Pursuant to Section 125.425 of Board Rules and Regulations, civil penalties will be assessed for any late filing of a Statement of Organization or campaign disclosure report. For a committee’s first violation, the fine will be stayed (will not need to be paid) unless the political committee subsequently files a late report. Upon the second violation, the political committee will be required to pay civil penalties assessed for both violations.

Late filing of a Schedule A-1 Report of Contributions of more than $500 is also a violation for which a civil penalty may be assessed. Each contribution is considered a separate violation when determining the penalty, which can range from 10% to 100% of the contribution(s) reported late. Late filing of a Pre-Election or a Semi-Annual Report may result in a civil penalty of up to $5,000, except that for State officers and candidates, a civil penalty of up to $10,000 may be assessed.

Committees who file a report late will be sent a Citing Letter approximately a week after the filing deadline, notifying them of the delinquent filing. That letter is followed about a month later by an Assessment Letter, which includes the exact fine(s) owed by the committee, how the fines are calculated, and forms for appealing the penalty. A committee has 30-days following the date of the Assessment Letter in which to appeal an assessment. If the committee chooses to appeal, it should fill out two of the three forms – an appeal affidavit explaining the grounds for the appeal, and either a request for hearing (if the committee want to present its case in person) or a waiver of appearance (if the committee does not want to appear in person). In either situation, a hearing examiner will eventually make a recommendation, and the Board will make the ultimate decision about the appeal. Specific information about the assessment and appeal process is also included in the mailings sent by the Board to affected committees.