Montana Code 13-35-225. Election materials not to be anonymous — notice — penalty
13-35-225. Election materials not to be anonymous — notice — penalty. (1) All election communications, electioneering communications, and independent expenditures must clearly and conspicuously include the attribution “paid for by” followed by the name and address of the person who made or financed the expenditure for the communication. The attribution must contain:
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-35-225
- Candidate: means :
(a)an individual who has filed a declaration or petition for nomination, acceptance of nomination, or appointment as a candidate for public office as required by law;
(b)for the purposes of chapter 35, 36, or 37, an individual who has solicited or received and retained contributions, made expenditures, or given consent to an individual, organization, political party, or committee to solicit or receive and retain contributions or make expenditures on the individual's behalf to secure nomination or election to any office at any time, whether or not the office for which the individual will seek nomination or election is known when the:
(i)solicitation is made;
(ii)contribution is received and retained; or
(iii)expenditure is made; or
(c)an officeholder who is the subject of a recall election. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Election: means a general, special, or primary election held pursuant to the requirements of state law, regardless of the time or purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Expenditure: means a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, promise, pledge, or gift of money or anything of value:
(i)made by a candidate or political committee to support or oppose a candidate or a ballot issue;
(ii)made by a candidate while the candidate is engaging in campaign activity to pay child-care expenses as provided in 13-37-220; or
(iii)used or intended for use in making independent expenditures or in producing electioneering communications. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Person: means an individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership, cooperative, committee, including a political committee, club, union, or other organization or group of individuals or a candidate as defined in subsection (8). See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Political committee: means a combination of two or more individuals or a person other than an individual who receives a contribution or makes an expenditure:
(i)to support or oppose a candidate or a committee organized to support or oppose a candidate or a petition for nomination;
(ii)to support or oppose a ballot issue or a committee organized to support or oppose a ballot issue; or
(iii)to prepare or disseminate an election communication, an electioneering communication, or an independent expenditure. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(a)for election communications or electioneering communications financed by a candidate or a candidate’s campaign finances, the name and the address of the candidate or the candidate’s campaign;
(b)for election communications, electioneering communications, or independent expenditures financed by a political committee or a joint fundraising committee, the name of the committee, the name of the committee treasurer, deputy treasurer, secretary, vice chairperson, or chairperson, as designated pursuant to 13-37-201(2)(b), and the address of the committee or the named committee officer; and
(c)for election communications, electioneering communications, or independent expenditures financed by a political committee that is a corporation or a union, the name of the corporation or union, its chief executive officer or equivalent, and the address of the principal place of business.
(2)Communications in a partisan election financed by a candidate, a political committee organized on the candidate’s behalf, or a joint fundraising committee with a participant who is a candidate or a political committee organized on the candidate’s behalf must state the candidate’s party affiliation or include the party symbol.
(3)If a document or other article of advertising is too small for the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) to be conveniently included, the candidate responsible for the material or the person financing the communication shall file a copy of the article with the commissioner of political practices, together with the required information or statement, at the time of its public distribution.
(4)If information required in subsections (1) and (2) is omitted or not printed or if the information required by subsection (3) is not filed with the commissioner, upon discovery of or notification about the omission, the candidate responsible for the material or the person financing the communication shall:
(a)file notification of the omission with the commissioner of political practices within 2 business days of the discovery or notification;
(b)bring the material into compliance with subsections (1) and (2) or file the information required by subsection (3) with the commissioner; and
(c)withdraw any noncompliant communication from circulation as soon as reasonably possible.
(5)Whenever the commissioner receives a complaint alleging any violation of subsections (1) and (2), the commissioner shall as soon as practicable assess the merits of the complaint.
(6)(a) If the commissioner determines that the complaint has merit, the commissioner shall notify the complainant and the candidate or political committee of the commissioner’s determination. The notice must state that the candidate or political committee shall bring the material into compliance as required under this section:
(i)within 2 business days after receiving the notification if the notification occurs more than 7 days prior to an election; or
(ii)within 24 hours after receiving the notification if the notification occurs 7 days or less prior to an election.
(b)When notifying the candidate or campaign committee under subsection (6)(a), the commissioner shall include a statement that if the candidate, political committee, or joint fundraising committee fails to bring the material into compliance as required under this section, the candidate, political committee, or joint fundraising committee is subject to a civil penalty pursuant to 13-37-128.