Title 17, Title 17 Title 17

(a) For every report filed after the effective date of this chapter, the campaign treasurer of each candidate seeking nomination for election or election to public office shall maintain and preserve all records and supporting documentation for a period of four (4) years from the …

(a) Appointment of treasurer or deputy treasurer. Whenever a campaign account containing campaign funds received and expended by a candidate, office holder, or treasurer, subject to the provisions of this chapter, receives or expends at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in any…

No contributions shall be made, and no expenditure shall be made or incurred, whether anonymously, in a fictitious name, or by one person or group in the name of another, to support or defeat a candidate in a primary, general, or special election. No treasurer or candidate shall …

(a) Any person who willfully and knowingly violates the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation. (b) The state board may fine any person or entity who violates the p…

Any state or municipal committee of any political party may receive and disburse moneys for the general purposes of maintaining the organization during the whole or any part of the year.

(a) No political action committee shall accept any contributions or make any expenditures prior to filing notice of its organization with the board of elections. The notice shall contain: (1) The name or names of any candidates whose election or defeat the committee intends to ad…

(a) Whenever the board of elections has reason to believe that a candidate, political party committee, or political action committee, or the campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer of the candidate or committee, has accepted a contribution or made an expenditure in violat…

(a) If the provisions of this chapter or their application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the p…

Whereas, the general assembly finds that the cost of running for statewide office has risen over the last decade at a rate far in excess of the increase in the cost of living; and Whereas, the general assembly finds that the need to raise ever larger sums of money to effectively …

(a) To effectuate the purpose stated in § 17-25-18, public funds shall be made available under the terms and conditions of this section and §§ 17-25-20 — 17-25-27 to qualifying candidates for general office and primary elections who agree to abide by a limitation on the total amo…

It is declared to be in the public interest and to be the policy of the state to require the reporting of certain contributions received and expenditures made to aid or promote the nomination, election, or defeat of all candidates for public office.

In order to receive matching public funds under § 17-25-19, a qualifying candidate must comply with the following requirements: (1) The candidate must sign a statement under oath, as provided for in § 17-25-19, pledging to comply with the limitations on contributions and expendit…

Any candidate eligible to receive public funds and electing to receive these funds who is challenged for nomination for general office in a political party primary shall be permitted to raise and expend an additional amount of funds equal to one-third (⅓) of the maximum allowable…

(a) In order to receive matching public funds, the candidate must be a candidate for general office who meets all of the requirements set forth in § 17-25-20(6). The candidate must submit to the board of elections proof of receipt of qualifying private contributions and supportin…

For the purposes of §§ 17-25-19 and 17-25-20, any funds expended by a person, committee of a political party, or political action committee to directly influence the outcome of the electoral contest involving the candidate shall be considered a contribution received by or an expe…

Any candidate eligible to receive public funds and electing to receive these funds whose opponent does not elect to receive public funds shall be permitted to raise additional private contributions and make additional expenditures for election purposes in an amount in excess of t…

Any candidate receiving public funds during any election cycle under the provisions of this chapter shall, within ninety (90) days after the completion of the election cycle, transfer to the general treasurer for deposit in the general fund fifty percent (50%) of any amount of th…

Any expenditure jointly made by any two (2) or more candidates for any newspaper, radio, or television advertisement primarily benefiting the candidate shall be attributed to and apportioned equally among those candidates who are clearly identified in that advertisement. The appo…

The board may conduct a post-audit of all accounts and transactions for any election cycle and may conduct any other special audits and post-audits that it may deem necessary. The board shall publish a summary of the reports filed by candidates for general office pursuant to the …

In addition to all other powers and duties established by law, the board of elections is empowered to adopt and enforce rules, regulations, and auditing procedures required to fulfill the mandates of §§ 17-25-19 — 17-25-27. The board is empowered, among other things, to: (1) Asce…

In the event the funds generated by the tax credit of § 44-30-2(d) fail to produce sufficient money to meet the requirements of the public financing of the electoral system as set forth in §§ 17-25-19 — 17-25-27, then funds sufficient to meet the levels of the public financing as…

As used in this chapter, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context: (1) “Accounts payable” means credit extended to a candidate or political committee, for campaign expenditures; provided that, the credit extended is in the ordinary course of the vendor’s busine…

Any candidate eligible to receive public funds who complies in full with eligibility criteria for receipt of the funds shall be: (1) Entitled to an additional benefit of free time on community antenna television to be allocated pursuant to rules determined by the administrator fo…

The administrator for the division of public utilities for the state of Rhode Island shall formulate rules and regulations concerning the allocation of advertising time to be used by those candidates for public office who are eligible to receive public funds and who comply in ful…

The provisions of this chapter shall apply in any primary, general, or special election or town meeting for any public office of the state, municipality, or district or for the determination of any question submitted to the voters of the state, municipality, or district.

(a) The board of elections is authorized to perform any duties that are necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter. Without limiting the generality of this provision, the board is authorized and empowered to: (1) Develop forms for the making of the required reports to …

The board of elections shall prepare and publish a manual prescribing the requirements of the law, and the secretary of state shall have copies of the manual available for individuals filing candidacy papers.

(a) All campaign funds received and expended by a candidate, office holder, treasurer, or deputy treasurer, subject to the provisions of this chapter, shall be segregated from all other accounts. The candidate or office holder must maintain a separate campaign account, which shal…

(a) Each campaign treasurer of a candidate, each state and municipal committee of a political party, and each political action committee shall keep accurate records and make a full report, upon a form prescribed by the board of elections, of all contributions received, and expend…

(a) The personal use by any elected public office holder or by any candidate for public office, as defined in § 17-25-3, of campaign funds contributed after April 29, 1992, is prohibited. For the purposes of this section, “personal use” is defined as any use other than expenditur…

It is unlawful for any candidate for public office, as defined in § 17-25-3, or any elected public office holder to accept the proceeds of any testimonial, as defined in § 17-25-3, for personal use, as defined in § 17-25-7.2, which were received after April 29, 1992. Nothing in t…

Campaign contributions received pursuant to this chapter shall not be used to repay cumulative personal loans that were made on or after April 29, 1992, to a campaign by a candidate in excess of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) during an election cycle.

The State of Rhode Island is committed to facilitating public access to reports of campaign contributions and expenditures by candidates for public office and other entities required to file campaign finance reports.

(a) The filing of campaign finance reports to the board of elections shall commence in accordance with the following schedule: (1) Candidates for general office shall commence filing campaign finance reports electronically beginning with the report required to be filed for the fi…

(a) Each candidate in an election shall file a “notice of organization” with the board of elections and appoint one campaign treasurer before receiving any contribution or expending any money in furtherance or aid of the candidate’s candidacy. The “notice of organization” shall i…

(a) Each political action committee shall appoint one campaign treasurer before receiving any contribution or expending any money for the purpose of advocating the election or defeat of any candidate. (b) A campaign treasurer of a political action committee may appoint deputy cam…

(a) Each state and municipal committee of a political party shall, on or before January 31 of each year, designate a campaign treasurer and shall file the name and address of that person with the board of elections. (b) A campaign treasurer of the state or municipal committee of …