ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 638
(By Senators Hunter, Weeks and Foster)
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[Introduced March 21, 2005; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §3-8-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to permitting the Secretary of
State or county clerk to publish the names of any candidate,
financial agent or treasurer of a political party committee
who fails to file a sworn, itemized financial statement within
the time limitations specified or anyone who willfully files
a grossly incomplete or grossly inaccurate financial
statement; and providing for a sixty-day period prior to
notice be given for failure to file or gross filing to the
county prosecutor.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §3-8-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. REGULATION AND CONTROL OF ELECTIONS.
§3-8-7. Failure to file statement; delinquent or incomplete
filing; criminal and civil penalties.
(a) Any candidate, financial agent or treasurer of a political
party committee who fails to file a sworn, itemized statement
within the time limitations specified in this article or who
willfully files a grossly incomplete or grossly inaccurate
statement shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars or
imprisoned in
the county jail for not more than one year, or both,
in the discretion of the court.
Forty days after a primary or
other election, the Secretary of State, or county clerk, or
municipal recorder, as the case may be, shall publish as a Class I
legal advertisement the names of any candidate, financial agent or
treasurer of a political party committee who has failed to file a
sworn, itemized statement as required by this article. Forty Sixty
days after
any such a primary or other election, the Secretary of
State, or county clerk, or municipal recorder, as the case may be,
shall give notice of any failure to file
such a sworn statement or
the filing of any grossly incomplete or grossly inaccurate
statement by any candidate, financial agent or treasurer of a
political party committee and forward copies of any grossly
incomplete or grossly inaccurate statement to the prosecuting
attorney of the county where such candidate, agent or treasurer
resides.
(b) (1) Any candidate, financial agent or treasurer of a
political party committee who fails to file a sworn, itemized
statement as provided in this article or who files a grossly
incomplete or grossly inaccurate statement may be assessed a civil
penalty by the Secretary of State of twenty-five dollars a day for
each day after the due date the statement is delinquent, grossly
incomplete or grossly inaccurate.
Forty Sixty days after
any such
a primary or other election the county clerk shall give notice to
the Secretary of State of any failure to file such sworn statement
or the filing of any grossly incomplete or grossly inaccurate
statement by any candidate, financial agent or treasurer of a
political party committee and forward copies of such delinquent,
incomplete or inaccurate statements to the Secretary of State.
(2) A civil penalty assessed pursuant to the provisions of
this section shall be payable to the State of West Virginia and is
collectable in any manner authorized by law for the collection of
debts.
(3) The Secretary of State may negotiate and enter into
settlement agreements for the payment of civil penalties assessed
as a result of the filing of a delinquent, grossly incomplete or
inaccurate statement.
(4) The Secretary of State and county clerk may review and
audit any sworn statement required to be filed pursuant to the
provisions of this article. The State Election Commission shall propose legislative rule for promulgation, in accordance with the
provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to establish
procedures for the assessment of civil penalties as provided in
this section.
(c) No candidate nominated at a primary election who has
failed to file a sworn statement, as required by the provisions of
this article, shall have his
or her name placed on the official
ballot for the ensuing election, unless there has been filed by or
on behalf of
such the candidate, or by his
or her financial agent,
if any, the financial statement relating to nominations required by
this article. It is unlawful to issue a commission or certificate
of election, or to administer the oath of office, to any person
elected to any public office who has failed to file a sworn
statement as required by the provisions of this article and no such
person may enter upon the duties of his
or her office until he
or
she has filed such statement, nor may he
or she receive any salary
or emolument for any period prior to the filing of such statement.
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