SB551 Alabama 2012 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Bryan Taylor

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2012

Title

Elections, regulating political action committees which receives funds for voting advocacy

Description

Under existing law, political action committees receiving funds from another political action committee for a voting advocacy operation are not required to pay an annual fee.

This bill would require each political action committee receiving funds from another political action committee to aid get-out-the vote operations, voting rights advocacy, and voter education to establish separate accounts apart from the accounts whose funds are expended to candidates.

This bill would require each political action committee to report its activity, separately, in accordance with current Fair Campaign Practice Act laws.

This bill would require all political action committees to pay an annual registration fee determined on a uniform basis by the Alabama Secretary of State in consultation with the Alabama Ethics Commission.

This bill would provide that all funds received from the annual registration fee would be collected by the Alabama Secretary of State and all proceeds transferred to the Alabama Ethics Commission for funding a monitoring division within the Alabama Ethics Commission.

This bill would provide that each political action committee which fails to file in a timely or compliant manner would be subject to a civil penalty, and a second failure would result in an increased penalty.

This bill would require the Ethics Commission to report each failure to file a report, and a third failure to file would be reported to the Attorney General for criminal action.

This bill would require the Alabama Ethics Commission to establish a new division to monitor each registered candidate and political action committee in accordance with the Fair Campaign Practice Act and to provide for its duties.

This bill would require each candidate and campaign committee to designate an individual, or registered agent, and to provide for his or her duties and responsibilities.

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Subjects

Elections