Montana Code 13-37-232. Disclosure requirements for incidental committees
13-37-232. Disclosure requirements for incidental committees. (1) A combination of two or more individuals or a person other than an individual that would otherwise qualify as an incidental committee but that receives less than $250 in contributions or that makes less than $250 in expenditures does not form a political committee and is not required to file as an incidental committee.
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-37-232
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Ballot: means a paper ballot counted manually or a paper ballot counted by a machine, such as an optical scan system or other technology that automatically tabulates votes cast by processing the paper ballots. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- 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
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of political practices created by 13-37-102. See Montana Code 13-37-101
- 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
- Incidental committee: means a political committee that is not specifically organized or operating for the primary purpose of supporting or opposing candidates or ballot issues but that may incidentally become a political committee by receiving a contribution or making an expenditure. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Individual: means a human being. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- issue: means a proposal submitted to the people at an election for their approval or rejection, including but not limited to an initiative, referendum, proposed constitutional amendment, recall question, school levy question, bond issue question, or ballot question. 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
(2)The reports required under 13-37-225 through 13-37-227 from incidental committees must disclose the following information concerning contributions to the committee that are designated by the contributor for a specified candidate, ballot issue, or petition for nomination or that are made by the contributor in response to an appeal by the incidental committee for contributions to support incidental committee election activity, including in-kind expenditures, independent expenditures, election communications, or electioneering communications:
(a)except as provided in subsection (5), the full name, mailing address, occupation, and employer, if any, of each person who has made aggregate contributions during the reporting period for a specified candidate, ballot issue, or petition for nomination of $35 or more;
(b)for each person identified under subsection (2)(a), the aggregate amount of contributions made by that person for all reporting periods;
(c)except as provided in subsection (5), each loan received from any person during the reporting period for a specified candidate, ballot issue, or petition for nomination, together with the full names, mailing addresses, occupations, and employers, if any, of the lender and endorsers, if any, and the date and amount of each loan;
(d)the amount and nature of debts and obligations owed to an incidental committee for a specified candidate, ballot issue, or petition for nomination in the form prescribed by the commissioner;
(e)an account of proceeds that total less than $35 per person from mass collections made at fundraising events sponsored by the incidental committee for a specified candidate, ballot issue, or petition for nomination; and
(f)the total sum of all contributions received by or designated for the incidental committee for a specified candidate, ballot issue, or petition for nomination during the reporting period.
(3)The reports required under 13-37-225 through 13-37-227 from incidental committees must disclose the following information concerning expenditures made:
(a)the full name, mailing address, occupation, and principal place of business, if any, of each person to whom expenditures have been made during the reporting period, including the amount, date, and purpose of each expenditure and the total amount of expenditures made to each person;
(b)the full name, mailing address, occupation, and principal place of business, if any, of each person to whom an expenditure for personal services, salaries, and reimbursed expenses has been made during the reporting period, including the amount, date, and purpose of that expenditure and the total amount of expenditures made to each person;
(c)the total sum of expenditures made during the reporting period;
(d)the name and address of each political committee or candidate to which the reporting committee made any transfer of funds together with the amount and dates of all transfers;
(e)the name of any person to whom a loan was made during the reporting period, including the full name, mailing address, occupation, and principal place of business, if any, of that person, and the full names, mailing addresses, occupations, and principal places of business, if any, of the endorsers, if any, and the date and amount of each loan;
(f)the amount and nature of debts and obligations owed by a political committee in the form prescribed by the commissioner; and
(g)other information that may be required by the commissioner to fully disclose the disposition of funds used to make expenditures.
(4)Reports of expenditures made to a consultant, advertising agency, polling firm, or other person that performs services for or on behalf of an incidental committee must be itemized and described in sufficient detail to disclose the specific services performed by the entity to which payment or reimbursement was made.
(5)An incidental committee shall report an expenditure within 30 days of making the expenditure unless the expenditure is made during the time period described in 13-37-226(2)(d).
(6)An incidental committee shall request the occupation and employer of a contributor or person who provided a loan to the incidental committee. If the contributor or person who provided a loan does not provide the requested information, the incidental committee is only required to report what is provided.
(7)An incidental committee that does not receive contributions for a specified candidate, ballot issue, or petition for nomination and that does not solicit contributions for incidental committee election activity, including in-kind expenditures, independent expenditures, election communications, or electioneering communications, is required to report only its expenditures.