Senate Bill No. 312

(By Senators Nohe, Boley, Leonhardt, Palumbo and D. Hall)

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[Introduced January 26, 2015; 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 disqualification of nominees for general election due to failure to file campaign finance statements.

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 $500 or confined in jail for not more than one year, or both fined and confined. in the discretion of the court 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 $25 a day for each day after the due date the statement is delinquent, grossly incomplete or grossly inaccurate. 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 this section shall be payable to the State of West Virginia and is collectable as 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 this article. The State Election Commission shall propose legislative rules for promulgation, in accordance with 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 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 candidate, or by his or her financial agent, if any, the financial statement relating to nominations required by this article. (1) Any candidate, whether nominated by primary election or appointed by executive committee or executive committee chair, who has failed to file any sworn statement as required by this article, relating to the immediately preceding primary election for any office by the eighty-fourth day before the general election, is disqualified and may not have his or her name appear on the general election ballot. The provisions of subsection (d), section five-b of this article notwithstanding, any sworn statement filed after the deadline required by section five of this article must be received in the office indicated by subsection (a), section five-b of this article by the close of business on the eighty-fourth day before the general election.

            (2) 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 any sworn statement as required by 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 the statement.

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            (NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to set a deadline by which candidates or their financial agents must file financial statements in order to avoid being disqualified as a nominee for the general election.

            Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law. Underlines indicate language that is new.)