HB 5166: To provide notice to any political committees violating the filing requirements prior to assessing any civil fines and giving the Secretary of State authority to grant additional time for compliance not to exceed an additional 14 days. - West Virginia

hb5166 s jud amt _1 3-10 adopted.htm → hb5166 sfa taylor _1 3-11 adopted.htm · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add a new section establishing rules for party headquarters committees, including definitions, contribution limits, and financial reporting requirements for political party headquarters.

Scope change

The bill now specifically addresses party headquarters committees and their financial activities, which was not covered in the original version.

DEFINITION

New definitions for 'contribution', 'party headquarters', 'party headquarters committee', and 'county executive committee' were added to clarify what these terms mean under the law.

FISCAL

New contribution limits were established: $10,000 per person for party headquarters committees and $1 million for county executive committee headquarters.

REQUIREMENT

New financial reporting requirements mandate that party headquarters committees file verified financial statements within 90 days of contributions or expenditures exceeding $250.

ELIGIBILITY

New restrictions prohibit using party headquarters committee funds for satellite offices, utilities for satellite offices, or general political purposes.

ENFORCEMENT

The Secretary of State is now required to propose rules to implement these new provisions and must retain financial statements as public records for at least six years.

hb5166 s jud am _1 3-10 adopted.htm → hb5166 s jud amt _1 3-10 adopted.htm · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill title was changed from 'amend' to 'amendment' and the substantive content was completely replaced with a new text that adds detailed civil penalty procedures, notification requirements, and audit provisions for election statement filings.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include specific procedures for civil penalties, notification protocols, and audit authority for election financial statement compliance.

TITLE

The bill title was changed from 'amend' to 'amendment' and the description was updated to reflect the new content.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements were added for the Secretary of State to provide written notice via certified mail to political committees not in compliance with filing requirements.

New requirements were added for the Secretary of State to publish online a list of persons who file statements after the deadline.

New requirements were added for the Secretary of State and county clerk to review and audit sworn statements, with the State Election Commission proposing legislative rules for penalty assessment procedures.

ENFORCEMENT

New enforcement mechanisms were added including civil penalty assessment procedures, notification timelines, and the authority to grant additional compliance time for good cause.

Engrossed Version → hb5166 s jud am _1 3-10 adopted.htm · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to replace the entire text of the original version with a new version that consolidates election filing requirements, clarifies penalty assessment procedures, and maintains the Secretary of State's authority to grant compliance extensions. The substantive policy content remains largely the same, with minor formatting and numbering adjustments.

TECHNICAL

The entire text of the bill was replaced with a new version that reorganized sections and line numbers, though the substantive legal provisions remain substantially unchanged.

Minor formatting adjustments were made throughout the document, including changes to section numbering and paragraph structure.

The amendment process was documented with a header indicating this is an amendment by the Judiciary Committee dated March 10.

Introduced Version → Engrossed Version · 3 edits · Feb 18, 2026

MINOR

The bill was amended to add specific dates and committee assignments to the legislative history, and to clarify the notice requirements for political committees that fail to file required financial reports. The changes ensure that the Secretary of State must provide written notice to non-compliant committees before assessing civil penalties, giving them up to 14 additional days to comply.

TIMELINE

Added specific introduction date (February 4, 2026) and committee assignment (Judiciary Committee) to the bill history.

ENFORCEMENT

Strengthened notice requirements by mandating written notification to political committees before civil penalties are assessed, with a 14-day grace period for compliance.

TECHNICAL

Removed navigation elements, footer links, and website maintenance information that were part of the original HTML version but not substantive policy content.

To provide notice to any political committees violating the filing requirements prior to assessing any civil fines and giving the Secretary of State authority to grant additional time for compliance not to exceed an additional 14 days.

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