§ 22-25-108 — Failure of persons to file reports; notice; penalties; reconsideration

Wyoming § 22-25-108

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 22: Elections
• Ch. 25: CAMPAIGN PRACTICES

Text

(a) Any person required to file a report under W.S.
22-25-106 shall be given notice prior to an election, by the
appropriate filing office specified under W.S. 22-25-107, that
failure to file the report within the time required by that
section shall subject the person to civil penalties as provided
in subsection (f) of this section. The notice shall inform any
candidate's campaign committee, organization, political party or
political action committee that the officers responsible for
filing the report shall be subject to the same civil penalties
as the candidate's campaign committee, organization, political
party or political action committee for failure to file the
report.
(b) Any person who fails to file a report under W.S.
22-25-106 within the time required by that section shall have
their name printed on a list drafted by the appropriate filing
office. The filing office shall:
(i) Immediately post the list in the filing office
and make the list available to the public;
(ii) Notify the person at their address of record
that the person has twenty-one (21) days from the date the
notice was sent to comply with W.S. 22-25-106 or be subject to
civil penalties as provided in subsection (f) of this section.
(c) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 40, § 2.
(d) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 40, § 2.
(e) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 40, § 2.
(f) The appropriate filing office or the county attorney,
for reports required to be filed with the county clerk, shall
issue a final order imposing the civil penalty specified in this
subsection against any person failing to comply with W.S. 22-25-
106 twenty-one (21) days from the date the notice was sent under
subsection (b) of this section. The final order shall be sent
to the person at their address of record and shall notify the
person of the right to request reconsideration of the order as
provided in subsection (h) of this section. The filing office
or county attorney shall impose the following civil penalty in
the final order after giving due consideration to the
willfulness of the failure to file, the person's level of
experience with reporting requirements under this act, efforts
made to obscure the identity of the person required to file and
any other factor evidencing an intent to evade reporting
requirements under this act:
(i) Up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) per day
beginning on the date of the final order and ending when the
report is filed for a failure to file a report with the
secretary of state;
(ii) Up to two hundred dollars ($200.00) per day
beginning on the date of the final order and ending when the
report is filed for a failure to file a report with the county
clerk.
(g) Any candidate required to file a report under W.S.
22-25-106 who authorizes the candidate's campaign committee to
file on their behalf as provided by W.S. 22-25-106(j) shall be
jointly and severally liable with the candidate's campaign
committee for any civil penalty imposed under this section.
(h) Any person may, within twenty (20) days of the date of
a final order issued pursuant to subsection (f) of this section,
request reconsideration of the order and submit documentation to
the appropriate filing office or county attorney showing good
cause for a failure to file a report. The filing office or
county attorney may, after a decision finding good cause, waive
any civil penalty imposed under this section provided that the
person files the report within the time specified in the
decision. A decision to not waive an imposed penalty by the
secretary of state is subject to the contested case procedures
of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. A decision to not
waive an imposed penalty by the county attorney is appealable to
a circuit court of appropriate jurisdiction.
(j) A civil penalty imposed under this section shall be
paid within thirty (30) days of the date of the final order
issued pursuant to subsection (f) of this section or the date of
a decision denying reconsideration by the appropriate filing
office or county attorney, whichever is later. Any penalty not
paid within the time required by this subsection is delinquent
and shall bear interest at a rate of eighteen percent (18%) per
annum until paid or collected, provided that no penalty is due
and no interest shall accrue during any period in which the
penalty is being reviewed by a court or during the pendency of a
contested case proceeding. The filing office for the state shall
notify the attorney general of a delinquent civil penalty.
(k) A delinquent civil penalty may be recovered in an
action brought in the name of the state of Wyoming in any court
of appropriate jurisdiction. In addition to any other remedy
provided by law for the recovery of the penalty and any interest
thereon, the county attorney or the attorney general, as
appropriate, may recover any costs or damages relating to the
recovery effort including attorney's fees. No filing fee shall
be charged for the filing of an action under this subsection nor
shall a fee be charged for service of process.
(m) Civil penalties and any interest thereon shall be paid
to the clerk of court with jurisdiction over the matter for
deposit to the public school fund of the county in which the
fine was assessed. Any recovered costs or damages relating to
the recovery effort shall be retained by the county or the
state, as appropriate.