Missouri Statutes § 130.011 Definitions

(1) "Appropriate officer" or "appropriate officers" , the person or persons designated in section 130.026 to receive certain required statements and reports;

(2) "Ballot measure" or "measure" , any proposal submitted or intended to be submitted to qualified voters for their approval or rejection, including any proposal submitted by initiative petition, referendum petition, or by the general assembly or any local governmental body having authority to refer proposals to the voter;

(3) "Candidate" , an individual who seeks nomination or election to public office. The term "candidate" includes an elected officeholder who is the subject of a recall election, an individual who seeks nomination by the individual's political party for election to public office, an individual standing for retention in an election to an office to which the individual was previously appointed, an individual who seeks nomination or election whether or not the specific elective public office to be sought has been finally determined by such individual at the time the individual meets the conditions described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subdivision, and an individual who is a write-in candidate as defined in subdivision (28) of this section. A candidate shall be deemed to seek nomination or election when the person first:

(4) "Cash" , currency, coin, United States postage stamps, or any negotiable instrument which can be transferred from one person to another person without the signature or endorsement of the transferor;

(5) "Check" , a check drawn on a state or federal bank, or a draft on a negotiable order of withdrawal account in a savings and loan association or a share draft account in a credit union;

(6) "Closing date" , the date through which a statement or report is required to be complete;

(7) "Committee" , a person or any combination of persons, who accepts contributions or makes expenditures for the primary or incidental purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the action of voters for or against the nomination or election to public office of one or more candidates or the qualification, passage or defeat of any ballot measure or for the purpose of paying a previously incurred campaign debt or obligation of a candidate or the debts or obligations of a committee or for the purpose of contributing funds to another committee:

(8) "Campaign committee" , a committee, other than a candidate committee, which shall be formed by an individual or group of individuals to receive contributions or make expenditures and whose sole purpose is to support or oppose the qualification and passage of one or more particular ballot measures in an election or the retention of judges under the nonpartisan court plan, such committee shall be formed no later than thirty days prior to the election for which the committee receives contributions or makes expenditures, and which shall terminate the later of either thirty days after the general election or upon the satisfaction of all committee debt after the general election, except that no committee retiring debt shall engage in any other activities in support of a measure for which the committee was formed;

(9) "Candidate committee" , a committee which shall be formed by a candidate to receive contributions or make expenditures in behalf of the person's candidacy and which shall continue in existence for use by an elected candidate or which shall terminate the later of either thirty days after the general election for a candidate who was not elected or upon the satisfaction of all committee debt after the election, except that no committee retiring debt shall engage in any other activities in support of the candidate for which the committee was formed. Any candidate for elective office shall have only one candidate committee for the elective office sought, which is controlled directly by the candidate for the purpose of making expenditures. A candidate committee is presumed to be under the control and direction of the candidate unless the candidate files an affidavit with the appropriate officer stating that the committee is acting without control or direction on the candidate's part;

(10) "Continuing committee" , a committee of continuing existence which is not formed, controlled or directed by a candidate, and is a committee other than a candidate committee or campaign committee, whose primary or incidental purpose is to receive contributions or make expenditures to influence or attempt to influence the action of voters whether or not a particular candidate or candidates or a particular ballot measure or measures to be supported or opposed has been determined at the time the committee is required to file any statement or report pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. "Continuing committee" includes, but is not limited to, any committee organized or sponsored by a business entity, a labor organization, a professional association, a trade or business association, a club or other organization and whose primary purpose is to solicit, accept and use contributions from the members, employees or stockholders of such entity and any individual or group of individuals who accept and use contributions to influence or attempt to influence the action of voters. Such committee shall be formed no later than sixty days prior to the election for which the committee receives contributions or makes expenditures;

(11) "Connected organization" , any organization such as a corporation, a labor organization, a membership organization, a cooperative, or trade or professional association which expends funds or provides services or facilities to establish, administer or maintain a committee or to solicit contributions to a committee from its members, officers, directors, employees or security holders. An organization shall be deemed to be the connected organization if more than fifty percent of the persons making contributions to the committee during the current calendar year are members, officers, directors, employees or security holders of such organization or their spouses;

(12) "Contribution" , a payment, gift, loan, advance, deposit, or donation of money or anything of value for the purpose of supporting or opposing the nomination or election of any candidate for public office or the qualification, passage or defeat of any ballot measure, or for the support of any committee supporting or opposing candidates or ballot measures or for paying debts or obligations of any candidate or committee previously incurred for the above purposes. A contribution of anything of value shall be deemed to have a money value equivalent to the fair market value. "Contribution" includes, but is not limited to:

(13) "County" , any one of the several counties of this state or the city of St. Louis;

(14) "Disclosure report" , an itemized report of receipts, expenditures and incurred indebtedness which is prepared on forms approved by the Missouri ethics commission and filed at the times and places prescribed;

(15) "Election" , any primary, general or special election held to nominate or elect an individual to public office, to retain or recall an elected officeholder or to submit a ballot measure to the voters, and any caucus or other meeting of a political party or a political party committee at which that party's candidate or candidates for public office are officially selected. A primary election and the succeeding general election shall be considered separate elections;

(16) "Expenditure" , a payment, advance, conveyance, deposit, donation or contribution of money or anything of value for the purpose of supporting or opposing the nomination or election of any candidate for public office or the qualification or passage of any ballot measure or for the support of any committee which in turn supports or opposes any candidate or ballot measure or for the purpose of paying a previously incurred campaign debt or obligation of a candidate or the debts or obligations of a committee; a payment, or an agreement or promise to pay, money or anything of value, including a candidate's own money or property, for the purchase of goods, services, property, facilities or anything of value for the purpose of supporting or opposing the nomination or election of any candidate for public office or the qualification or passage of any ballot measure or for the support of any committee which in turn supports or opposes any candidate or ballot measure or for the purpose of paying a previously incurred campaign debt or obligation of a candidate or the debts or obligations of a committee. An expenditure of anything of value shall be deemed to have a money value equivalent to the fair market value. "Expenditure" includes, but is not limited to:

(17) "Exploratory committees" , a committee which shall be formed by an individual to receive contributions and make expenditures on behalf of this individual in determining whether or not the individual seeks elective office. Such committee shall terminate no later than December thirty-first of the year prior to the general election for the possible office;

(18) "Fund-raising event" , an event such as a dinner, luncheon, reception, coffee, testimonial, rally, auction or similar affair through which contributions are solicited or received by such means as the purchase of tickets, payment of attendance fees, donations for prizes or through the purchase of goods, services or political merchandise;

(19) "In-kind contribution" or "in-kind expenditure" , a contribution or expenditure in a form other than money;

(20) "Labor organization" , any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work;

(21) "Loan" , a transfer of money, property or anything of ascertainable monetary value in exchange for an obligation, conditional or not, to repay in whole or in part and which was contracted, used, or intended for use in an election campaign, or which was made or received by a committee or which was contracted, used, or intended to pay previously incurred campaign debts or obligations of a candidate or the debts or obligations of a committee;

(22) "Person" , an individual, group of individuals, corporation, partnership, committee, proprietorship, joint venture, any department, agency, board, institution or other entity of the state or any of its political subdivisions, union, labor organization, trade or professional or business association, association, political party or any executive committee thereof, or any other club or organization however constituted or any officer or employee of such entity acting in the person's official capacity;

(23) "Political merchandise" , goods such as bumper stickers, pins, hats, ties, jewelry, literature, or other items sold or distributed at a fund-raising event or to the general public for publicity or for the purpose of raising funds to be used in supporting or opposing a candidate for nomination or election or in supporting or opposing the qualification, passage or defeat of a ballot measure;

(24) "Political party" , a political party which has the right under law to have the names of its candidates listed on the ballot in a general election;

(25) "Political party committee" , a state, district, county, city, or area committee of a political party, as defined in section 115.603 , which may be organized as a not-for-profit corporation under Missouri law, and which committee is of continuing existence, and has the primary or incidental purpose of receiving contributions and making expenditures to influence or attempt to influence the action of voters on behalf of the political party;

(26) "Public office" or "office" , any state, judicial, county, municipal, school or other district, ward, township, or other political subdivision office or any political party office which is filled by a vote of registered voters;

(27) "Regular session" , includes that period beginning on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January and ending following the first Friday after the second Monday in May;

(28) "Write-in candidate" , an individual whose name is not printed on the ballot but who otherwise meets the definition of candidate in subdivision (3) of this section.