11.0102 Determination of filing officer and duty to file; fees.
(1) Each committee and conduit required to register and report under this chapter shall have and shall file each registration statement and report required under this chapter with one filing officer as follows:
(a) The following shall file with the commission:
1. A candidate committee of a candidate for state office, as defined in s. 5.02 (23).
2. A conduit.
3. A legislative campaign committee.
4. A political action committee.
4m. An independent expenditure committee.
5. A political party.
6. A recall committee as defined in s. 11.0101 (27) (a).
7. Except as provided in pars. (f) and (g), a referendum committee.
(b) Subject to pars. (c) and (d), a candidate committee for a candidate seeking local office shall file with the clerk of the most populous jurisdiction for which the candidate seeks office.
(c) A candidate committee for a candidate for municipal judge elected under s. 755.01 (4) shall file with the county clerk or board of election commissioners of the county having the largest portion of the population in the jurisdiction served by the judge.
(d) A candidate committee for a candidate for school board member shall file with the school district clerk.
(e) A recall committee as defined in s. 11.0101 (27) (b) shall file with the filing officer for candidates for that office.
(f) A referendum committee acting to support or oppose any local referendum, other than a school district referendum, shall file with the clerk of the most populous jurisdiction in which the referendum will be conducted.
(g) A referendum committee acting to support or oppose a school district referendum shall file with the school district clerk.
(2)
(a) Except as provided in pars. (c) and (d), each committee that is required to register under this chapter shall annually pay a filing fee of $100 to the commission. The commission may accept payment under this subsection by credit card, debit card, or other electronic payment mechanism, and may charge a surcharge to that committee to recover the actual costs associated with the acceptance of that electronic payment.
(b) A committee that is subject to par. (a) shall pay the fee specified in par. (a) together with the report filed by that committee on the 15th day of the month of January in each year. If a committee that is subject to par. (a) registers under this chapter or changes status so that par. (a) becomes applicable to the committee during a calendar year, the committee shall pay the fee for that year with the filing of the committee's registration statement or at any time before the change in status becomes effective.
(c) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a candidate committee.
(d) Paragraph (a) does not apply to any committee for any year during which the committee does not make disbursements exceeding a total of $2,500.
(3) Each filing officer, other than the commission, shall do all of the following:
(a) Obtain the forms and manuals prescribed by the commission under s. 11.1304 (1) and (3) and election laws provided by the commission under s. 7.08 (4).
(b) Develop a filing, coding, and cross-indexing system consonant with the purposes of this chapter.
(c) Make all of the following available, without charge, to any committee required to file reports or statements with the officer:
1. Forms prescribed by the commission for the making of reports and statements. The filing officer shall notify the committee that all forms are available on the commission's Internet site. Whenever a filing officer sends a form or notice of the filing requirements under this chapter to the treasurer of a candidate committee, the filing officer shall also send a notice to the candidate.
2. Upon request, copies of manuals under par. (a).
(d) The filing officer shall provide copies of manuals and election laws to persons other than a committee under par. (c) at cost.
(e) Notify the commission, in writing, of any facts within the filing officer's knowledge or evidence in the officer's possession, including errors or discrepancies in reports or statements and delinquencies in filing which may be grounds for civil action or criminal prosecution. The commission may transmit a copy of the notification submitted under this paragraph to the district attorney.
(f) Make available a list of delinquents for public inspection.
(g) Compile and maintain on an electronic system a current list of all reports and statements received by or required of and pertaining to each committee registered under this chapter.
(h) Make the reports and statements filed with the officer available for public inspection and copying, commencing as soon as practicable but not later than the end of the 2nd day following the day during which they are received.
(i) Upon the request of any person, permit copying of any report or statement described under par. (g) at cost.
(j) Determine whether each report or statement required to be filed under this chapter has been filed in the form and by the time prescribed by law, and whether it conforms on its face to the requirements of this chapter. The officer shall immediately send to any committee that is delinquent in filing, or that has filed otherwise than in the proper form, a notice that the committee has failed to comply with this chapter. Whenever a candidate committee has appointed an individual other than the candidate as campaign treasurer, the officer shall send the notice to both the candidate and the treasurer of the candidate committee.
History: 2015 a. 117 ss. 24, 74 (1m); 2017 a. 365.