for any year in which the campaign committee,
political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political
party, or political contributing entity is required to file a
postprimary election statement under division (A)(2) of this
section. However, a statement under division (A)(4) of this
section may be filed at the option of the campaign committee,
political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political
party, or political contributing entity.
No statement under division (A)(3) or (4) of this section
shall be
required if the campaign committee, political action
committee,
legislative campaign fund, political party, or
political contributing entity has no
contributions that it has
received and
no expenditures that it has made since the
last date
reflected in
its last previously filed statement.
However, the
campaign
committee, political action committee,
legislative
campaign fund,
political party, or political contributing entity
shall
file a
statement to that effect, on a form prescribed under
this
section
and made under penalty of election falsification, on
the
date
required in division (A)(3) or (4) of this section, as
applicable.
The campaign committee of a statewide candidate shall
file a
monthly statement of contributions received during each of
the
months of July, August, and September
in the year of the general
election in which the candidate seeks
office. The campaign
committee of a statewide candidate shall
file the monthly
statement
not later than three business days after the last day of
the
month covered by the statement. During the period
beginning
on
the
nineteenth day before the general election in which a
statewide candidate
seeks election to office and extending through
the day of that general
election, each time the campaign committee
of the joint candidates for the
offices of governor and
lieutenant
governor or of a candidate for the office of secretary of state,
auditor of state, treasurer of state, or attorney general receives
a
contribution from a contributor that causes the aggregate amount
of contributions received from that contributor during that
period
to equal or exceed ten thousand dollars and each time
the
campaign
committee of a candidate for the office of chief
justice or
justice of the supreme court receives a contribution
from a
contributor that causes the aggregate amount of
contributions
received from that contributor during that period to
exceed ten
thousand dollars, the campaign committee
shall file a
two-business-day statement reflecting that
contribution. During
the period beginning on the nineteenth
day before a
primary
election in which a candidate for statewide
office seeks
nomination to office and extending through the day
of that primary
election, each time either the campaign committee of a
statewide
candidate in that primary election that files a
notice under
division (C)(1) of section 3517.103 of the Revised Code or the
campaign committee
of a statewide candidate in that primary
election to which, in
accordance with division (D) of section
3517.103 of the
Revised Code, the contribution limitations
prescribed in
section 3517.102 of the Revised Code
no longer apply
receives a contribution
from a contributor that causes the
aggregate amount of
contributions received from that contributor
during that period
to exceed ten thousand dollars,
the campaign
committee shall file a two-business-day statement
reflecting
that
contribution.
Contributions reported on a
two-business-day
statement
required to be filed by a campaign
committee of a
statewide
candidate in a primary election shall
also be included
in the postprimary election statement required to
be filed by
that
campaign committee under division (A)(2) of this
section. A
two-business-day statement required by this
paragraph
shall be
filed not
later than two business days after receipt of
the
contribution. The
statements required by this paragraph shall
be
filed in
addition to any other statements required by this
section.
Subject to the secretary
of state
having implemented, tested,
and verified the successful
operation of any system the secretary
of state prescribes pursuant
to
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of
this
section and division
(H)(1) of section 3517.106 of the
Revised Code for the
filing
of
campaign finance statements by
electronic means of transmission,
a campaign committee
of a
statewide
candidate shall file a two-business-day
statement under
the
preceding paragraph
by electronic means of transmission if the
campaign committee
is required to file a pre-election,
postelection, or
monthly statement of contributions and
expenditures by
electronic means of transmission under this
section or section
3517.106 of the Revised
Code.
If a campaign committee or political action committee has
no
balance on hand and no outstanding obligations and desires to
terminate itself, it shall file a statement to that effect, on a
form prescribed under this section and made under penalty of
election falsification, with the official with whom it files a
statement under division (A) of this section after filing a final
statement of contributions and a final statement of expenditures,
if contributions have been received or expenditures made since
the
period reflected in its last previously filed statement.
(B) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(7) of
this
section, each statement required by division (A) of this
section
shall contain the following information:
(1) The full name and address of each campaign committee,
political action committee, legislative campaign
fund, political
party, or political contributing entity, including any
treasurer
of the committee, fund, party, or entity,
filing a contribution
and expenditure statement;
(2)(a) In the case of a campaign committee, the candidate's
full name and address;
(b) In the case of a political action committee, the
registration number assigned to the committee under division
(D)(1)
of this section.
(3) The date of the election and whether it was or will be
a
general, primary, or special election;
(4) A statement of contributions received, which shall
include the following information:
(a) The month, day, and year of the contribution;
(b)(i) The full name and address of each person, political
party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund,
political
action committee, or political contributing entity
from whom
contributions are received and the
registration number assigned to
the
political action committee under division (D)(1) of this
section. The requirement of filing the full address does not
apply
to any statement filed by a state or local committee of a
political
party, to a finance committee of
such committee, or to a
committee recognized by a state or local
committee as its
fund-raising auxiliary. Notwithstanding
division (F) of this
section, the requirement of filing the full
address shall be
considered as being met if the address filed is
the same address
the contributor provided under division
(E)(1) of this section.
(ii) If a political action committee, political contributing
entity, legislative campaign fund, or political party that is
required to file campaign finance statements by electronic means
of transmission under section 3517.106 of the Revised Code or a
campaign committee of a statewide candidate or
candidate for the
office of member of the general assembly
receives a
contribution
from an individual that exceeds one
hundred dollars, the name of
the individual's current employer,
if
any, or, if the individual
is self-employed, the
individual's
occupation and the name of the
individual's business, if any;
(iii) If a campaign committee of a statewide candidate or
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly
receives a
contribution transmitted pursuant to
section 3599.031
of the Revised Code from
amounts deducted from the wages and
salaries of two or more
employees that exceeds
in the aggregate
one hundred dollars during any one filing period
under division
(A)(1), (2), (3), or (4) of this section, the full
name of the
employees' employer and the full name of the labor organization
of
which the employees are members, if any.
(c) A description of the contribution received, if other
than
money;
(d) The value in dollars and cents of the contribution;
(e) A separately itemized account of all contributions and
expenditures regardless of the amount, except a receipt of a
contribution from a person in the sum of twenty-five dollars or
less at one social or fund-raising activity and a receipt of a
contribution
transmitted pursuant to section 3599.031 of the
Revised Code from amounts
deducted from the wages and salaries of
employees if the contribution from the
amount deducted from the
wages and salary of any one employee is twenty-five
dollars or
less aggregated in a calendar year. An account of the total
contributions from each social or fund-raising activity shall
include a
description of and the value of each in-kind
contribution received at that
activity from any person who made
one or more
such contributions whose aggregate value exceeded two
hundred
fifty dollars and shall be listed separately, together
with the expenses
incurred and paid in connection with that
activity. A campaign committee,
political action committee,
legislative campaign fund, political
party, or political
contributing entity
shall keep records of contributions from each
person in the amount of
twenty-five dollars or less at one social
or fund-raising activity and
contributions from amounts deducted
under section 3599.031 of the Revised Code
from the wages and
salary of each employee in the amount of twenty-five
dollars or
less aggregated in a calendar year. No continuing association
that
is recognized by a state or local committee of a political
party
as an
auxiliary of the party and that makes a contribution
from
funds derived solely
from regular dues paid by members of the
auxiliary shall be required to list
the name or address of any
members who paid those dues.
Contributions that are other income shall be itemized
separately from all other contributions. The information
required
under division (B)(4) of this section shall be
provided for all
other income itemized. As used in this
paragraph, "other income"
means a loan, investment
income, or interest income.
(f) In the case of a campaign committee of a
state elected
officer, if a person doing business with the state elected
officer
in the officer's official capacity makes a contribution to
the
campaign committee of that officer, the information required
under
division (B)(4) of this section in regard to that
contribution,
which shall be filed together with and considered a
part of the
committee's statement of contributions as required
under division
(A) of this section but shall be filed on
a separate form provided
by the secretary of state. As used in
this division:
(i) "State elected officer" has the
same meaning as in
section 3517.092 of the Revised
Code.
(ii) "Person doing business" means a
person or an officer of
an entity who enters into one or more
contracts with a state
elected
officer or anyone authorized to enter into contracts on
behalf of
that officer to receive payments for goods or services,
if the
payments total, in the aggregate, more than five thousand
dollars
during a calendar year.
(5) A statement of expenditures which shall include the
following
information:
(a) The month, day, and year of the expenditure;
(b) The full name and address of each person, political
party, campaign committee, legislative campaign fund,
political
action committee, or political contributing entity to
whom the
expenditure was made and the
registration number assigned to the
political action committee under division (D)(1) of this
section;
(c) The object or purpose for which the expenditure was
made;
(d) The amount of each expenditure.
(C)(1) The statement of contributions and expenditures
shall
be signed by the person completing the form. If a statement of
contributions and expenditures is filed by electronic means of
transmission
pursuant to this
section or section 3517.106 of the
Revised Code, the
electronic signature of the person who executes
the statement and transmits
the statement by electronic means of
transmission, as
provided in division (H) of section 3517.106 of
the Revised
Code, shall be attached to or associated with the
statement and shall
be binding on all persons and for all purposes
under the campaign finance
reporting law as if the
signature had
been handwritten in ink on a printed form.
(2) The person filing the statement, under penalty of
election falsification, shall include with it a list of each
anonymous
contribution, the circumstances under which it was
received, and
the reason it cannot be attributed to a specific
donor.
(3) Each statement of a campaign committee of a candidate
who
holds public office shall contain a designation of each
contributor who is an employee in any unit or department under
the
candidate's direct supervision and control. In a space
provided
in
the statement, the person filing the statement shall
affirm
that
each such contribution was voluntarily made.
(4) A campaign committee that did not receive contributions
or
make expenditures in connection with the nomination or election
of its candidate shall file a statement to that effect, on a form
prescribed under this section and made under penalty of election
falsification, on the date required in division (A)(2) of this
section.
(5) The campaign committee of any person who attempts to
become
a candidate and who, for any reason, does not become
certified in
accordance with Title XXXV of the Revised Code for
placement on
the official ballot of a primary, general, or special
election to
be held in this state, and who, at any time prior to
or after an
election, receives contributions or makes
expenditures, or has
given consent for another to receive
contributions or make
expenditures, for the purpose of bringing
about the person's
nomination or election to public office, shall
file the statement
or statements prescribed by this section and a
termination
statement, if applicable. Division (C)(5) of this
section does not
apply to any
person with respect to an election
to the offices of
member of a
county or state central committee,
presidential
elector, or
delegate to a national convention or
conference of a
political
party.
(6)(a) The statements required to be filed under this
section
shall specify the balance in the hands of
the campaign
committee,
political action
committee, legislative campaign fund,
political
party, or political contributing entity and the
disposition
intended to be made of that balance.
(b) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form for all
statements
required to be
filed under this section
and
shall
furnish the forms to the boards of elections in
the several
counties. The boards
of elections shall supply printed copies of
those forms without charge. The
secretary of state
shall
prescribe
the appropriate methodology, protocol, and data file
structure for
statements required or permitted to
be filed by
electronic means
of transmission under division (A) of
this
section,
divisions (E),
(F), and (G) of section 3517.106, division (D) of section
3517.1011, division (B) of section 3517.1012, and division (C) of
section 3517.1013, and divisions (D) and (H) of section 3517.1014
of
the
Revised Code.
Subject to division (A) of this
section,
divisions
(E), (F),
and (G) of section 3517.106, division (D) of
section 3517.1011, division (B) of section 3517.1012, and division
(C) of section 3517.1013, and divisions (D) and (H) of section
3517.1014 of the
Revised
Code, the statements
required to be
stored on
computer by the secretary of state under
division (B) of
section
3517.106 of the Revised Code
shall be
filed in whatever
format
the secretary of state considers
necessary to enable
the
secretary of state to store the
information contained in
the
statements on computer. Any such
format shall be of a type and
nature that is readily available to
whoever is
required to file
the statements in that format.
(c) The secretary of state shall assess the need for
training
regarding the filing of campaign finance statements by
electronic
means of
transmission and regarding associated
technologies for
candidates, campaign committees, political action
committees,
legislative campaign funds, political parties, or political
contributing entities,
for individuals, partnerships, or
other
entities, or for persons making disbursements to pay the direct
costs of producing or airing electioneering communications, or for
treasurers of transition funds, required or
permitted to file
statements by
electronic means of transmission under this
section
or section
3517.105, 3517.106, 3517.1011, 3517.1012, or 3517.1013,
or 3517.1014 of the Revised Code. If, in the opinion of
the
secretary
of state,
training in these areas is necessary, the
secretary of state shall arrange
for the provision of voluntary
training programs for candidates, campaign
committees, political
action committees, legislative campaign funds, political
parties,
or political contributing entities,
for individuals, partnerships,
and
other entities, or for persons making disbursements to pay the
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering communications,
or for treasurers of transition funds, as appropriate.
(7) Each monthly statement and each
two-business-day
statement required by
division (A) of this section shall contain
the information required by
divisions (B)(1) to (4), (C)(2), and,
if
appropriate, (C)(3) of this section. Each statement
shall be
signed as required by division (C)(1) of this section.
(D)(1) Prior to receiving a contribution or making an
expenditure, every
campaign committee, political action
committee,
legislative campaign fund, political party, or political
contributing entity
shall appoint a treasurer and shall
file, on a
form prescribed by the secretary of state, a
designation of that
appointment,
including the full name and address of the treasurer
and of the
campaign committee, political
action committee,
legislative campaign fund, political
party, or political
contributing entity. That designation shall
be filed with
the
official with whom the campaign committee,
political action
committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, or
political contributing entity is required to
file statements under
section 3517.11 of the
Revised Code. The name of a campaign
committee shall include at least the
last name of the campaign
committee's candidate. If two or more candidates are the
beneficiaries of a single campaign committee under division (B) of
section 3517.081 of the Revised Code, the name of the campaign
committee shall include at least the last name of each candidate
who is a beneficiary of that campaign committee. The secretary of
state shall assign a
registration number to each political action
committee that files
a designation of the appointment of a
treasurer under
this division
if the political action committee is
required
by division (A)(1) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code
to file the
statements prescribed by this section with the
secretary of state.
(2) The treasurer appointed under division (D)(1) of this
section shall keep a strict account of all contributions, from
whom received and the purpose for which they were disbursed.
(3)(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 3517.108 of
the Revised Code,
a campaign committee shall deposit all monetary
contributions
received by the committee into an account separate
from a personal or business
account of the candidate or campaign
committee.
(b) A political action committee
shall deposit all monetary
contributions received by the committee into an
account separate
from all other funds.
(c) A state or county political party may
establish a state
candidate fund that is separate from an account that
contains the
public moneys received from the Ohio political party fund
under
section 3517.17 of the Revised Code and from all other funds. A
state
or county political party may deposit into its state
candidate fund any
amounts of monetary contributions that are made
to or accepted by the
political party subject to the applicable
limitations, if any, prescribed in
section 3517.102 of the Revised
Code. A state or county political party
shall deposit all other
monetary contributions received by the
party into one or more
accounts
that are separate from its state candidate fund and from
its account that contains the public moneys received from the Ohio
political party fund under section 3517.17 of the Revised Code.
(d) Each state political party shall have only one
legislative campaign fund
for each house of the general assembly.
Each such fund shall be separate from
any other funds or accounts
of that state party. A legislative campaign fund
is authorized to
receive contributions and make expenditures for the primary
purpose of furthering the election of candidates who are members
of that
political party to the house of the general assembly with
which that
legislative campaign fund is associated. Each
legislative campaign fund shall
be administered and controlled in
a manner designated by the caucus. As used
in this division,
"caucus" has the same meaning as in
section
3517.01 of the Revised
Code and includes, as an ex officio member,
the
chairperson of the
state political party with which the caucus
is
associated or that
chairperson's designee.
(4) Every expenditure in excess of twenty-five dollars shall
be
vouched for by a receipted bill, stating the purpose of the
expenditure, that shall be filed with the statement of
expenditures. A canceled check with a notation of the purpose of
the expenditure is a receipted bill for purposes of division
(D)(4) of this section.
(5) The secretary of state or the board of elections, as the
case may
be, shall issue a receipt for each statement filed under
this section and
shall preserve a copy of the receipt for a period
of at least six
years. All statements filed under this section
shall be
open to public inspection in
the office where they are
filed and shall be carefully preserved
for a period of at least
six years after the year in which they
are filed.
(6) The secretary of
state, by rule adopted pursuant to
section 3517.23 of the
Revised
Code, shall prescribe both of the
following:
(a) The
manner of
immediately acknowledging, with date and
time received, and
preserving the receipt of statements
that are
transmitted by
electronic means of transmission to the secretary
of
state
pursuant to this section or section 3517.106, 3517.1011,
3517.1012, or 3517.1013, or 3517.1014 of the
Revised
Code;
(b) The manner of
preserving the contribution and
expenditure, contribution and disbursement, deposit and
disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation and
disbursement information in the statements described in division
(D)(6)(a) of this section.
The secretary of state
shall
preserve
the contribution and expenditure, contribution and disbursement,
deposit and disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation
and disbursement information in those
statements for at least
ten
years after the year in which they are
filed by electronic means
of transmission.
(7) The secretary of state, pursuant to division
(I) of
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code, shall
make available online
to the public through the internet the contribution and
expenditure, contribution and disbursement, deposit and
disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation and
disbursement information in
all statements, all addenda,
amendments, or other corrections to statements,
and all amended
statements filed with the secretary of state by electronic or
other means of transmission under this section, division
(B)(2)(b)
or (C)(2)(b) of
section 3517.105, or section 3517.106, 3517.1011,
3517.1012, 3517.1013, 3517.1014, or 3517.11
of the Revised Code.
The secretary of state
may remove the
information from the
internet after a reasonable period of
time.
(E)(1) Any person, political party, campaign committee,
legislative campaign fund,
political action committee, or
political contributing entity
that makes a contribution in
connection with the nomination or election of any candidate or in
connection with any ballot issue or question at any election held
or to be held in this state shall provide its full name and
address to the recipient of the contribution at the time the
contribution is made. The political action committee also
shall
provide the registration number assigned to the committee under
division
(D)(1) of this section to the recipient of the
contribution at the time the
contribution is made.
(2) Any individual who makes a contribution that
exceeds one
hundred dollars to a political action committee, political
contributing entity, legislative campaign fund, or political party
or to a campaign committee of a statewide candidate
or candidate
for the office of member of the general assembly shall provide
the
name of the individual's current employer, if
any, or, if
the
individual is
self-employed, the individual's
occupation and the
name of the individual's business, if any, to
the recipient of the
contribution at the time the
contribution is
made. Sections
3599.39 and 3599.40 of the Revised
Code do not apply to division
(E)(2) of this section.
(3) If a campaign committee shows that it has exercised its
best efforts to
obtain, maintain, and submit the information
required under divisions
(B)(4)(b)(ii) and (iii) of this section,
that committee is considered to have
met the requirements of those
divisions. A campaign committee shall not be
considered to have
exercised its best efforts unless, in connection with written
solicitations,
it regularly includes a written request for the
information required under
division (B)(4)(b)(ii) of this section
from the contributor or the information
required under division
(B)(4)(b)(iii) of this section from whoever transmits
the
contribution.
(4) Any check that a political action committee uses to
make
a contribution or an expenditure shall contain the full name
and
address of the committee and the registration number assigned
to
the committee under division (D)(1) of this section.
(F) As used in this section:
(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (F)(1) of
this section, "address" means all of the
following if they exist:
apartment number, street, road, or
highway name and number, rural
delivery route number, city or
village, state, and zip code as
used in a person's
post-office address, but not post-office box.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in division (F)(1) of this
section, if an address is required in this section, a post-office
box and
office, room, or suite number may be included in addition
to, but
not in lieu of, an apartment, street, road, or highway
name and
number.
(c) If an
address is required in this section, a
campaign
committee, political action committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, or political contributing entity may use
the
business or residence address of its treasurer or deputy
treasurer. The post-office box number of the campaign committee,
political action committee, legislative campaign fund,
political
party, or political contributing entity may be used in
addition to
that address.
(d) For the sole purpose of a campaign committee's reporting
of contributions on a statement of contributions received under
division (B)(4) of this section, "address" has one of the
following meanings at the option of the campaign committee:
(i) The same meaning as in division (F)(1)(a) of this
section;
(ii) All of the following, if they exist: the contributor's
post-office box number and city or village, state, and zip code as
used in the contributor's post-office address.
(e) As used with regard to the reporting under this section
of any expenditure, "address" means all of the following if they
exist: apartment number, street, road, or highway name and number,
rural delivery route number, city or village, state, and zip code
as used in a person's post-office address, or post-office box. If
an address concerning any expenditure is required in this section,
a campaign committee, political action committee, legislative
campaign fund, political party, or political contributing entity
may use the business or residence address of its treasurer or
deputy treasurer or its post-office box number.
(2) "Statewide candidate" means the joint candidates for the
offices of governor and lieutenant governor or a candidate for the
office of
secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of
state, attorney general,
member of the state board of education,
chief justice of the supreme court, or
justice of the supreme
court.
(3) "Candidate for county office" means a candidate for the
office of county auditor, county treasurer, clerk of the court of
common pleas, judge of the court of common pleas, sheriff, county
recorder, county engineer, county commissioner, prosecuting
attorney, or coroner.
(G) An independent expenditure shall be reported
whenever
and
in the same manner that an expenditure is required to be
reported
under this section and shall be reported pursuant to
division
(B)(2)(a) or (C)(2)(a) of section 3517.105 of the Revised
Code.
(H)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(2)
of
this section, if, during the combined pre-election and
postelection
reporting periods
for an election, a campaign
committee has
received contributions of five
hundred dollars or
less and has
made expenditures in the total amount of five
hundred
dollars or
less, it may file a statement to that effect, under
penalty
of
election falsification, in lieu of the statement
required by
division
(A)(2) of this section. The statement shall
indicate the
total
amount of contributions received and the total
amount of
expenditures made
during those combined reporting
periods.
(2) In the case of a successful candidate at a primary
election, if either
the
total contributions received by or the
total expenditures made by the
candidate's campaign committee
during the preprimary, postprimary, pregeneral,
and postgeneral
election periods combined equal more than five hundred
dollars,
the campaign committee may file the statement under division
(H)(1)
of this section only for the primary election. The first
statement that the
campaign committee files in regard to the
general election shall reflect all
contributions received and all
expenditures made during the preprimary and
postprimary election
periods.
(3) Divisions (H)(1) and (2) of this section do not apply if
a
campaign committee receives contributions or makes expenditures
prior to the
first day of January of the year of the election at
which the
candidate seeks
nomination or election to office or if
the campaign committee does not file a
termination statement with
its postprimary election statement in the case of
an unsuccessful
primary election candidate or with its postgeneral election
statement in the case of other candidates.
(I) In the case of a contribution made by a partner of a
partnership or
an owner or a member of another unincorporated
business from any funds of the partnership or other unincorporated
business, all of the following apply:
(1) The recipient of the contribution shall report the
contribution by
listing both the partnership or other
unincorporated
business and the name of the
partner, owner, or
member making the
contribution.
(2) In reporting the contribution, the recipient of the
contribution shall be entitled to conclusively rely upon the
information provided by the partnership or other unincorporated
business, provided that the information includes one of the
following:
(a) The name of each partner, owner, or member as of the date
of the contribution or contributions, and a statement that the
total contributions are to be allocated equally among all of the
partners, owners, or members; or
(b) The name of each partner, owner, or member as of the date
of the contribution or contributions who is participating in the
contribution or contributions, and a statement that the
contribution or contributions are to be allocated to those
individuals in accordance with the information provided by the
partnership or other unincorporated business to the recipient of
the contribution.
(3) For purposes of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code,
the
contribution
shall be considered to have been made by the
partner,
owner, or member reported under
division (I)(1) of this section.
(4) No contribution from a partner of a partnership or an
owner or a member of another unincorporated
business shall be
accepted from any funds of the partnership or other unincorporated
business unless the recipient reports the
contribution under
division (I)(1)
of this section together with the information
provided under division (I)(2) of this section.
(5) No partnership or other unincorporated business shall
make a contribution or contributions solely in the name of the
partnership or other unincorporated business.
(6) As used in division (I) of this section, "partnership or
other unincorporated business" includes, but is not limited to, a
cooperative, a sole proprietorship, a general partnership, a
limited partnership, a limited partnership association, a limited
liability partnership, and a limited liability company.
(J) A candidate shall have only one campaign committee at
any
given time for all of the offices for which the person is a
candidate or holds office.
(K)(1) In addition to filing a designation of appointment
of
a treasurer under division
(D)(1) of this section, the campaign
committee of any candidate
for an elected municipal office that
pays an annual amount of
compensation of five thousand dollars or
less, the campaign
committee of any candidate for member of a
board of education
except member of the state board of education,
or the campaign
committee of any candidate for township trustee or
township
fiscal officer may sign, under penalty of election
falsification,
a
certificate attesting that the committee will not
accept
contributions during an election period that exceed in the
aggregate two thousand dollars from all contributors and one
hundred dollars from any one individual, and that the campaign
committee will not make expenditures during an election period
that exceed in the aggregate two thousand dollars.
The certificate shall be on a form prescribed by the
secretary of state and shall be filed not later than ten days
after the candidate files a declaration of candidacy and
petition,
a nominating petition, or a declaration of intent to
be a write-in
candidate.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in division (K)(3) of
this
section, a campaign committee that files a certificate
under
division (K)(1) of this section is not required to file the
statements
required by division (A) of this section.
(3) If, after filing a certificate under division (K)(1)
of
this section, a campaign committee exceeds any of the
limitations
described in that division during an election
period, the
certificate is void and thereafter the campaign
committee shall
file the statements required by
division (A) of this section. If
the
campaign committee has not previously
filed a statement, then
on
the first statement the campaign
committee is required to file
under division (A) of this section
after
the committee's
certificate is
void, the committee shall report all
contributions
received and
expenditures made from the time the
candidate filed
the
candidate's declaration of candidacy and
petition, nominating
petition, or declaration of intent to be a
write-in candidate.
(4) As used in division (K) of this section, "election
period" means the period of time beginning on the day a person
files a declaration of candidacy and petition, nominating
petition, or declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate
through the day of the election at which the person seeks
nomination to office if the person is not elected to office, or,
if the
candidate was nominated in a primary election,
the day of
the election at which the candidate seeks office.
(L) A political contributing entity that receives
contributions from the dues, membership fees, or other assessments
of its members or from its officers, shareholders, and employees
may report the aggregate amount of contributions received from
those contributors and the number of individuals making those
contributions, for each filing period under divisions (A)(1), (2),
(3), and (4) of this section, rather than reporting information as
required under division (B)(4) of this section, including, when
applicable, the name of the current employer, if any, of a
contributor whose contribution exceeds one hundred dollars or, if
such a contributor is self-employed, the contributor's occupation
and the name of the contributor's business, if any. Division
(B)(4) of this section applies to a political contributing entity
with regard to contributions it receives from all other
contributors.
Sec. 3517.106. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Statewide office" means any of the offices of
governor,
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of
state,
treasurer of state, attorney general, chief justice of
the supreme
court, and justice of the supreme court.
(2) "Addendum to a statement" includes an amendment or other
correction to
that statement.
(B)(1) The secretary of state
shall store on computer the
information contained in statements
of contributions and
expenditures and monthly statements required
to be filed under
section 3517.10 of the Revised
Code and in statements of
independent expenditures required to be filed
under section
3517.105 of the Revised Code
by any of the following:
(a) The campaign committees of candidates for statewide
office;
(b) The political action committees and political
contributing entities described in
division (A)(1) of section
3517.11 of the
Revised
Code;
(c) Legislative campaign funds;
(d) State political parties;
(e) Individuals, partnerships, corporations, labor
organizations, or other
entities that make
independent
expenditures in support of or opposition to a
statewide candidate
or a statewide ballot issue or
question;
(f) The campaign committees of candidates for the office of
member
of the
general assembly;
(g) County political parties, with respect to their state
candidate funds.
(2) The secretary of state shall store on computer the
information contained in disclosure of electioneering
communications statements required to be filed under section
3517.1011 of the Revised Code.
(3) The secretary of state shall store on computer the
information contained in deposit and disbursement statements
required to be filed with the office of the secretary of state
under section 3517.1012 of the Revised Code.
(4) The secretary of state shall store on computer the gift
and disbursement information contained in statements required to
be filed with the office of the secretary of state under section
3517.1013 of the Revised Code.
(5) The secretary of state shall store on computer the
information contained in donation and disbursement statements
required to be filed with the office of the secretary of state
under section 3517.1014 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) The secretary of state shall make
available to the
campaign committees, political action
committees, political
contributing entities, legislative
campaign funds, political
parties, individuals,
partnerships, corporations, labor
organizations, treasurers of transition funds, and other entities
described in division (B) of
this section, and to
members of the
news
media and other
interested persons, for a reasonable fee,
computer programs that
are compatible with the secretary of
state's
method of storing the
information contained in the
statements.
(2) The secretary of state shall make the information
required to be stored under division (B) of this section
available
on computer at the secretary of state's office so
that, to the
maximum extent feasible, individuals may obtain at
the secretary
of state's office any part or all of that information for
any
given year, subject to the limitation expressed in division
(D) of
this
section.
(D) The secretary of state shall keep the information
stored
on computer
under division (B) of this section for at least six
years.
(E)(1) Subject to division (L) of this section and subject to
the secretary of state having implemented,
tested, and verified
the successful operation of any system the
secretary of
state
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this
section and
divisions (C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section
3517.10
of
the Revised
Code for the filing of campaign finance statements by
electronic
means of
transmission,
the campaign
committee of each candidate
for statewide office may
file the
statements prescribed by section
3517.10 of the
Revised
Code by electronic means of
transmission
or, if the total amount
of the contributions received
or the total
amount of the
expenditures made by the campaign
committee for the
applicable
reporting period as specified in
division (A) of
section 3517.10
of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand
dollars,
shall file those
statements by electronic means of transmission.
Except as otherwise provided in this division,
within five
business days after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a
candidate for statewide office is received by the secretary of
state by
electronic or other means of transmission, the secretary
of state shall make
available online to the public
through the
internet, as provided in division (I) of this section,
the
contribution and expenditure information in that statement.
The
secretary
of state shall not make available online to the public
through the
internet any contribution or expenditure information
contained in a
statement for any candidate until the secretary of
state is able to make
available online to the public through the
internet the
contribution and expenditure information for all
candidates for a
particular office, or until the applicable filing
deadline for that statement has passed, whichever is sooner. As
soon as the secretary of
state has
available all of the
contribution and expenditure information for all candidates for a
particular office, or as soon as the applicable filing deadline
for a statement has passed, whichever is sooner, the secretary of
state shall
simultaneously make available online to the public
through the
internet the information for all candidates for that
office.
If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission
is
found to be incomplete or inaccurate after the
examination of the
statement for completeness and accuracy
pursuant to division
(B)(3)(a) of
section 3517.11 of the Revised
Code, the campaign
committee
shall file by electronic means of transmission any
addendum to the statement
that provides the
information necessary
to complete or correct the statement
or, if required by the
secretary of state under that division, an amended
statement.
Within five business days after the secretary of state
receives from a
campaign committee of a candidate for statewide
office an addendum to the
statement or an amended statement by
electronic or other means of transmission
under this division
or
division (B)(3)(a)
of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the
secretary of state shall make the contribution
and expenditure
information
in the addendum or amended statement available online
to the public
through the internet as provided in division (I) of
this section.
(2) Subject
to the
secretary of state having implemented,
tested, and verified
the successful
operation of any system the
secretary of state
prescribes pursuant to division
(H)(1) of this
section and
divisions (C)(6)(b)
and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of
the Revised
Code for the filing
of campaign finance statements by
electronic
means of transmission,
a
political
action committee and
a political contributing entity described in
division
(B)(1)(b) of
this section,
a legislative campaign fund, and
a state political
party may file
the statements prescribed by
section 3517.10 of the
Revised
Code by electronic means of
transmission or, if the total
amount of the contributions received or the total amount of the
expenditures made by the political action committee, political
contributing entity, legislative campaign fund, or state political
party for the applicable reporting period as specified in division
(A) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand
dollars, shall file those statements by electronic means of
transmission.
Within five business days after
a statement filed by a
political action committee or a political contributing entity
described in division
(B)(1)(b) of this section, a legislative
campaign fund, or a state
political party is received by the
secretary of state by electronic or other
means of transmission,
the secretary of state shall make available online to
the public
through the internet, as provided in division (I) of this section,
the contribution and expenditure information in that statement.
If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the examination of the
statement
for completeness and accuracy pursuant to division
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the political
action
committee, political contributing entity, legislative
campaign
fund, or state political party shall file by electronic
means of transmission
any addendum to the
statement that provides
the information necessary to complete or
correct the statement or,
if required by the secretary of state under that
division, an
amended statement.
Within five business days after the secretary of state
receives from a
political action committee or a political
contributing entity described in division (B)(1)(b) of this
section,
a
legislative campaign fund, or a state political party
an
addendum to the statement or an amended statement by electronic
or
other means
of transmission under this
division or division
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of
state shall make the contribution and expenditure information in
the addendum
or amended statement
available online to the public
through the internet as provided in division (I) of this section.
(3) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented,
tested, and
verified the successful operation of any system the
secretary of state
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1) of this
section and divisions
(C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of
the Revised Code
for the filing of campaign finance statements by
electronic means of
transmission,
a county political party
shall
file the
statements prescribed by section 3517.10 of the
Revised
Code with respect to its state candidate fund by
electronic means
of
transmission to the office of the secretary of state.
Within five business days after a statement filed by a
county
political party with respect to its state candidate fund is
received by the
secretary of state by electronic
means of
transmission,
the secretary of state shall make available online
to
the public
through the internet, as provided in division (I) of
this section,
the contribution and expenditure information in
that
statement.
If a statement
is
found to be incomplete or inaccurate after
the
examination of the
statement for completeness and accuracy
pursuant to division
(B)(3)(a) of
section 3517.11 of the Revised
Code, a county political party shall file by electronic
means of
transmission
any addendum to the
statement that provides
the
information necessary to complete or
correct the statement or,
if
required by the secretary of state under that
division, an
amended
statement.
Within five business days after the secretary of state
receives from a
county political party an
addendum to the
statement or an amended statement by electronic means
of
transmission under this
division or division
(B)(3)(a) of section
3517.11 of the Revised Code, the secretary of
state
shall make the
contribution and expenditure information in
the addendum or
amended statement available
online to the public
through the
internet as provided in division (I) of this section.
(F)(1) Subject to division (L) of this section and
subject to
the secretary of
state having implemented, tested, and
verified
the successful operation of any
system the secretary of
state
prescribes pursuant to division (H)(1)
of this section and
divisions (C)(6)(b) and
(D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the Revised
Code for the filing of campaign
finance statements by electronic
means of transmission,
a campaign committee of a
candidate for the
office of member
of the general assembly or a campaign committee
of a candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals may
file the statements prescribed by
section 3517.10 of the
Revised
Code in accordance with division (A)(2) of section 3517.11 of the
Revised Code or by electronic means of
transmission to the office
of the secretary of state or, if the total amount of the
contributions received by the campaign committee for the
applicable reporting period as specified in division (A) of
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code exceeds ten thousand dollars,
shall file those statements by electronic means of transmission to
the office of the secretary of state.
Except as otherwise provided in this division, within five
business days
after a statement filed by a campaign committee of a
candidate for the office
of member of the general assembly or a
campaign committee of a candidate for the office of judge of a
court of appeals is
received by the secretary of state by
electronic or other means of
transmission,
the secretary of state
shall make available online
to the public
through the internet, as
provided in division (I) of
this section,
the contribution and
expenditure information in
that
statement. The secretary
of state
shall not make available online
to the public through the
internet
any contribution or expenditure
information contained in a
statement for any candidate until the
secretary of state is able
to make
available online to the public
through the internet the
contribution and expenditure information
for all candidates for a
particular office, or until the applicable filing deadline for
that statement has passed, whichever is sooner. As soon as the
secretary of state has
available all of the contribution and
expenditure information for all candidates for a particular
office, or as soon as the applicable filing deadline for a
statement has passed, whichever is sooner, the
secretary of state
shall
simultaneously make available online to
the public through
the
internet the information for all candidates
for that
office.
If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission
is
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the
examination of the
statement
for completeness and accuracy
pursuant to division
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the campaign
committee
shall file by electronic means of
transmission to the
office of the secretary
of state
any addendum to the statement
that provides the
information
necessary to complete or correct the
statement or, if required by
the secretary of state under that
division, an amended statement.
Within five business days after the secretary of state
receives from a
campaign committee of a candidate
for the office
of member of the general assembly or a campaign committee of a
candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals an
addendum to the
statement or
an amended statement by electronic or
other means of transmission
under this division
or division
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised Code, the
secretary of
state shall
make the
contribution and expenditure information in
the addendum or
amended
statement available online to
the public
through the
internet as provided in division (I) of this
section.
(2) If a statement,
addendum, or amended statement is not
filed by electronic means of
transmission to the office of the
secretary of state but
is filed by printed version
only under
division (A)(2) of section 3517.11 of the Revised Code with the
appropriate board of elections, the campaign committee of a
candidate for the office of member of the general assembly or a
campaign committee of a candidate for the office of judge of a
court of appeals shall
file two copies of the printed
version of
the statement, addendum,
or amended statement with the
board of
elections. The
board of elections shall send
one of those copies
by certified mail to the secretary
of
state before the close of
business on the day the board of
elections receives the statement,
addendum, or amended statement.
(G) Subject to the secretary of state having implemented,
tested, and
verified the
successful operation of any system the
secretary of
state prescribes pursuant
to division (H)(1) of this
section and
divisions
(C)(6)(b) and (D)(6) of section 3517.10 of
the Revised
Code
for the filing of campaign finance statements by
electronic
means of
transmission,
any
individual, partnership, or
other entity that makes independent
expenditures in support of or
opposition to a statewide candidate
or a statewide ballot issue or
question as provided in division
(B)(2)(b) or
(C)(2)(b) of section
3517.105 of the Revised Code may
file the statement
specified in
that division by electronic means
of transmission or, if the total
amount of independent expenditures made during the reporting
period under that division exceeds ten thousand dollars, shall
file the statement specified in that division by electronic means
of transmission.
Within five business days
after a statement filed by an
individual, partnership, or other entity is
received by the
secretary of state by electronic or other means of
transmission,
the secretary of state shall make
available
online to the public
through the internet, as provided in division
(I) of this section,
the expenditure
information in that statement.
If a statement filed by electronic means of transmission is
found to be
incomplete or inaccurate after the
examination of the
statement for completeness and accuracy
pursuant to division
(B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the Revised
Code, the individual,
partnership, or other entity shall file by electronic means of
transmission any addendum to the statement that provides the
information necessary to complete or correct the statement or, if
required by the secretary of state under that division, an amended
statement.
Within five business days after the secretary of state
receives from an
individual, partnership, or other entity
described in division
(B)(2)(b) or
(C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105
of
the Revised Code an addendum to the statement or an
amended
statement by electronic or other means of transmission under this
division or division (B)(3)(a) of section 3517.11 of
the
Revised
Code, the secretary of
state shall make the expenditure
information in the addendum or amended
statement
available online
to the public through the internet as provided in
division (I) of
this section.
(H)(1) The secretary of
state, by rule adopted pursuant to
section 3517.23 of the
Revised
Code, shall prescribe one or
more
techniques by which a person who executes
and transmits by
electronic means a statement of contributions
and expenditures, a
statement of independent expenditures, a disclosure of
electioneering communications statement, a deposit and
disbursement statement, or a gift and disbursement statement, or a
donation and disbursement statement, an
addendum to any of those
statements, an amended statement of
contributions and
expenditures,
an amended statement of
independent expenditures,
an amended disclosure of electioneering
communications statement,
an amended deposit and disbursement
statement, or an amended gift
and disbursement statement, or an amended donation and
disbursement statement, under
this
section or section
3517.10,
3517.105, 3517.1011, 3517.1012,
or 3517.1013, or 3517.1014 of the
Revised
Code shall
electronically sign
the
statement, addendum,
or amended statement.
Any technique
prescribed by
the secretary
of state pursuant to
this division
shall create an electronic
signature that satisfies
all of the
following:
(a) It is unique to the signer.
(b) It objectively identifies the signer.
(c) It involves the use of a signature device or other means
or
method that is under the sole control of the signer and that
cannot be readily
duplicated or compromised.
(d) It is created and linked to the electronic record to
which it
relates in a manner that, if the record or signature is
intentionally or
unintentionally changed after
signing, the
electronic signature is invalidated.
(2) An electronic signature prescribed by the secretary of
state under
division
(H)(1) of this section shall be
attached to
or associated with the statement of contributions
and
expenditures, the statement of independent expenditures,
the
disclosure of electioneering communications statement, the deposit
and disbursement statement, or the gift and disbursement
statement, or the donation and disbursement statement, the
addendum to any of those statements, the amended
statement of
contributions
and expenditures, the amended statement
of
independent expenditures, the amended disclosure of
electioneering communications statement, the amended deposit and
disbursement statement, or the amended gift and disbursement
statement, or the amended donation and disbursement statement
that
is executed and
transmitted by
electronic means by
the person to
whom the
electronic signature is
attributed. The
electronic
signature
that is attached to or
associated with the
statement,
addendum, or amended
statement
under this division
shall be
binding on all persons and for all
purposes under the
campaign
finance reporting law as if the
signature had
been
handwritten in
ink on a printed form.
(I) The secretary of state shall make the contribution and
expenditure, the contribution and disbursement, the deposit and
disbursement, or the gift and disbursement, or the donation and
disbursement information in all
statements, all addenda to the
statements, and
all amended
statements that are filed with the
secretary of state by
electronic or other means of transmission
under this section or
section
3517.10, 3517.105, 3517.1011,
3517.1012, 3517.1013, 3517.1014, or
3517.11 of the
Revised Code
available
online to the public by any
means that are
searchable,
viewable, and
accessible through the
internet.
(J)(1) As used in this division,
"library" means a library
that is open to the public and that is
one of the following:
(a) A library that is maintained and regulated under section
715.13 of the Revised Code;
(b) A library that is created, maintained, and regulated
under
Chapter 3375. of the Revised Code.
(2) The secretary of state shall notify all libraries of the
location on the internet at which the contribution and
expenditure, contribution and disbursement, deposit and
disbursement, or gift and disbursement, or donation and
disbursement information
in
campaign
finance statements required
to be made
available online to the
public
through the internet
pursuant to
division (I) of this
section may
be accessed.
If that location is part of
the world wide web and if the
secretary of state
has notified a library of that world wide web
location as required by this division, the library shall include a
link to that world wide web location on each internet-connected
computer it maintains that is accessible to the public.
(3) If the system the secretary of state prescribes for the
filing of campaign finance statements by electronic means of
transmission
pursuant
to division (H)(1) of this section and
divisions (C)(6)(b) and
(D)(6) of section 3517.10 of the
Revised
Code includes filing those statements
through the internet via the
world
wide web, the
secretary of state shall notify all libraries
of the
world wide
web location at which those statements may be
filed.
If those statements may be
filed
through the internet via the
world wide web and if the
secretary of state
has notified a
library of that world wide web
location as required
by this
division, the library shall include a
link to that world
wide web
location on each internet-connected
computer it maintains
that is
accessible to the public.
(K) It is an affirmative defense to a complaint or charge
brought against any campaign committee, political action
committee, political contributing entity,
legislative campaign
fund, or political party,
any individual, partnership, or other
entity, or any person making disbursements to pay the direct costs
of producing or airing electioneering communications, or any
treasurer of a transition fund,
for the
failure to file by
electronic
means of transmission a
campaign
finance
statement as
required by this section or section
3517.10,
3517.105, 3517.1011,
3517.1012, or 3517.1013, or 3517.1014 of the Revised Code
that
all of the
following
apply to the campaign committee,
political
action committee, political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or political party,
the individual,
partnership,
or other entity, or the person making disbursements
to pay the
direct costs of producing or airing electioneering
communications, or the treasurer of a transition fund that failed
to so
file:
(1) The campaign committee, political action committee,
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the
treasurer of a transition fund attempted to
file by electronic
means of
transmission the required
statement
prior to the deadline
set forth in the applicable section.
(2) The campaign committee, political action committee,
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the
treasurer of a transition fund was unable to
file by electronic
means of
transmission due to an
expected or
unexpected shutdown of
the whole or part of the electronic
campaign finance
statement-filing system, such as for maintenance
or because
of
hardware, software, or network connection failure.
(3) The campaign committee, political action committee,
political contributing entity,
legislative
campaign fund, or
political party, the individual,
partnership, or other entity, or
the person making disbursements to pay the direct costs of
producing or airing electioneering communications, or the
treasurer of a transition fund filed by
electronic means of
transmission the required statement within a
reasonable period of
time after
being unable to so file it under
the circumstance
described in division
(K)(2) of this section.
(L)(1) The secretary of state shall adopt rules pursuant to
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to permit a campaign committee of
a candidate for statewide office that makes expenditures of less
than twenty-five thousand dollars during the filing period or a
campaign committee for the office of member of the general
assembly or the office of judge of a court of appeals that would
otherwise be required to file campaign finance statements by
electronic means of transmission under division (E) or (F) of this
section to file those statements by paper with the office of the
secretary of state. Those rules shall provide for all of the
following:
(a) An eligible campaign committee that wishes to file a
campaign finance statement by paper instead of by electronic means
of transmission shall file the statement on paper with the office
of the secretary of state not sooner than twenty-four hours after
the end of the filing period set forth in section 3517.10 of the
Revised Code that is covered by the applicable statement.
(b) The statement shall be accompanied by a fee, the amount
of which the secretary of state shall determine by rule. The
amount of the fee established under this division shall not exceed
the data entry and data verification costs the secretary of state
will incur to convert the information on the statement to an
electronic format as required under division (I) of this section.
(c) The secretary of state shall arrange for the information
in campaign finance statements filed pursuant to division (L) of
this section to be made available online to the public through the
internet in the same manner, and at the same times, as information
is made available under divisions (E), (F), and (I) of this
section for candidates whose campaign committees file those
statements by electronic means of transmission.
(d) The candidate of an eligible campaign committee that
intends to file a campaign finance statement pursuant to division
(L) of this section shall file a notice indicating that the
candidate's campaign committee intends to so file and stating that
filing the statement by electronic means of transmission would
constitute a hardship for the candidate or for the eligible
campaign committee.
(e) An eligible campaign committee that files a campaign
finance statement on paper pursuant to division (L) of this
section shall review the contribution and information made
available online by the secretary of state with respect to that
paper filing and shall notify the secretary of state of any errors
with respect to that filing that appear in the data made available
on that web site.
(f) If an eligible campaign committee whose candidate has
filed a notice in accordance with rules adopted under division
(L)(1)(d) of this section subsequently fails to file that
statement on paper by the applicable deadline established in rules
adopted under division (L)(1)(a) of this section, penalties for
the late filing of the campaign finance statement shall apply to
that campaign committee for each day after that paper filing
deadline, as if the campaign committee had filed the statement
after the applicable deadline set forth in division (A) of section
3517.10 of the Revised Code.
(2) The process for permitting campaign committees that would
otherwise be required to file campaign finance statements by
electronic means of transmission to file those statements on paper
with the office of the secretary of state that is required to be
developed under division (L)(1) of this section shall be in effect
and available for use by eligible campaign committees for all
campaign finance statements that are required to be filed on or
after June 30, 2005. Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised
Code to the contrary, if the process the secretary of state is
required to develop under division (L)(1) of this section is not
in effect and available for use on and after June 30, 2005, all
penalties for the failure of campaign committees to file campaign
finance statements by electronic means of transmission shall be
suspended until such time as that process is in effect and
available for use.
(3) Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code to the
contrary, any eligible campaign committee that files campaign
finance statements on paper with the office of the secretary of
state pursuant to division (L)(1) of this section shall be deemed
to have filed those campaign finance statements by electronic
means of transmission to the office of the secretary of state.
Sec. 3517.1014. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Donation" means a gift, subscription, loan, advance, or
deposit of money, or anything of value that is specifically
designated and used to defray any costs incurred for transition
activities and inaugural celebrations and that is not used for the
purpose of directly influencing the election of any candidate for
any office.
(2) "Costs incurred for transition activities and inaugural
celebrations" means legitimate and verifiable costs that are
incurred for ordinary and necessary activities associated with
either of the following:
(a) The transfer of power or authority from one state
officeholder to another following a general or special election or
appointment to office;
(b) Ceremonies, events, or activities commemorating the
commencement of a term or the commencement of an unexpired term of
a state officeholder.
(3) "State officeholder" means a person who has been elected
or appointed to a state office.
(4) "State office" means the joint offices of governor
and
lieutenant governor or the office of secretary of state,
auditor
of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, member of the
general assembly, or chief justice or justice of the supreme
court.
(B)(1) A state officeholder may establish a transition fund
to receive donations and to pay costs incurred for transition
activities and inaugural celebrations. The state officeholder
shall file a statement with the secretary of state establishing
the fund and designating a treasurer for the fund. The secretary
of state shall specify, by rule, the form of the statement.
(2) A state officeholder may establish a transition fund:
(a) After the unofficial results of the election at which the
person seeks election to state office have been announced, if
the
number of ballots outstanding for that election are
insufficient
to change the unofficial election results;
(b) After the canvass of the election returns has been
completed for the election at which the person seeks election to
state office, if the number of ballots outstanding for that
election after the unofficial results of the election were
announced were sufficient to potentially change the unofficial
election results; or
(c) After the person has been appointed to fill a vacancy in
an unexpired term of a state office.
(C)(1)(a) Any person, including a for-profit or nonprofit
corporation, may
make a donation to a transition fund.
(b) No person shall make a donation or donations to any one
transition fund aggregating more than twenty-five thousand
dollars.
(2) No state officeholder shall accept a donation unless both
of the following apply:
(a) The state officeholder has established a transition fund
under division (B) of this section; and
(b) The donation is deposited to the credit of that fund.
(3) No state officeholder or treasurer of a transition fund
shall accept a donation or donations from any one person
aggregating more than twenty-five thousand dollars.
(D)(1) The treasurer of a transition fund shall keep a strict
account of all donations to the fund and all disbursements from
the fund.
(2) The treasurer of a transition fund shall file, by
electronic means of transmission to the office of the secretary of
state, a full, true, and itemized statement describing each
donation received and each disbursement made from the fund not
later than four p.m. of the following dates:
(a) The sixty-fifth day after the transition fund is created,
to reflect donations received and disbursements made from the
creation of the transition fund to the close of business on the
fifth day before the statement is required to be filed;
(b) The one hundred twenty-fifth day after the transition
fund is created, to reflect donations received and disbursements
made from the close of business on the last day reflected in the
last previously filed statement to the close of business on the
fifth day before the statement is required to be
filed.
(3) Each statement required under division (D)(2) of this
section shall contain the following information:
(a) The full name and address of the treasurer filing the
statement and the full name and address of the state officeholder
who is the beneficiary of the transition fund;
(b) A statement of donations received, which
shall include
all of the following:
(i) The month, day, and year on which each donation was
received;
(ii) The full name and address of each donor;
(iii) The nature of each donation, if other than money;
(iv) The value of each donation in dollars and cents.
(c) A statement of disbursements, which shall
include all of
the following:
(i) The name and address of each recipient of the
disbursement;
(ii) The date of each disbursement;
(iii) The amount of each disbursement;
(iv) The purpose for which each disbursement was made.
(d) The balance remaining in the fund.
(E)(1) No treasurer of a transition fund shall knowingly fail
to file a statement required to be filed under this section.
(2) No treasurer of a transition fund shall knowingly fail to
report, or shall knowingly misrepresent, a donation required to be
reported on a statement required to be filed under this section.
(3) No treasurer of a transition fund shall knowingly fail to
report, or shall knowingly misrepresent, a disbursement required
to be reported on a statement required to be filed under this
section.
(F) Upon request, the secretary of state shall issue a
receipt for each statement filed under this section. The secretary
of state shall maintain a record of the filing for at least ten
years. All statements filed under this section shall be open to
public inspection in the office in which they are filed.
(G)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(1) of
this section, no treasurer of a transition fund shall make a
disbursement from the fund for a purpose other than to pay costs
incurred for transition activities and inaugural celebrations.
(2) No treasurer of a transition fund shall make a
disbursement from the fund to make a contribution to a campaign
committee, political action committee, legislative campaign fund,
political party, or political contributing entity.
(3) No treasurer of a transition fund shall make a
disbursement from the fund to reimburse any personal expenses of
the beneficiary of the transition fund, except to reimburse the
beneficiary of the transition fund for costs incurred for
transition activities and inaugural celebrations.
(H)(1) After the payment of all costs incurred for transition
activities and inaugural celebrations, the treasurer of the
transition fund shall dispose of any assets remaining in the
transition fund not later than the one hundred twentieth day after
the fund is created by doing any of the following:
(a) Giving the amount to the treasurer of state for deposit
into the state treasury to the credit of the Ohio elections
commission fund created by division (I) of section 3517.152 of the
Revised Code;
(b) Giving the amount to individuals who made donations to
that transition fund as a refund of all or part of their
donations;
(c) Giving the amount to a corporation that is exempt from
federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and described in
subsection 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) Not later than one hundred twenty-five days after the day
the transition fund is created, the treasurer of the transition
fund
shall file a final statement of donations and disbursements
under
division (D) of this section that includes the
disbursements made
under division (H)(1) of this section. Upon
the filing of that
statement, the transition fund shall cease to
exist.
Sec. 3517.11. (A)(1) Campaign committees of candidates
for
statewide office or the state board of education, political
action
committees or political contributing entities that make
contributions to campaign committees
of candidates that are
required to file the statements prescribed by section
3517.10 of
the Revised Code with the secretary of state,
political action
committees or political contributing entities that
make
contributions to campaign
committees of candidates for member of
the general assembly,
political action committees or political
contributing entities that
make contributions to state and
national political parties and to legislative campaign
funds,
political action committees or political contributing entities
that
receive contributions or make expenditures in connection with
a
statewide ballot issue, political action committees or political
contributing entities that make
contributions to other political
action committees or political contributing entities, political
parties, and campaign committees, except as set forth in division
(A)(3) of this section, legislative campaign funds,
and state and
national political parties
shall file the statements prescribed by
section 3517.10 of the
Revised Code with the secretary of state.
(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (F)
of
section
3517.106
of the Revised Code, campaign committees of
candidates
for all other
offices shall file the statements
prescribed by
section 3517.10
of the Revised Code with the board
of elections
where their
candidates are required to file their
petitions or
other papers
for nomination or election.
(b) A campaign committee of a candidate for office of member
of
the
general assembly or a campaign committee of a candidate for
the office of judge of a court of appeals shall file two copies of
the printed version
of
any statement, addendum, or amended
statement if the committee
does not file pursuant to division
(F)(1) or (L) of section 3517.106 of the
Revised Code but files by
printed version only with
the
appropriate board of elections. The
board of elections shall send
one of
those copies by certified
mail to the secretary
of state
before
the close of business on
the day the board of
elections
receives
the statement, addendum,
or amended statement.
(3) Political action committees or political contributing
entities
that only contribute to a
county political party,
contribute to campaign committees of
candidates whose nomination
or election is to be submitted only
to electors within a county,
subdivision, or district, excluding
candidates for member of the
general assembly, and receive
contributions or make expenditures
in connection with ballot
questions or issues to be submitted only
to electors within a
county, subdivision, or district shall file
the statements
prescribed by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code
with the board
of elections in that county or in the county
contained in whole
or part within the subdivision or district
having a population
greater than that of any other county
contained in whole or part
within that subdivision or district, as
the case may be.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(3) of
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code with respect to state
candidate funds, county political parties shall file the
statements
prescribed by section 3517.10 of the Revised Code with
the board
of elections of their respective counties.
(B)(1) The official with whom petitions and other papers for
nomination or election to public office are filed shall furnish
each candidate at the time of that filing a copy of
sections
3517.01, 3517.08 to 3517.11,
3517.13 to 3517.993, 3599.03,
and
3599.031 of the Revised Code and any other materials that the
secretary of
state may require. Each candidate receiving the
materials shall acknowledge
their receipt in writing.
(2) On or before the tenth day before the dates on which
statements are required to be filed by section 3517.10 of the
Revised Code, every candidate subject to the provisions of this
section and sections 3517.10 and
3517.106 of the Revised
Code
shall be notified
of the requirements and applicable penalties of
those sections.
The secretary of state, by certified mail, return
receipt
requested, shall
notify all candidates required to file
those statements with the secretary of state's office. The
board
of elections of every
county shall notify by first class mail any
candidate who has
personally appeared at the office of the board
on or before the
tenth day before the statements are required to
be
filed and signed a form,
to be provided by the secretary of
state, attesting that the
candidate has been notified of the
candidate's obligations
under the campaign
finance law. The board
shall forward the completed form to
the
secretary of state. The
board shall use certified mail,
return receipt requested, to
notify all other candidates required
to file those statements with
it.
(3)(a) Any statement required to be filed under sections
3517.081
to 3517.17 of the Revised Code that is found
to be
incomplete or inaccurate by the officer to whom it is submitted
shall be
accepted on a conditional basis, and the person who filed
it
shall be notified by certified mail as to the incomplete or
inaccurate nature of the statement. The secretary of state
may
examine statements filed for candidates for the office of
member
of the general assembly and candidates for the office of judge of
a court of appeals for completeness and accuracy.
The secretary of
state shall examine
for
completeness and accuracy statements that
campaign committees
of candidates for the office
of member of the
general assembly and campaign committees of candidates for the
office of judge of a court of appeals
file
pursuant to division
(F) or (L)
of section 3517.106
of the Revised Code. If
an officer
at the
board of elections where a statement filed for a candidate
for the
office of member of the general
assembly or for a
candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals was
submitted finds the
statement to be incomplete or
inaccurate, the
officer shall
immediately notify the
secretary of state of
its
incomplete or
inaccurate nature. If either an officer at the
board
of elections
or the secretary of state finds a statement filed for
a
candidate
for the office of member of the general
assembly or
for a candidate for the office of judge of a court of appeals to
be incomplete
or inaccurate, only the
secretary of state shall
send the
notification as to the incomplete or
inaccurate nature of
the
statement.
Within twenty-one
days
after
receipt of the notice, in the
case of a
pre-election statement, a
postelection
statement, a
monthly statement, an annual statement, or a semiannual statement
prescribed
by section 3517.10, an annual statement
prescribed by
section
3517.101, or a statement
prescribed by
division (B)(2)(b)
or
(C)(2)(b) of section 3517.105 or
section 3517.107 of the
Revised
Code,
the recipient shall file an addendum, amendment, or
other
correction to the statement providing
the information
necessary to
complete or correct the statement.
The secretary of
state may
require that, in lieu of filing
an addendum, amendment,
or other
correction to a statement that
is filed by electronic
means of
transmission to the office of
the secretary of state
pursuant to
section 3517.106 of the
Revised Code, the recipient of
the
notice
described in this division file by electronic means of
transmission an amended statement that incorporates
the
information necessary
to complete or correct the statement.
The secretary of state shall determine by rule when an
addendum,
amendment, or other correction to any of the following
or when an amended statement of any of the following shall be
filed:
(i) A
two-business-day statement
prescribed by section
3517.10 of
the Revised Code;
(ii) A disclosure of electioneering communications statement
prescribed by division (D) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised
Code;
(iii) A deposit and disbursement statement prescribed under
division (B) of section 3517.1012 of the Revised Code;
(iv) A gift and disbursement statement prescribed under
section 3517.1013 of the Revised Code;
(v) A donation and disbursement statement prescribed under
section 3517.1014 of the Revised Code.
An addendum,
amendment, or other
correction to a statement
that is filed by
electronic means of transmission pursuant to
section 3517.106 of the Revised Code shall be filed in the same
manner as the
statement.
The provisions of sections 3517.10,
3517.106, 3517.1011,
3517.1012, and 3517.1013, and 3517.1014 of the Revised Code
pertaining to
the
filing of
statements of contributions and
expenditures, statements
of
independent expenditures, disclosure
of electioneering
communications statements, deposit and
disbursement statements,
and gift and disbursement statements,
and donation and disbursement statements by electronic means of
transmission apply to the filing of addenda, amendments, or other
corrections to those
statements by electronic means of
transmission and
the
filing of amended statements by electronic
means of
transmission.
(b) Within five business days after the secretary
of state
receives, by electronic or other means of transmission, an
addendum,
amendment, or other correction to a statement or an
amended statement under
division (B)(3)(a) of this section, the
secretary of
state, pursuant to divisions (E), (F), (G), and
(I)
of section 3517.106 or division (D) of section 3517.1011 of the
Revised Code, shall make the
contribution and
expenditure,
contribution and disbursement, deposit and disbursement, or gift
and disbursement, or donation and disbursement information in that
addendum,
amendment,
correction, or amended statement available
online to
the
public
through the internet.
(4)(a) The secretary of state or
the board of elections
shall
examine all statements for compliance with sections 3517.08
to
3517.17 of the Revised Code.
(b) The secretary of state may contract with an individual
or
entity not associated with the
secretary of state and
experienced
in interpreting the campaign finance
law of this state
to conduct
examinations of statements filed
by
any statewide
candidate, as
defined in section
3517.103 of the
Revised Code.
(c) The examination shall be conducted
by a person or entity
qualified to conduct it. The results of the
examination
shall be
available to the public, and, when the examination is
conducted by
an individual or entity not associated with the secretary of
state, the
results of the examination shall be reported to the
secretary of state.
(C)(1) In the event of a failure to file or a late filing
of
a statement required to be filed under sections 3517.081 to
3517.17 of the Revised Code, or if a filed statement or any
addendum, amendment, or other correction to a statement or any
amended statement, if an addendum, amendment, or other correction
or an amended statement is required to be
filed,
is incomplete or
inaccurate or appears to disclose a failure to
comply with or a
violation of law, the official whose duty
it is
to examine the
statement shall promptly file a complaint
with the
Ohio elections
commission
under section 3517.153 of the Revised
Code if the law
is one over which the
commission has
jurisdiction
to hear
complaints, or the official
shall promptly report the
failure or
violation to the board of elections and the board shall
promptly
report it to the prosecuting attorney in accordance with
division
(J)
of section 3501.11 of the Revised Code. If the
official
files
a complaint with the
commission, the commission
shall proceed in
accordance with sections 3517.154
to 3517.157 of
the Revised Code.
(2) For purposes of division (C)(1) of this section, a
statement
or an addendum, amendment, or other correction to a
statement or an amended statement required to be
filed under
sections 3517.081 to 3517.17 of the
Revised
Code is incomplete or
inaccurate under this section if the statement, addendum,
amendment, other correction, or amended statement fails
to
disclose substantially all contributions or, gifts, or donations
that are
received
or deposits that are made that are required to
be
reported under
sections
3517.10, 3517.107, 3517.108,
3517.1011,
3517.1012, and 3517.1013, and 3517.1014 of the
Revised
Code or if the
statement,
addendum, amendment, other correction,
or amended statement fails
to disclose at least ninety per cent
of the total
contributions or,
gifts, or donations received or
deposits made or of the total expenditures
or
disbursements made
during
the reporting period.
(D) No certificate of nomination or election shall be
issued
to a person, and no person elected to an office
shall enter upon
the performance of the duties of
that office, until that person or
that
person's campaign
committee, as
appropriate, has fully
complied with this section
and sections
3517.08, 3517.081,
3517.10, and 3517.13 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3517.153. (A) Upon the filing of a
complaint with the
Ohio elections commission, which shall
be made by affidavit of any
person, on personal knowledge, and
subject to the penalties for
perjury, or upon the filing of a
complaint made by the secretary
of state or an official at the
board of elections, setting forth a
failure to comply with or
a violation of any provision in sections
3517.08 to 3517.13, 3517.17, 3517.18,
3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03,
or 3599.031 of the Revised
Code, the commission shall proceed in
accordance with
sections 3517.154 to 3517.157 of the Revised
Code.
(B) The commission shall prescribe the
form for complaints
made under division (A) of this
section. The secretary of state
and boards of elections shall
furnish the information that the
commission requests. The
commission or a member of the commission
may administer oaths,
and the commission may issue subpoenas to
any person in the state
compelling the attendance of witnesses and
the production of
relevant papers, books, accounts, and reports.
Section 101.42 of
the Revised Code governs the issuance of
subpoenas insofar as applicable. Upon the refusal of any person to
obey a subpoena or to be sworn or to answer as a witness, the
commission may apply to the court of common pleas of
Franklin
county under section 2705.03 of the
Revised Code. The court shall
hold proceedings
in accordance with Chapter 2705. of the Revised
Code.
(C) No prosecution shall commence for a
violation of a
provision in sections 3517.08 to 3517.13, 3517.17, 3517.18,
3517.20 to 3517.22, 3599.03, or 3599.031 of the Revised
Code
unless a complaint has been filed with the
commission under this
section and all proceedings of the
commission or a panel of the
commission, as appropriate, under
sections 3517.154 to 3517.157 of
the Revised Code
are completed.
(D) The commission may recommend legislation
and render
advisory opinions concerning sections 3517.08,
3517.082, 3517.092,
3517.102, 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.1014,
3517.13, 3517.18, 3517.20
to
3517.22, 3599.03, and
3599.031 of the Revised Code for persons
over
whose acts it has or may have jurisdiction. When the
commission
renders an advisory opinion relating to a specific set
of
circumstances involving any of those sections stating that
there
is no violation of a provision in those sections, the person
to whom the
opinion
is directed or a person who is similarly
situated may
reasonably rely on the opinion and is immune from
criminal
prosecution and a civil action, including, without
limitation,
a civil action for removal from public office or
employment, based
on facts and circumstances covered by the
opinion.
(E) The commission shall establish a web site on which it
shall post, at a minimum, all decisions and advisory opinions
issued by the commission and copies of each election law as it is
amended by the general assembly. The commission shall update the
web site regularly to reflect any changes to those decisions and
advisory opinions and any new decisions and advisory opinions.
Sec. 3517.154. (A)(1) The full-time attorney
for the Ohio
elections commission shall review each
complaint filed with the
commission under section 3517.153 of the
Revised Code, shall
determine the nature of the
complaint, and, unless division
(A)(2)(a)
of this section requires that the complaint receive an
automatic
expedited hearing, shall make a recommendation to the
commission for
its disposition, in accordance with this section.
The attorney
shall make the determination and the recommendation,
if required,
not later than one business day after the complaint
is filed.
(2)(a) If the attorney determines that the
complaint sets
forth a violation of division (B) of
section 3517.21 or division
(B) of section 3517.22 of the Revised Code and that the
complaint
is filed during one of the periods of time specified in division
(B)(1) of section 3517.156 of the Revised Code, or that the
complaint sets
forth a violation of section 3517.103 of the
Revised Code or a violation
described in division (D) of section
3517.1010 of the
Revised Code, the complaint shall receive an
automatic expedited hearing under section 3517.156 of the
Revised
Code.
(b) If the attorney determines that the
complaint sets forth
a failure to comply with or a violation
of division (G), (I), (J),
(O),
(P), or (Q) of section 3517.13, division
(A) of section
3517.21, or division (A) of
section 3517.22 of the Revised Code
and that the complaint is filed during
one of the periods of time
specified in division (B)(1) of section
3517.156 of the Revised
Code, the attorney shall
recommend to the commission that the
complaint receive an
expedited hearing under section 3517.156 of
the Revised
Code, and the complaint shall receive such a hearing.
(c) If the attorney determines that the
complaint sets forth
a failure to comply with or a violation
of a section of the
Revised Code over which the commission has jurisdiction to
hear
complaints other than the sections described in divisions
(A)(2)(a) and (b) of this section,
and unless the attorney makes a
determination as provided for in division
(A)(3) of this section,
the attorney shall recommend to the
commission that the complaint
be submitted to the commission
under section 3517.155 of the
Revised Code.
After the attorney makes that recommendation, the
attorney shall notify
all parties to the complaint of the
attorney's recommendation.
(3)(a) If a complaint sets forth a failure to
comply with or
a violation of a section of the Revised Code over which the
commission has jurisdiction to hear complaints other than the
sections described in divisions (A)(2)(a) and
(b) of this section
and if the complaint is filed during one of the periods
of time
specified in division (B)(1) of section 3517.156 of the Revised
Code,
the attorney may determine that
the complaint should receive
an
expedited hearing under that section. The attorney shall make
that
determination by
considering one or more of the following:
(i) The number of prior failures to comply with
or violations
of Title XXXV of the Revised Code that the person or entity
against whom the
complaint has been brought has committed and any
prior penalties
the commission has imposed on the person or
entity;
(ii) If the complaint involves a statement
required to be
filed under section 3517.10, division (E) of section
3517.102, or
section 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.107, 3517.108, 3517.109,
3517.1011, or 3517.1012, or 3517.1014 of
the Revised
Code or an
addendum required to be filed under section
3517.11 of the Revised
Code that is filed late,
how late the filing is and how much time
has elapsed between the
deadline for filing the statement or
addendum and the filing of
the complaint;
(iii) If the complaint involves contributions
and
expenditures, contributions and disbursements, deposits and
disbursements, or gifts and disbursements, or donations and
disbursements required to be reported under section 3517.10,
division
(E) of section 3517.102, or section 3517.105, 3517.107,
3517.108,
3517.109, 3517.1011, 3517.1012, or 3517.1013, or
3517.1014 of
the Revised Code that are either not reported or
reported late, the number of contributions and expenditures,
contributions and disbursements, deposits and disbursements, or
gifts and disbursements, or donations and disbursements not
reported or how late they were reported;
(iv) If the complaint involves contributions
required to be
reported by a campaign committee under section
3517.10, division
(E) of section 3517.102, or section 3517.105,
3517.107, 3517.108,
or 3517.109 of the Revised Code that are
not
reported, whether any
of the contributors of the contributions
not reported have a
personal or professional relationship with
the campaign
committee's candidate;
(v) If the complaint involves a statement
required to be
filed under section 3517.10, division (E) of section
3517.102, or
section 3517.103, 3517.105, 3517.107, 3517.108, 3517.109,
3517.1011, 3517.1012, or 3517.1013, or 3517.1014 of
the Revised
Code that is incomplete, the degree to which it is
incomplete;
(vi) If the complaint involves the receipt of
contributions
in violation of section 3599.03 of the
Revised Code, the dollar
amount and number of
contributions received in violation of that
section;
(vii) If the complaint involves a failure to
make the
identification or a misstatement of the identification
required
under section 3517.105 or 3517.20 of the Revised
Code, whether the
failure or misstatement was purposely made;
(viii) If the complaint sets forth a failure to comply
with
or a violation of a section of the Revised Code described in
division
(A)(2)(c) of this section, whether the person or
entity
against whom the complaint has been made has committed more than
one
such failure or violation within a reasonable amount of time,
or whether the
cumulative nature
of the failures or violations
indicates a systematic disregard
for the law.
(b) Prior to making a determination under division
(A)(3)(a)
of this section that the
complaint should receive an
expedited
hearing under section 3517.156
of the Revised Code, the attorney
shall take into
consideration the number of
panels of the
commission that have cases pending before them
and the number of
cases pending before the panels and shall not
make a determination
that will place an undue burden on a
panel of the commission.
(c) If the attorney
determines that the
complaint should
receive an expedited hearing
under section 3517.156 of the Revised
Code,
the attorney shall recommend to the commission that the
complaint receive
an expedited hearing, and, if a majority of the
members of the commission
agrees with the recommendation, the
complaint shall receive an expedited
hearing under that section.
(4) The attorney may join two or more complaints if the
attorney
determines that the allegations in each complaint are of
the same
or similar character, are based on the same act or
failure to
act, or are based on two or more acts or failures to
act
constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. If one
complaint
contains two or more allegations, the attorney may
separate the
allegations if they are not of the same or similar
character,
if they are not based on the same act or failure to
act, or if
they are not based on two or more acts or failures to
act
constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. If the attorney
separates the allegations in a complaint, the attorney may make
separate
recommendations under division (A)(2) or (3) of this
section for each allegation.
(B) Whenever a person or other entity files a
complaint with
the commission setting forth a failure to comply
with or a
violation of a section of the Revised Code as described in
division
(A)(2)(c) of this section and the complaint is filed
during one of the
periods of time specified in division (B)(1) of
section 3517.156
of the Revised Code, the person or
entity may
request an expedited hearing under that section at the time
the
complaint is
filed. The attorney for the commission shall inform
the members
of the commission of that request at the time the
attorney makes a
recommendation under division (A) of this
section. The
commission may grant the request for an expedited
hearing under this division
if it
determines that an expedited
hearing is practicable.
Sec. 3517.992. This section establishes penalties only with
respect to
acts
or failures to act that occur on and after August
24,
1995.
(A)(1) A candidate whose campaign committee
violates
division
(A), (B), (C),
(D), or (V) of section 3517.13 of the
Revised Code,
or
a
treasurer of a campaign committee
who violates
any of those
divisions, shall be fined not more than one hundred
dollars for
each day of violation.
(2) Whoever violates division (E) or (X)(5) of section
3517.13 or division (E)(1) of section 3517.1014 of the
Revised
Code shall be fined not
more than one hundred dollars for
each day
of violation.
(B) A political party that violates division
(F)(1) of
section 3517.101 of the Revised
Code shall be fined not more than
one hundred dollars for
each day of violation.
(C) Whoever violates division (F)(2) of
section 3517.101 or,
division (G) of section 3517.13, or division (E)(2) or (3) of
section 3517.1014 of
the Revised Code shall be fined
not more than
ten
thousand dollars or, if the offender is a person
who was
nominated or elected
to public
office, shall forfeit the
nomination or the office to which the offender was
elected, or
both.
(D) Whoever violates division (F) of
section 3517.13 of the
Revised Code shall be
fined not more than three times the amount
contributed.
(E) Whoever violates division (H) of
section 3517.13 of the
Revised Code shall be
fined not more than one hundred dollars.
(F) Whoever violates division (O),
(P), or (Q) of section
3517.13 of the
Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the
first degree.
(G) A state or county committee of a
political party that
violates division (B)(1) of section
3517.18 of the Revised Code
shall be fined not
more than twice the amount of the improper
expenditure.
(H) A state or county political party that
violates division
(G) of section 3517.101 of the
Revised Code shall be fined not
more than twice
the amount of the improper expenditure or use.
(I)(1) Any individual who violates division
(B)(1) of
section
3517.102 of the Revised
Code and knows that the
contribution the
individual
makes violates that division
shall be
fined an amount
equal to three times the
amount contributed in
excess of the
amount permitted by that
division.
(2) Any political action committee that violates
division
(B)(2) of section 3517.102 of the
Revised Code shall be fined an
amount equal to
three times the amount contributed in excess of
the amount
permitted by that division.
(3) Any campaign committee that violates division
(B)(3) or
(5) of section 3517.102 of the
Revised Code
shall be fined an
amount equal to three times the amount
contributed in excess
of
the amount permitted by that division.
(4)(a) Any legislative campaign fund that violates division
(B)(6) of section 3517.102 of the
Revised Code shall
be fined an
amount equal to three times the amount transferred or
contributed
in excess of the amount permitted by
that division, as applicable.
(b) Any state political party, county political party, or
state
candidate fund of a state political party or county
political party that
violates division (B)(6) of section 3517.102
of the Revised
Code shall be fined an amount equal to three times
the amount
transferred or contributed in excess of the amount
permitted by that
division, as applicable.
(c) Any political contributing entity that violates division
(B)(7) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be fined an
amount equal to three times the amount contributed in excess of
the amount permitted by that division.
(5) Any political party that violates division (B)(4) of
section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be fined an
amount
equal to three times the amount contributed in excess of the
amount
permitted by that division.
(6) Notwithstanding divisions (I)(1), (2), (3),
(4), and (5)
of this section, no violation of
division (B) of section 3517.102
of the
Revised Code occurs, and the secretary of state shall not
refer parties to the Ohio elections commission, if the
amount
transferred or contributed in excess of the
amount permitted by
that division meets either of the following
conditions:
(a) It is completely refunded within five business days
after
it
is accepted.
(b) It is completely refunded on
or before the tenth
business
day after notification to
the recipient of the excess
transfer or
contribution by the board of
elections or the
secretary of state
that a transfer or contribution in
excess of
the
permitted amount
has been received.
(J)(1) Any campaign committee that violates division
(C)(1),
(2), (3), or (6) of section 3517.102 of the Revised
Code shall be
fined an amount equal to three times the amount
accepted in excess
of the amount permitted by that division.
(2)(a) Any county political party that violates
division
(C)(4)(a)(ii) or (iii) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code
shall be
fined an amount equal to three times
the amount accepted.
(b) Any county political party that violates division
(C)(4)(a)(i) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be
fined an amount from its state candidate fund equal to three times
the amount accepted in excess of
the amount permitted by that
division.
(c) Any state political party that violates division
(C)(4)(b) of section 3517.102 of the Revised Code shall be fined
an amount from its state candidate fund equal to three times the
amount accepted in excess of the amount permitted by that
division.
(3) Any legislative campaign fund that violates
division
(C)(5) of section 3517.102 of the
Revised Code shall be fined an
amount equal to
three times the amount accepted in excess of the
amount permitted
by that division.
(4) Any political action committee or political contributing
entity
that
violates division (C)(7)
of
section
3517.102 of the
Revised Code shall be fined an amount equal
to three
times the
amount accepted in excess of the amount permitted by that
division.
(5) Notwithstanding divisions (J)(1), (2), (3), and (4) of
this section, no violation of division
(C) of section 3517.102 of
the Revised Code occurs,
and the secretary of state shall not
refer parties to the Ohio
elections commission, if the amount
transferred or contributed
in excess of the amount permitted to be
accepted by that
division
meets either of the following
conditions:
(a) It is completely refunded within five business days
after
its acceptance.
(b) It is completely refunded on or before the tenth
business
day after
notification to the recipient of the excess
transfer or
contribution by
the
board of elections or the
secretary of
state
that a transfer or contribution in excess of
the permitted amount
has been received.
(K)(1) Any legislative campaign fund that
violates
division
(F)(1) of section 3517.102 of the Revised
Code shall be fined
twenty-five dollars for each day of violation.
(2) Any legislative campaign fund
that violates division
(F)(2) of section 3517.102 of the
Revised Code shall give to the
treasurer of state
for deposit into the state treasury to the
credit of the Ohio
elections commission fund all excess
contributions not disposed of as required
by division (E) of
section 3517.102 of the
Revised Code.
(L) Whoever violates section 3517.105 of the Revised
Code
shall be fined one
thousand dollars.
(M)(1) Whoever solicits a contribution in violation of
section
3517.092 or violates division (B) of section 3517.09 of
the
Revised Code is
guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) Whoever knowingly accepts a contribution in violation of
division
(B) or
(C) of section 3517.092 of the Revised Code shall
be fined an amount equal to
three times the amount accepted in
violation of either of those divisions and
shall return to the
contributor any
amount so accepted. Whoever unknowingly
accepts a
contribution in violation of division (B) or (C)
of section
3517.092
of the Revised Code shall return to the contributor any
amount so accepted.
(N) Whoever violates division (S) of
section 3517.13 of the
Revised Code shall be
fined an amount equal to three times the
amount of funds
transferred or three times the value of the assets
transferred in
violation of that division.
(O) Any campaign committee that accepts a contribution or
contributions in
violation of section 3517.108 of the Revised
Code, uses a
contribution in
violation of that section, or fails
to dispose of excess contributions in
violation of that section
shall be fined an amount equal to three times the
amount accepted,
used, or kept in violation of that section.
(P) Any political party, state candidate fund, legislative
candidate
fund, or
campaign committee that violates
division (T)
of section 3517.13 of
the
Revised Code shall be fined
an amount
equal to three times
the amount
contributed or accepted
in
violation of that section.
(Q) A treasurer of a committee or another
person who
violates
division (U) of section 3517.13 of
the Revised Code shall
be fined
not more than two
hundred fifty dollars.
(R) Whoever violates division (I) or
(J) of section 3517.13
of the Revised
Code shall be fined not more than one thousand
dollars. Whenever a person is found guilty of violating
division
(I) or (J) of section 3517.13 of the
Revised Code, the contract
awarded in violation
of either of those divisions shall be
rescinded if its terms have
not yet been performed.
(S) A candidate whose campaign committee
violates or a
treasurer of a campaign committee who violates
section 3517.081 of
the Revised Code,
and a candidate whose campaign committee
violates or a treasurer
of a campaign committee or another
person
who violates division
(C) of section 3517.10 of
the Revised Code,
shall be fined not
more than
five hundred dollars.
(T) A candidate whose campaign committee
violates or a
treasurer of a committee who
violates division (B) of section
3517.09 of the Revised Code, or a candidate
whose campaign
committee
violates or a treasurer of a campaign committee or
another person who violates division
(C) of section 3517.09 of
the
Revised Code
shall be fined not more than one thousand
dollars.
(U) Whoever violates section 3517.20 of the
Revised Code
shall be fined not more than five
hundred dollars.
(V) Whoever violates section 3517.21 or 3517.22
of the
Revised Code shall be imprisoned for not
more than six months or
fined not more than five thousand
dollars, or both.
(W) A campaign committee that is
required to file a
declaration of no limits under division
(D)(2)
of section 3517.103
of the
Revised Code that, before filing that
declaration, accepts
a contribution or contributions that exceed
the limitations
prescribed in section 3517.102 of the
Revised Code, shall return
that
contribution or those contributions to the contributor.
(X) Any campaign committee that fails to file the
declaration
of
filing-day finances required by division (F) of
section
3517.109 or
the declaration of primary-day finances or
declaration
of year-end finances
required by division (E) of
section 3517.1010
of the Revised
Code shall be fined twenty-five
dollars for each
day of
violation.
(Y)(1) Any campaign committee that fails to dispose of excess
funds
or excess aggregate contributions under division (B) of
section
3517.109 of the Revised Code in the manner required by
division (C) of that section
or under division (B) of section
3517.1010 of the Revised Code in the manner
required by division
(C) of that section shall give to the treasurer
of state for
deposit into the Ohio elections commission fund created under
division (I) of section 3517.152 of the
Revised Code
all
funds not
disposed of pursuant to those divisions.
(2) Any treasurer of a transition fund that fails to dispose
of assets remaining in the transition fund as required under
division (H)(1) of section 3517.1014 of the Revised Code shall
give to the treasurer of state for deposit into the Ohio elections
commission fund all assets not disposed of pursuant to that
division.
(Z) Any individual, campaign committee, political action
committee, political contributing entity, legislative campaign
fund, political
party, treasurer of a transition fund, or other
entity that
violates any provision
of sections 3517.09 to 3517.12
of the Revised
Code for which no
penalty is provided for under any
other division of
this section
shall be fined not more than one
thousand
dollars.
(AA)(1) Whoever knowingly violates division (W)(1) of
section
3517.13 of the Revised Code shall be fined an amount equal
to
three times the amount contributed, expended, or promised in
violation of that
division or ten thousand dollars, whichever
amount is
greater.
(2) Whoever knowingly violates division (W)(2) of section
3517.13
of the Revised Code shall be fined an amount equal to
three
times the amount solicited or accepted in violation of that
division or ten
thousand dollars, whichever amount is greater.
(BB) Whoever knowingly violates division (C) or (D) of
section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than
ten thousand dollars plus not more than one thousand dollars for
each day of violation.
(CC)(1) Subject to division (CC)(2) of this section, whoever
violates division (H) of section 3517.1011 of the Revised Code
shall be fined an amount up to three times the amount disbursed
for the direct costs of airing the communication made in violation
of that division.
(2) Whoever has been ordered by the Ohio elections commission
or by a court of competent jurisdiction to cease making
communications in violation of division (H) of section 3517.1011
of the Revised Code who again violates that division shall be
fined an amount equal to three times the amount disbursed for the
direct costs of airing the communication made in violation of that
division.
(DD)(1) Any corporation or labor organization that violates
division (X)(3)(a) of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code shall be
fined an amount equal to three times the amount given in excess of
the amount permitted by that division.
(2) Any state or county political party that violates
division (X)(3)(b) of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code shall be
fined an amount equal to three times the amount accepted in excess
of the amount permitted by that division.
(EE)(1) Any person who violates division (C)(1)(b) of section
3517.1014 of the Revised Code shall be fined an amount equal to
three times the amount donated in excess of the amount permitted
by that division.
(2) Any state officeholder or treasurer of a transition fund
who violates division (C)(3) of section 3517.1014 of the Revised
Code shall be fined an amount equal to three times the amount
accepted in excess of the amount permitted by that division.
As used in this division, "state officeholder" has the same
meaning as in section 3517.1014 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3599.03. (A)(1) Except to carry on activities specified
in sections 3517.082 and 3517.1011, division (A)(2) of section
3517.1012, division (B) of section 3517.1013, division (C)(1) of
section 3517.1014, and section 3599.031 of the Revised Code and
except
as provided in divisions (D), (E), and
(F) of this section,
no
corporation, no nonprofit
corporation, and no labor
organization, directly or
indirectly, shall pay or use, or offer,
advise, consent,
or agree to pay or
use, the corporation's money
or property, or the
labor organization's
money, including dues,
initiation fees, or other assessments paid
by members,
or
property, for or in aid of or
opposition to a political party, a
candidate for election or
nomination to public office, a political
action committee including a political action committee of the
corporation or labor organization, a
legislative campaign fund, or
any
organization that supports or opposes any such candidate, or
for
any partisan political purpose, shall violate any law
requiring the
filing of an affidavit or statement respecting such
use of
those funds, or shall pay or use the corporation's
or labor
organization's money
for the expenses of
a social fund-raising
event for its political action committee if
an employee's or labor
organization member's
right
to attend such an event is
predicated
on the employee's or member's contribution to the
corporation's
or
labor organization's political action committee.
(2) Whoever violates division (A)(1) of this section shall be
fined not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand
dollars.
(B)(1) No officer, stockholder, attorney, or agent of a
corporation or nonprofit
corporation, no member, including an
officer, attorney, or agent, of a labor
organization, and no
candidate, political party official, or other individual
shall
knowingly aid, advise, solicit, or receive money or other property
in
violation of division (A)(1) of this section.
(2) Whoever violates division (B)(1) of this section shall be
fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more
than one year, or both.
(C) A corporation, a
nonprofit
corporation, or a labor
organization may
use its funds or property for or in aid of or
opposition to a
proposed or certified ballot issue. Such use of
funds or
property shall be reported on a form prescribed by the
secretary
of state. Reports of contributions in connection with
statewide
ballot issues shall be filed with the secretary of
state.
Reports of contributions in connection with local issues
shall be
filed with the board of elections of the most populous
county of
the district in which the issue is submitted or to be
submitted
to the electors. Reports made pursuant to this division
shall be
filed by the times specified in divisions (A)(1) and (2)
of
section 3517.10 of the Revised Code.
(D)(1) Any gift made pursuant to section 3517.101 of the
Revised Code does not constitute a violation of this section or
of
any other section of the Revised Code.
(2) Any gift made pursuant to division (A)(2) of section
3517.1012 of the Revised Code does not constitute a violation of
this section.
(3) Any gift made pursuant to division (B) of section
3517.1013 of the Revised Code does not constitute a violation of
this section.
(4) Any donation made pursuant to division (C)(1) of section
3517.1014 of the Revised Code does not constitute a violation of
this section.
(E) Any compensation or fees paid by a financial
institution
to a state political party for services rendered
pursuant to
division (B) of section 3517.19 of the Revised Code
do not
constitute a violation of this section or of any other
section of
the Revised Code.
(F)(1) The use by a nonprofit corporation of its money or
property for
communicating information for a purpose specified in
division (A) of this
section is not a violation of that division
if the stockholders, members,
donors, trustees, or officers of the
nonprofit corporation are the predominant
recipients of the
communication.
(2) The placement of a campaign sign on the property of a
corporation, nonprofit corporation, or labor organization is not a
use of property in violation of division (A) of this section by
that corporation, nonprofit corporation, or labor organization.
(3) The use by a corporation or labor organization of its
money or property for communicating information for a purpose
specified in division (A) of this section is not a violation of
that division if it is not a communication made by mass broadcast
such as radio or television or made by advertising in a newspaper
of general circulation but is a communication sent exclusively to
members, employees, officers, or trustees of that labor
organization or shareholders, employees, officers, or directors of
that corporation or to members of the immediate families of any
such individuals or if the communication intended to be so sent
exclusively is unintentionally sent as well to a de minimis number
of other individuals.
(G) In addition to the laws listed in division (A) of
section
4117.10 of the Revised Code that prevail over
conflicting
agreements between employee organizations and public employers,
this section prevails over any conflicting provisions of
agreements between
labor organizations and public employers that
are entered into on or after the effective date of this section
March 31, 2005, pursuant to
Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code.
(H) As used in this section, "labor organization" has the
same
meaning as in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 3517.01, 3517.10,
3517.106, 3517.11, 3517.153, 3517.154, 3517.992, and 3599.03 of
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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