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![handle is hein.sag/sagga0094 and id is 1 raw text is:
GEOGA GOV
GEOoA DEPARTLwNT OFLAw
40CAPiTOlo S9LUARE SW
SAMUEL S. OLENS AT LANTA, GA 343 X WwwwIlw.,g
Official Opinion 2016-1
May 31, 2016
To:
Executive Director,
Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission
Re:
County and municipal governments may issue notices of fees due for statutory late filings by
candidates and committees under the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance
Act of 2010, but those governments are not authorized otherwise to enforce the provisions of the
Act or to retain any portion of the late fees imposed under the Act.
You have requested my opinion regarding whether the Georgia Government Transparency and
Campaign Finance Act of 2010[1] (the Act) allows for local governments and municipalities to
issue late fee notices or keep late fees for campaign contribution disclosure reports and personal
financial disclosure statements. In addition, you have inquired whether any local filing officers have
the power to enforce the Act against any candidate, officer, or campaign committee through
administrative or civil action, and whether they can waive or otherwise forgive amounts due from a
candidate or campaign committee for late-filed reports. While local governments may
independently establish and determine whether a filing by candidates is late under the Act, those
governments are not authorized otherwise to enforce the provisions of the Act through either
administrative or civil actions, nor may those governments retain any portion of the late fees
imposed by the law. Similarly, no local government entity may waive, alter, or otherwise forgive any
late fee assessed against a candidate or campaign committee under the Act.
The applicable law
Under the Act, candidates for public office and candidate campaign committees are required to file
campaign contribution disclosure reports. However, there are different requirements and related
penalties for noncompliance. For state-level candidates and campaign committees, the Act
provides:
The candidate or the chairperson or treasurer of each campaign committee
organized to bring about the nomination or election of a candidate for any office](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagga0094&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)