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Virginia > Title 24.2 Elections > Campaign Finance Disclosure Act Of 2006 Article 2. State Board and Local Electoral Board Responsibilities

§ 24.2-946.3 Reporting of certain violations; penalties

Overview of Statute

This section provides for the reporting of violations of the provisions of this chapter. It also provides for civil penalties.

Statute

A. It shall be the duty of the State Board to report any violation of the provisions of this chapter to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth. The State Board shall report to the attorney for the Commonwealth of the City of Richmond in the case of reporting requirements for campaign committees for statewide office and to the attorney for the Commonwealth of the county or city of the residence of a candidate for the General Assembly. For political committees, the State Board shall report the violation to the attorney for the Commonwealth of the City of Richmond. If all the officers of a political committee are residents of one county or city as shown on the statement of organization required by this chapter, the State Board shall report violations for that political committee to the attorney for the Commonwealth of that county or city.

B. It shall be the duty of the general registrar of a county or city to report any violation of the provisions of this chapter relating to the filing of campaign finance reports required to be filed with the general registrar to the attorney for the Commonwealth for the county or city in which the general registrar has jurisdiction.

C. In order to fulfill the duty to report violations pursuant to subsections A and B, the Board shall establish and implement a system for receiving, cataloging, and reviewing reports filed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and for verifying that reports are complete and submitted on time. As part of the system referred to in this subsection, the general registrar for each county and city shall be required, in accordance with instructions provided by the Board, to receive, catalog, and review the reports filed with the general registrar and to verify that the reports are complete and submitted on time.

D. The State Board, and the general registrar in accordance with the instructions of the State Board, (i) shall assess and collect the civil penalties provided in Article 8 (§ 24.2-953 et seq.) and (ii) if unable to collect the penalty, shall report the violation to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth for enforcement.

E. The State Board, or the general registrar in accordance with the instructions of the State Board, shall notify, no later than 21 days after the report due date, any person submitting an incomplete report of the need for additional information. The State Board, or the general registrar in accordance with the instructions of the State Board, may request additional information to correct obvious mathematical errors and to fulfill the requirements for information on the reports.

F. Upon notice of a violation of this chapter, the State Board or the general registrar shall within 90 days of the report deadline notify the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth, who shall initiate civil proceedings to enforce the civil penalties assessed by the State Board or the general registrar as provided herein. Any civil penalties collected pursuant to action by the State Board shall be payable to the State Treasurer for deposit to the general fund, and any civil penalties collected pursuant to action by a general registrar shall be payable to the treasurer of the locality for deposit to its general fund.

G. In the case of any political committee that is required to file a statement of organization pursuant to this chapter, the State Board shall be authorized to waive a penalty that has been assessed if the filer demonstrates that there exists good cause to waive the penalty.

H. The State Board shall notify the public through its official Internet website of any violation based on the failure to file a required report by a candidate for statewide office or the General Assembly and the identity of the violator.

I. The State Board shall determine the schedule of civil penalties required to be followed by its staff and general registrars in assessing penalties under this chapter. No election official or staff may waive or reduce such penalties, except as provided in § 24.2-946.4.

1975, c. 515, § 24.1-262; 1979, c. 370, § 24.1-263; 1990, c. 976; 1991, c. 709; 1993, cc. 393, 641, §§ 24.2-928, 24.2-929; 1994, cc. 752, 903; 1995, c. 785; 1996, cc. 395, 405; 1998, c. 153; 2000, cc. 511, 555; 2001, cc. 620, 635, 648; 2002, c. 468; 2004, cc. 457, 480; 2005, cc. 9, 371, 676, 745; 2006, cc. 787, 892; 2015, cc. 644, 645.

Annotation: 07/18/2019 5:29 pm

The applicable statute of limitations for a prosecution of any violation of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act (Chapter 9.3) can be found in the Code of Virginia 19.2-8, which provides that a prosecution shall commence “within one year of the discovery of the offense but in no case more than three years after the date of the commission of the offense.”

Definition [State Board]

The State Board of Elections.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Statewide office]

The office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General.

See § 24.2-945.1.

Definition [General Registrar]

The person appointed by the electoral board of a county or city pursuant to § 24.2-110 to be responsible for all aspects of voter registration, in addition to other duties prescribed by this title. When performing duties related to the administration of elections, the general registrar is acting in his capacity as the director of elections for the locality in which he serves.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Campaign committee]

The committee designated by a candidate to receive all contributions and make all expenditures for him or on his behalf in connection with his nomination or election.

See § 24.2-945.1.

Definition [Political committee]

Any political action committee, political party committee, referendum committee, or inaugural committee. The term shall not include: (i) a federal political action committee or out-of-state political committee; (ii) a campaign committee; (iii) a political party committee exempted pursuant to § 24.2-950.1; or (iv) a person who receives no contributions from any source and whose only expenditures are made solely from his own funds and are either contributions made by him which are reportable by the recipient pursuant to this chapter or independent expenditures which are reportable by him to the extent required by § 24.2-945.2, or a combination of such reportable contributions and independent expenditures.

For the purpose of applying the filing and reporting requirements of this chapter, the term “political committee” shall not include an organization holding tax-exempt status under § 501(c) (3), 501(c) (4), or 501(c) (6) of the United States Internal Revenue Code which, in providing information to voters, does not advocate or endorse the election or defeat of a particular candidate, group of candidates, or the candidates of a particular political party.

See § 24.2-945.1.

Definition [Board]

The State Board of Elections.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [State]

A state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

See § 24.2-452.

Definition [Person]

Any individual or corporation, partnership, business, labor organization, membership organization, association, cooperative, or other like entity.

For the purpose of applying the filing and reporting requirements of this chapter, the term “person” shall not include an organization holding tax-exempt status under § 501(c) (3), 501(c) (4), or 501(c) (6) of the United States Internal Revenue Code which, in providing information to voters, does not advocate or endorse the election or defeat of a particular candidate, group of candidates, or the candidates of a particular political party.

See § 24.2-945.1.

Definition [Election]

A general, primary, or special election.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Resident]

For all purposes of qualification to register and vote, means and requires both domicile and a place of abode. To establish domicile, a person must live in a particular locality with the intention to remain. A place of abode is the physical place where a person dwells.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Candidate]

A person who seeks or campaigns for an office of the Commonwealth or one of its governmental units in a general, primary, or special election and who is qualified to have his name placed on the ballot for the office. “Candidate” shall include a person who seeks the nomination of a political party or who, by reason of receiving the nomination of a political party for election to an office, is referred to as its nominee. For the purposes of Chapters 8 (§ 24.2-800 et seq.), 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.), and 9.5 (§ 24.2-955 et seq.), “candidate” shall include any write-in candidate. However, no write-in candidate who has received less than 15 percent of the votes cast for the office shall be eligible to initiate an election contest pursuant to Article 2 (§ 24.2-803 et seq.) of Chapter 8. For the purposes of Chapters 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) and 9.5 (§ 24.2-955 et seq.), “candidate” shall include any person who raises or spends funds in order to seek or campaign for an office of the Commonwealth, excluding federal offices, or one of its governmental units in a party nomination process or general, primary, or special election; and such person shall be considered a candidate until a final report is filed pursuant to Article 3 (§ 24.2-947 et seq.) of Chapter 9.3.

See § 24.2-101.

Definition [Residence]

For all purposes of qualification to register and vote, means and requires both domicile and a place of abode. To establish domicile, a person must live in a particular locality with the intention to remain. A place of abode is the physical place where a person dwells.

See § 24.2-101.