§1485. Filing; receipt by supervisory committee; special penalties

A. For purposes of this Chapter, a report, statement, or any other paper or document required to be filed with the supervisory committee shall be deemed to be filed when it is received either physically or electronically, by facsimile or e-mail, in the office of the supervisory committee in Baton Rouge, at the time it is hand-delivered, at the time it is postmarked or is receipted on a return receipt requested form by the United States Postal Service, if it is subsequently received in the office of the supervisory committee in Baton Rouge, or at the time it is deposited for delivery with a commercial delivery service as indicated on the receipt or invoice provided by the commercial delivery service, if it is subsequently received in the office of the supervisory committee in Baton Rouge.

B. If the date on which a report is required to be filed occurs on a weekend or a federal or state holiday, the report shall be filed no later than the first working day after the date it would otherwise be due that is not a federal or state holiday.

C. Each candidate for a major or district office and each principal campaign committee of a candidate for a major or district office shall electronically file reports of contributions and expenditures with the supervisory committee through the Board of Ethics Computerized Data Management System as provided in R.S. 42:1158.

D. If a report that is required to be filed pursuant to this Chapter is determined by the supervisory committee to be illegible, the supervisory committee may require the person who has filed such report to resubmit a legible report; however, the report shall be deemed to be received by the supervisory committee on the date that the original, illegible report was received.

E.(1) Each person and political committee required to file reports pursuant to this Chapter that receives contributions or loans in excess of fifty thousand dollars in a calendar year or which makes expenditures in excess of fifty thousand dollars in a calendar year, other than a candidate or an authorized political committee of a candidate or a political committee of a recognized political party, shall file all reports required by this Chapter electronically with the supervisory committee through the Board of Ethics Computerized Data Management System as provided in R.S. 42:1158.

(2) In addition to any other applicable penalties, the failure of a person or political committee required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection to file a report electronically shall subject such person or political committee to penalties of five hundred dollars per day until the report is filed as required by this Subsection.

F.(1) If a person or committee required by this Section to electronically file a report through the Board of Ethics Computerized Data Management System is unable to do so because of a technical problem beyond the person's or committee's control, the person or committee shall file the report by the date the report is due via other means specified in Subsection A of this Section.

(2) The person or committee shall file with such report a certification detailing the technical problem that prevented the person or committee from electronically filing the report through the Board of Ethics Computerized Data Management System.

(3) The person or committee shall electronically file the report through the Board of Ethics Computerized Data Management System no later than five days after the date the report was originally due.

Acts 1980, No. 786, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 1984, No. 466, §1, §2; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 123, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 164, §1; Acts 1999, No. 254, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2005, No. 431, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2008, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 17, §1, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2008, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 25, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2008, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 25, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2012; Acts 2010, No. 766, §1, eff. June 30, 2010.