A. Any person, candidate campaign committee, or political committee that makes independent expenditures, in the aggregate during an election cycle, of $1,000 or more for a statewide election or $200 or more for any other election shall maintain records and report pursuant to this chapter all such independent expenditures made for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 24.2-945.2

  • Board: means the State Board of Elections. See Virginia Code 24.2-101
  • Campaign committee: means the committee designated by a candidate to receive all contributions and make all expenditures for him or on his behalf in connection with his nomination or election. See Virginia Code 24.2-945.1
  • Candidate: means "candidate" as defined in § 24. See Virginia Code 24.2-945.1
  • City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
  • Election: means a general, primary, or special election. See Virginia Code 24.2-101
  • Expenditure: means money and services of any amount, and any other thing of value, paid, loaned, provided, or in any other way disbursed by any candidate, campaign committee, political committee, or person for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or by any inaugural committee for the purpose of defraying the costs of the inauguration of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General. See Virginia Code 24.2-945.1
  • General registrar: means the person appointed by the electoral board of a county or city pursuant to § 24. See Virginia Code 24.2-101
  • in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
  • Independent expenditure: includes an expenditure made by a candidate campaign committee (i) that is not related to the candidate's own campaign and (ii) that is not made to, controlled by, coordinated with, or made with the authorization of a different candidate, his campaign committee, or an agent of that candidate or his campaign committee. See Virginia Code 24.2-945.1
  • Person: means any individual or corporation, partnership, business, labor organization, membership organization, association, cooperative, or other like entity. See Virginia Code 24.2-945.1
  • Political action committee: means any organization, person, or group of persons, established or maintained to receive and expend contributions for the primary purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate. See Virginia Code 24.2-945.1
  • Political committee: means and includes any political action committee, political party committee, referendum committee, or inaugural committee. See Virginia Code 24.2-945.1
  • political party: means an organization of citizens of the Commonwealth which, at either of the two preceding statewide general elections, received at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for any statewide office filled in that election. See Virginia Code 24.2-101
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • Statewide office: means the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Attorney General. See Virginia Code 24.2-945.1

B. Independent expenditure reports shall be due (i) within 24 hours of the time when the funds were expended or (ii) within 24 hours of the time when materials, as described in subsection A of this section, are published or broadcast to the public, whichever (i) or (ii) first occurs. The reports shall be filed with the State Board if the funds were expended to support or oppose a candidate for statewide office or the General Assembly or with the general registrar of the county or city in which the candidate resides if the funds were expended to support or oppose a candidate for local office. The report filed by a political action committee or political party committee shall include the information required for a statement of organization as listed in subdivisions A 1 through A 8 of § 24.2-949.2 or subdivisions 1 through 6 of § 24.2-950.2, as appropriate, unless the committee has a current statement of organization on file with the State Board.

C. Independent expenditure reports required by this section may be filed electronically pursuant to § 24.2-946.1 or in writing on a form developed by the State Board. If the report is filed in writing, the report shall be (i) received by the State Board or the general registrar, as appropriate, within 24 hours of the time when the funds were expended or (ii) transmitted to the State Board or the general registrar, as appropriate, by telephonic transmission to a facsimile device within 24 hours of the time when the funds were expended with an original copy of the report mailed to the State Board or the general registrar, as appropriate, and postmarked within 24 hours of the time when the funds were expended.

1970, c. 462, § 24.1-255; 1975, c. 515; 1981, c. 425; 1983, c. 119; 1988, c. 616; 1991, c. 9; 1993, c. 641, § 24.2-910; 1996, c. 1042; 2002, c. 468; 2006, cc. 772, 787, 892, 938; 2007, cc. 331, 831; 2008, c. 825; 2015, cc. 644, 645.

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