KRS § 121.170 Registration of committees and fundraisers -- Information required -- Permanent committee by member of General Assembly prohibited -- Official contact person.

121.170 Registration of committees and fundraisers -- Information required -- Permanent committee by member of General Assembly prohibited -- Official contact person. (1) Any committee, except a federally registered political committee as defined in 52 U.S.C. sec. 30101(4)(a), organized under any provisions of this chapter shall register with the registry, by filing official notice of intention at the time of organization, giving names, addresses, and positions of the officers of the organization, identifying an official contact person of the committee, and designating the candidate or candidates, slate of candidates, or question it is organized to support or oppose on forms prescribed by the registry; except that no campaign committee for a slate of candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be registered prior to the filing of a certificate or petition of nomination for the candidate for Governor under KRS 118.365. No entity which is excluded from the definition of "campaign committee" established in KRS 121.015(3)(a) shall be required to register as a committee with the registry. The name of the committee shall reasonably identify to the public the sponsorship and purpose of the committee. The forms filed with the registry shall require the registrant to clearly identify the specific purpose, sponsorship, and source from which the committee originates; and the registry shall refuse to allow filing by any committee until this requirement has been satisfied. (2) Any person who acts as a fundraiser by directly soliciting contributions for an election campaign of a candidate or slate of candidates for statewide-elected state office or an office in a jurisdiction containing in excess of two hundred thousand (200,000) residents shall register with the registry when he or she raises in excess of three thousand dollars ($3,000) in any one (1) election for the campaign committee by filing official notice giving his or her name, address, occupation, employer or, if he or she is self-employed, the name under which he or she is doing business, and all candidates or slates of candidates for whom he or she is soliciting on forms prescribed by the registry. A registered fundraiser shall comply with the campaign finance reporting requirements of KRS 121.180(3), (4), and (5). (3) All provisions of KRS 121.160 governing the duties and responsibilities of a candidate, slate of candidates, or campaign treasurer shall apply to a registered committee and a person acting as a campaign fundraiser, except if the chairperson of the committee is a registered voter in Kentucky, the treasurer may be a registered voter from any state. The provisions of KRS 121.160 shall not apply to a federally registered political committee as defined in 52 U.S.C. sec. 30101(4)(a). In case of the death, resignation, or removal of a campaign treasurer for a permanent committee or executive committee, the chairperson of the permanent committee or executive committee shall, within three (3) days after receiving notice of the vacancy by certified mail, appoint a successor as treasurer for the committee and file the name and address of the successor with the registry. The chairperson of the permanent committee or executive committee shall be accountable as the treasurer for the committee if the chairperson fails to meet this filing requirement. (4) The chairperson of a committee and the campaign treasurer shall be separate persons. (5) Any federally registered political committee as defined in 52 U.S.C. sec. 30101(4)(a) that contributes to a Kentucky candidate or a slate of candidates shall: (a) File with the registry a copy of its federal registration (Federal Election Commission Form 1 - Committee Registration Form); (b) File with the registry a copy of the Federal Election Commission finance report when a contribution is made to, or an independent expenditure is made in support or opposition of, a Kentucky candidate or a slate of candidates; and (c) Contribute not more than the maximum amount permitted for a permanent committee to make under Kentucky law to any candidate or to any slate of candidates for any office in this Commonwealth. (6) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a contribution made by a federally registered political committee as defined in 52 U.S.C. sec. 30101(4)(a) to any candidate or to any slate of candidates for any office in this Commonwealth that complies with the provisions of 52 U.S.C. sec. 30118, 11 C.F.R. sec. 104.10, 11 C.F.R. sec. 106.6, and 11 C.F.R. sec. 114.1-114.12 regarding limitations on contributions by corporations shall be deemed to comply with the campaign finance laws of this Commonwealth prohibiting corporate contributions to candidates or slates of candidates. (7) The organization, formation, or registration of a permanent committee by any member of the General Assembly shall be prohibited. (8) The official contact person of a permanent committee shall not be a legislative agent as defined in KRS 6.611 or an executive agency lobbyist as defined in KRS 11A.201. Effective: July 15, 2024 History: Amended 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 107, sec. 6, effective July 15, 2024. -- Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 88, sec. 11, effective July 15, 2020. -- Amended 2011 Ky. Acts ch. 51, sec. 2, effective June 8, 2011. -- Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 105, sec. 6, effective March 16, 2005. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 599, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 153, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1996; and ch. 179, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1996.. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 458, sec. 10, effective July 15, 1994. -- Amended 1993 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 4, sec. 59, effective January 1, 1994. -- Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 288, sec. 27, effective July 14, 1992. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 341, sec. 45, effective July 15, 1988. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 100, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 292, sec. 7, effective July 15, 1980. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 130, sec. 189.