This bill aims to amend the Code of West Virginia regarding campaign finance report compliance by increasing civil penalties for failure to file required reports or for filing grossly incomplete or inaccurate reports. The penalties will rise from $10 per day to a maximum of $500 for the first violation, and $1,000 per report for each subsequent violation. Additionally, the bill mandates that the Secretary of State must provide written notice to political committees regarding any violations before assessing fines, allowing a grace period of seven days for filing missing reports and ten days for correcting incomplete or inaccurate reports. The Secretary of State is also granted the authority to extend compliance deadlines by an additional 14 days for good cause and to negotiate payment plans for civil penalties.

Furthermore, if civil penalties remain unpaid for over 30 days, the Secretary of State is required to refer these debts to a licensed debt collection agency. The bill also includes provisions for the Secretary of State to publish a list of late filers online and establishes protocols for notifying non-compliant parties via certified mail. Overall, the legislation seeks to enhance compliance with campaign finance laws by imposing stricter penalties and ensuring timely communication with political committees regarding their filing obligations.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 3-8-7