Michigan Laws 15.533 – Contributions
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 15.533
- Contribution: means a payment, gift, subscription, assessment, expenditure, contract, payment for services, dues, advance, forbearance, loan, or donation of money or anything of ascertainable monetary value, or a transfer of anything of ascertainable monetary value to a person, made for or allocated to the purpose of defending an elected official in a criminal, civil, or administrative action that arises directly out of the conduct of the elected official's governmental duties. See Michigan Laws 15.523
- Elected official: means an individual who holds an elective office in state or local government in this state. See Michigan Laws 15.523
- Financial institution: means a state or nationally chartered bank or a state or federally chartered savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union whose deposits are insured by an agency of the United States government and that maintains a principal office or branch office located in this state under the laws of this state or the United States. See Michigan Laws 15.523
- Legal defense fund: means all contributions received, held, or expended for the legal defense of an elected official. See Michigan Laws 15.523
- Person: means a business, individual, proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, labor organization, company, corporation, association, committee, or any other organization or group of persons acting jointly. See Michigan Laws 15.523
- Treasurer: means the individual designated as responsible for a legal defense fund's record keeping, report preparation, or report filing or, in the absence of such an individual, the elected official who is the beneficiary of the legal defense fund. See Michigan Laws 15.523
(1) An elected official, or a person on behalf of an elected official, shall not solicit or accept a contribution for the purpose of defending the elected official in a criminal, civil, or administrative action that arises directly out of the conduct of the elected official’s governmental duties unless the contribution is included in a legal defense fund that complies with the requirements of this act.
(2) A person shall not make and the elected officer or treasurer of a legal defense fund shall not accept an anonymous contribution. An anonymous contribution to a legal defense fund shall not be deposited into the account the legal defense fund maintains with a financial institution, but shall be given to a person that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code, 26 USC 501. The person receiving the contribution from the legal defense fund shall provide the legal defense fund with a receipt, which shall be retained by the legal defense fund’s treasurer.
(3) A contribution shall not be made by a person to another person with the agreement or arrangement that the person receiving the contribution will then transfer that contribution to a particular legal defense fund.
(4) Contributions to a legal defense fund that are received as or converted to the form of money, checks, or other negotiable instruments shall be deposited in a single account in a financial institution for all contributions to the legal defense fund. The treasurer of the legal defense fund shall designate the financial institution that is the official depository of the legal defense fund. A contribution that is received and retained by a legal defense fund shall be maintained in a separate account at the official depository and shall not be deposited in or commingled with any other account of the elected official.
(5) A person who knowingly violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable as follows:
(a) If the person is an individual, by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both.
(b) If the person is other than an individual, by a fine of not more than $10,000.00.