HB 71

Abstract

Campaign finance; audits of campaign finance reports;certain campaign committees. Requires the State Board of Elections toconduct audits of the campaign finance reports filed by the campaign committeesof candidates for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and theGeneral Assembly. The campaign committees to be audited will be selected atrandom, with at least 50 percent of the campaign committees for candidates forGovernor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General and at least 10 percent ofthe campaign committees for candidates for the General Assembly being audited.The State Board is authorized to compel the production of all bank statementsfor the campaign depository; all copies of checks issued on the campaigndepository; and bills, invoices, and receipts for all expenditures made by thecandidate or his treasurer, of any campaign committee subject to an audit, inorder to conduct the audit. The bill requires the audit to be conducted inaccordance with generally accepted auditing standards and any proceduresadopted by the State Board, and permits the State Board to employ certifiedpublic accountants or other additional personnel to conduct the audits. If theaudit results in a determination that the balance in the campaign depositorydoes not reconcile with the amounts reported in the campaign finance reports,the State Board is required to forward its report to the appropriate attorneyfor the Commonwealth. The bill provides that discrepancies or missinginformation discovered during the course of an audit be handled in accordancewith current law for incomplete reports, including provisions for assessingcivil penalties as appropriate.