SB483 HFAT Akers 4-10

Casto 3264

Delegate Akers moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:

“A Bill to amend and reenact §3-8-7 and §3-1-50 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to increasing the civil penalties for failure to file required campaign finance reports, or filing grossly incomplete or grossly inaccurate campaign finance reports, from $10 per day to a maximum of $500 for the first violation, and $1,000 per report for each subsequent violation; requiring notice to be provided to any political committees violating the filing requirements prior to assessing any civil fines; providing that any candidate, who has not collected or spent any funds during the reporting period, shall receive only a written warning in the event that the candidate fails to meet the reporting deadline in any quarter for which they are delinquent; giving the Secretary of State authority to grant additional time for compliance not to exceed an additional 14 days; authorizing the Secretary of State to negotiate and enter into settlement agreements for payment of the civil penalty, including entering into an installment payment plan; requiring the Secretary of State to refer any civil penalties that remain outstanding for a period greater than 30 days to a debt collection agency or similar other responsible agent for collection; providing procedures to be followed in election law complaints related to financial statements and other violations of the law; delineating form of complaint; requiring complainant be notified in writing of the nature of the deficiency or deficiencies and inform the complainant that the complaint must be corrected within 10 days of the notice or the complaint will be dismissed without prejudice; providing if the Secretary of State determines that allegations establish a violation of any provision applicable Code or the Help America Vote Act, the Secretary of State shall provide a confidential report to the State Election Commission; delineating content of report; providing that the State Election Commission shall determine whether to adopt the Secretary of State's recommendation to initiate an investigation or refer the complaint to the appropriate authority; providing that the Secretary of State may consolidate complaints filed under this section or modify an investigation, upon discovery of sufficient facts or evidence that suggest modification would lead to an efficient resolution of the matter; requiring that upon determination that a complaint should be investigated, that the Secretary of State shall provide the respondent with notice and with certain information; providing guidelines for conduct of an informal and a formal investigation; requiring a findings and recommendations report to the State Election Commission; providing guidance for conduct of State Election Commission where probable cause does or does not exist; providing that the Attorney General may provide legal and investigative assistance to the Secretary of State and the State Election Commission; and, providing that a prosecuting authority may, upon determining that a violation has occurred, present the alleged violations to the grand jury.”

Adopted

Rejected