HB 1707

Bill Subjects

Commissions, Boards And Institutions Generally Elections General Assembly Governor

Abstract

Requires the State Board of Elections to conduct audits of the campaign finance reports filed by the campaign committees of candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and the General Assembly. The campaign committees to be audited will be selected at random, with at least 50 percent of the campaign committees for candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General and at least 10 percent of the campaign committees for candidates for the General Assembly being audited. The State Board is authorized to compel the production of all bank statements for the campaign depository, all copies of checks issued on the campaign depository, and bills, invoices, and receipts for all expenditures made by the candidate or his treasurer, of any campaign committee subject to an audit, in order to conduct the audit. The bill requires the audit to be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and any procedures adopted by the State Board, and permits the State Board to employ certified public accountants or other additional personnel to conduct the audits. If the audit results in a determination that the balance in the campaign depository does not reconcile with the amounts reported in the campaign finance reports, the State Board is required to forward its report to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth. The bill provides that discrepancies or missing information discovered during the course of an audit be handled in accordance with current law for incomplete reports, including provisions for assessing civil penalties as appropriate.