Sec. 24.

(1) A committee shall file a statement of organization with the filing officials designated in section 36 to receive the committee’s campaign statements. A committee shall file a statement of organization within 10 days after the committee is formed. A filing official shall maintain a statement of organization filed by a committee until 5 years after the official date of the committee’s dissolution. A person who fails to file a statement of organization required by this subsection shall pay a late filing fee of $10.00 for each business day the statement remains not filed in violation of this subsection. The late filing fee must not exceed $300.00. A person who violates this subsection by failing to file for more than 30 days after a statement of organization is required to be filed is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00.

(2) The statement of organization required to be filed under subsection (1) must include the following information:

(a) The name, street address, and if available, the electronic mail address and telephone number of the committee, and the electronic mail address of the candidate. If a committee is a candidate committee, the committee name must include the first and last name of the candidate. A committee address may be the home address of the candidate or treasurer of the committee.

(b) The name, street address, and if available, the electronic mail address and telephone number of the treasurer or other individual designated as responsible for the committee’s record keeping, report preparation, or report filing.

(c) The name and address of the financial institution in which the official committee depository is or is intended to be located, and the name and address of each financial institution in which a secondary depository is or is intended to be located.

(d) The full name of the office being sought by, including district number or jurisdiction, and the county residence of each candidate supported or opposed by the committee.

(e) A brief statement identifying the substance of each ballot question supported or opposed by the committee. If the ballot question supported or opposed by the committee is a local ballot question, the committee shall identify the county in which the greatest number of registered voters eligible to vote on the ballot question reside.

(f) Identification of the committee as a candidate committee, political party committee, independent committee, independent expenditure committee, political committee, or ballot question committee if it is identifiable as such a committee.

(3) An independent committee or political committee shall include in the name of the committee the name of the person or persons that sponsor the committee, if any, or with whom the committee is affiliated. A person, other than an individual or a committee, sponsors or is affiliated with an independent committee or political committee if that person establishes, directs, controls, or financially supports the administration of the committee. For the purposes of this subsection, a person does not financially support the administration of a committee by merely making a contribution to the committee.

(4) If any of the information required in a statement of organization is changed, the committee shall file an amendment when the next campaign statement is required to be filed.

(5) When filing a statement of organization, a committee, other than an independent committee, a political committee, or a political party committee, may indicate in a written statement signed by the treasurer of the committee that the committee does not expect for each election to receive an amount in excess of $1,000.00 or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00. The treasurer of a committee of an incumbent judge or supreme court justice is considered to have made the statement required under this subsection following appointment or election of that judge or justice and is not required to file a written statement under this subsection indicating that the committee does not expect for each election to receive or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00.

(6) When filing a statement of organization, an independent committee, an independent expenditure committee, a political committee, or a political party committee may indicate in a written statement signed by the treasurer of the committee that the committee does not expect in a calendar year to receive or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00.

(7) Upon the dissolution of a committee, the committee shall file a statement indicating dissolution with the filing officials with whom the committee’s statement of organization was filed. Dissolution of a committee must be accomplished pursuant to rules promulgated by the secretary of state under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.

(8) A candidate committee that files a written statement under subsection (5) or that is considered to have made a statement under subsection (5) is not required to file a dissolution statement under subsection (7) if the committee failed to receive or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00 and 1 of the following applies:

(a) The candidate was defeated in an election and has no outstanding campaign debts or assets.

(b) The candidate vacates an elective office and has no outstanding campaign debts or assets.

(9) A political committee organized for the purpose of making independent expenditures formed before December 31, 2019 is considered an independent expenditure committee. The secretary of state may amend the statement of organization for any committee affected by this subsection.

History: 1976, Act 388, Eff. June 1, 1977 ;-- Am. 1977, Act 311, Imd. Eff. Jan. 4, 1978 ;-- Am. 1985, Act 138, Imd. Eff. Oct. 22, 1985 ;-- Am. 1989, Act 95, Imd. Eff. June 21, 1989 ;-- Am. 1994, Act 117, Eff. Apr. 1, 1995 ;-- Am. 1999, Act 237, Eff. Mar. 10, 2000 ;-- Am. 2015, Act 238, Eff. Mar. 21, 2016 ;-- Am. 2015, Act 269, Imd. Eff. Jan. 6, 2016 ;-- Am. 2017, Act 119, Imd. Eff. Sept. 20, 2017 ;-- Am. 2019, Act 93, Imd. Eff. Oct. 10, 2019 Admin Rule: R 169.1 et seq. of the Michigan Administrative Code.