(A) Each candidate shall have no more than one campaign committee for purposes of receiving contributions and making expenditures. No campaign committee shall receive any contribution or make any expenditure other than through the campaign treasurer. The campaign treasurer shall file all statements required of a candidate or campaign committee under section 3517.10 of the Revised Code.

The candidate shall designate the candidate or a member of the candidate's campaign committee as the candidate's campaign treasurer as required by division (D) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code. The campaign treasurer may appoint deputy campaign treasurers as required. Deputy campaign treasurers may exercise any of the powers and duties of a campaign treasurer when specifically authorized to do so by the campaign treasurer or the candidate.

Each candidate shall file a written statement, as required by division (D) of section 3517.10 of the Revised Code, setting forth the full name and address of the campaign treasurer and also of each deputy treasurer. Each candidate shall file supplemental statements giving the full name and address of each deputy treasurer at the time of appointment.

A candidate may remove the campaign treasurer or any deputy campaign treasurer at any time. In the case of death, resignation, or removal of the treasurer or deputy treasurer before compliance with all obligations of a campaign treasurer, the candidate shall fill the vacancy thus created in the same manner as provided in the case of an original appointment.

(B)

(1) Two or more candidates may be the beneficiaries of a single campaign committee if all of the following apply:

(a) Each candidate is seeking nomination or election to the same office at the same election.

(b) The office for which each candidate is seeking nomination or election is the office of member of a board, commission, or other similar body of elected officials to which multiple members are nominated or elected at the same election.

(c) The number of candidates who will be the beneficiaries of the campaign committee does not exceed the number of open positions on the board, commission, or other similar body of elected officials to which the candidates are seeking nomination or election.

(d) The candidates jointly designate one of the candidates or one member of the campaign committee as the treasurer of that campaign committee as required under division (A) of this section.

(e) The candidates jointly file the written statements required under division (A) of this section.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this division, any penalty that may be imposed on a candidate under section 3517.992 of the Revised Code for a violation of this chapter shall be imposed jointly and severally on each beneficiary of a multi-beneficiary campaign committee. If the Ohio elections commission or the appropriate prosecutor is able to determine that a specific beneficiary of a multi-beneficiary campaign committee violated this chapter, the applicable penalty under section 3517.992 of the Revised Code shall be imposed only on that candidate and not on the other beneficiaries of that multi-beneficiary campaign committee.

(3)

(a) If any of the following occur after a multi-beneficiary campaign committee is established, that campaign committee shall be terminated:

(i) The beneficiaries of the campaign committee disagree as to the designation or removal of a campaign treasurer.

(ii) Any beneficiary of the campaign committee desires to end the beneficiary's candidacy for the office for which the beneficiaries are seeking nomination or election.

(iii) Any beneficiary of the campaign committee desires to form an individual campaign committee.

(b) Prior to the termination of a multi-beneficiary campaign committee in accordance with division (B)(3)(a) of this section, any contributions received by that campaign committee that have not been expended shall be disposed of in the manner provided in division (C) of section 3517.109 of the Revised Code. No contributions from the multi-beneficiary campaign committee shall be contributed or transferred into any candidate's individual campaign committee.

(4) No candidate who has a campaign committee for which that candidate is the sole beneficiary shall become the beneficiary of a campaign committee with multiple beneficiaries under division (B)(1) of this section unless the candidate first terminates the candidate's individual campaign committee. Prior to the termination of that individual campaign committee, any contributions received by that campaign committee that have not been expended shall be disposed of in the manner provided in division (C) of section 3517.109 of the Revised Code. No contributions from the candidate's individual campaign committee shall be contributed or transferred into the multi-beneficiary campaign committee.

Effective Date: 12-23-1986; 05-02-2006 .