Source: http://elections.state.md.us/summary_guide/sg_07.html
Timestamp: 2013-05-21 20:59:44
Document Index: 368010047

Matched Legal Cases: ['§13', '§ 13', '§ 15', '§13', '§ 13', '§13']

Summary Guide - Chapter 7
Chapter 7 - Committee Officers Previous | Table of contents | Next
7.1	Who can serve as an officer
To serve as a chairman or treasurer, an individual must be a registered voter of the State of Maryland and be in good standing with the State Board. The officers are not required to live in the same district as the candidate or to have the same party affiliation as the candidate.
- §13-215 and 13-332 of the Election Law Article
An individual may serve as chairman or treasurer for more than one committee.
3. Current Addresses
The chairman and treasurer must keep their addresses and phone numbers current to ensure receipt of periodic notices and compliance materials.
4. Candidate as Officer
A candidate may not serve as the treasurer for the candidate’s own political committee or any other Maryland political committee. The one exception to this prohibition is that a candidate for an office of a party central committee may serve as treasurer for the central committee.
A candidate may serve as chairman of his or her own committee. In addition, a candidate may also serve as the chairman of any other committee, provided the candidate does not exercise general overall responsibility for the conduct of that committee.
- § 13-215 of the Election Law Article
Under § 15-714 of the State Government Article of the Code, lobbyists are prohibited from:
Serving on a fundraising committee or a political committee; Acting as treasurer for a candidate, or as treasurer or chairman of a political committee; and
Organizing or establishing a political committee to solicit or transmit contributions from any person.
7.2 Duties and Responsibilities of the Treasurer
The treasurer is responsible for the receipt and disbursement of campaign funds for political purposes. All assets received by or on behalf of the campaign finance entity must be delivered to and maintained by the treasurer. Only the treasurer can disburse or expend campaign funds except when temporarily unable to perform the duties of the office (see Section 7.3 of the Summary Guide). In addition, the treasurer’s signature is required on all campaign finance reports. Maryland law requires that the treasurer keep a detailed and accurate account book on behalf of the political committee. The account books must be preserved for two (2) years after the political committee files a final campaign finance report. The ultimate responsibility for compliance with the campaign finance law rests with the Treasurer. A Treasurer may not serve “in name only” and may not delegate any statutory responsibility to another person including the candidate, except as provided by law.
§13-218 of the Election Law Article
(a) All assets received by or on behalf of a campaign finance entity shall be:
Delivered to the treasurer; and Maintained by the treasurer for the purposes of the campaign finance entity.
(b) Assets of a campaign finance entity may be disbursed only:
If they have passed through the hands of the treasurer; or In accordance with the purposes of the entity.
The treasurer is not prohibited from using an employee or member of the campaign staff, with appropriate supervision, to perform mechanical functions like filling out deposit tickets, writing out (but not signing) checks, typing election reports, or making bank deposits. Except in the limited circumstances where a chairman may act as a temporary treasurer of the committee. The treasurer may not permit anyone to perform the duties that the Law has entrusted to the treasurer, including signing checks, making proper expenditures, receiving contributions, ensuring complete and accurate account books and records, and ensuring the timely filing of complete and accurate campaign finance reports.
7.3 Duties and Responsibilities of the Chairman
The chairman is not assigned any specific duties under the law. However, the chairman does share responsibility with the treasurer for submitting timely campaign finance reports and is jointly and severally liable for late fees resulting from late or missing reports. Since the chairman shares in the liability for late campaign finance reports and may be required to submit a report if the treasurer has resigned or is absent, it is recommended that the chairman have access to the committee’s books, records, and bank account.
The chairman does exercise control over campaign funds for a central committee. The treasurer of a state or county central may not make any disbursements or incur any liability without the authority or direction from the chairman.
2. Chairman as Temporary Treasurer
The chairman may make a disbursement only when the treasurer is temporarily unable to perform the duties of the office. After the chairman makes a disbursement, the chairman must submit within 7 days a detailed report to the treasurer including:
A statement of the expenditures;
The name and address of the person to whom the expenditure was made;
A candidate who is a chairman may not make any disbursement and may not temporarily assume the duties of the treasurer under any circumstances.
Examples of a treasurer unable to perform the duties of the office are:
Medical emergency or disability
Extended travel out-of-state.
7.4 How to Resign
1. Written and Signed Resignation Required
A chairman or treasurer must resign by submitting a written and signed resignation to the State Board. - §§ 13-206(e) and 13-207(d) of the Election Law Article
A resignation will not be accepted if it will leave the political committee with no officers. By practice, when both the Chairman and Treasurer resign together without any new appointments, the State Board will accept the resignation of the Chairman and deny the resignation of Treasurer until another officer is appointed. A resignation should be filed on the form prescribed by the State Board. 2. When Resignation is Effective
The resignation is effective as of the date the form is received by the State Board. The State Board will acknowledge receipt of a resignation in writing.
Many officers make the mistake of giving their resignations to the candidate or to another committee officer. While the candidate or officer should certainly be informed of the officer's decision to resign, the resignation will not be effective, and the officer will remain liable under the law, until the resignation is received by the appropriate elections office.
As previously noted, central committee officers must still inform the State Board that they are no longer acting officers. Chairmen and Treasurers constantly change with elections, and it is the responsibility of both old and newly elected officers to inform the State Board. If no notice was ever sent to the State Board, then the names of the previous responsible officers will remain on record and those officers will remain responsible for the reporting requirements.
3. Remaining Liability A responsible officer who resigns is still liable for any outstanding reports or late fees incurred during the time he or she was an active officer. Additionally, the officer may be responsible for subsequent campaign finance report and for any associated late fees following the resignation, if the resignation was received in the middle of a reporting period. Therefore, it is recommended that a resignation occur at the end of a reporting period.
When a vacancy occurs in the position of chairman or treasurer, all financial activity of the political committee must cease and cannot resume until a new appointment is filed. It is the responsibility of the other officer to promptly appoint a new officer. - §13-207 of the Election Law Article
Note: A vacancy for chairman or treasurer does not relieve the political committee from filing timely campaign finance reports.
When a treasurer resigns, he or she is required to transfer to the new treasurer (or the chairman or candidate if a new treasurer has not been appointed) the following:
The account books and records (see Section 14.1 of the Summary Guide for details);
The electronic filing software and the entire database; and
The bank account information.