Arizona Laws 16-907. Committee recordkeeping; treasurer; accounts
A. A committee treasurer is the custodian of the committee’s books and accounts. A committee may not make a contribution, expenditure or disbursement without the authorization of the treasurer or the treasurer’s designated agent.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 16-907
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Agent: means any person who has actual authority, either express or implied, to represent or make decisions on behalf of another person. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Best effort: means that a committee treasurer or treasurer's agent makes at least one written effort, including an attempt by e-mail, text message, private message through social media or other similar communication, or at least one oral effort that is documented in writing to identify the contributor of an incomplete contribution. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Candidate: means an individual who receives contributions or makes expenditures or who gives consent to another person to receive contributions or make expenditures on behalf of that individual in connection with the candidate's nomination, election or retention for any public office. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Committee: means a candidate committee, a political action committee or a political party. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Contribution: means any money, advance, deposit or other thing of value that is made to a person for the purpose of influencing an election. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Election: means any election for any ballot measure in this state or any candidate election during a primary, general, recall, special or runoff election for any office in this state other than a federal office and a political party office prescribed by chapter 5, article 2 of this title. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Election cycle: means the two-year period beginning on January 1 in the year after a statewide general election and ending on December 31 in the year of a statewide general election or, for cities and towns, the two-year period beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which the city's or town's second, runoff or general election is scheduled and ending on the last day of the calendar quarter in which the city's or town's immediately following second, runoff or general election is scheduled, however that election is designated by the city or town. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Enforcement officer: means the attorney general or the county, city or town attorney with authority to collect fines or issue penalties with respect to a given election pursuant to section 16-938. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Expenditure: means any purchase, payment or other thing of value that is made by a person for the purpose of influencing an election. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Filing officer: means the secretary of state or the county, city or town officer in charge of elections for that jurisdiction who accepts statements and reports for those elections pursuant to section 16-928. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Incomplete contribution: means any contribution that is received by a committee for which the contributor's complete identification has not been obtained. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Itemized: means that each contribution received or expenditure made is set forth separately. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Person: means an individual or a candidate, nominee, committee, corporation, limited liability company, labor organization, partnership, trust, association, organization, joint venture, cooperative or unincorporated organization or association. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Personal monies: means any of the following:
(a) Assets to which the individual or individual's spouse has either legal title or an equitable interest. See Arizona Laws 16-901
- Political party: means a committee that meets the requirements for recognition as a political party pursuant to chapter 5 of this title. See Arizona Laws 16-901
B. All committee monies shall be deposited in one or more bank accounts held by the financial institutions listed in the committee’s statement of organization. Committee bank accounts shall be segregated as follows:
1. Committee monies shall be segregated in different bank accounts from personal monies.
2. Contributions from individuals, partnerships, candidate committees, political action committees or political parties shall be segregated in different bank accounts from contributions from other donors.
3. Contributions to a political party to defray operating expenses or support party-building activities shall be segregated in different bank accounts from contributions used to support candidates.
4. For a committee that is a political party, the committee may commingle monies from any source in a single bank account if the account is maintained as prescribed in 11 C.F.R. § 106.7.
5. For contributions intended to influence a recall election, the committee shall segregate those contributions into bank accounts that are different from those intended to influence any other election and those recall contributions may not be used to influence any other election.
C. A committee shall exercise its best effort to obtain the required information for any incomplete contribution received that is required to be itemized and reported. The committee shall clearly ask for identification and inform the contributor that the committee is required by law to seek identification. Notwithstanding section 16-901, paragraph 29, subdivision (a), a person whose residential address is protected from public disclosure pursuant to section 16-153 is not required to disclose the person’s residential address and shall instead provide an alternate mailing address. The committee shall report in an amended report any contributor identification obtained after the contribution has been disclosed on a campaign finance report.
D. A committee shall keep records of the following:
1. All contributions made or received by the committee.
2. The identification of any contributor that contributes in the aggregate at least $50 to the committee during the election cycle, the date and amount of each contribution and the date of deposit into the committee’s account.
3. Cumulative totals contributed by each contributor during the election cycle.
4. The name and address of every person that receives a contribution, expenditure or disbursement from the committee, including the date and amount, and, for any expenditure or disbursement, the purpose of the expenditure or disbursement.
E. A committee may accept a cash contribution.
F. A committee may accept a contribution by written or electronic instrument, including a check, credit card, payroll deduction, online payment or electronic transfer, if the contributor is an account holder of the instrument. Unless designated as a joint contribution, a contribution shall be attributed to the account holder that signs the instrument or authorizes the transaction.
G. A committee shall preserve all records required to be kept by this section for two years following the end of the election cycle.
H. On request of the filing officer or enforcement officer, a committee that has filed a statement of organization shall produce any of the records required to be kept pursuant to this section to the filing officer or enforcement officer.
I. A person that qualifies as a committee as prescribed by section 16-905 shall report all contributions, expenditures and disbursements that occurred before qualifying as a committee and shall maintain and produce records as prescribed by this section.