(a)The treasurer of every political committee shall file with the Board reports of campaign contributions and expenditures as required by this Section on forms to be prescribed or approved by the Board.
(b)Every political committee shall file quarterly reports of campaign contributions, expenditures, and independent expenditures. The reports shall cover the period January 1 through March 31, April 1 through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1 through December 31 of each year. A political committee shall file quarterly reports no later than the 15th day of the month following each period. Reports of contributions and expenditures must be filed to cover the prescribed time periods even though no contributions or expenditures may have been received or made during the period.
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(a) The treasurer of every political committee shall file with the Board reports of campaign contributions and expenditures as required by this Section on forms to be prescribed or approved by the Board. (b) Every political committee shall file quarterly reports of campaign contributions, expenditures, and independent expenditures. The reports shall cover the period January 1 through March 31, April 1 through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1 through December 31 of each year. A political committee shall file quarterly reports no later than the 15th day of the month following each period. Reports of contributions and expenditures must be filed to cover the prescribed time periods even though no contributions or expenditures may have been received or made during the period. A report is considered timely filed if it is received by the Board no later than 11:59 p.m. on the deadline or postmarked no later than 3 days prior to the deadline. (c) A political committee shall file a report of any contribution of $1,000 or more electronically with the Board within 5 business days after receipt of the contribution, except that the report shall be filed within 2 business days after receipt if (i) the contribution is received 30 or fewer days before the date of an election and (ii) the political committee supports or opposes a candidate or public question on the ballot at that election or makes expenditures in excess of $500 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate, candidates, a public question, or public questions on the ballot at that election. The State Board shall allow filings of reports of contributions of $1,000 or more by political committees that are not required to file electronically to be made by facsimile transmission. It is not a violation of this subsection (c) and a political committee does not need to file a report of a contribution of $1,000 or more if the contribution is received and returned within the same period it is required to be disclosed on a quarterly report. (d) For the purpose of this Section, a contribution is considered received on the date (i) a monetary contribution was deposited in a bank, financial institution, or other repository of funds for the committee, (ii) the date a committee receives notice a monetary contribution was deposited by an entity used to process financial transactions by credit card or other entity used for processing a monetary contribution that was deposited in a bank, financial institution, or other repository of funds for the committee, or (iii) the public official, candidate, or political committee receives the notification of contribution of goods or services as required under subsection (b) of Section 9-6. (e) A political committee that makes independent expenditures of $1,000 or more shall file a report electronically with the Board within 5 business days after making the independent expenditure, except that the report shall be filed within 2 business days after making the independent expenditure during the 60-day period before an election. (e-5) An independent expenditure committee that makes an independent expenditure supporting or opposing a public official or candidate that, alone or in combination with any other independent expenditure made by that independent expenditure committee supporting or opposing that public official or candidate during the election cycle, equals an aggregate value of more than (i) $250,000 for statewide office or (ii) $100,000 for all other elective offices must file a written disclosure with the State Board of Elections within 2 business days after making any expenditure that results in the independent expenditure committee exceeding the applicable threshold. (f) A copy of each report or statement filed under this Article shall be preserved by the person filing it for a period of two years from the date of filing. (g) The Board may assess a civil penalty against a committee for any violation of this Section. The Board shall provide notice of any violation no later than 365 days after the date of the violation and provide the committee with an opportunity to appeal a violation. A committee shall not be fined if notice is not provided as required by this subsection. The fine assessed by the Board for a violation of this Section shall not exceed the amount of the contribution and may be no more than $500 for the first violation, no more than $1,000 for the second violation, no more than $2,000 for a third violation, and no more than $3,000 for any subsequent violations. When determining whether to waive or reduce a fine, the Board shall consider: (1) whether the political committee made an attempt to disclose the contribution and any attempts made to correct the violation; (2) whether the violation was inadvertent, knowingly, or intentional; (3) whether the violation is attributed to a clerical or computer error; (4) the amount of the contribution or total contributions in the report; (5) whether the violation arose from a discrepancy between the date the contribution was reported and the date the contribution was received by a political committee; (6) the number of days the report was submitted late; and (7) any prior violations.