Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-608

Current with legislation from the 2024 Regular and Special Sessions.

Section 9-608 - (Formerly Sec. 9-333j). Statements to be filed by treasurers. Treatment of surplus or deficit

(a)Filing dates.

(1) Each treasurer of a committee, other than a state central committee, shall file a statement, sworn under penalty of false statement with the proper authority in accordance with the provisions of section 9-603, (A) on the tenth calendar day in the months of January, April, July and October, provided, if such tenth calendar day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the statement shall be filed on the next business day, except that in the case of a candidate or exploratory committee established for an office to be elected at a special election, statements pursuant to this subparagraph shall not be required, (B) on the seventh day preceding each regular state election, except that (i) in the case of a candidate or exploratory committee established for an office to be elected at a municipal election, the statement shall be filed on the seventh day preceding a regular municipal election in lieu of such date, except if the candidate's name is not eligible to appear on the ballot, in which case such statement shall not be required, (ii) in the case of a town committee, the statement shall be filed on the seventh day preceding each municipal election in addition to such date, (iii) in the case of a candidate committee in a state election that is required to file any supplemental campaign finance statements pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of section 9-712, such supplemental campaign finance statements shall satisfy the filing requirement under this subdivision, and (iv) in the case of a candidate committee established by a candidate whose name is not eligible to appear on the ballot, such statement shall not be required, and (C) if the committee has made or received a contribution or expenditure in connection with any other election, a primary or a referendum, on the seventh day preceding the election, primary or referendum, except that in the case of a candidate committee in a primary that is required to file statements pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of section 9-712, such statements shall satisfy the filing requirement under this subdivision. The statement shall be complete as of eleven fifty-nine o'clock p.m. of the last day of the month preceding the month in which the statement is required to be filed, except that for the statement required to be filed on the seventh day preceding the election, primary or referendum, the statement shall be complete as of eleven fifty-nine o'clock p.m. of the second day immediately preceding the required filing day. The statement shall cover a period to begin with the first day not included in the last filed statement. In the case of a candidate committee, the statement required to be filed in January shall be in lieu of the statement formerly required to be filed within forty-five days following an election.

(2) Each treasurer of a candidate committee established by a candidate in a primary, not later than thirty days after such primary, and each treasurer of a political committee formed for a single primary, election or referendum, not later than forty-five days after any election or referendum not held in November, shall file statements in the same manner as is required of them under subdivision (1) of this subsection. A candidate committee established by a candidate who is unsuccessful in the primary shall not be required to file any statements required under subdivision (1) of this subsection following the primary unless the candidate is eligible to appear on the general election ballot. If the treasurer of a candidate committee established by a candidate, who is unsuccessful in the primary or has terminated his candidacy prior to the primary, distributes all surplus funds within thirty days following the scheduled primary and discloses the distribution on the postprimary statement, such treasurer shall not be required to file any subsequent statement unless the committee has a deficit, in which case he shall file any required statements in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (3) of subsection (e) of this section.

(3) In the case of state central committees, (A) on the tenth calendar day in the months of January, April and July, provided, if such tenth calendar day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, on the next business day, (B) on the twelfth day preceding any regular election, and (C) if the committee has made or received a contribution or expenditure in connection with any other election, or any primary or referendum, on the twelfth day preceding the election, primary or referendum, the treasurer of each such committee shall file with the proper authority, a statement, sworn under penalty of false statement, complete as of the last day of the month immediately preceding the month in which such statement is to be filed in the case of statements required to be filed in January, April and July, and complete as of the nineteenth day preceding an election, primary or referendum in the case of the statement required to be filed on the twelfth day preceding an election, primary or referendum, and in each case covering a period to begin with the first day not included in the last filed statement.

(b)Exemption from filing requirements. The statements required to be filed under subsection (a) of this section and subdivisions (2) and (3) of subsection (e) of this section, shall not be required to be filed by:

(1) A candidate committee or political committee formed for a single primary or election until such committee receives or expends an amount in excess of one thousand dollars for purposes of the primary or election for which such committee was formed;

(2) a political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of any referendum question until such committee receives or expends an amount in excess of one thousand dollars; or

(3) a party or political committee organized for ongoing political activities until such committee receives or expends an amount in excess of one thousand dollars for the calendar year except the statements required to be filed on the tenth calendar day in the month of January and on the seventh day preceding any election shall be so filed. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to state central committees or to the statement required to be filed by an exploratory committee upon its termination. A committee which is exempted from filing statements under the provisions of this subsection shall file in lieu thereof a statement sworn under penalty of false statement, indicating that the committee has not received or expended an amount in excess of one thousand dollars.

(c) Content of statements.

(1) Each statement filed under subsection (a), (e) or (f) of this section shall include, but not be limited to:

(A) An itemized accounting of each contribution, if any, including the full name and complete address of each contributor and the amount of the contribution;

(B) an itemized accounting of each expenditure, if any, including the full name and complete address of each payee, including secondary payees whenever the primary or principal payee is known to include charges which the primary payee has already paid or will pay directly to another person, vendor or entity, the amount and the purpose of the expenditure, the candidate supported or opposed by the expenditure, whether the expenditure is made independently of the candidate supported or is an in-kind contribution to the candidate, and a statement of the balance on hand or deficit, as the case may be;

(C) an itemized accounting of each expense incurred but not paid, provided if the expense is incurred by use of a credit card, the accounting shall include secondary payees, and the amount owed to each such payee;

(D) the name and address of any person who is the guarantor of a loan to, or the cosigner of a note with, the candidate on whose behalf the committee was formed, or the treasurer in the case of a party committee or a political committee or who has advanced a security deposit to a telephone company, as defined in section 16-1, for telecommunications service for a committee;

(E) for each business entity or person purchasing advertising space in a program for a fund-raising affair or on signs at a fund-raising affair, the name and address of the business entity or the name and address of the person, and the amount and aggregate amounts of such purchases;

(F) for each individual who contributes in excess of one hundred dollars but not more than one thousand dollars, in the aggregate, to the extent known, the principal occupation of such individual and the name of the individual's employer, if any;

(G) for each individual who contributes in excess of one thousand dollars in the aggregate, the principal occupation of such individual and the name of the individual's employer, if any;

(H) for each itemized contribution made by a lobbyist, the spouse of a lobbyist or any dependent child of a lobbyist who resides in the lobbyist's household, a statement to that effect; and (I) for each individual who contributes in excess of four hundred dollars in the aggregate to or for the benefit of any candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or election to the office of chief executive officer or a slate or town committee financing the nomination or election or a candidate for chief executive officer of a town, city or borough, a statement indicating whether the individual or a business with which he is associated has a contract with said municipality that is valued at more than five thousand dollars. Each treasurer shall include in such statement (i) an itemized accounting of the receipts and expenditures relative to any testimonial affair held under the provisions of section 9-609 or any other fund-raising affair, which is referred to in subsection (b) of section 9-601a, and (ii) the date, location and a description of the affair, except that a treasurer shall not be required to include the name of any individual who has purchased items at a fund-raising affair or food at a town fair, county fair or similar mass gathering, if the cumulative value of items purchased by such individual does not exceed one hundred dollars, or the name of any individual who has donated food or beverages for a meeting. A treasurer shall not be required to report or retain any receipts or expenditures related to any de minimis donations described in subdivision (17) of subsection (b) of section 9-601a.

(2) Each contributor described in subparagraph (F), (G), (H) or (I) of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall, at the time the contributor makes such a contribution, provide the information that the treasurer is required to include under said subparagraph in the statement filed under subsection (a), (e) or (f) of this section. Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision (2) of section 9-7b, any contributor described in subparagraph (F) of subdivision (1) of this subsection who does not provide such information at the time the contributor makes such a contribution and any treasurer shall not be subject to the provisions of subdivision (2) of section 9-7b. If a treasurer receives a contribution from an individual which separately, or in the aggregate, is in excess of one thousand dollars and the contributor has not provided the information required by said subparagraph (G) or if a treasurer receives a contribution from an individual to or for the benefit of any candidate's campaign for nomination at a primary or election to the office of chief executive officer of a town, city or borough, which separately, or in the aggregate, is in excess of four hundred dollars and the contributor has not provided the information required by said subparagraph (I), the treasurer:

(i) Not later than three business days after receiving the contribution, shall send a request for such information to the contributor by certified mail, return receipt requested;

(ii) shall not deposit the contribution until the treasurer obtains such information from the contributor, notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-606; and

(iii) shall return the contribution to the contributor if the contributor does not provide the required information not later than fourteen days after the treasurer's written request or the end of the reporting period in which the contribution was received, whichever is later. Any failure of a contributor to provide the information which the treasurer is required to include under said subparagraph (F) or (H), which results in noncompliance by the treasurer with the provisions of said subparagraph (F) or (H), shall be a complete defense to any action against the treasurer for failure to disclose such information.

(3) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (2) of this subsection, each contributor who makes a contribution to a candidate or exploratory committee for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Comptroller, Secretary of the State, State Treasurer, state senator or state representative, any political committee authorized to make contributions to such candidates or committees, and any party committee that separately, or in the aggregate, exceeds fifty dollars shall provide with the contribution:

(A) The name of the contributor's employer, if any;

(B) the contributor's status as a communicator lobbyist, as defined in section 1-91, a member of the immediate family of a communicator lobbyist, a state contractor, a prospective state contractor or a principal of a state contractor or prospective state contractor, as defined in section 9-612; and

(C) a certification that the contributor is not prohibited from making a contribution to such candidate or committee. The State Elections Enforcement Commission shall prepare a sample form for such certification by the contributor and shall make it available to treasurers and contributors. Such sample form shall include an explanation of the terms "communicator lobbyist", "principal of a state contractor or prospective state contractor", "immediate family", "state contractor" and "prospective state contractor". The information on such sample form shall be included in any written solicitation conducted by any such committee. If a treasurer receives such a contribution and the contributor has not provided such certification, the treasurer shall:

(i) Not later than three business days after receiving the contribution, send a request for the certification to the contributor by certified mail, return receipt requested;

(ii) not deposit the contribution until the treasurer obtains the certification from the contributor, notwithstanding the provisions of section 9-606; and

(iii) return the contribution to the contributor if the contributor does not provide the certification not later than fourteen days after the treasurer's written request or at the end of the reporting period in which the contribution was received, whichever is later. No treasurer shall be required to obtain and keep more than one certification from each contributor, unless information certified to by the contributor, other than the amount contributed, changes. If a treasurer deposits a contribution based on a certification that is later determined to be false, the treasurer shall have a complete defense to any action, including but not limited to, any complaint investigated by the State Elections Enforcement Commission or any other investigation initiated by said commission, against such treasurer for the receipt of such contribution.

(4) Contributions from a single individual to a treasurer in the aggregate totaling fifty dollars or less need not be individually identified in the statement, but a sum representing the total amount of all such contributions made by all such individuals during the period to be covered by such statement shall be a separate entry, identified only by the words "total contributions from small contributors".

(5) Each statement filed by the treasurer of a party committee, a legislative caucus committee or a legislative leadership committee shall include an itemized accounting of each organization expenditure made by the committee. Concomitant with the filing of any such statement containing an accounting of an organization expenditure made by the committee for the benefit of any candidate for the office of state senator, state representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the State, State Comptroller or State Treasurer such treasurer shall provide notice of the organization expenditure to the candidate committee of such candidate.

(6) The commission shall post a link on the home page of the commission's Internet web site to a listing of all organizational expenditures reported by a party, legislative leadership or caucus committee under subdivision (5) of this subsection. Such information shall include reported information on the committee making the expenditure, the committee receiving the expenditure and the date and purpose for the expenditure.

(7) Statements filed in accordance with this section shall remain public records of the state for five years from the date such statements are filed.

(d)Duplicate statement for candidate or chairman. Timely filing. At the time of filing statements required under this section, the treasurer of each candidate committee shall send to the candidate a duplicate statement and the treasurer of each party committee and each political committee other than an exploratory committee shall send to the chairman of the committee a duplicate statement. Each statement required to be filed with the commission under this section, section 9-601d, section 9-706 or section 9-712 shall be deemed to be filed in a timely manner if:

(1) For a statement filed as a hard copy, including, but not limited to, a statement delivered by the United States Postal Service, courier service, parcel service or hand delivery, the statement is received by the commission by five o'clock p.m. on the day the statement is required to be filed,

(2) for a statement authorized by the commission to be filed electronically, including, but not limited to, a statement filed via dedicated electronic mail, facsimile machine, a web-based program created by the commission or other electronic means, the statement is transmitted to the commission not later than eleven fifty-nine o'clock p.m. on the day the statement is required to be filed, or

(3) for a statement required to be filed pursuant to section 9-601d, section 9-706 or section 9-712, by the deadline specified in each such section. Any other filing required to be filed with a town clerk pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be filed in a timely manner if it is delivered by hand to the office of the town clerk in accordance with the provisions of section 9-603 before four-thirty o'clock p.m. or postmarked by the United States Postal Service before midnight on the required filing day. If the day for any filing falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the statement shall be filed on the next business day thereafter. The State Elections Enforcement Commission shall not levy a penalty upon a treasurer for failure to file a hard copy of a statement in a timely manner in accordance with the provisions of this section if such treasurer has a copy of the statement time stamped by the State Elections Enforcement Commission that shows timely receipt of the statement or the treasurer has a return receipt from the United States Postal Service or a similar receipt from a commercial delivery service confirming timely delivery of such statement was made or should have been made to said commission.

(e)Distribution or expenditure from surplus funds. Reporting re deficits.

(1) Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter, in the event of a surplus the treasurer of a candidate committee or of a political committee, other than a political committee formed for ongoing political activities or an exploratory committee, shall distribute or expend such surplus not later than ninety days, or for the purposes of subparagraph (H) of this subdivision, one hundred twenty days after a primary which results in the defeat of the candidate, an election or referendum not held in November or by March thirty-first following an election or referendum held in November, or for the purposes of subparagraph (H) of this subdivision, June thirtieth following an election or referendum held in November, in the following manner:

(A) Such committees may distribute their surplus to a party committee, or a political committee organized for ongoing political activities, return such surplus to all contributors to the committee on a prorated basis of contribution, distribute all or any part of such surplus to the Citizens' Election Fund established in section 9-701, distribute such surplus to any charitable organization which is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, or, in the case of a candidate committee for any candidate, other than a participating candidate, distribute such surplus to an organization under Section 501(c)(19) of said code, as from time to time amended, provided (i) no candidate committee may distribute such surplus to a committee which has been established to finance future political campaigns of the candidate, (ii) a candidate committee which received moneys from the Citizens' Election Fund shall distribute such surplus to such fund, and (iii) a candidate committee for a nonparticipating candidate, as described in subsection (b) of section 9-703, may only distribute any such surplus to the Citizens' Election Fund or to a charitable organization;

(B) Each such political committee established by an organization which received its funds from the organization's treasury shall return its surplus to its sponsoring organization;

(C)

(i) Each political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of any referendum question, which does not receive contributions from a business entity or an organization, shall distribute its surplus to a party committee, to a political committee organized for ongoing political activities, to a national committee of a political party, to all contributors to the committee on a prorated basis of contribution, to state or municipal governments or agencies or to any organization which is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended.

(ii) Each political committee formed solely to aid or promote the success or defeat of any referendum question, which receives contributions from a business entity or an organization, shall distribute its surplus to all contributors to the committee on a prorated basis of contribution, to state or municipal governments or agencies, or to any organization which is tax-exempt under said provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a committee formed for a single referendum shall not be required to expend its surplus not later than ninety days after the referendum and may continue in existence if a substantially similar referendum question on the same issue will be submitted to the electorate within six months after the first referendum. If two or more substantially similar referenda on the same issue are submitted to the electorate, each no more than six months apart, the committee shall expend such surplus within ninety days following the date of the last such referendum;

(D) The treasurer of the candidate committee of a candidate who is elected to office may, upon the authorization of such candidate, expend surplus campaign funds to pay for the cost of clerical, secretarial or other office expenses necessarily incurred by such candidate in preparation for taking office; except such surplus shall not be distributed for the personal benefit of any individual or to any organization;

(E) The treasurer of a candidate committee, or of a political committee, other than a political committee formed for ongoing political activities or an exploratory committee, shall, prior to the dissolution of such committee, either (i) distribute any equipment purchased, including, but not limited to, computer equipment, to any recipient as set forth in subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, or (ii) sell any equipment purchased, including but not limited to computer equipment, to any person for fair market value and then distribute the proceeds of such sale to any recipient as set forth in said subparagraph (A);

(F) The treasurer of a qualified candidate committee may, following an election or unsuccessful primary, provide a post-primary thank you meal or a post-election thank you meal for committee workers, provided such meal (i) occurs not later than fourteen days after the applicable election or primary day, and (ii) the cost for such meal does not exceed thirty dollars per worker;

(G) The treasurer of a qualified candidate committee may, following an election or unsuccessful primary, exclusive of any payments that have been rendered pursuant to a written service agreement, make payment to a treasurer for services rendered to the candidate committee, provided such payment does not exceed one thousand dollars; and

(H) The treasurer of a candidate committee may, following an election or unsuccessful primary, utilize funds for the purpose of complying with any audit conducted by the State Elections Enforcement Commission pursuant to subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section 9-7b.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, the treasurer of the candidate committee of a candidate who has withdrawn from a primary or election may, prior to the primary or election, distribute its surplus to any organization which is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, or return such surplus to all contributors to the committee on a prorated basis of contribution.

(3) Not later than seven days after such distribution or not later than seven days after all funds have been expended in accordance with subparagraph (D) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the treasurer shall file a supplemental statement, sworn under penalty of false statement, with the proper authority, identifying all further contributions received since the previous statement and explaining how any surplus has been distributed or expended in accordance with this section. No surplus may be distributed or expended until after the election, primary or referendum.

(4) In the event of a deficit, the treasurer shall file a supplemental statement ninety days after an election, primary or referendum not held in November or on the seventh calendar day in February, or the next business day if such day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, after an election or referendum held in November, with the proper authority and, thereafter, on the seventh day of each month following if on the last day of the previous month there was an increase or decrease in the deficit in excess of five hundred dollars from that reported on the last statement filed. The treasurer shall file such supplemental statements as required until the deficit is eliminated. If any such committee does not have a surplus or a deficit, the statement required to be filed not later than forty-five days following any election or referendum not held in November or on the seventh calendar day in January, or the next business day if such day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, following an election or referendum held in November, or not later than thirty days following any primary shall be the last required statement.

(f)Dissolution of exploratory committee. If an exploratory committee has been established by a candidate pursuant to subsection (c) of section 9-604, the treasurer of the committee shall file a notice of intent to dissolve it with the appropriate authority not later than fifteen days after the candidate's declaration of intent to seek nomination or election to a particular public office, except that in the case of an exploratory committee established by a candidate for purposes that include aiding or promoting the candidate's candidacy for nomination or election to the General Assembly or a state office, the treasurer of the committee shall file such notice of intent to dissolve the committee not later than fifteen days after the earlier of:

(1) The candidate's declaration of intent to seek nomination or election to a particular public office,

(2) the candidate's endorsement at a convention, caucus or town committee meeting, or

(3) the candidate's filing of a candidacy for nomination under section 9-400 or 9-405. The treasurer shall also file a statement identifying all contributions received or expenditures made by the exploratory committee since the previous statement and the balance on hand or deficit, as the case may be. In the event of a surplus, the treasurer shall, not later than the filing of the statement, distribute the surplus to the candidate committee established pursuant to said section, except that (A) in the case of a surplus of an exploratory committee established by a candidate who intends to be a participating candidate, as defined in section 9-703, in the Citizens' Election Program, the treasurer may distribute to the candidate committee only that portion of such surplus that is attributable to contributions that meet the criteria for qualifying contributions for the candidate committee under section 9-704 and shall distribute the remainder of such surplus to the Citizens' Election Fund established in section 9-701, and (B) in the case of a surplus of an exploratory committee established for nomination or election to an office other than the General Assembly or a state office (i) the treasurer may only distribute to the candidate committee for nomination or election to the General Assembly or state office of such candidate that portion of such surplus which is in excess of the total contributions which the exploratory committee received from lobbyists or political committees established by lobbyists, during any period in which the prohibitions in subsection (e) of section 9-610 apply, and (ii) any remaining amount shall be returned to all such lobbyists and political committees established by or on behalf of lobbyists, on a prorated basis of contribution, or distributed to any charitable organization which is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended. If the candidate decides not to seek nomination or election to any office, the treasurer shall, within fifteen days after such decision, comply with the provisions of this subsection and distribute any surplus in the manner provided by this section for political committees other than those formed for ongoing political activities, except that if the surplus is from an exploratory committee established by the State Treasurer, any portion of the surplus that is received from a principal of an investment services firm or a political committee established by such firm shall be returned to such principal or committee on a prorated basis of contribution. In the event of a deficit, the treasurer shall file a statement thirty days after the decision or declaration with the proper authority and, thereafter, on the seventh day of each month following if on the last day of the previous month there was an increase or decrease in such deficit in excess of five hundred dollars from that reported on the last statement filed. The treasurer shall file supplemental statements until the deficit is eliminated. If the exploratory committee does not have a surplus or deficit, the statement filed after the candidate's declaration or decision shall be the last required statement. If a candidate certifies on the statement of organization for the exploratory committee pursuant to subsection (c) of section 9-604 that the candidate will not be a candidate for the office of state representative and subsequently establishes a candidate committee for the office of state representative, the treasurer of the candidate committee shall pay to the State Treasurer, for deposit in the General Fund, an amount equal to the portion of any contribution received by said exploratory committee that exceeded two hundred fifty dollars. As used in this subsection, "principal of an investment services firm" has the meaning set forth in subsection (e) of section 9-612 and "state office" has the same meaning set forth in subsection (e) of section 9-610.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-608

(P.A. 86-99, S. 11, 34; P.A. 87-161; 87-524, S. 3, 7; 87-576, S. 4, 6; P.A. 88-83, S. 2, 3; P.A. 89-211, S. 17; P.A. 90-267, S. 3; P.A. 91-351, S. 11, 28; 91-407, S. 36, 42; P.A. 92-246, S. 3, 5; P.A. 93-251, S. 3, 5; P.A. 94-143, S. 4, 6; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-5, S. 8, 16, 19; P.A. 02-130, S. 18; P.A. 03-223, S. 3 -5; 03-241, S. 60, 62; P.A. 04-91, S. 2; P.A. 05-235, S. 24; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5, S. 25, 26; P.A. 06-137, S. 18, 30; P.A. 07-1, S. 3; P.A. 08-2, S. 6, 7; P.A. 11-48, S. 289, 290; P.A. 13-180, S. 12, 14, 15, 23, 35; P.A. 16-203, S. 2.)

Amended by P.A. 16-0203, S. 2 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2016 Regular Session, eff. 6/7/2016.

See Sec. 1-2a re construction of references to "United States mail", "postmark" or "registered or certified mail".