§ 7-6-207 - Reports of contributions -- Candidates for office other than school district, township, municipal, or county office, etc.
7-6-207. Reports of contributions -- Candidates for office other than school district, township, municipal, or county office, etc.
(a) Reports Required. (1) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, each candidate for office, other than a school district, township, municipal, or county office, or a person acting in the candidate's behalf, shall file with the Secretary of State:
(A) For each quarter during a calendar year in which a candidate is not listed on any ballot for election, a quarterly report of all contributions received and expenditures made during that quarter. The quarterly report shall be filed no later than fifteen (15) days after the end of each quarter;
(B) Beginning with the month of January in the calendar year in which a candidate may be listed on any ballot for election, a monthly report of all contributions received and expenditures made during that month. However, for any month in which certain days of that month are included in a preelection report required under subdivision (a)(1)(C) of this section or a final report required under subdivision (a)(1)(D) of this section, no monthly report for that month shall be due. In the case of a primary or runoff election, those days of the month occurring after the date of the election shall be carried forward and included in the next monthly report. The monthly report shall be filed no later than fifteen (15) days after the end of each month, except that the final report, covering the month during which an election is held, shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the end of the month in which the last election is held at which the candidate seeks nomination and after the end of the month in which the general election is held. With respect to a special election, the candidate shall file monthly reports under this section beginning with the month in which the special election candidate's total campaign contributions or expenditures exceed five hundred dollars ($500);
(C) No later than seven (7) days prior to any preferential primary election, runoff election, general election, or special election in which the candidate's name appears on the ballot, a preelection report of all contributions received and expenditures made between the period covered by the previous report and the period ten (10) days before the election. In case of a runoff election, the report shall cover all contributions received and expenditures made during that period of time that begins after the date of the election from which the runoff arose and ends ten (10) days before the runoff election;
(D) No later than thirty (30) days after the end of the month in which the candidate's name has appeared on the ballot in any primary election, runoff election, or general election, a final report of all contributions received and expenditures made which have not been disclosed on reports previously required to be filed. A final report is required regardless of whether a candidate has received contributions or made expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars ($500); and
(E) (i) No later than thirty (30) days after the end of the month in which the candidate has withdrawn, a final report of all contributions received and expenditures made that have not been disclosed on reports previously required to be filed.
(ii) If a candidate withdraws from the campaign, the candidate shall notify the Secretary of State in writing of the withdrawal.
(2) Upon receiving the first report from any candidate, or upon receipt of the candidate's notice of filing for office, the Secretary of State shall provide the candidate with information on the deadlines for filing remaining quarterly, monthly, and preelection reports and shall furnish each candidate with the appropriate forms and instructions for complying with the deadlines. All reports shall be filed on the forms furnished by the Secretary of State, except that computer-generated contribution and expenditure reports shall be accepted by the Secretary of State and the Arkansas Ethics Commission provided that all of the requisite elements are included.
(3) For any report except a preelection report, a report is timely filed if it is either hand delivered or mailed to the Secretary of State, properly addressed, postage prepaid, bearing a postmark indicating that it was received by the post office or common carrier on the date that the report is due. A preelection report is timely filed if it is received in the Secretary of State's office no later than seven (7) days prior to the election for which it is filed. The Secretary of State shall accept via facsimile any report, provided the original is received by the Secretary of State within ten (10) days of the date of transmission. The Secretary of State may receive reports in a readable electronic format that is acceptable to the Secretary of State and approved by the commission.
(b) Contents of Reports. (1) The contribution and expenditure reports required by subsection (a) of this section shall indicate:
(A) The total amount of contributions received with loans stated separately, the total amount of expenditures made during the filing periods, and the cumulative amount of those totals;
(B) The name and address of each person, including the candidate, who made a contribution or contributions that in the aggregate exceeded fifty dollars ($50.00), the contributor's place of business, employer, occupation, and date of the contribution and the amount contributed;
(C) The contributor's principal place of business, employer, occupation, the amount contributed, the date the contribution was accepted by the candidate, and the aggregate contributed for each election;
(D) The name and address of each person, including the candidate, who contributed a nonmoney item, together with a description of the item, the date of receipt, and the value, not including volunteer service by individuals;
(E) An itemization of all single expenditures made which exceed one hundred dollars ($100), including the amount of the expenditure, the name and address of any person, including the candidate, to whom the expenditure was made, and the date the expenditure was made;
(F) A list of all paid campaign workers and the amount the workers were paid;
(G) A list of all expenditures by categories, including, but not limited to:
(i) (a) Television;
(b) Radio;
(c) Print; and
(d) Other advertising;
(ii) Direct mail;
(iii) Office supplies;
(iv) Rent;
(v) Travel;
(vi) Expenses;
(vii) Entertainment; and
(viii) Telephone;
(H) The total amount of all nonitemized expenditures made during the filing period; and
(I) The current balance of campaign funds.
(2) (A) When the candidate's campaign has ended, the final report shall also indicate which option under 7-6-203(h) was used to dispose of any surplus of campaign funds, the amount of funds disposed of by the candidate, and the amount of funds retained by the candidate in accordance with 7-6-203(h).
(B) If the candidate's campaign has not ended, disposal of campaign funds shall not be required and the candidate may carry forward any remaining campaign funds to the general primary election, general election, or general runoff election for that same office.
(c) Reports Not Required. (1) The candidate or any person acting in the candidate's behalf shall comply with the filings required by this section beginning with the first reporting period, either quarterly, monthly, or preelection, in which his or her total contributions or expenditures exceed five hundred dollars ($500). A candidate who has not received contributions or made expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars ($500) shall not be required to file any reports required under this section other than the final report required under subdivision (a)(1)(B) of this section. In calculating the amount of contributions received or expenditures made for purposes of this exception, the payment of the filing fee from the candidate's personal funds shall not be considered as either a contribution or an expenditure.
(2) The preelection reports referenced in subdivision (a)(1)(C) of this section are only required for candidates with opponents in those elections.
(3) An unopposed candidate for an office described in subdivision (a)(1) of this section or any person acting in the unopposed candidate's behalf shall not be required to file the ten-day preelection report required by subdivision (a)(1)(C) of this section.
(d) Filings and Public Inspection. (1) (A) The Secretary of State shall establish a filing system for reports filed pursuant to this section. The reports shall be kept for eight (8) years from the date of filing, catalogued by candidate in chronological order, and made available for public inspection.
(B) After the eight-year period, the Secretary of State shall turn the reports over to the Arkansas History Commission for maintenance and continued public inspection.
(2) The Secretary of State shall furnish to the Arkansas Ethics Commission, no later than thirty (30) days after each filing deadline under this section, a report listing the names of all candidates who have filed for office, the type of report filed by each candidate, and the date the report was received by the Secretary of State.