GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2013

H                                                                                                                                                    3

HOUSE BILL 919

Committee Substitute Favorable 5/8/13
Third Edition Engrossed 5/14/13

Short Title:        Campaign Finance Electronic Reporting.	(Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:

April 15, 2013

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to require electronic filing of certain campaign finance reports by candidate campaign committees.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 163-278.9(j) reads as rewritten:

"(j)       Treasurers for each of the following entities shall electronically file each report required by this section that shows a cumulative total for the election cycle in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000)the stated amount in contributions, in expenditures, or in loans, according to rules adopted by the State Board of Elections:

(1)        A candidate for statewide office;office, if more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(2)        A State, district, county, or precinct executive committee of a political party, if the committee makes contributions or independent expenditures in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000) that affect contests for statewide office;office.

(3)        A political committee that makes contributions in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000) to candidates for statewide office or makes independent expenditures in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000) that affect contests for statewide office.

(4) All other political committees, if more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

The State Board of Elections shall provide the software necessary to file an electronic report to a treasurer required to file an electronic report at no cost to the treasurer. The State Board of Elections may waive penalties for delays in electronic filing upon a showing that the delay in filing was a result of circumstances beyond the control of the treasurer, such as software malfunctions, Internet outages, or natural disasters. For purposes of this subsection, the term "electronically file" shall mean either filing of reports using the software provided by the State Board of Elections or filing reports created using forms provided by the State Board of Elections that are legibly typewritten and are electronically transmitted."

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2014, and applies to reports filed on or after that date if the State Board of Elections has developed and made available free electronic filing software for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. If the software is not available for both operating systems by January 1, 2014, the act shall apply to reports filed 30 days on or after the date the State Board of Elections gives notice to all treasurers and makes that software available for both operating systems.