§ 163-278.7. Appointment of political treasurers.
§ 163‑278.7. Appointment of political treasurers.
(a) Each candidate,political committee, and referendum committee shall appoint a treasurer and,under verification, report the name and address of the treasurer to the Board.Only an individual who resides in North Carolina shall be appointed as atreasurer. A candidate may appoint himself or any other individual, includingany relative except his spouse, as his treasurer, and, upon failure to filereport designating a treasurer, the candidate shall be concluded to haveappointed himself as treasurer and shall be required to personally fulfill theduties and responsibilities imposed upon the appointed treasurer and subject tothe penalties and sanctions hereinafter provided.
(b) Each appointedtreasurer shall file with the Board at the time required by G.S. 163‑278.9(a)(1)a statement of organization that includes:
(1) The Name, Addressand Purpose of the Candidate, Political Committee, or Referendum Committee. Whenthe political committee or referendum committee is created pursuant to G.S. 163‑278.19(b),the name shall be or include the name of the corporation, insurance company,business entity, labor union or professional association whose officials,employees, or members established the committee. When the political committeeor referendum committee is not created pursuant to G.S. 163‑278.19(b),the name shall be or include the economic interest, if identifiable,principally represented by the committee's organizers or intended to beadvanced by use of the committee's receipts.
(2) The names,addresses, and relationships of affiliated or connected candidates, politicalcommittees, referendum committees, political parties, or similar organizations;
(3) The territorialarea, scope, or jurisdiction of the candidate, political committee, orreferendum committee;
(4) The name, address,and position with the candidate or political committee of the custodian ofbooks and accounts;
(5) The name and partyaffiliation of the candidate(s) whom the committee is supporting or opposing,and the office(s) involved;
(5a) The name of thereferendum(s) which the referendum committee is supporting or opposing, andwhether the committee is supporting or opposing the referendum;
(6) The name of thepolitical committee or political party being supported or opposed if thecommittee is supporting the ticket of a particular political or politicalparty;
(7) A listing of allbanks, safety deposit boxes, or other depositories used, including the namesand numbers of all accounts maintained and the numbers of all such safetydeposit boxes used, provided that the Board shall keep any account numberincluded in any report filed after March 1, 2003, and required by this Articleconfidential except as necessary to conduct an audit or investigation, exceptas required by a court of competent jurisdiction, or unless confidentiality iswaived by the treasurer. Disclosure of an account number in violation of thissubdivision shall not give rise to a civil cause of action. This limitation ofliability does not apply to the disclosure of account numbers in violation ofthis subdivision as a result of gross negligence, wanton conduct, orintentional wrongdoing that would otherwise be actionable.
(8) The name or namesand address or addresses of any assistant treasurers appointed by thetreasurer. Such assistant treasurers shall be authorized to act in the name ofthe candidate, political committee, or referendum committee and shall be fullyresponsible for any act or acts committed by the assistant treasurer. Thetreasurer shall be fully liable for any violation of this Article committed byany assistant treasurer; and
(9) Any otherinformation which might be requested by the Board that deals with the campaignorganization of the candidate or referendum committee.
(c) Any change ininformation previously submitted in a statement of organization shall bereported to the Board within a 10‑day period following the change.
(d) A candidate,political committee or referendum committee may remove his or its treasurer. Incase of the death, resignation or removal of his or its treasurer beforecompliance with all obligations of a treasurer under this Article, suchcandidate, political committee or referendum committee shall appoint asuccessor within 10 days of the vacancy of such office, and certify the nameand address of the successor in the manner provided in the case of an originalappointment.
(e) Every treasurer ofa referendum committee shall receive, prior to every election in which thereferendum committee is involved, training from the State Board of Elections asto the duties of the office, including the requirements of G.S. 163‑278.13(e1),provided that the treasurer may designate an employee or volunteer of thecommittee to receive the training.
(f) Every treasurer ofa political committee shall participate in training as to the duties of theoffice within three months of appointment and at least once every four yearsthereafter. The State Board of Elections shall provide the training as to theduties of the office in person, through regional seminars, and throughinteractive electronic means. The treasurer may designate an assistanttreasurer to participate in the training, if one is named under subdivision(b)(8) of this section. The treasurer may choose to participate in trainingprior to each election in which the political committee is involved. All suchtraining shall be free of charge to the treasurer and assistant treasurer. (1973, c. 1272, s. 1; 1979,c. 500, s. 2; c. 1073, ss. 4, 5, 16, 18, 20; 1987, c. 113, s. 1; 1995, c. 315,s. 1; 2002‑159, s. 57.1(a); 2004‑203, s. 59(a); 2005‑430, s.10.1; 2006‑195, s. 7; 2009‑534, s. 4.)