Senate Bill No. 494
(By Senators Hunter and Kessler)
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[Introduced February 7, 2007; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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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 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 person, candidate, financial agent or treasurer of a
political party committee who fails to file a sworn, itemized
statement required by this article within the time limitations
specified in this article or who willfully files a grossly
incomplete or grossly inaccurate statement shall be is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than five hundred dollars or imprisoned in 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 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 a sworn statement or the filing of any grossly
incomplete or grossly inaccurate statement by any person,
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 the person, candidate, financial agent, or treasurer resides,
is located or has its principal place of business.
(b) (1) Any person, candidate, financial agent or treasurer of
a political party committee who fails to file a sworn, itemized
statement as required 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
primary or other election, the county clerk shall give notice to
the Secretary of State of any failure to file a sworn statement or
the filing of any grossly incomplete or grossly inaccurate
statement by any person, 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 rules 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
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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide the Secretary of
State the authority to publish the names of any candidate,
financial agent or treasurer of a political party committee who
fails to file campaign finance reports in a timely manner.
Strike-throughs indicate language which would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language which
would be added.