130.016. Certain candidates exempt from filing requirements--procedure for exemption--restrictions on subsequent contributions and expenditures--rejection of exemption--candidate committees for certai
Certain candidates exempt from filing requirements--procedure forexemption--restrictions on subsequent contributions andexpenditures--rejection of exemption--candidate committees forcertain general assembly leadership offices prohibited.
130.016. 1. No candidate for statewide elected office, generalassembly, or municipal office in a city with a population of more than onehundred thousand shall be required to comply with the requirements to filea statement of organization or disclosure reports of contributions andexpenditures for any election in which neither the aggregate ofcontributions received nor the aggregate of expenditures made on behalf ofsuch candidate exceeds five hundred dollars and no single contributor,other than the candidate, has contributed more than three hundredtwenty-five dollars, provided that:
(1) The candidate files a sworn exemption statement with theappropriate officer that the candidate does not intend to either receivecontributions or make expenditures in the aggregate of more than fivehundred dollars or receive contributions from any single contributor, otherthan the candidate, that aggregate more than three hundred twenty-fivedollars, and that the total of all contributions received or expendituresmade by the candidate and all committees or any other person with thecandidate's knowledge and consent in support of the candidacy will notexceed five hundred dollars and that the aggregate of contributionsreceived from any single contributor will not exceed the amount of thelimitation on contributions to elect an individual to the office of staterepresentative as calculated in subsection 2 of section 130.032*. Suchexemption statement shall be filed no later than the date set forth insection 130.046 on which a disclosure report would otherwise be required ifthe candidate does not file the exemption statement. The exemptionstatement shall be filed on a form furnished to each appropriate officer bythe executive director of the Missouri ethics commission. Each appropriateofficer shall make the exemption statement available to candidates andshall direct each candidate's attention to the exemption statement andexplain its purpose to the candidate; and
(2) The sworn exemption statement includes a statement that thecandidate understands that records of contributions and expenditures mustbe maintained from the time the candidate first receives contributions ormakes expenditures and that an exemption from filing a statement oforganization or disclosure reports does not exempt the candidate from otherprovisions of this chapter. Each candidate described in this subsectionwho files a statement of exemption shall file a statement of limitedactivity for each reporting period described in section 130.046.
2. Any candidate who has filed an exemption statement as provided insubsection 1 of this section shall not accept any contribution or make anyexpenditure in support of the person's candidacy, either directly orindirectly or by or through any committee or any other person acting withthe candidate's knowledge and consent, which would cause such contributionsor expenditures to exceed the limits specified in subdivision (1) ofsubsection 1 of this section unless the candidate later rejects theexemption pursuant to subsection 3 of this section. Any contributionreceived in excess of such limits shall be returned to the donor ortransmitted to the state treasurer to escheat to the state.
3. If, after filing the exemption statement provided for in thissection, the candidate subsequently determines the candidate wishes toexceed any of the limits in subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of thissection, the candidate shall file a notice of rejection of the exemptionwith the appropriate officer; however, such rejection shall not be filedlater than thirty days before election. A notice of rejection of exemptionshall be accompanied by a statement of organization as required by section130.021 and any other statements and reports which would have been requiredif the candidate had not filed an exemption statement.
4. A primary election and the immediately succeeding general electionare separate elections, and restrictions on contributions and expendituresset forth in subsection 2 of this section shall apply to each election;however, if a successful primary candidate has correctly filed an exemptionstatement prior to the primary election and has not filed a notice ofrejection prior to the date on which the first disclosure report applicableto the succeeding general election is required to be filed, the candidateshall not be required to file an exemption statement for that generalelection if the limitations set forth in subsection 1 of this section applyto the succeeding general election.
5. A candidate who has an existing candidate committee formed for aprior election for which all statements and reports required by thischapter have been properly filed shall be eligible to file the exemptionstatement as provided in subsection 1 of this section and shall not berequired to file the disclosure reports pertaining to the election forwhich the candidate is eligible to file the exemption statement if thecandidate and the treasurer or deputy treasurer of such existing candidatecommittee continue to comply with the requirements, limitations andrestrictions set forth in subsections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this section. Theexemption permitted by this subsection does not exempt a candidate or thetreasurer of the candidate's existing candidate committee from complyingwith the requirements of subsections 6 and 7 of section 130.046 applicableto a prior election.
6. No candidate for supreme court, circuit court, or associatecircuit court, or candidate for political party office, or for countyoffice or municipal office in a city of one hundred thousand or less, orfor any special purpose district office shall be required to file anexemption statement pursuant to this section in order to be exempted fromforming a committee and filing disclosure reports required of committeespursuant to this chapter if the aggregate of contributions received orexpenditures made by the candidate and any other person with thecandidate's knowledge and consent in support of the person's candidacy doesnot exceed one thousand dollars and the aggregate of contributions from anysingle contributor does not exceed three hundred twenty-five dollars. Nocandidate for any office listed in this subsection shall be excused fromcomplying with the provisions of any section of this chapter, other thanthe filing of an exemption statement under the conditions specified in thissubsection.
7. If any candidate for an office listed in subsection 6 of thissection exceeds the limits specified in subsection 6 of this section, thecandidate shall form a committee no later than thirty days prior to theelection for which the contributions were received or expended which shallcomply with all provisions of this chapter for committees.
8. No member of or candidate for the general assembly shall form acandidate committee for the office of speaker of the house ofrepresentatives or president pro tem of the senate.
(L. 1978 S.B. 839, A.L. 1979 S.B. 129, A.L. 1985 H.B. 150, et al., A.L. 1990 S.B. 631, A.L. 1991 S.B. 262, A.L. 1997 S.B. 16, A.L. 2003 H.B. 99, A.L. 2006 H.B. 1900, A.L. 2008 S.B. 1038)*Section 130.032 was repealed by S.B. 1038, 2008.