2023 Connecticut General Statutes › Title 9 - Elections › Chapter 155 - Elections: Campaign Financing › Section 9-623. (Formerly Sec. 9-333y). - Penalties.

(a) Any person who knowingly and wilfully violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a class D felony. The Secretary of the State or the town clerk shall notify the State Elections Enforcement Commission of any such violation of which said secretary or such town clerk may have knowledge. Any such fine for a violation of any provision of this chapter applying to the office of the Treasurer shall be deposited on a pro rata basis in any trust funds, as defined in section 3-13c, affected by such violation.
(b) (1) If any treasurer fails to file any statement required by section 9-608, or if any candidate fails to file either (A) a statement for the formation of a candidate committee as required by section 9-604, or (B) a certification pursuant to section 9-603 that the candidate is exempt from forming a candidate committee as required by section 9-604, within the time required, the treasurer or candidate, as the case may be, shall pay a late filing fee of one hundred dollars.
(2) In the case of any such statement or certification that is required to be filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, the commission shall, not later than ten days after the filing deadline is, or should be, known to have passed, notify by certified mail, return receipt requested, the person required to file that, if such statement or certification is not filed not later than twenty-one days after such notice, the person is in violation of section 9-603, 9-604 or 9-608.
(3) In the case of any such statement or certification that is required to be filed with a town clerk, the town clerk shall forthwith after the filing deadline is, or should be, known to have passed, notify by certified mail, return receipt requested, the person required to file that, if such statement or certification is not filed not later than seven days after the town clerk mails such notice, the town clerk shall notify the State Elections Enforcement Commission that the person is in violation of section 9-603, 9-604 or 9-608.
(4) The penalty for any violation of section 9-603, 9-604 or 9-608 shall be a fine of not less than two hundred dollars or more than two thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
(P.A. 86-99, S. 26, 34; P.A. 89-251, S. 64, 203; P.A. 93-192, S. 2, 3; 93-251, S. 4, 5; P.A. 95-60, S. 1, 3; P.A. 96-119, S. 10, 14; P.A. 00-43, S. 11, 19; P.A. 05-235, S. 11; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5, S. 41; P.A. 06-196, S. 56; P.A. 08-2, S. 15; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 151; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-8, S. 43; P.A. 13-180, S. 10, 12; 13-258, S. 40.)
History: P.A. 89-251 increased the late filing fee from $50 to $55; P.A. 93-192 deleted requirement that secretary of the state and town clerk notify chief state's attorney and state's attorney of violations, effective July 1, 1993, and applicable to violations committed on or after that date; P.A. 93-251 applied section to lobbyist statements required by Subsec. (g) of Sec. 9-333
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, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-60 divided section into Subsecs. and amended Subsec. (b) to clarify procedure for notifying persons who have not filed and the State Elections Enforcement Commission, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-119 required notification by secretary within 10 rather than 7 days after the filing deadline in Subsec. (b), effective May 24, 1996; P.A. 00-43 amended Subsec. (a) to provide for deposit of penalties for violations involving the Treasurer's office, effective May 3, 2000; P.A. 05-235 amended Subsec. (b) by dividing existing provisions into Subdivs. (1) to (4), amending Subdiv. (1) to increase late filing fee from $55 to $100 and apply said fee to a candidate failing to file either a statement for formation of candidate committee or a certification that candidate is exempt from forming candidate committee, amending Subdivs. (2), (3) and (4) to modify the notification procedure and deadlines for late filings and to make conforming changes, and amending Subdiv. (4) to substitute fine of not less than $200 nor more than $2,000 for fine of not more than $1,000, effective July 1, 2005; Oct. 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 05-5 amended Subsec. (b) by changing “Secretary of the State” to “State Elections Enforcement Commission” and making conforming and technical changes, effective December 31, 2006, and applicable to elections held on or after that date; P.A. 06-196 made a technical change in Subsec. (b)(4), effective December 31, 2006, and applicable to elections held on or after that date; Sec. 9-333y transferred to Sec. 9-623 in 2007; P.A. 08-2 amended Subsec. (b) to eliminate references to statements filed by lobbyists and references to Sec. 9-610(g), effective April 7, 2008; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (b)(1) to increase late filing fee from $100 to $200; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-8 amended Subsec. (b)(1) to change late filing fee from $200 to $100, effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 13-180 amended Subsec. (a) to increase maximum fine from $5,000 to $25,000, unless a larger amount is otherwise provided for under chapter, and to eliminate imprisonment of not more than 5 years as a penalty, effective June 18, 2013; pursuant to P.A. 13-180, “campaign treasurer” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “treasurer” in Subsec. (b)(1), effective June 18, 2013; P.A. 13-258 amended Subsec. (a) to change penalty from fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment of not more than 5 years to a class D felony.
“Knowingly and wilfully” under this section, compared with “knowingly” as applied to campaign treasurers in Sec. 9-622(7), supports conclusion that the former is more than mere knowledge of the act and intermediate level of intent strikes the proper balance. 330 C. 344.