§ 163-278.68. Enforcement and administration.
§ 163‑278.68. Enforcement and administration.
(a) Enforcement by theBoard. The Board, with the advice of the Advisory Council for the PublicCampaign Fund, shall administer the provisions of this Article.
(b) Advisory Councilfor the Public Campaign Fund. There is established under the Board theAdvisory Council for the Public Campaign Fund to advise the Board on the rules,procedures, and opinions it adopts for the enforcement and administration ofthis Article and on the funding needs and operation of the Public CampaignFund. The Advisory Council shall consist of five members to be appointed asfollows:
(1) The Governor shallname two members from a list of individuals nominated by the State Chair of thepolitical party with which the greatest number of registered voters isaffiliated. The State Chair of that party shall submit to the Governor thenames of five nominees.
(2) The Governor shallname two members from a list of individuals nominated by the State Chair of thepolitical party with which the second greatest number of registered voters isaffiliated. The State Chair of that party shall submit to the Governor thenames of five nominees.
(3) The Board shall nameone member by unanimous vote of all members of the Board. If the Board cannotreach unanimity on the appointment of that member, the Advisory Council shallconsist of the remaining members.
No individual shall beeligible to be a member of the Advisory Council who would be ineligible toserve on a county board of elections in accordance with G.S. 163‑30. Theinitial members shall be appointed by December 1, 2002. Of the initialappointees, two are appointed for one‑year terms, two are appointed fortwo‑year terms, and one is appointed for a three‑year termaccording to random lot. Thereafter, appointees are appointed to serve four‑yearterms. An individual may not serve more than two full terms, except thatregardless of the time of appointment each term shall end on December 31. Amember shall continue on the Advisory Council beyond the expired term until asuccessor is appointed. The appointed members receive the legislative per diempursuant to G.S. 120‑3.1. One of the Advisory Council members shall beelected by the members as Chair. A vacancy during an unexpired term shall befilled in the same manner as the regular appointment for that term, but avacancy appointment is only for the unexpired portion of the term.
(c) Appeals. Theinitial decision on an issue concerning qualification, certification, ordistribution of funds under this Article shall be made by the ExecutiveDirector of the Board. The procedure for challenging that decision is asfollows:
(1) An individual orentity aggrieved by a decision by the Executive Director of the Board mayappeal to the full Board within three business days of the decision. The appealshall be in writing and shall set forth the reasons for the appeal.
(2) Within five businessdays after an appeal is properly made, and after due notice is given to theparties, the Board shall hold a hearing. The appellant has the burden ofproviding evidence to demonstrate that the decision of the Executive Directorwas improper. The Board shall rule on the appeal within three business daysafter the completion of the hearing.
(d) Board to AdoptRules and Issue Opinions. The Board shall adopt rules and issue opinions toensure effective administration of this Article. Such rules and opinions shallinclude, but not be limited to, procedures for obtaining qualifyingcontributions, certification of candidates, addressing circumstances involvingspecial elections, vacancies, recounts, withdrawals, or replacements,collection of revenues for the Fund, distribution of Fund revenue to certifiedcandidates, return of unspent Fund disbursements, and compliance with this Article.The Board shall adopt procedures for the distribution of matching money thatfurther the purpose and avoid the subversion of G.S. 163‑278.67. Forraces involving special elections, recounts, vacancies, withdrawals, orreplacement candidates, the Board shall establish procedures for qualification,certification, disbursement of Fund revenues, and return of unspent Fundrevenues. The Board shall fulfill each of these duties in consultation with theAdvisory Council on the Public Campaign Fund.
(e) Report to thePublic. The Advisory Council for the Public Campaign Fund shall issue areport by March 1, 2005, and every two years thereafter that evaluates andmakes recommendations about the implementation of this Article and thefeasibility of expanding its provisions to include other candidates for Stateoffice based on the experience of the Fund and the experience of similarprograms in other states. The Advisory Council shall also evaluate and makerecommendations regarding how to address activities that could undermine thepurpose of this Article, including spending that appears to target candidatesreceiving money from the Fund but that does not meet the definition of"independent expenditures." (2002‑158, s. 1; 2005‑276, s. 23A.1(d);2006‑192, s. 13; 2007‑510, s. 1(c).)