Bill Text: MI HB4446 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Campaign finance: contributions and expenditures; campaign fund deposits; clarify source of, limit certain payments of costs by connected organizations, and add certain reporting requirements. Amends secs. 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 21, 24, 26, 34, 35, 41, 51, 54 & 55 of 1976 PA 388 (MCL 169.204 et seq.).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-10-10 - Assigned Pa 93'19 With Immediate Effect [HB4446 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-HB4446-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 4446
April 10, 2019, Introduced by Rep. Calley and referred to the Committee on Elections and Ethics.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 388, entitled
"Michigan campaign finance act,"
by amending sections 5, 9, 12, 21, 24, 34, 41, 51, 54, and 55 (MCL
169.205, 169.209, 169.212, 169.221, 169.224, 169.234, 169.241,
169.251, 169.254, and 169.255), sections 5 and 41 as amended by
1999 PA 237, sections 9, 24, 51, 54, and 55 as amended by 2017 PA
119, section 12 as amended by 2001 PA 250, section 21 as amended by
2015 PA 269, and section 34 as amended by 2012 PA 277.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 5. (1) "Domestic dependent sovereign" means an Indian
tribe that has been acknowledged, recognized, restored, or
reaffirmed as an Indian tribe by the secretary of the interior
pursuant
to chapter 576, 48 Stat. 984, 25 U.S.C. 461 to 463, 464 to
465,
466 to 470, 471 to 472, 473, 474 to 475, 476 to 478, and 479,
25 USC 5101 to 5144, commonly referred to as the Indian
reorganization act, or has otherwise been acknowledged by the
United States government as an Indian tribe.
(2) "Election" means a primary, general, special, or millage
election held in this state or a convention or caucus of a
political party held in this state to nominate a candidate.
Election includes a recall vote.
(3) "Election cycle" means 1 of the following:
(a) For a general election, the period beginning the day
following the last general election in which the office appeared on
the ballot and ending on the day of the general election in which
the office next appears on the ballot.
(b) For a special election, the period beginning the day a
special general election is called or the date the office becomes
vacant, whichever is earlier, and ending on the day of the special
general election.
(4) "Elective office" means a public office filled by an
election.
A person An individual who is appointed to fill a vacancy
in a public office that is ordinarily elective holds an elective
office. Elective office does not include the office of precinct
delegate. Except for the purposes of sections 47, 54, and 55,
elective office does not include a school board member in a school
district that has a pupil membership of 2,400 or less enrolled on
the most recent pupil membership count day. However, elective
office includes a school board member in a school district that has
a pupil membership of 2,400 or less, if a candidate committee of a
candidate for the office of school board member in that school
district receives an amount in excess of $1,000.00 or expends an
amount in excess of $1,000.00. Elective office does not include a
federal office except for the purposes of section 57.
Sec. 9. (1) "Incidental expense" means an expenditure that is
an ordinary and necessary expense, paid or incurred in carrying out
the business of an elective office. Incidental expense includes,
but is not limited to, any of the following:
(a) A disbursement necessary to assist, serve, or communicate
with a constituent.
(b) A disbursement for equipment, furnishings, or supplies for
the office of the public official.
(c) A disbursement for a district office if the district
office is not used for campaign-related activity.
(d) A disbursement for the public official or his or her
staff, or both, to attend a conference, meeting, reception, or
other similar event.
(e) A disbursement to maintain a publicly owned residence or a
temporary residence at the seat of government.
(f) An unreimbursed disbursement for travel, lodging, meals,
or other expenses incurred by the public official, a member of the
public official's immediate family, or a member of the public
official's staff in carrying out the business of the elective
office.
(g) A donation to a tax-exempt charitable organization,
including, but not limited to, the purchase of tickets to
charitable or civic events, as long as the candidate is not an
officer or director of or does not receive compensation, either
directly or indirectly, from that organization.
(h) A disbursement to a ballot question committee.
(i) A purchase of tickets for use by that public official and
members of his or her immediate family and staff to a fund-raising
event sponsored by a candidate committee, independent committee,
political party committee, or a political committee that does not
exceed $100.00 per committee in any calendar year.
(j) A disbursement for an educational course or seminar that
maintains or improves skills employed by the public official in
carrying out the business of the elective office.
(k) A purchase of advertisements in testimonials, program
books, souvenir books, or other publications if the advertisement
does not support or oppose the nomination or election of a
candidate.
(l) A disbursement for consultation, research, polling, and
photographic services not related to a campaign.
(m) A fee paid to a fraternal, veteran, or other service
organization.
(n) A payment of a tax liability incurred as a result of
authorized transactions by the candidate committee of the public
official.
(o) A fee for accounting, professional, or administrative
services for the candidate committee of the public official.
(p) A debt or obligation incurred by the candidate committee
of a public official for a disbursement authorized by subdivisions
(a) to (o), if the debt or obligation was reported in the candidate
committee report filed for the year in which the debt or obligation
arose.
(2) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure by a person
if the expenditure is not made in cooperation, consultation, or
concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a ballot question
committee or a candidate, a candidate committee or its agents, or a
political party committee or its agents, and if the expenditure is
not a contribution to a committee.
(3) "Independent expenditure committee" means a committee
formed under section 24b for the purpose of making independent
expenditures
pursuant to under this act.
(4) "In-kind contribution or expenditure" means a contribution
or expenditure other than money.
(5) "Loan" means a transfer of money, property, or anything of
ascertainable monetary value in exchange for an obligation,
conditional or not, to repay in whole or in part.
(6) "Local ballot question" means a ballot question of a local
unit of government to be voted upon in that local unit of
government.
(7) "Local elective office" means an elective office at the
local unit of government level. Local elective office also includes
judge of the court of appeals, judge of the circuit court, judge of
the district court, judge of the probate court, and judge of a
municipal court.
(8) "Local unit of government" means a district, authority,
county, city, village, township, board, school district,
intermediate school district, or community college district.
Sec. 12. (1) "Qualifying contribution" means a contribution of
money made by a written instrument, credit card, or debit card by
an individual to the candidate committee of a candidate for the
office of governor that is $100.00 or less and made after April 1
of the year preceding a year in which a governor is to be elected.
Not more than $100.00 of an individual's total aggregate
contribution may be used as a qualifying contribution in a calendar
year. Qualifying contribution does not include a subscription,
loan, advance, deposit of money, in-kind contribution or
expenditure, or anything else of value except as prescribed in this
act. Qualifying contribution does not include a contribution by an
individual who resides outside of this state. For purposes of this
subsection, an individual is considered to reside in this state if
he or she is considered a resident of this state under the Michigan
election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.1 to 168.992.
(2) "Senate political party caucus committee" means an
independent committee established by a political party caucus of
the state senate under section 24a.
(3) "State elective office" means a statewide elective office
or the office of state legislator.
(4) "Statewide elective office" means the office of governor,
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, or attorney general,
justice of the supreme court, member of the state board of
education,
regent of the university University
of Michigan, member
of
the board of trustees of Michigan state university, State
University,
or member of the board of governors of
Wayne state
university.State University.
Sec. 21. (1) A candidate, within 10 days after becoming a
candidate,
shall form a candidate committee. A person An individual
who is a candidate for more than 1 office shall form a candidate
committee
for each office for which the person individual is a
candidate, if at least 1 of the offices is a state elective office.
A candidate shall not form more than 1 candidate committee for each
office
for which the person individual
is a candidate.
(2)
A candidate committee shall must
have a treasurer who is a
qualified elector of this state. A candidate may appoint himself or
herself as the candidate committee treasurer.
(3)
A committee other than a candidate committee shall must
have a treasurer who is a qualified elector of this state if the
committee conducts business through an office or other facility
located in this state.
(4) If a committee is not required to have as its treasurer an
individual who is a qualified elector of this state, the committee
may have as its treasurer an individual who is a resident of
another state. A committee with a nonresident treasurer shall file,
with its statement of organization, an irrevocable written
stipulation, signed by the treasurer, agreeing that legal process
affecting the committee, served on the secretary of state or an
agent designated by the secretary of state, has the same effect as
if personally served on the committee. This appointment remains in
force as long as any liability of the committee remains outstanding
within this state.
(5) If the secretary of state or designated agent of the
secretary
of state is served with legal process pursuant to under
subsection (4), the secretary of state shall promptly notify the
committee's treasurer by certified mail at the last known address
of the committee shown on the committee's statement of
organization.
(6) Except as provided by law, a candidate committee or a
committee described in subsection (3) shall have 1 account in a
financial
institution in this state as an official depository for
the
purpose of depositing to
deposit all contributions received by
the committee in the form of or which are converted to money,
checks,
or other negotiable instruments and for the purpose of
making
to make all expenditures. The committee shall designate that
financial institution as its official depository. The establishment
of an account in a financial institution is not required until the
committee receives a contribution or makes an expenditure.
Secondary
Candidate committees shall
only use secondary
depositories
shall be used for the sole purpose of depositing to
deposit
contributions and promptly transferring
transfer the
deposits to the committee's official depository, or to deposit the
proceeds of a joint fund-raiser under section 44(4) and transfer
each committee's share of any receipts from the joint fund-raiser.
A committee described in subsection (3) shall only use secondary
depositories for any of the following:
(a) To deposit contributions and promptly transfer the
deposits to the committee's official depository.
(b) To deposit the proceeds of a joint fund-raiser under
section 44(4) and transfer each committee's share of any receipts
from the joint fund-raiser.
(c) To deposit, divide, and transfer contributions that are
aggregated with dues or other payments.
(7) Except as provided by law, a committee described in
subsection (4) shall have 1 account in a financial institution as
its
official depository for the purpose of depositing to deposit
all contributions received by the committee in the form of or which
are converted to money, checks, or other negotiable instruments and
for
the purpose of making to make
all expenditures. The committee
shall designate that financial institution as its official
depository. The establishment of an account in a financial
institution is not required until the committee receives a
contribution
or makes an expenditure. Secondary A committee
described in subsection (4) shall only use secondary depositories
shall
be used only for the purposes of depositing for any of the
following:
(a)
To deposit contributions and promptly transferring
transfer
the deposits to the committee's
official depository. , or
depositing,
dividing, and transferring
(b) To deposit the proceeds of a joint fund-raiser under
section 44(4) and transfer each committee's share of any receipts
from the joint fund-raiser.
(c) To deposit, divide, and transfer contributions that are
aggregated with dues or other payments.
(8)
A committee shall not accept a contribution shall not be
accepted
and or make an expenditure shall not be made by a if that
committee
that does not have a treasurer. When the office of
treasurer
in a candidate committee is vacant, the candidate shall
be
is the treasurer until the candidate appoints a new
treasurer.
(9)
An A committee shall not
make an expenditure shall not be
made
by a committee without the
authorization of the treasurer or
the treasurer's designee. The contributions received or
expenditures made by a candidate or an agent of a candidate are
considered received or made by the candidate committee.
(10) Contributions received by an individual acting in behalf
of
a committee shall must be reported promptly to the committee's
treasurer not later than 5 days before the closing date of any
campaign
statement required to be filed by the committee, and shall
must be reported to the committee treasurer immediately if the
contribution is received less than 5 days before the closing date.
(11) A contribution is considered received by a committee when
it is received by the committee treasurer or a designated agent of
the committee treasurer although the contribution may not be
deposited in the official depository by the reporting deadline.
(12)
Contributions received by a committee shall must not
be
commingled with other funds of an agent of the committee or of any
other person. Contributions are not considered to be commingled if
that contribution is either of the following:
(a) A contribution received by a person for transmission to a
separate segregated fund as described in section 55(7).
(b) A contribution made by 1 or more persons through a person
if all of the following are met:
(i) The individual contribution or aggregated contribution is
accompanied by or logically associated with all information
required under section 26 for each individual contributor.
(ii) The person making the contribution is the original source
of the contribution.
(iii) The contribution is not obtained through use of coercion
or physical force, as a condition of employment or membership, or
by using or threatening to use job discrimination or financial
reprisals.
(iv) Only the person making the contribution exercises any
control over the making of, or the amount or recipient of, the
contribution.
(v) The contribution is not otherwise prohibited by this act.
(13) A person that violates this section is subject to a civil
fine of not more than $1,000.00.
Sec. 24. (1) A committee shall file a statement of
organization with the filing officials designated in section 36 to
receive the committee's campaign statements. A committee shall file
a statement of organization within 10 days after the committee is
formed. A filing official shall maintain a statement of
organization filed by a committee until 5 years after the official
date of the committee's dissolution. A person who fails to file a
statement of organization required by this subsection shall pay a
late filing fee of $10.00 for each business day the statement
remains not filed in violation of this subsection. The late filing
fee must not exceed $300.00. A person who violates this subsection
by failing to file for more than 30 days after a statement of
organization is required to be filed is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00.
(2) The statement of organization required to be filed under
subsection (1) must include the following information:
(a) The name, street address, and if available, the electronic
mail address and telephone number of the committee, and the
electronic mail address of the candidate. If a committee is a
candidate committee, the committee name must include the first and
last name of the candidate. A committee address may be the home
address of the candidate or treasurer of the committee.
(b) The name, street address, and if available, the electronic
mail address and telephone number of the treasurer or other
individual designated as responsible for the committee's record
keeping, report preparation, or report filing.
(c) The name and address of the financial institution in which
the official committee depository is or is intended to be located,
and the name and address of each financial institution in which a
secondary depository is or is intended to be located.
(d) The full name of the office being sought by, including
district number or jurisdiction, and the county residence of each
candidate supported or opposed by the committee.
(e) A brief statement identifying the substance of each ballot
question supported or opposed by the committee. If the ballot
question supported or opposed by the committee is a local ballot
question, the committee shall identify the county in which the
greatest number of registered voters eligible to vote on the ballot
question reside.
(f) Identification of the committee as a candidate committee,
political party committee, independent committee, independent
expenditure committee, political committee, or ballot question
committee if it is identifiable as such a committee.
(3) An independent committee or political committee shall
include in the name of the committee the name of the person or
persons that sponsor the committee, if any, or with whom the
committee is affiliated. A person, other than an individual or a
committee, sponsors or is affiliated with an independent committee
or political committee if that person establishes, directs,
controls, or financially supports the administration of the
committee. For the purposes of this subsection, a person does not
financially support the administration of a committee by merely
making a contribution to the committee.
(4) If any of the information required in a statement of
organization is changed, the committee shall file an amendment when
the next campaign statement is required to be filed.
(5) When filing a statement of organization, a committee,
other than an independent committee, a political committee, or a
political party committee, may indicate in a written statement
signed by the treasurer of the committee that the committee does
not expect for each election to receive an amount in excess of
$1,000.00 or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00. The treasurer
of a committee of an incumbent judge or supreme court justice is
considered to have made the statement required under this
subsection following appointment or election of that judge or
justice and is not required to file a written statement under this
subsection indicating that the committee does not expect for each
election to receive or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00.
(6) When filing a statement of organization, an independent
committee, an independent expenditure committee, a political
committee, or a political party committee may indicate in a written
statement signed by the treasurer of the committee that the
committee does not expect in a calendar year to receive or expend
an amount in excess of $1,000.00.
(7) Upon the dissolution of a committee, the committee shall
file a statement indicating dissolution with the filing officials
with whom the committee's statement of organization was filed.
Dissolution of a committee must be accomplished pursuant to rules
promulgated by the secretary of state under the administrative
procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
(8) A candidate committee that files a written statement under
subsection (5) or that is considered to have made a statement under
subsection (5) is not required to file a dissolution statement
under subsection (7) if the committee failed to receive or expend
an amount in excess of $1,000.00 and 1 of the following applies:
(a) The candidate was defeated in an election and has no
outstanding campaign debts or assets.
(b) The candidate vacates an elective office and has no
outstanding campaign debts or assets.
(9) A political committee organized for the purpose of making
independent
expenditures formed before the effective date of the
amendatory
act that added this subsection December
31, 2019 is
considered an independent expenditure committee. The secretary of
state may amend the statement of organization for any committee
affected by this subsection.
Sec. 34. (1) A ballot question committee shall file a campaign
statement as required by this act according to the following
schedule:
(a) A preelection campaign statement, the closing date of
which
shall be is the sixteenth day before the election, shall must
not be filed later than the eleventh day before the election.
(b) A postelection campaign statement, the closing date of
which
shall be is the twentieth day following the election, shall
must not be filed later than the thirtieth day following an
election. If all liabilities of the committee are paid before the
closing date and additional contributions are not expected, the
campaign statement may be filed at any time after the election, but
not later than the thirtieth day following the election.
(c) Campaign statements not later than the following dates
every year:
(i) February 15 with a closing date of February 10 of
that
year.
(i) (ii) April
25 with a closing date of April 20 of that
year.
(ii) (iii) July
25 with a closing date of July 20 of that
year.
(d) In every odd numbered year, a campaign statement not later
than October 25 with a closing date of October 20 of that year.
(2) A ballot question committee supporting or opposing a
statewide ballot question shall file a campaign statement, of which
the
closing date shall be is the twenty-eighth day after the filing
of the petition form, not later than 35 days after the petition
form is filed under section 483a of the Michigan election law, 1954
PA 116, MCL 168.483a.
(3) If a ballot question committee supporting or opposing a
statewide ballot question fails to file a preelection statement
under this section, that committee or its treasurer shall pay a
late filing fee for each business day the statement remains not
filed in violation of this section, not to exceed $1,000.00,
pursuant to the following schedule:
(a) First day--$25.00.
(b) Second day--$50.00.
(c) Third day--$75.00.
(d) Fourth day and for each subsequent day that the statement
remains unfiled--$100.00.
(4) If a treasurer or other individual designated as
responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, or report
filing of a ballot question committee supporting or opposing a
statewide ballot question fails to file a statement, other than a
preelection statement, under this section, that committee,
treasurer, or other designated individual shall pay 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 is $25.00 for each
business day the campaign statement remains unfiled, but not to
exceed $1,000.00. If the committee has raised more than $10,000.00
during
the previous 2 years, the late filing fee shall be is $50.00
for each business day the campaign statement remains unfiled, but
not to exceed $2,000.00.
(5) If a treasurer or other individual designated as
responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, or report
filing of a ballot question committee supporting or opposing other
than a statewide ballot question fails to file a statement under
this section, that committee, treasurer, or other designated
individual shall pay 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 is $25.00 for each business day the campaign statement
remains unfiled, but not to exceed $1,000.00. If the committee has
raised more than $10,000.00 during the previous 2 years, the late
filing
fee shall be is $50.00 for each business day the campaign
statement remains unfiled, but not to exceed $2,000.00.
(6) If a treasurer or other individual designated as
responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, or report
filing of a ballot question committee fails to file a statement as
required by subsection (1) or (2) for more than 7 days, that
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.
(7) If a treasurer or other individual designated as
responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, or report
filing of a ballot question committee 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 or the amount of the undisclosed
contribution, whichever is greater.
Sec. 41. (1) A person shall not make or accept a single
contribution of more than $20.00 in cash or make or accept a single
expenditure of more than $50.00 in cash. Contributions of more than
$20.00 and expenditures of more than $50.00, other than an in-kind
contribution
or expenditure, shall must
be made by written
instrument, containing
the names of the payor and the payee.credit
card, or debit card.
(2) A person shall not accept or expend an anonymous
contribution.
An anonymous contribution received by a person shall
must
not be deposited but shall must be
given to a tax exempt
charitable organization. The charitable organization receiving the
contribution shall provide the person with a receipt. The receipt
shall
must be retained by an appropriate committee pursuant to
section 22.
(3)
A contribution shall must not be made, directly or
indirectly, by any person in a name other than the name by which
that person is identified for legal purposes.
(4) 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 other than an individual, by a
fine of not more than $10,000.00.
Sec. 51. (1) A person, other than a committee, that makes an
independent expenditure, advocating the election or defeat of a
candidate or the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot
question, in an amount of $100.01 or more in a calendar year shall
file a report of the independent expenditure, within 10 days after
making that independent expenditure, with the clerk of the county
of residence of that person. If the independent expenditure
advocates the election or defeat of a candidate for state elective
office or for judicial office, or for the qualification, passage,
or defeat of a statewide ballot question, or if the person making
the independent expenditure is not a resident of this state, the
person shall file the report with the secretary of state in lieu of
filing with a clerk of a county. The report required under this
section must be made on an independent expenditure report form
provided by the secretary of state, include the date of the
expenditure, a brief description of the nature of the expenditure,
the amount, the name and address of the person to whom it was paid,
the name and address of the person filing the report, together with
the name, address, occupation, employer, and principal place of
business of each person that contributed $100.01 or more to the
expenditure, and identify the candidate or ballot question for or
against which the independent expenditure was made. The filing
official receiving the report shall forward copies, as required, to
the appropriate filing officers as described in section 36.
(2) If a person fails to file a report as required under this
section, that person shall pay a late filing fee. If the person has
made independent expenditures totaling less than $10,000.00, the
late filing fee is $25.00 for each business day the report remains
unfiled, but not to exceed $1,000.00. If the person has made
independent expenditures totaling $10,000.00 or more, the late
filing fee is $50.00 for each business day the report remains
unfiled, but not to exceed $5,000.00. A person that violates this
subsection by failing to file a report required under this section
for more than 30 days after the report is required to be filed is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more
than 90 days or a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both.
Sec. 54. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section and
section 55, and except with respect to loans made in the ordinary
course of business, a corporation, joint stock company, domestic
dependent sovereign, or labor organization shall not make a
contribution or expenditure or provide volunteer personal services
that are excluded from the definition of a contribution under
section 4(3)(a).
(2) An officer, director, stockholder, attorney, agent, or any
other person acting for a labor organization, a domestic dependent
sovereign, or a corporation or joint stock company, whether
incorporated under the laws of this or any other state or foreign
country, except corporations formed for political purposes, shall
not make a contribution or expenditure or provide volunteer
personal services that are excluded from the definition of a
contribution under section 4(3)(a).
(3) Except for expenditures made by a corporation in the
ordinary course of its business, an expenditure made by a
corporation to provide for the collection and transfer of
contributions
to another a separate segregated fund not established
by
that corporation, or to a separate segregated fund not connected
to
a nonprofit corporation of which the corporation is a member,
for which it is not a connected organization as provided in section
55 constitutes an in-kind contribution by the corporation and is
prohibited under this section. Advanced payment or reimbursement to
a
corporation by a non-connected separate segregated fund not
established
by that corporation, or by a separate segregated fund
not
connected to a nonprofit corporation of which the corporation
is
a member, does not cure a use of
corporate resources otherwise
prohibited by this section.
(4) A corporation, joint stock company, domestic dependent
sovereign, or labor organization may make a contribution to a
ballot question committee or independent expenditure committee
subject to this act. A corporation, joint stock company, domestic
dependent sovereign, or labor organization may make an independent
expenditure in any amount advocating for the election or defeat of
a candidate, or the qualification, passage, or defeat of a ballot
question and does not for this reason become a committee, unless it
solicits or receives contributions in excess of $500.00 for the
purpose of making the independent expenditure, but is subject to
the independent expenditure reporting requirements of section 51.
(5) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of
a felony punishable, if the person is an individual, by a fine of
not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 3 years,
or both, or, if the person is not an individual, by a fine of not
more than $10,000.00.
Sec. 55. (1) A connected organization may make an expenditure
for the establishment or administration of, and solicitation,
collection, or transfer of contributions to, a separate segregated
fund to be used for political purposes. A separate segregated fund
established
by a connected organization under this section shall
must be organized as a political committee or an independent
committee, and, in addition to any other disbursements not
restricted or prohibited by law, shall only make contributions to,
and expenditures on behalf of, candidate committees, ballot
question committees, political party committees, political
committees, independent expenditure committees, independent
committees, and other separate segregated funds.
(2) Contributions for a separate segregated fund established
by a corporation, organized on a for profit basis, or a joint stock
company under this section may be solicited from any of the
following persons or their spouses:
(a) Stockholders of the corporation or company.
(b) Officers and directors of the corporation or company.
(c) Employees of the corporation or company who have policy
making, managerial, professional, supervisory, or administrative
nonclerical responsibilities.
(3) Contributions for a separate segregated fund established
under this section by a corporation organized on a nonprofit basis
may be solicited from any of the following persons or their
spouses:
(a) Members of the corporation who are individuals.
(b) Stockholders or members of members of the corporation.
(c) Officers or directors of members of the corporation.
(d) Employees of the members of the corporation who have
policy making, managerial, professional, supervisory, or
administrative nonclerical responsibilities.
(e) Employees of the corporation who have policy making,
managerial, professional, supervisory, or administrative
nonclerical responsibilities.
(4) Contributions for a separate segregated fund established
under this section by a labor organization may be solicited from
any of the following persons or their spouses:
(a) Members of the labor organization who are individuals.
(b) Officers or directors of the labor organization.
(c) Employees of the labor organization who have policy
making, managerial, professional, supervisory, or administrative
nonclerical responsibilities.
(5) Contributions for a separate segregated fund established
under this section by a domestic dependent sovereign may be
solicited from an individual who is a member of any domestic
dependent sovereign.
(6) Contributions must not be obtained for a separate
segregated fund established under this section by use of coercion
or physical force, by making a contribution a condition of
employment or membership, or by using or threatening to use job
discrimination or financial reprisals. A connected organization
shall not solicit or obtain contributions for a separate segregated
fund established under this section from an individual described in
subsection (2), (3), (4), or (5) on an automatic or passive basis
including but not limited to a payroll deduction plan or reverse
checkoff method. A connected organization may solicit or obtain
contributions for a separate segregated fund established under this
section from an individual described in subsection (2), (3), (4),
or (5) on an automatic basis, including but not limited to a
payroll deduction plan, only if the individual who is contributing
to the fund affirmatively consents to the contribution. Affirmative
consent expires upon revocation by the individual who provided the
affirmative consent.
(7) A contribution by an individual to a separate segregated
fund
that is aggregated with a dues or other payment to the
connected
organization may be collected by or
made payable first to
the
a connected organization of the separate segregated fund, for
subsequent transfer to the separate segregated fund if all of the
following occur:
(a)
The For contributions that
are aggregated with dues or
other payments, the individual making the contribution does either
of the following:
(i) Specifically indicates in a record or electronic record
that the amount collected, or a specified portion of the total
amount if remitted as part of a dues or other payment to the
connected organization, is a contribution to the separate
segregated fund.
(ii) Fails to return a record or electronic record described
in subparagraph (i), but remits payment to the connected
organization in response to a specifically requested amount that
includes a solicited contribution, the solicitation for a
contribution was clearly distinguishable from any dues or other
fees requested as part of the total, and the connected organization
maintains a record or electronic record of the solicitation that
includes the amount of the solicited contribution and the amount of
any dues or other fees charged in conjunction with the solicitation
for each contributor.
(b) The connected organization transfers the entire specified
amount
of any designated contribution, individually or aggregated
with other contributions, for deposit to the separate segregated
fund
electronically or by written instrument. Any transfer of
designated
contributions must be accompanied by or logically
associated
with a record or electronic record setting forth all
information
required under section 26 for each individual
contributor
whose contribution is transferred.
(c)
The connected organization accounts for any contributions
under
this subsection in a manner that documents all of the
following:
(i) The identity of the individual contributor.
(ii) The date, amount, and method of receipt for each
individual
contribution.
(iii) The date, amount, and method of all transfers to
the
separate
segregated fund.reports all
information required under
section 26 for each individual contributor, and a transfer of
contributions for deposit to the separate segregated fund by a
connected organization described in subsection (12)(a)(ii) must be
accompanied by or logically associated with a record or electronic
record that sets forth all required information for each individual
whose contribution is transferred.
(d) The connected organization and the separate segregated
fund
adopt have a written policy governing the handling,
accounting, and transfer of any contribution under this subsection.
(e) In connection with an investigation or hearing under
section 15 regarding any contributions under this subsection, the
connected organization voluntarily agrees to make available to the
secretary of state any records described in subdivisions (a) to (d)
and provides those records at the request of the secretary of
state.
(8) In addition to any other expenditures or disbursements
allowed under subsection (1), a connected organization may pay
costs for a prize, fund-raising event, or 1 or more items to be
sold, as part of fund-raising activities for the separate
segregated fund. Any payment of costs by the connected organization
for a prize or fund-raising event, or per individual item to be
sold, must not be disproportionately valuable related to the amount
raised by that prize or fund-raising event, or the amount raised
per individual item sold. If the connected organization makes a
payment of costs under this subsection that is disproportionately
valuable, reimbursement of at least the impermissible portion by
the separate segregated fund to the connected organization, within
60 days of the payment or as directed by the secretary under
section 15, cures a violation of this subsection. A payment of
costs under this subsection is not disproportionately valuable if
it is equal to or less than 10% of the total amount raised by the
prize or fund-raising event, or if the payment of costs per item
sold is equal to or less than 10% of the amount raised per
individual item sold.
(9) (8)
Except as otherwise provided in subsection
(10),
subsections (8) and (11), a person who knowingly violates this
section is guilty of a felony punishable, if the person is an
individual, by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment
for not more than 3 years, or both, or, if the person is not an
individual, by a fine of not more than $10,000.00.
(10) (9)
If a connected organization that
obtains
contributions for a separate segregated fund from individuals
described in subsection (2), (3), (4), or (5) pays to 1 or more of
those individuals a bonus or other remuneration for the purpose of
reimbursing those contributions, then that connected organization
is subject to a civil fine of not more than 2 times the total
contributions obtained from all individuals for the separate
segregated fund during that calendar year.
(11) (10)
If a violation of this section
results solely from
the failure of a connected organization to transfer 1 or more
contributions, that connected organization is not guilty of a
felony
as described in subsection (8), (9),
but shall notify the
contributor of the failure to transfer the contribution and refund
the full amount of the contribution to the contributor if
requested.
The penalties described in subsection (8) (9) apply to
any other violation of this section, including use or diversion of
any contributions by a connected organization before those
contributions are transferred to the separate segregated fund under
subsection (7).
(12) (11)
As used in this section:
(a) "Connected organization" means either of the following:
(i) A corporation organized on a for-profit or nonprofit
basis, a joint stock company, a domestic dependent sovereign, or a
labor organization formed under the laws of this or another state
or foreign country.
(ii) A member of any entity under subparagraph (i) that is not
an individual and that does not maintain its own separate
segregated fund, unless its separate segregated fund and the
separate segregated fund of the entity of which it is a member are
treated as a single independent committee as provided in section
52(10).
(b) "Record" and "electronic record" mean those terms as
defined in section 2 of the uniform electronic transactions act,
2000 PA 305, MCL 450.832.
(c) "Written instrument" means a money order, or a check,
cashier's check, or other negotiable instrument, as those terms are
defined in section 3104 of the uniform commercial code, 1962 PA
174, MCL 440.3104, in the name of the connected organization and
payable to the separate segregated fund.
