(a)The treasurer of each candidate, political committee, and referendum committee shall keep detailed accounts, current within not more than seven days after the date of receiving a contribution or making an expenditure, of all contributions received and all expenditures made by or on behalf of the candidate, political committee, or referendum committee. The accounts shall include the information required by the State Board of Elections on its forms.
(b)Accounts kept by the treasurer of a candidate, political committee, or referendum committee or the accounts of a treasurer or political committee at any bank or other depository listed under G.S. 163-278.7(b)(7), may be inspected, before or after the election to which the accounts refer, by a member, designee, agent, attorney or employee
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(a) The treasurer of each candidate, political committee, and referendum committee shall keep detailed accounts, current within not more than seven days after the date of receiving a contribution or making an expenditure, of all contributions received and all expenditures made by or on behalf of the candidate, political committee, or referendum committee. The accounts shall include the information required by the State Board of Elections on its forms.
(b) Accounts kept by the treasurer of a candidate, political committee, or referendum committee or the accounts of a treasurer or political committee at any bank or other depository listed under G.S. 163-278.7(b)(7), may be inspected, before or after the election to which the accounts refer, by a member, designee, agent, attorney or employee of the Board who is making an investigation pursuant to G.S. 163-278.22.
(c) All expenditures for media expenses shall be made by a verifiable form of payment. The State Board of Elections shall prescribe methods to ensure an audit trail for every expenditure so that the identity of each payee can be determined. All media expenditures in any amount shall be accounted for and reported individually and separately with specific descriptions to provide a reasonable understanding of the expenditure.
(d) All expenditures for nonmedia expenses (except postage) of more than fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be made by a verifiable form of payment. The State Board of Elections shall prescribe methods to ensure an audit trail for every expenditure so that the identity of each payee can be determined. All expenditures for nonmedia expenses of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less may be made by check or by cash payment. All nonmedia expenditures of more than fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be accounted for and reported individually and separately with a specific description to provide a reasonable understanding of the expenditure, but expenditures of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less may be accounted for and reported in an aggregated amount, but in that case the treasurer shall account for and report that the treasurer made expenditures of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less each, the amounts, dates, and the purposes for which made. In the case of a nonmedia expenditure required to be accounted for
individually and separately with a specific description to provide a reasonable understanding of the expenditure by this subsection, if the expenditure was to an individual, the report shall list the name and address of the individual.
(e) All proceeds from loans shall be recorded separately with a detailed analysis reflecting the amount of the loan, the source, the period, the rate of interest, and the security pledged, if any, and all makers and endorsers.
(f) The treasurer shall maintain all moneys of the political committee in a bank account or bank accounts used exclusively by the political committee and shall not commingle those funds with any other moneys. (1973, c. 1272, s. 1; 1977, c. 635, s. 1; 1979, c. 1073, ss. 16, 20; 1981, c. 814, s. 1; 1985, c. 353, ss. 1, 2; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 744, s. 1; 1999-424, s. 7(m); 2004-125, s. 5(a); 2005-430, ss. 2, 3; 2006-161, ss. 2, 3; 2006-195, s. 4; 2008-150, s. 10(a); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
§ 163-278.8A. Campaign sales by political party executive committees.
(a) Exempt Purchase Price Not Treated as "Contribution." - Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 163-278.6(13), the purchase price of goods or services sold by a political party executive committee or affiliated party committee as provided in subsection (b) of this section shall not be treated as a "contribution" for purposes of account-keeping under G.S. 163-278.8, for purposes of the reporting of contributions under G.S. 163-278.11, or for the purpose of the limit on contributions under G.S. 163-278.13. The treasurer is not required to obtain, maintain, or report the name or other identifying information of the purchaser of the goods or services, as long as the requirements of subsection (b) of this section are satisfied. However, the proceeds from the sales of those goods and services shall be treated as contributions for other purposes, and expenditures of those proceeds shall be reported as expenditures under this Article.
(b) Exempt Purchase Price. - A purchase price for goods or services sold by a political party executive committee or affiliated party committee qualifies for the exemption provided in subsection (a) of this section as long as the sale of the goods or services adheres to a plan that the treasurer has submitted to and that has been approved in writing by the Executive Director of the State Board of Elections. The Executive Director shall approve the treasurer's plan upon and only upon finding that all the following requirements are satisfied:
(1) That the price to be charged for the goods or services is reasonably close to the market price for the goods or services.
(2) That the total amount to be raised from sales under all plans by the committee does not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per election cycle.
(3) That no purchaser makes total purchases under the plan that exceed fifty dollars ($50.00).
(4) That the treasurer include in the report under G.S. 163-278.11, covering the relevant time period, all of the following:
a. A description of the plan.
b. The amount raised from sales under the plan.
c. The number of purchases made.
(5) That the treasurer shall include in the appropriate report under G.S. 163-278.11 any in-kind contribution made to the political party in providing the goods or services sold under the plan and that no in-kind contribution accepted as part of the plan violates any provision of this Article.
The Executive Director may require a format for submission of a plan, but that format shall not place undue paperwork burdens upon the treasurer. As used in this subdivision, the term "election cycle" has the same meaning as in G.S. 163-278.6(32). (2008-150, s. 8(a); 2015-258, s. 3(d); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b); 2020-84, s. 1(a).)
§ 163-278.8B. Affiliated party committees.
(a) Each political party caucus of the North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate may establish one separate affiliated party committee to support the election of candidates who would be eligible to be members of that caucus. No other affiliated party committees shall be authorized pursuant to this section. The affiliated party committee is deemed a political party for purposes of this Article.
(b) An affiliated party committee shall be established only by majority vote of the total membership of the political party caucus. Attached to the organizational report filed in accordance with G.S. 163-9, the affiliated party committee shall provide a report to the State Board of Elections certifying that the political party caucus has organized and taken the appropriate vote to establish an affiliated party committee. The report described in this subsection shall be a public record within the meaning of Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.
(c) Each affiliated party committee shall:
(1) Adopt bylaws which shall be in compliance with the provisions of this Article. At a minimum, the bylaws shall include designation of a treasurer.
(2) Conduct campaigns for candidates who would be eligible to be members of that political party caucus of the North Carolina House of Representatives or North Carolina Senate if elected or reelected or manage daily operations of the affiliated party committee.
(3) Establish a bank account.
(4) Accept contributions and expend funds.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, an affiliated party committee shall be entitled to use the name, abbreviation, and symbol of its respective political party.
(e) For purposes of this section, "political party" has the same meaning as defined in G.S. 163-96. (2015-258, s. 3(a); 2015-264, s. 81(a); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)
§ 163-278.8C. Council of State affiliated party committees.
(a) Members of the Council of State affiliated with the same political party may establish one separate Council of State affiliated party committee to support the election of candidates who would be eligible to be nominees of that political party for Council of State offices. No other Council of State affiliated party committees shall be authorized pursuant to this section. The Council of State affiliated party committee is deemed a political party for purposes of this Article.
(b) Each Council of State affiliated party committee shall:
(1) Adopt bylaws which shall be in compliance with the provisions of this Article. At a minimum, the bylaws shall include designation of a treasurer.
(2) Conduct campaigns for candidates for Council of State who are members of the leader's political party or manage daily operations of the Council of State affiliated party committee.
(3) Establish a bank account.
(4) Accept contributions and expend funds.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a Council of State affiliated party committee shall be entitled to use the name, abbreviation, and symbol of the political party of its leader.
(d) A previously established Council of State affiliated party committee may continue to be maintained in the event that no individual affiliated with that political party is elected to serve on the Council of State in the general election. The Council of State affiliated party committee shall be maintained by the most recently elected members of the Council of State from that political party. Notwithstanding the definition of "leader" in subsection (e) of this section, those members shall designate an individual from that group to serve as leader. When an individual or individuals affiliated with that political party is next elected to the Council of State, that individual or individuals shall assume control of the Council of State affiliated party committee for that political party.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Leader. - The highest-ranking individual affiliated with the political party of the Council of State affiliated party committee. For the purposes of this subdivision, the highest-ranking office serving on the Council of State shall be in the following order: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the offices as set out in Article III, Section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution, as follows: Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Labor, and Commissioner of Insurance.
(2) Political party. - As defined in G.S. 163-96. (2015-258, s. 3(a1); 2015-264, s. 81(b); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)