HOUSE BILL NO. 5928
A bill to amend 1976 PA 388, entitled
"Michigan campaign finance act,"
by amending sections 16, 18, and 26 (MCL 169.216, 169.218, and 169.226), section 16 as amended by 2017 PA 184, section 18 as amended by 2013 PA 258, and section 26 as amended by 2019 PA 93.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 16. (1) A filing official shall make a statement or report required to be filed under this act available for public inspection and reproduction, as soon as practicable, but not later than the third business day following the day on which it is received, during regular business hours of the filing official. The secretary of state shall make the statement or report or all of the contents of the statement or report required to be filed electronically under section 18, including the detailed descriptions of the purposes of expenditures or disbursements required under section 26, available to the public on a single website established and maintained by the secretary of state, without charge, not later than the third business day following the day on which the statement or report is received. If the report is a report of a late contribution under section 32(1) made to the secretary of state, the secretary of state shall also make the report or all of the contents of the report available to the public on the internet, without charge, as soon as practicable but not later than the end of the business day on which it is received, at a single website established and maintained by the secretary of state.
(2) A filing official shall provide a copy of a statement or part of a statement shall be provided by a filing official at a reasonable charge.
(3) A statement open to the public under this act shall must not be used for any commercial purpose.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a statement of organization filed under this act with a filing official who is not the secretary of state shall must be preserved by that filing official for 5 years from after the official date of the committee's dissolution. A statement of organization filed under this act with a filing official who is not the secretary of state that is filed by a committee that received more than $50,000.00 in an election cycle shall must be preserved by that filing official for 15 years from after the official date of the committee's dissolution. A statement of organization filed under this act with the secretary of state shall must be preserved by the secretary of state for 15 years from after the official date of the committee's dissolution. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any other statement or report filed under this act with a filing official who is not the secretary of state shall must be preserved by that filing official for 5 years from after the date the filing occurred. Any other statement or report filed under this act with a filing official who is not the secretary of state that is filed by a committee that received more than $50,000.00 in an election cycle shall must be preserved by that filing official for 15 years from after the date the filing occurred. Any other statement or report filed under this act with the secretary of state shall must be preserved by the secretary of state for 15 years from after the date the filing occurred. Upon a determination under section 15 that a violation of this act has occurred, all complaints, orders, decisions, or other documents related to that violation shall must be preserved by the filing official who is not the secretary of state or the secretary of state for 15 years from after the date of the court determination or the date the violations are corrected, whichever is later. Statements and reports filed under this act may be reproduced pursuant to the records reproduction act, 1992 PA 116, MCL 24.401 to 24.406. After the required preservation period, the statements and reports, or the reproductions of the statements and reports, may be disposed of in the manner prescribed in the management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1101 to 18.1594, and section 11 of the Michigan history center act, 2016 PA 470, MCL 399.811.
(5) A Except a late filing fee required under this act, a filing official shall not collect a charge for the filing of a required statement or report or for a form upon on which the statement or report is to be prepared. , except a late filing fee required by this act.
(6) A filing official shall determine whether a statement or report filed under this act complies, on its face, with the requirements of this act and the rules promulgated under this act. The filing official shall determine whether a statement or report that is required to be filed under this act is in fact filed. Within Not later than 4 business days after the deadline for filing a statement or report under this act, the filing official shall give notice to the filer by registered mail of an error or omission in the statement or report and give notice to a person the filing official has reason to believe is a person required to and who failed to file a statement or report. A failure to give notice by the filing official under this subsection is not a defense to a criminal action against the person required to file.
(7) Within Not later than 9 business days after the report or statement is required to be filed, the filer shall make any corrections in the statement or report filed with the appropriate filing official. If the report or statement was not filed, then the report or statement shall must be late filed within not later than 9 business days after the time it was required to be filed and shall be is subject to late filing fees.
(8) After 9 business days and before 12 business days have expired after the deadline for filing the statement or report, the filing official shall report errors or omissions that were not corrected and failures to file to the attorney general.
(9) A statement or report required to be filed under this act shall must be filed not later than 5 p.m. of the day in which it is required to be filed. A preelection statement or report due on July 25 or October 25 under section 33 that is postmarked by registered or certified mail, or sent by express mail or other overnight delivery service, at least 2 days before the deadline for filing is filed within the prescribed time regardless of when it is actually delivered. Any other statement or report required to be filed under this act that is postmarked by registered or certified mail or sent by express mail or other overnight delivery service on or before the deadline for filing is filed within the prescribed time regardless of when it is actually delivered.
Sec. 18. (1) The secretary of state shall develop and implement an electronic filing and internet disclosure system that permits committees that are required to file statements or reports under this act with the secretary of state to file those statements or reports electronically and that provides internet disclosure of electronically filed statements or reports on a website.
(2) The secretary of state shall offer each committee required to file with the secretary of state the option of filing campaign statements or reports electronically, as described in subsection (1).
(3) Beginning with the annual campaign statement due January 31, 2014, each committee required to file with the secretary of state that received or expended $5,000.00 or more in the preceding calendar year or expects to receive or expend $5,000.00 or more in the current calendar year shall electronically file all statements and reports required under this act, as described in subsection (1).
(4) If a committee was not required to file a campaign statement under subsection (3) only because it did not meet the applicable threshold of receiving or expending $5,000.00 or more, but the committee later reaches that threshold, the committee shall notify the secretary of state within 10 business days after reaching that threshold and shall subsequently file electronically all statements and reports required under this act.
(5) The Except an original statement of organization, the secretary of state shall permit a committee to electronically file statements and reports required under this act, as described in subsection (1), except an original statement of organization, after the committee treasurer and, for a candidate committee, the candidate has signed and filed a form designed by the secretary of state to serve as the signature verifying the accuracy and completeness of each statement or report filed electronically.
(6) The secretary of state shall update the electronic filing and internet disclosure system created under subsection (1) as necessary each time a change is made to the requirements of campaign statements filed under section 26.
Sec. 26. (1) A campaign statement of a committee, other than a political party committee, required by under this act must contain all of the following information:
(a) The filing committee's name, address, and telephone number, and the full name, residential and business addresses, electronic mail email address, and telephone numbers of the committee treasurer or other individual designated as responsible for the committee's record keeping, report preparation, or report filing.
(b) Under the heading "receipts", the total amount of contributions received during the period covered by the campaign statement; under the heading "expenditures", the total amount of expenditures made during the period covered by the campaign statement; and the cumulative amount of those totals. Forgiveness of a loan must not be included in the totals. Payment of a loan by a third party must be recorded and reported as an in-kind contribution by the third party. In-kind contributions or expenditures must be listed at fair market value and reported as both contributions and expenditures. A contribution or expenditure that is by other than completed and accepted payment, gift, or other transfer, that is clearly not legally enforceable, and that is expressly withdrawn or rejected and returned before a campaign statement closing date need not be included in the campaign statement and if included may, in a later or amended statement, be shown as a deduction, but the committee shall keep adequate records of each instance.
(c) The balance of cash on hand at the beginning and the end of the period covered by the campaign statement.
(d) The following information regarding each fund-raising event must be included in the report:
(i) The type of event, date held, address and name, if any, of the place where the activity was held, and approximate number of individuals participating or in attendance.
(ii) The total amount of all contributions.
(iii) The gross receipts of the fund-raising event.
(iv) The expenditures incident to the event.
(e) The full name of each individual from whom contributions are received during the period covered by the campaign statement, together with the individual's street address, the amount contributed, the date on which each contribution was received, and the cumulative amount contributed by that individual. The occupation, employer, and principal place of business must be stated if the individual's cumulative contributions are more than $100.00. For contributions of $5.00 or less by an individual to a political committee or independent committee, the secretary of state shall accept for filing any written communication from the political committee or independent committee that contains the information otherwise required under this subsection. Any written communication under this subdivision does not need to contain an original signature.
(f) The Except those individuals reported under subdivision (e), the cumulative amount contributed and the name and address of each individual , except those individuals reported under subdivision (e), who contributed to the committee. The occupation, employer, and principal place of business must be stated for each individual who contributed more than $100.00.
(g) The name and street address of each person, other than an individual, from whom contributions are received during the period covered by the campaign statement, together with an itemization of the amounts contributed, the date on which each contribution was received, and the cumulative amount contributed by that person.
(h) The name, address, and amount given by an individual who contributed to the total amount contributed by a person who is other than a committee or an individual. The occupation, employer, and principal place of business must be stated if the individual contributed more than $100.00 of the total amount contributed by a person who is other than a committee or an individual.
(i) The Except for expenditures made to or on behalf of another committee, candidate, or ballot question, the cumulative total of expenditures and other disbursements totaling $50.00 or less to any person made during the period covered by the campaign statement. except for expenditures made to or on behalf of another committee, candidate, or ballot question.
(j) The full name and street address of each person to whom expenditures or other disbursements totaling more than $50.00 were made, together with the amount of each separate expenditure or disbursement to each person during the period covered by the campaign statement; a detailed description of the purpose of the expenditure or disbursement; the full name and street address of the person providing the consideration for which any expenditure or disbursement was made if different from the payee; the itemization regardless of amount of each expenditure made to or on behalf of another committee, candidate, or ballot question; and the cumulative amount of expenditures for or against that candidate or ballot question for an election cycle. An expenditure made in support of more than 1 candidate or ballot question, or both, must be apportioned reasonably among the candidates or ballot questions, or both.
(2) A candidate committee or ballot question committee shall report all cumulative amounts required by under this section on a per election cycle basis. Except as provided in subsection (1)(j), an independent committee, independent expenditure committee, or political committee shall report all cumulative amounts as required by under this section on a calendar year basis.
(3) A campaign statement of a committee, in addition to the other information required by under this section, must include an itemized list of all expenditures during the reporting period for election day busing of electors to the polls, get-out-the-vote activities, slate cards, challengers, poll watchers, and poll workers.
(4) For a reporting period in which a contribution is received that is to be part of a bundled contribution or a reporting period in which a bundled contribution is delivered to the candidate committee of a candidate for statewide elective office, a bundling committee shall report to the secretary of state, on a form provided by the secretary of state, all of the following information, as applicable, about each contribution received or delivered as part of a bundled contribution, and about each bundled contribution delivered, in the reporting period:
(a) The amount of each contribution, the date it was received by the bundling committee, and the candidate for statewide elective office whom the contributor designated as the intended recipient.
(b) Each contributor's name and address and, for each contribution exceeding $100.00, the contributor's occupation, employer, and principal place of business.
(c) The date each contribution is delivered to the candidate's statewide elective office candidate committee.
(d) The total amount of bundled contributions delivered to that candidate committee during the reporting period and during the election cycle.
(5) With its delivery of a bundled contribution to the candidate committee of a candidate for statewide elective office, a bundling committee shall deliver a report to that candidate committee, on a form provided by the secretary of state, that includes all of the following information, as applicable, about each contribution delivered as part of the bundled contribution, and about all bundled contributions delivered to that candidate committee in the election cycle:
(a) The amount of each contribution, the date it was received by the bundling committee, and the statewide elective office candidate the contributor designated as the intended recipient.
(b) Each contributor's name and address and, for each contribution exceeding $100.00, the contributor's occupation, employer, and principal place of business.
(c) The total amount of bundled contributions delivered to that candidate committee during the reporting period and during the election cycle.
(6) For a reporting period in which a bundled contribution is received, a candidate committee of a candidate for statewide elective office shall report to the secretary of state, on a form provided by the secretary of state, all of the following information, as applicable, about each contribution delivered as part of a bundled contribution received in the reporting period and about all bundled contributions received by that candidate committee:
(a) The amount of each contribution, the date it was received by the candidate committee, and the name of the bundling committee that delivered the contribution.
(b) Each contributor's name and address and, for each contribution exceeding $100.00, the contributor's occupation, employer, and principal place of business.
(c) The total amount of bundled contributions received by that candidate committee during the reporting period and during the election cycle.
(7) For a reporting period in which a connected organization of a separate segregated fund makes a payment for a prize or 1 or more items authorized under section 55(8), the separate segregated fund shall report all of the following, as applicable:
(a) The amount of any payment of costs for a prize, the value of the prize, the amount raised by the prize, and the amount, if any, reimbursed to the connected organization by the separate segregated fund for the prize.
(b) The amount per item of any payment of costs for items to be sold or offered in return for a contribution as part of fundraising activities for the separate segregated fund, the amount per item that each item is offered at or offered for sale at, the value of each item, the aggregate amount paid for those items, and the amount, if any, reimbursed to the connected organization by the separate segregated fund for any items. If 1 or more of the same items are sold or offered in return for a contribution, a report by item type satisfies the reporting requirement under this subdivision.
(8) As used in subsection (7), "value" means the regular purchase price offered by the vendor from whom an item is purchased, less any customary discount offered based on the number of items purchased in the same transaction.