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Campaign finance requirements for Maryland ballot measures
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The State Board of Elections has a online disclosure database that lists all contributions and expenditures. Maryland's official campaign finance database is a collaborative project between the State Board of Elections and the University of Maryland-College Park's Center for American Politics and Citizenship.
If someone feels a person or committee violated Maryland campaign finance laws, the first step is to file a complaint to the Commissioner of the State Board of Elections. It is up to the Commissioner to investigate the complaint. Most civil cases are referred to the local state prosecutor's office. If the allegations involve a criminal law violation, the case is referred to Attorney General[1].
General requirements
Issue Committee
Maryland law denotes any group in support or opposition of a ballot measure in Maryland as a Issue Committee.
Statement of Organization
An Issues Committee formed to support or oppose a ballot question in the State of Maryland must file a Statement of Organization. The statement must be filed when the petitions to place a question on the ballot are submitted and before any money is received or spent by the committee[2].
Campaign finance requirements
Anonymous contributions
Maryland strictly prohibits all anonymous contributions made to Issues Committees. Anonymous contributions must be returned to the State Treasurer[3].
Contribution limits
There are no limits on contributions made to Issue Committees formed in support or opposition of a ballot measure [4].
Transfer limit
Maryland law limits the amount of money that can be transferred between a Issues, Slate, or a Political Action Committee (PAC). Maryland limits transfers between one entity to another to $6,000 for a four year span. There is no total aggregate limit for committee to committee transfers[5].
The $6,000 limit does not apply if the transfer is between two separate Issues Committees. Transfers between Issues and other committees are limited to $6,000[6].
Reporting requirements and reports
Issues Committees are only required to file pre and post-election reports along with a annual report during the election cycle.
19 day Pre-Election report
The first campaign finance report of the election cycle is the 19 day pre-election report. The report covers all activity from the time when the committee first registered up to 19 days before the election. The report is due the on the second Friday before the election[7].
21 day Post-Election report
The second campaign finance report of the cycle is the 21 day post-election report. The report covers all activity from 18 days before the election up to 21 days after the election. This report is due the third Tuesday after the election[8].
Annual report
The third and final campaign finance report is the annual report. The annual report is an cumaltive report that covers all campaign finance activity from the time the group was formed to December 31st. The report is due on the third Wednesday of January[9].
Campaign advertising restrictions
Under Maryland law, all campaign advertisements must have a disclaimer. Disclaimers are defined under the law as an authority line. The line must designate who paid for the advertisement. The authority line must have the the name and address of the treasurer responsible for the paid material along with the entity that paid the ad[10]. Maryland requires that advertising agencies charge issues committees the same rates as other commercial clients are for advertising[11]. All advertisements must kept on file for one year[12].
Terminating a committee
Any Issues Committee that plans to terminate must have no outstanding reports due and have a zero cash balance. Once that requirement is met, the committee must denote the check off box on the campaign finance report as their final report[13] [14]. Issues Committees can use the surplus funds to return to donations to contributors on a pro-rated basis, donate to a charity or to a accredited university to fund scholarships[15].
External links
- Maryland State Board of Elections
- Maryland Board of Elections disclosure database
- Maryland Campaign Finance manual
References
- ↑ [Contacted Maryland Attorney General's and Secretary of State's Office on 1-5-2010 to confirm this information]
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Statute 13-208(c))
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Section 13-239(1)-(2))
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Sect 13-226(a)(1))
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Section 13-227(b)(c))
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections "Maryland Campaign Finance Summary Guide"(See Section 7.3, Column 3-Transfers to and from Ballot Issue Committees)
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Statute 13-309(a)-(3))
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Statute 13-309(a)-(4))
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Statute 13-309(b)-(2))
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Section 13-401(1)-(3))
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Section 13-402)
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Section 13-403)
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Section 13-311)
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Statute 13-309(4))
- ↑ Michie's Resources "Maryland Election Law"(Referenced Section 13-247)
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