Secretary of State Review of Municipal Campaign Finance Complaints

If a person wants to file a complaint for a campaign finance violation (complaint) and the complaint arises out of a municipal campaign finance matter, current law requires the complaint to be filed with the clerk of the applicable municipality (clerk) rather than with the secretary of state (secretary). The bill allows a clerk to refer a complaint that arises out of a municipal campaign finance matter to the secretary if the municipality in which the complaint was filed:

• Does not have a campaign finance complaint ordinance and hearing process in place; or
• Does have a campaign finance complaint ordinance and hearing process in place but the clerk determines that the clerk's review of the complaint would create a conflict of interest for the clerk or the clerk's staff.

Before referring a complaint to the secretary, a clerk is required to review the complaint to determine if it was filed in writing, signed by the complainant, and identifies one or more respondents. If the complaint does not satisfy these 3 criteria, the clerk is required to dismiss it, and if it does, the clerk is required to refer it to the secretary. The secretary is required to treat a complaint referred by a clerk in the same manner as any other complaint filed with the secretary.

A clerk is required to provide notice to a person who files a complaint if the clerk dismisses the complaint or refers the complaint to the secretary.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)