Current through Vol. 24-22, December 15, 2024
Rule 62.
(1) An
officeholder's expense fund shall be used only for disbursements which are
incidental to the office of the elected public official who established the
fund. A disbursement is incidental to the office of the official if it is
traditionally associated with, or necessitated by, the holding of a particular
public office and is included within 1 or more of the following categories:
(a) Fund-raising disbursements of the
officeholder's expense fund.
(b)
Reasonable and necessary disbursements which are directly related to assisting,
serving, or communicating with constituents.
(c) Disbursements for office equipment,
furnishings, and supplies.
(d)
Disbursements for a district office if the office is not used for campaign
activity.
(e) Disbursements which
are directly related to conferences, meetings, receptions, and
events.
(f) Disbursements for a
publicly owned residence or a temporary residence at the seat of
government.
(g) Bona fide travel,
lodging, meal, and other unreimbursed disbursements incurred by the
officeholder, a member of the officeholder's immediate family, or a member of
the officeholder's staff.
(h)
Donations to a tax-exempt charitable institution, including the purchase of
tickets to charitable or civic events.
(i) Disbursements to a ballot question
committee.
(j) Purchase of tickets
for use by that public official and members of his or her immediate family and
staff to another candidate's fund-raising event or a fund-raising event
sponsored by an independent committee, political party committee, or a
political committee if the officeholder's expense fund has not accepted
corporate donations.
(k)
Educational disbursements for a course or seminar if the course or seminar
maintains or improves skills which are employed by the officeholder in the
performance of his or her administrative or legislative responsibilities.
(l) Purchase of advertisements in
testimonials, program books, souvenir books, or other publications if the
advertisement does not support or oppose the nomination or election of a
candidate.
(m) Consultation,
research, polling, and photographic services not related to a
campaign.
(n) Fraternal, veterans,
and service organization fees.
(o)
Payment of a tax liability incurred as a result of authorized officeholder's
expense fund transactions.
(p)
Accounting, professional, and administrative disbursements of the
officeholder's expense fund.
(q) A
debt or obligation incurred by the officeholder's expense fund for a
disbursement authorized by subdivisions (a) to (p) of this subrule, if the debt
or obligation was reported in the officeholder's expense fund report filed for
the year in which the debt or obligation arose.
(2) A disbursement from an officeholder's
expense fund which is an ordinary and necessary business expense of a public
official as a public official as authorized by the internal revenue code of
1986, 26 U.S.C. S 1 et seq., is presumed to be an expense incidental to
office.
(3) The treasurer of an
officeholder's expense fund shall keep detailed accounts, records, bills, and
receipts as required to substantiate the information contained in an
officeholder's expense fund report filed pursuant to the act and these
rules.
