February 24, 2005, Introduced by Reps. Kooiman, Gosselin, Stewart and Robertson and referred to the Committee on House Oversight, Elections, and Ethics.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 388, entitled
"Michigan campaign finance act,"
by amending sections 35 and 52 (MCL 169.235 and 169.252), section
35 as amended by 2000 PA 75 and section 52 as amended by 2001 PA
250.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 35. (1) In addition to any other requirements of this act
for filing a campaign statement, a committee, other than an
independent committee or a political committee required to file
with
the secretary of state, shall also file a all of the
following campaign statements:
(a) A campaign statement not later than January 31 of each
year. The campaign statement shall have a closing date of December
31
of the previous year. The period covered by the campaign
statement
filed pursuant to this subsection begins the day after
the
closing date of the previous campaign statement. A campaign
statement
filed pursuant to this subsection shall be required by
this subdivision is waived if a postelection campaign statement has
been filed that has a filing deadline within 30 days of the closing
date
of the campaign statement required by this subsection
subdivision.
(b) In each year in which a committee is not required to file
preelection and postelection campaign statements, campaign
statements not later than April 30, July 31, and October 31 with
closing dates of March 31, June 30, and September 30, respectively.
(c) In each year in which a committee is required to file
preelection and postelection campaign statements, a campaign
statement not later than April 30 with a closing date of March 31.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a candidate committee for
an officeholder who is a judge or a supreme court justice, or who
holds an elective office for which the salary is less than $100.00
a
month and who does not receive any a contribution or make any
an expenditure during the time that would be otherwise covered in
the statement.
(3) A committee, candidate, treasurer, or other individual
designated as responsible for the record keeping, report
preparation, or report filing for a candidate committee of a
candidate for state elective office or a judicial office who fails
to file a campaign statement under this section shall be assessed a
late filing fee. If the committee has raised $10,000.00 or less
during the previous 2 years, the late filing fee shall be $25.00
for each business day the campaign statement remains unfiled, but
not to exceed $500.00. If the committee has raised more than
$10,000.00 during the previous 2 years, the late filing fee shall
be $50.00 for each business day the campaign statement remains
unfiled, but not to exceed $1,000.00. The late filing fee assessed
under this subsection shall be paid by the candidate, and the
candidate shall not use committee funds to pay that fee. A
committee, treasurer, or other individual designated as responsible
for the record keeping, report preparation, or report filing for a
committee other than a candidate committee of a candidate for state
elective office or a judicial office who fails to file a campaign
statement under this section shall pay a late filing fee of $25.00
for each business day the campaign statement remains not filed in
violation of this section. The late filing fee shall not exceed
$500.00.
(4) A committee filing a written statement pursuant to section
24(5) or (6) need not file a statement in accordance with
subsection (1). If a committee receives or expends more than
$1,000.00 during a time period prescribed by section 24(5) or (6),
the committee is then subject to the campaign filing requirements
under this act and shall file a campaign statement for the period
beginning the day after the closing date of the last postelection
campaign
statement or an annual campaign statement that is waived
pursuant
to as provided in subsection
(1), whichever occurred
earlier.
(5) If a candidate, treasurer, or other individual designated
as responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, or
report filing fails to file 2 statements required by this section
or section 33 and both of the statements remain unfiled for more
than 30 days, that candidate, treasurer, or other designated
individual is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not
more than $1,000.00, or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or
both.
(6) If a treasurer or other individual designated as
responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, or report
filing for a committee required to file a campaign statement under
subsection (1) knowingly files an incomplete or inaccurate
statement or report required by this section, that treasurer or
other designated individual is subject to a civil fine of not more
than $1,000.00.
Sec. 52. (1) Except as provided in subsection (5) or (11) and
subject
to subsection subsections (8) and
(13), a person other
than an independent committee or a political party committee shall
not make contributions to a candidate committee of a candidate for
elective office that, with respect to an election cycle, are more
than the following:
(a)
$3,400.00 $6,800.00 for a candidate for state elective
office other than the office of state legislator, or for a
candidate for local elective office if the district from which he
or she is seeking office has a population of more than 250,000.
(b)
$1,000.00 $2,000.00 for a candidate for state senator,
or for a candidate for local elective office if the district from
which he or she is seeking office has a population of more than
85,000 but 250,000 or less.
(c)
$500.00 $1,000.00 for a candidate for state
representative, or for a candidate for local elective office if the
district from which he or she is seeking office has a population of
85,000 or less.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and
subsection (12), an independent committee shall not make
contributions to a candidate committee of a candidate for elective
office that, in the aggregate for that election cycle, are more
than
10 5 times the amount permitted a person other than an
independent committee or political party committee in subsection
(1). A house political party caucus committee or a senate political
party caucus committee is not limited under this subsection in the
amount of contributions made to the candidate committee of a
candidate for the office of state legislator, except as follows:
(a) A house political party caucus committee or a senate
political party caucus committee shall not pay a debt incurred by a
candidate if that debt was incurred while the candidate was seeking
nomination at a primary election and the candidate was opposed at
that primary.
(b) A house political party caucus committee or a senate
political party caucus committee shall not make a contribution to
or make an expenditure on behalf of a candidate if that candidate
is seeking nomination at a primary election and the candidate is
opposed at that primary.
(3) A political party committee other than a state central
committee shall not make contributions to the candidate committee
of
a candidate for elective office that are more than 10 5
times
the amount permitted a person other than an independent committee
or political party committee in subsection (1).
(4) A state central committee of a political party shall not
make contributions to the candidate committee of a candidate for
state elective office other than a candidate for the legislature
that
are more than 20 10 times the amount permitted a person
other than an independent committee or political party committee in
subsection (1). A state central committee of a political party
shall not make contributions to the candidate committee of a
candidate for state senator, state representative, or local
elective
office that are more than 10 5 times the amount
permitted a person other than an independent committee or political
party committee in subsection (1).
(5) A contribution from a member of a candidate's immediate
family to the candidate committee of that candidate is exempt from
the limitations of subsection (1).
(6) Consistent with the provisions of this section, a
contribution designated in writing for a particular election cycle
is considered made for that election cycle. A contribution made
after the close of a particular election cycle and designated in
writing for that election cycle shall be made only to the extent
that the contribution does not exceed the candidate committee's net
outstanding debts and obligations from the election cycle so
designated. If a contribution is not designated in writing for a
particular election cycle, the contribution is considered made for
the election cycle that corresponds to the date of the written
instrument.
(7) A candidate committee, a candidate, or a treasurer or
agent of a candidate committee shall not accept a contribution with
respect to an election cycle that exceeds the limitations in
subsection (1), (2), (3), (4), (11), or (12).
(8)
The Before January 1,
2007, the contribution limits in
subsection (1) for a candidate for local elective office are
effective on the effective date of the amendatory act that provides
for those contribution limits, however, only contributions received
by that candidate on and after that date shall be used to determine
if the contribution limit has been reached.
(9) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of
a misdemeanor punishable, if the person is an individual, by a fine
of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 90
days, or both, or, if the person is not an individual, by a fine of
not more than $10,000.00.
(10) For purposes of the limitations provided in subsections
(1) and (2), all contributions made by political committees or
independent
committees established by any a corporation, joint
stock company, domestic dependent sovereign, or labor organization,
including
any a parent, subsidiary, branch, division, department,
or local unit thereof, shall be considered to have been made by a
single
independent committee. By way of illustration and not
limitation,
all All of the following apply
as a result of the
application
of this requirement are examples of the effect of this
subsection:
(a) All of the political committees and independent committees
established by a for profit corporation or joint stock company, by
a subsidiary of the for profit corporation or joint stock company,
or by any combination thereof, are treated as a single independent
committee.
(b) All of the political committees and independent committees
established by a single national or international labor
organization, by a labor organization of that national or
international labor organization, by a local labor organization of
that national or international labor organization, or by any other
subordinate organization of that national or international labor
organization, or by any combination thereof, are treated as a
single independent committee.
(c) All of the political committees and independent committees
established by an organization of national or international unions,
by a state central body of that organization, by a local central
body of that organization, or by any combination thereof, are
treated as a single independent committee.
(d) All of the political committees and independent committees
established by a nonprofit corporation, by a related state entity
of that nonprofit corporation, by a related local entity of that
nonprofit corporation, or by any combination thereof, are treated
as a single independent committee.
(11) The limitation on a political committee's contributions
under subsection (1) does not apply to contributions that are part
of 1 or more bundled contributions delivered to the candidate
committee of a candidate for statewide elective office and that are
attributed to the political committee as prescribed in section 31.
A political committee shall not make contributions to a candidate
committee of a candidate for statewide elective office that are
part of 1 or more bundled contributions delivered to that candidate
committee, that are attributed to the political committee as
prescribed in section 31, and that, in the aggregate for that
election cycle, are more than the amount permitted a person other
than an independent committee or political party committee in
subsection (1).
(12) The limitation on an independent committee's
contributions under subsection (2) does not apply to contributions
that are part of 1 or more bundled contributions delivered to the
candidate committee of a candidate for statewide elective office
and that are attributed to the independent committee as prescribed
in section 31. An independent committee shall not make
contributions to a candidate committee of a candidate for statewide
elective office that are part of 1 or more bundled contributions
delivered to that candidate committee, that are attributed to the
independent committee as prescribed in section 31, and that, in the
aggregate
for that election cycle, are more than 10 5
times the
amount permitted a person other than an independent committee or
political party committee in subsection (1).
(13) Beginning with January 1, 2007, on January 1 of each year
following a gubernatorial election, a contribution limit in
subsection (1) or, for adjustments made after 2007, the most recent
contribution limit as adjusted under this subsection shall be
adjusted by increasing or decreasing the limit by the average
percentage increase or decrease in the Detroit consumer price
index--all items for the 4-year period ending the preceding August.
The resulting product shall be rounded up to the nearest $25.00.
The adjusted limits shall be determined and announced by the
secretary of state on or before December 15 following each
gubernatorial election. If the index is unavailable, the secretary
of state shall make a reasonable approximation. An adjusted limit
applies only to contributions made during the 4 years following the
adjustment.