§ Miss. Code § 23-15-813(untitled)

Civil penalty for failure to file campaign finance disclosure report; notice to
candidate of failure to file; assessment of penalty by Secretary of State; hearing; appeal.
(a) In addition to any other penalty permitted by law, the Secretary of State shall require any
candidate or political committee, as identified in Section 23-15-805(a), and any other political
committee registered with the Secretary of State, who fails to file a campaign finance disclosure
report as required under Sections 23-15-801 through 23-15-813, or Sections 23-17-47 through
23-17-53, or who shall file a report which fails to substantially comply with the requirements of
Sections 23-15-801 through 23-15-813, or Sections 23-17-47 through 23-17-53, to be assessed a
civil penalty as follows:
(i) Within five (5) calendar days after any deadline for filing a report pursuant to Sections 2315-801 through 23-15-813, or Sections 23-17-47 through 23-17-53, the Secretary of State shall
compile a list of those candidates and political committees who have failed to file a report. The
Secretary of State shall provide each candidate or political committee, who has failed to file a
report, notice of the failure by first-class mail.
(ii) Beginning with the tenth calendar day after which any report shall be due, the Secretary of
State shall assess the delinquent candidate and political committee a civil penalty of Fifty Dollars
($50.00) for each day or part of any day until a valid report is delivered to the Secretary of State,
up to a maximum of ten (10) days. However, in the discretion of the Secretary of State, the
assessing of the fine may be waived in whole or in part if the Secretary of State determines that
unforeseeable mitigating circumstances, such as the health of the candidate, interfered with
timely filing of a report. Failure of a candidate or political committee to receive notice of failure
to file a report from the Secretary of State is not an unforeseeable mitigating circumstance, and
failure to receive the notice shall not result in removal or reduction of any assessed civil penalty.
(iii) Filing of the required report and payment of the fine within ten (10) calendar days of
notice by the Secretary of State that a required statement has not been filed, constitutes
compliance with Sections 23-15-801 through 23-15-813, or Sections 23-17-47 through 23-1753.
(iv) Payment of the fine without filing the required report does not in any way excuse or
exempt any person required to file from the filing requirements of Sections 23-15-801 through
23-15-813, and Sections 23-17-47 through 23-17-53.
(v) If any candidate or political committee is assessed a civil penalty, and the penalty is not
subsequently waived by the Secretary of State, the candidate or political committee shall pay the
fine to the Secretary of State within ninety (90) days of the date of the assessment of the fine. If,
after one hundred twenty (120) days of the assessment of the fine the payment for the entire
amount of the assessed fine has not been received by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
State shall notify the Attorney General of the delinquency, and the Attorney General shall file,
where necessary, a suit to compel payment of the civil penalty.
(b) (i) Upon the sworn application, made within sixty (60) calendar days of the date upon
which the required report is due, of a candidate or political committee against whom a civil
penalty has been assessed pursuant to paragraph (a), the Secretary of State shall forward the
application to the State Board of Election Commissioners. The State Board of Election
Commissioners shall appoint one or more hearing officers who shall be former chancellors,
circuit court judges, judges of the Court of Appeals or justices of the Supreme Court, and who
shall conduct hearings held pursuant to this article. The hearing officer shall fix a time and place
for a hearing and shall cause a written notice specifying the civil penalties that have been
assessed against the candidate or political committee and notice of the time and place of the
hearing to be served upon the candidate or political committee at least twenty (20) calendar days
before the hearing date. The notice may be served by mailing a copy thereof by certified mail,
postage prepaid, to the last known business address of the candidate or political committee.
(ii) The hearing officer may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the
production of books and papers at the hearing. Process issued by the hearing officer shall extend
to all parts of the state and shall be served by any person designated by the hearing officer for the
service.
(iii) The candidate or political committee has the right to appear either personally, by counsel
or both, to produce witnesses or evidence in his behalf, to cross-examine witnesses and to have
subpoenas issued by the hearing officer.
(iv) At the hearing, the hearing officer shall administer oaths as may be necessary for the
proper conduct of the hearing. All hearings shall be conducted by the hearing officer, who shall
not be bound by strict rules of procedure or by the laws of evidence in the conduct of the
proceedings, but the determination shall be based upon sufficient evidence to sustain it. The
scope of review at the hearing shall be limited to making a determination of whether failure to
file a required report was due to an unforeseeable mitigating circumstance.
(v) Where, in any proceeding before the hearing officer, any witness fails or refuses to attend
upon a subpoena issued by the commission, refuses to testify, or refuses to produce any books
and papers the production of which is called for by a subpoena, the attendance of the witness, the
giving of his testimony or the production of the books and papers shall be enforced by any court
of competent jurisdiction of this state in the manner provided for the enforcement of attendance
and testimony of witnesses in civil cases in the courts of this state.
(vi) Within fifteen (15) calendar days after conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall
reduce his or her decision to writing and forward an attested true copy of the decision to the last
known business address of the candidate or political committee by way of United States firstclass, certified mail, postage prepaid.
(c) (i) The right to appeal from the decision of the hearing officer in an administrative
hearing concerning the assessment of civil penalties authorized pursuant to this section is
granted. The appeal shall be to the Circuit Court of Hinds County and shall include a verbatim
transcript of the testimony at the hearing. The appeal shall be taken within thirty (30) calendar
days after notice of the decision of the commission following an administrative hearing. The
appeal shall be perfected upon filing notice of the appeal and by the prepayment of all costs,
including the cost of the preparation of the record of the proceedings by the hearing officer, and
the filing of a bond in the sum of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), conditioned that if the
decision of the hearing officer be affirmed by the court, the candidate or political committee will
pay the costs of the appeal and the action in court. If the decision is reversed by the court, the
Secretary of State will pay the costs of the appeal and the action in court.
(ii) If there is an appeal, the appeal shall act as a supersedeas. The court shall dispose of the
appeal and enter its decision promptly. The hearing on the appeal may be tried in vacation, in the
court's discretion. The scope of review of the court shall be limited to a review of the record
made before the hearing officer to determine if the action of the hearing officer is unlawful for
the reason that it was 1. not supported by substantial evidence, 2. arbitrary or capricious, 3.
beyond the power of the hearing officer to make, or 4. in violation of some statutory or
constitutional right of the appellant. The decision of the court may be appealed to the Supreme
Court in the manner provided by law.
(d) If, after forty-five (45) calendar days of the date of the administrative hearing procedure
set forth in paragraph (b), the candidate or political committee identified in paragraph (a) of this
section fails to pay the monetary civil penalty imposed by the hearing officer, the Secretary of
State shall notify the Attorney General of the delinquency. The Attorney General shall
investigate the offense in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and where necessary,
file suit to compel payment of the unpaid civil penalty.
(e) If, after twenty (20) calendar days of the date upon which a campaign finance disclosure
report is due, a candidate or political committee identified in paragraph (a) of this section shall
not have filed a valid report with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall notify the
Attorney General of those candidates and political committees who have not filed a valid report,
and the Attorney General shall thereupon prosecute the delinquent candidates and political
committees.