HJR 213/SJR 80
Joint Subcommittee to
Study Campaign Finance Reform
November 29, 2000, Richmond
December 11, 2000, Richmond
The subcommittee reviewed and
modified working drafts of legislation to revise disclosure requirements
and agreed to recommend three bills.
1. A bill to amend the
Campaign Finance Disclosure Act by providing for a compliance review of
statewide campaign reports and a percentage of General Assembly campaign
reports. The bill:
- adds the requirement that
the State Board of Elections review the campaign finance reports of
candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and 10
percent of the candidates for the General Assembly, selected at random;
- provides that the review
shall be for the purposes of (a) reconciling the balance in the campaign
depository with the amounts reported in the candidate's reports of receipts
and expenditures and (b) reviewing the reports for mathematical accuracy
and factual completeness, including the reporting of specific information
required by law;
- requires that the board meet
publicly to select on a random basis by a drawing the General Assembly
candidate campaigns to review;
- exempts any campaign committee
from review if it has received less than $25,000 in contributions; and
- requires the campaign treasurer
to retain, and provide on request by the board, the bank statements
and copies of checks issued on campaign depositories and receipts for
campaign fund expenditures greater than $500.
2. A bill to tighten
a number of provisions in the disclosure requirements of the act. The
bill:
- requires reports to be typed
or computer-printed and eliminates handwritten reports except for campaign
committees receiving less than $2,500 during a campaign and in certain
emergencies;
- clarifies the information
required on occupation and place of business for individuals and other
contributors;
- requires specific information
on expenditures made by credit card payments;
- requires on and after January
1, 2003, that General Assembly candidates file electronically if they
have received more than $10,000 in contributions; and
- requires General Assembly
reports to be received by the State Board by the filing deadline and
allows the mailing of reports postmarked by the filing deadline only
if the candidate has received less than $2,500 in contributions during
a campaign.
3. A bill to clarify
several violation and penalty provisions in the act. The bill:
- authorizes the State Board
and the appropriate local election official to review disclosure reports
for completeness and request additional information;
- provides for the jurisdiction
of the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth for statewide and other
campaigns;
- authorizes the State Board
or appropriate local election official to assess and collect the civil
penalty for violations of the reporting requirements before referring
the violation to the attorney for the Commonwealth;
- provides for payment of civil
penalties collected at the local level to the locality; and
- provides for public notice
on the Internet of violations by candidates for statewide office or
the General Assembly involving the failure to file a required report
by the required deadline.
The subcommittee agreed to
recommend the continuation of the study to hold hearings on campaign contribution
limits, expenditure limits, and public financing options and further reforms
in the Commonwealth's campaign finance laws. It will be issuing its report
in advance of the 2001 Session.
The Honorable S. Chris Jones,
Chairman
Legislative Services contact:
Mary Spain
THE
RECORD
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