Campaign finance requirements for Oregon ballot measures
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When proposing an initiative in Oregon, the chief petitioners are required to register their committee and disclose their finances with the state Elections Division. Here is an overview of the campaign finance requirements in Oregon.
This article is simply an overview. For the full requirements, please see the Oregon Elections Division web site or the Campaign Finance Manual for 2008.
Registering a committee
Chief petitioners sponsoring an initiative or referendum petition and Chief petitioners sponsoring a recall petition must file a Statement of Organization.
When
For an initiative or referendum petition, registration must occur within 3 business days of first receiving a contribution or making an expenditure, but no later than the date the petition is approved for circulation. All recall petitioners must register when fi ling the prospective recall petition.
How
To register, the treasurer or Chief Petitioner must file a Statement of Organization for a Chief Petitioner Committee using ORESTAR or completing the paper form, and file it with the Elections Division either by mail, fax or hand-delivery.
The appropriate forms can be found on Oregon's Election Division web site.
Assigning a Treasurer
A chief petitioner must designate a treasurer on the Statement of Organization. The treasurer must be a registered voter in Oregon. Only a designated treasurer or chief petitioner may sign and file the Statement of Organization.
The treasurer is legally responsible for all of the following:
- filing and amending Statements of Organization
- filing accurate and timely contribution and expenditure transactions
- signing all statements of organization and transaction filings (signatures filed using ORESTAR are accepted electronically)
- keeping detailed financial records current to within 7 days after the date of receiving a contribution or making an expenditure
- preserving records for at least two years following the election to which the documents refer or the date of filing of the last transaction, whichever is later. See Retention of Records on page 46 of the Oregon Campaign Finance Manual.
Liability
Oregon election law provides for civil penalties up to $10,000 for each late or insufficient filing of a contribution and expenditure transaction. The treasurer of a committee is held personally responsible for civil penalties imposed on the committee.
Discontinuing a committee
A committee may discontinue its registration and cease its reporting obligations if:
- the committee no longer intends to receive contributions or make expenditures
- a zero balance is achieved by having no cash on hand and no outstanding debts or obligations
A committee can achieve a zero balance by disclosing all debts (loans, personal expenditures and accounts payable) as being repaid or forgiven. A balance in the committee’s account may be depleted by any legal means. A donation to a charitable organization or a contribution to another committee are both acceptable expenditures. All transactions bringing the committee to a zero balance must be reported.
Contributions
According to the Oregon Campaign Finance Manual, contributions are the payment, loan, gift, forgiving of indebtedness, or furnishing without equivalent compensation or consideration, of money, services other than personal services for which no compensation is asked or given, supplies, equipment or any other thing of value for the purpose of influencing the out come of a ballot measure.
A contribution is also any unfulfilled pledge, subscription, agreement or promise, whether or not legally enforceable.
Each contribution received by a committee must be deposited into the committee’s campaign account not later than seven days after the date the contribution is received.
Loans
Loans received from entities other than a financial institution (including personal loans from individuals)are non-exempt loans. A non-exempt loan is a contribution until the loan is repaid in full. The terms of the loan, including the interest rate and repayment schedule, must be disclosed.
Prohibited contributions
Committees can not accept an anonymous contribution. If a committee cannot identify a contributor, the contribution must be donated to an organization that can accept anonymous contributions.
Types of contributions
For a detailed list of accepted types of contributions, see the Oregon Campaign Finance Manual.
Expenditures
All expenditures made by a committee must be drawn from the campaign account and either issued on a check signed by the candidate or treasurer of the committee, or by any other individual designated as a signer on the account, or paid using a debit card or other form of electronic transmission. This does not prohibit a person from making an expenditure on behalf of the committee and receiving reimbursement from the campaign account.
Deadlines
Transactions must be reported on a continuous basis with each transaction having its own filing deadline. Transactions filed online with ORESTAR will automatically calculate transaction due dates. A transaction is due not later than 12 midnight on the day of the deadline to file a transaction.
Generally, a transaction is due no later than 30 calendar days after the date of the transaction.
In an even-numbered year a transaction is due not later than 12 midnight seven days after the transaction’s occurrence during three specific time frames:
- the 42nd day before the date of the primary election and ending on the date of the primary election
- the 42nd day before the date that is four months prior to the general election and ending on the date four months before the general election
- the 42nd day before the date of the general election and ending on the date of the general election
Otherwise, a transaction is due not later than 30 days after its occurrence.
External links
- Campaign Finance Manual
- Oregon Elections Division--Campaign Finance
- Search Oregon Campaign Finance Database for before January 2007
- Search Oregon Campaign Finance Database for after January 2007
See also
- Laws governing the initiative process in Oregon
- Procedures for qualifying an initiative in Oregon
- List of Oregon ballot measures
- Oregon signature requirements
References
This article was created with information from the Oregon Campaign Finance Manual 2008
