16-903. Candidate's campaign committees;
exploratory committees; designation; candidate as agent; civil
penalty
A. Each candidate who intends to receive contributions or make expenditures of more
than five hundred dollars in connection with a campaign for office shall designate in the
format prescribed by the filing officer a political committee for each election to serve
as the candidate's campaign committee. The candidate shall make the designation pursuant
to this subsection by filing a statement of organization before making any expenditures,
accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or circulating any
petitions. Each candidate who intends to receive contributions or make expenditures of
five hundred dollars or less shall file a signed exemption statement in the format
prescribed by the filing officer that states that intention before making any
expenditures, accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or
circulating petitions. If a candidate who has filed a five hundred dollar exemption
statement receives contributions or makes expenditures of more than five hundred dollars,
that candidate shall file a statement of organization with the filing officer within five
business days after exceeding the five hundred dollar limit.
B. An individual who receives contributions or makes expenditures of more than five
hundred dollars for the purpose of determining whether the individual will become a
candidate for election to an office in this state shall designate in the format
prescribed by the filing officer a political committee to serve as the individual's
exploratory committee. The individual shall make the designation pursuant to this
subsection before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions or distributing
any campaign literature.
C. An individual may have only one exploratory committee in existence at one time.
A candidate may have only one campaign committee designated for each election, but a
candidate may have more than one campaign committee simultaneously in existence.
D. A political committee that supports or has supported another candidate or more
than one candidate may not be designated as a candidate's campaign committee.
E. Any candidate who receives a contribution or any loan for use in connection with
the campaign of that candidate for election or who makes a disbursement in connection
with that campaign shall be deemed as having received the contribution or loan or as
having made the disbursement as an agent of the candidate's campaign committee for
purposes of this article.
F. An elected official is not deemed to have offered himself for nomination or
election to an office or to have made a formal, public declaration of candidacy within
the meaning of section 38-296 solely by his designation of a candidate campaign
committee.
G. A person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty imposed as
prescribed in section 16-924 of up to three times the amount of money that has been
received, expended or promised in violation of this section or up to three times the
value in money for an equivalent of money or other things of value that have been
received, expended or promised in violation of this section.
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