Mississippi Advisory Opinions June 17, 2010: No. 2010-00325 (June 17, 2010)

No. 2010-00325.

Dear Mr. Hillman:

Attorney General Jim Hood has received your request and assigned it to me for research and reply.

Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-807(c) (1972) states that all candidates for judicial office or their political committees, are required to file periodic reports in years in which the candidates are to be elected. Does the periodic reporting requirement found in Section 23-15-807(c) extend to all political committees that contribute to judicial committees in judicial election years? Furthermore, are judicial candidates and political committees that make expenditures for or against a judicial candidate required to file pre-election reports in judicial election years and annual reports in non-judicial election years.

Yes to all questions.

Your letter states in pertinent part:

According to (Section 23-15-807), all political committees that have an obligation to report must file periodic reports in addition to pre-election reports in 1987 and every fourth year thereafter. In calendar years except 1987 and every fourth year thereafter, candidates and political committees are only required to file annual campaign finance reports.

Subsection (c) of the statute addresses the reporting requirements of candidates for judicial office and "their political committees" in years in which judicial candidates are to be elected. The Secretary of State's Office has interpreted this statute to require judicial candidates and all political committees that make expenditures for or against a judicial candidate to file periodic reports in judicial election years according to the schedule set forth in subsection (c) . This office has also interpreted the statute to require judicial candidates and political committees that make expenditures for or against a judicial candidate to file pre-election reports in judicial election years and annual reports in non-judicial election years.

Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-807 (1972) provides in pertinent part as follows:

(a) Each candidate or political committee shall file reports of contributions and disbursements in accordance with the provisions of this section. All candidates or political committees required to report may terminate its obligation to report only upon submitting a final report that it will no longer receive any contributions or make any disbursement and that such candidate or committee has no outstanding debts or obligations. The candidate, treasurer or chief executive officer shall sign each such report.

(b) Candidates who are seeking election, or nomination for election, and political committees that make expenditures for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the action of voters for or against the nomination for election, or election, of one or more candidates or balloted measures at such election, shall file the following reports :

(i) In any calendar year during which there is a regularly scheduled election, a preelection report, which shall be filed no later than the seventh day before any election in which such candidate or political committee has accepted contributions or made expenditures and which shall be complete as of the tenth day before such election;

(ii) In 1987 and every fourth year thereafter, periodic reports, which shall be filed no later than the tenth day after April 30, May 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, and which shall be complete as of the last day of each period; and

(iii) In any calendar years except 1987 and except every fourth year thereafter, a report covering the calendar year which shall be filed no later than January 31 of the following calendar year.

(c) All candidates for judicial office as defined in Section 23-15-975, or their political committees, shall file in the year in which they are to be elected, periodic reports which shall be filed no later than the tenth day after April 30, May 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31.

(emphasis added)

A chief purpose of campaign finance disclosure laws is to provide full, timely disclosure to the public of the sources and objects of political campaign funds. The U. S. Supreme Court in Buckley v. Valeo , 424 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 612 (1976), recognized three substantial governmental interests in requiring public disclosure of campaign finances:

First, disclosure provides the electorate with information "as to where political campaign money comes from and how it is spent by the candidate" in order to aid the voters in evaluating those who seek federal office. It allows voters to place each candidate in the political spectrum more precisely than is often possible solely on the basis of party labels and campaign speeches. The sources of a candidate's financial support also alert the voter to the interests to which a candidate is most likely to be responsive and thus facilitate predictions of future performance in office...Second, disclosure requirements deter actual corruption and avoid the appearance of corruption by exposing large contributions and expenditures to the light of publicity. This exposure may discourage those who would use money for improper purposes either before or after the election. A public armed with information about a candidate's most generous supporters is better able to detect any post-election special favors that may be given in return...Third, and not least significant, recordkeeping, reporting, and disclosure requirements are an essential means of gathering the data necessary to detect violations of the contribution limitations described above. ( Buckley , 424 U.S. at 66-68, 96 S.Ct. 612) (footnotes omitted).

Mississippi, as do most states and the federal government, requires both the receiving candidates and the contributing political committees to file campaign finance disclosure reports: Candidates who are receiving campaign contributions from political committees file a report which includes those receipts and the political committees who are making contributions to candidates file a report which includes those expenditures, assuming the receipts and expenditures exceed statutory threshold amounts.

This reporting regimen provides a built-in check and balance system which may give pause to the candidate or committee who would give consideration to concealing a contribution but for the risk the corresponding reporting entity will properly report the contribution and expose their omission. Improper reporting of campaign finances may result in civil penalties under Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-813 (1972) and criminal penalties under Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-811 (1972).

Since 1994, judicial offices in Mississippi, as they are defined in Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-975 (1972), have been elected on a non-partisan basis and without party labels. In light of the Supreme Court's language in Buckley printed above, this makes the campaign finance reports of political committees all the more vital to an informed voting public, since the reports help provide useful information to voters on who is supporting the candidate financially and to what degree.

Furthermore, the Legislature has in Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-1021 imposed on political committees limits to the amount of contributions they may make to judicial candidates' campaigns. For example, a political committee may not contribute more than $5000 to a candidate for Supreme Court justice or $2500 to a candidate for circuit or chancery court judge. Again turning to the discussion in the Buckley opinion above, campaign finance disclosure by political committees helps enable the public, the Secretary of State and prosecutors to determine if a political committee has violated those statutory limits.

In light of these considerations and the relevant statutory language, the provisions of Section 23-15-807(c), read in pari materia with the rest of the statute, requires all political committees who contribute to judicial candidates to file periodic campaign finance disclosure reports in judicial election years. Additionally, judicial candidates and political committees who receive contributions or make expenditures in relation to judicial elections must also file pre-election reports in judicial election years in which such transactions take place and annual reports in all other years.

Please let me know if you would like to discuss this matter or if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:

Reese Partridge

Assistant Attorney General