Under existing law, it is unlawful for a candidate to spend money received as a contribution for the candidate's personal use. (NRS 294A.160) Section 2 of this bill similarly makes it unlawful for a committee for political action to spend money received as a contribution for the personal use of any person. Under existing law, certain candidates, public officers and former public officers are required to dispose of unspent contributions. Any such candidate, public officer or former public officer is also subject to various reporting requirements for as long as the candidate, public officer or former public officer has unspent contributions. (NRS 294A.160) Section 4 of this bill provides that every candidate, public officer or former public officer who is required to dispose of unspent contributions must, in addition to any other requirement, notify the Secretary of State when the candidate, public officer or former public officer has disposed of all unspent contributions. Under existing law, every candidate for office at a primary, general or special election who is elected to that office and received contributions that were not spent or committed for expenditure before the election is required to dispose of the unspent contributions through one or more authorized methods, including using the unspent contributions to pay for expenses related to public office. (NRS 294A.160) Section 3 of this bill authorizes an elected public officer to use unspent contributions to pay for the cost of child care, the care of an elderly parent or the premiums for health insurance if the elected public officer would be unable to afford to pay such costs due to serving in the elected public office. If an elected public officer uses any unspent contributions to pay for such expenses, section 3: (1) deems the cost of such expenses to be an expense related to public office; and (2) requires the elected public officer to report the use of unspent contributions on his or her campaign finance report. Existing law requires a committee for political action to open and maintain a separate account in a financial institution located in the United States for the deposit of any contributions received not later than 1 week after receiving contributions the sum of which, in the aggregate, is $1,000 or more. (NRS 294A.130) Under existing law, certain committees for political action are required to report: (1) each contribution in excess of $1,000 received during a reporting period; and (2) contributions received during a reporting period from a contributor which cumulatively exceed $1,000. (NRS 294A.140) Sections 5 and 8 of this bill require that certain committees for political action also report the balance of the account on the ending date of the reporting period. These requirements are consistent with the requirements for candidates to report the balance of the account at the end of a reporting period. (NRS 294A.130) Sections 9, 10 and 12 of this bill make conforming changes to reflect this new reporting requirement for committees for political action. Section 14 of this bill provides that sections 5 and 8: (1) do not apply to any report of contributions or expenditures that is required to be filed by a committee for political action on or before January 15, 2026; and (2) apply to every report of contributions or expenditures that is required to be filed by a committee for political action after January 15, 2026. Existing law defines a “committee for political action” for purposes of campaign finance law. (NRS 294A.0055) Section 6 of this bill revises this definition to exclude from the definition a nonprofit organization which is recognized as tax exempt pursuant to section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. Existing law requires every candidate, not later than 1 week after receiving minimum contributions of $100, to open and maintain a separate account in a financial institution located in the United States for the deposit of any contributions received. (NRS 294A.130) Section 7 of this bill requires every candidate to also file with the Secretary of State a notice of intent to file for candidacy. Under existing law, if it appears that the provisions of law relating to campaign finance have been violated, the Secretary of State may conduct an investigation concerning the alleged violation. (NRS 294A.410) Section 11 of this bill provides that in conducting an investigation of an alleged violation, a candidate or committee for political action must, upon request of the Secretary of State, provide to the Secretary of State information relating to the campaign account of the candidate or committee for political action. Sections 11 and 13 of this bill provide that any account information collected or stored by the Secretary of State is confidential and not a public record.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 294A.0055, 294A.130, 294A.140, 294A.223, 294A.390, 294A.410, 294A.420, 239.010
BDR: 294A.0055, 294A.130, 294A.140, 294A.223, 294A.390, 294A.410, 294A.420, 239.010