{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-121.120","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 121.120","heading":"Duties and powers of registry -- Appointment of certain employees --","body":"Electronic reporting system -- Mandatory electronic reporting of campaign\nfinance reports.\n(1) The registry may:\n(a) Require by special or general orders, any person to submit, under oath, any\nwritten reports and answers to questions as the registry may prescribe;\n(b) Administer oaths or affirmations;\n(c) Require by subpoena, signed by the chair, the attendance and testimony of\nwitnesses and the production of all document ary evidence, excluding\nindividual and business income tax records, relating to the execution of its\nduties;\n(d) In any proceeding or investigation, to order testimony to be taken by\ndeposition before any person who is designated by the registry and has th e\npower to administer oaths and, in those instances, to compel testimony and the\nproduction of evidence in the same manner as authorized under paragraph (c)\nof this subsection;\n(e) Initiate, through civil actions for injunctive, declaratory, or other appro priate\nrelief, defend, or appeal any civil action in the name of the registry to enforce\nthe provisions of this chapter through its legal counsel;\n(f) Render advisory opinions under KRS 121.135;\n(g) Promulgate administrative regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of\nthis chapter;\n(h) Conduct investigations and hearings expeditiously, to encourage voluntary\ncompliance, and report apparent campaign finance law violations to the\nappropriate law enforcement authorities;\n(i) Petition any court of comp etent jurisdiction to issue an order requiring\ncompliance with an order or subpoena issued by the registry. Any failure to\nobey the order of the court may be punished by the court as contempt; and\n(j) Conduct random audits of receipts and expenditures of committees which\nhave filed registration papers with the registry pursuant to KRS 121.170.\n(2) No person shall be subject to civil liability to any person other than the registry or\nthe Commonwealth for disclosing information at the request of the registry.\n(3) The registry may appoint a full -time executive director, legal counsel, and an\naccountant for auditing purposes, all of whom shall serve at the pleasure of the\nregistry. The registry may also appo int such other employees as are necessary to\ncarry out the purposes of this chapter. All requests for personnel appointments shall\nbe forwarded by the registry directly to the secretary of the Personnel Cabinet and\nshall be subject to the secretary's review and certification only.\n(4) The registry shall adopt official forms and perform other duties necessary to\nimplement the provisions of this chapter. The registry shall not require the listing of\na person's Social Security number on any form developed by t he registry. Without\nlimiting the generality of the foregoing, the registry shall:\n(a) Develop prescribed forms for the making of the required reports;\n(b) Prepare and publish a manual for all candidates, slates of candidates,\ncontributing organizations, a nd committees, describing the requirements of\nthe law, including uniform methods of bookkeeping and reporting,\nrequirements as to reporting dates, and the length of time that candidates,\nslates of candidates, contributing organizations, and committees are required\nto keep any records pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;\n(c) Develop a filing, coding, and cross-indexing system;\n(d) Make each report filed available for public inspection and copying during\nregular office hours at the expense of any person requesting copies of them;\n(e) Preserve all reports for at least six (6) years from the date of receipt. Duly\ncertified reports shall be admissible as evidence in any court in the\nCommonwealth;\n(f) Prepare and make available for public inspection a summa ry of all reports\ngrouped according to candidates, slates of candidates, committees,\ncontributing organizations, and parties containing the total receipts and\nexpenditures; and\n1. For each contribution made by a permanent committee of any amount to\na candidate or slate of candidates, the date, name, and business address\nof the permanent committee, the amount contributed, and a description\nof the major business, social, or political interest represented by the\npermanent committee; and\n2. For each contributio n in excess of two hundred dollars ($200) made to\nany candidate or campaign committee, the date, name, address,\noccupation, and employer of each other contributor or, if the contributor\nis self -employed, the name under which the contributor is doing\nbusiness, and the amount contributed by each contributor, listed\nalphabetically;\n(g) Prepare and publish an annual report with cumulative compilations named in\nparagraph (f) of this subsection;\n(h) Distribute upon request, for a nominal fee, copies of all summar ies and\nreports;\n(i) Determine whether the required reports have been filed and if so, whether\nthey conform with the requirements of this chapter; give notice to delinquents\nto correct or explain defections; issue an order, if appropriate, as provided in\nKRS 121.140; and make public the fact that a violation has occurred and the\nnature thereof;\n(j) Conduct random audits of receipts and expenditures of candidates running for\ncity, county, urban -county government, charter county government,\nconsolidated local government, unified local government, and district offices.\nWhen the registry audits the records of any selected candidate, it shall also\naudit the records of all other candidates running for the same office in the\nselected city, county, urban -county gove rnment, charter county government,\nconsolidated local government, unified local government, or district office;\n(k) Conduct audits of receipts and expenditures of all candidates or slates of\ncandidates running for statewide office;\n(l) Require that candida tes and slates of candidates shall maintain their records\nfor a period of six (6) years from the date of the regular election in their\nrespective political races;\n(m) Initiate investigations and make investigations with respect to reports upon\ncomplaint by any person and initiate proceedings on its own motion; and\n(n) Forward to the Attorney General or the appropriate Commonwealth's or\ncounty attorney any violations of this chapter which may become the subject\nof civil or criminal prosecution.\n(5) All polic y and enforcement decisions concerning the regulation of campaign\nfinance shall be the ultimate responsibility of the registry. No appointed or elected\nstate officeholder or any other person shall, directly or indirectly, attempt to secure\nor create privil eges, exemptions, or advantages for himself, herself, or others in\nderogation of the public interest at large in a manner that seeks to leave any registry\nmember or employee charged with the enforcement of the campaign finance laws\nno alternative but to comply with the wishes of the officeholder or person. Registry\nmembers and employees shall be free of obligation or the appearance of obligation\nto any interest other than the fair and efficient enforcement of the campaign finance\nlaws and administrative reg ulations. It shall not be considered a violation of this\nsubsection for an officeholder or other person to seek remedies in a court of law to\nany policy or enforcement decision he or she considers to be an abridgement of his\nor her legal rights.\n(6) If adequate and appropriate agency funds are available, the registry shall:\n(a) Develop or acquire a system for electronic reporting for use by individuals\nand entities required to file campaign finance reports with the registry under\nthis chapter. The registry shall promulgate administrative regulations in\naccordance with KRS Chapter 13A which provide for a nonproprietary\nstandardized format or formats, using industry standards, for the transmission\nof data required under this chapter;\n(b) Accept test files from  software vendors and persons wishing to file reports\nelectronically for the purpose of determining whether the file format complies\nwith the nonproprietary standardized format developed under paragraph (a) of\nthis subsection and is compatible with the reg istry's system for receiving the\ndata;\n(c) Make all reports filed with the registry pertaining to candidates for the\nGeneral Assembly and statewide office available on the internet free of\ncharge, in an easily understood format that allows the public to br owse,\nsearch, and download the data contained in the reports by each of the\nreporting categories required by this chapter, including but not limited to:\n1. The name of each candidate or committee;\n2. The office sought by each candidate;\n3. The name of each contributor;\n4. The address of each contributor;\n5. The employer or business occupation of each contributor, or if the\ncontributor is a permanent committee, a description of the major\nbusiness, social, or political interest represented by the permanent\ncommittee;\n6. The date of each contribution; and\n7. The amount of each contribution;\n(d) Make all data specified in paragraph (c) of this subsection available on the\nInternet no later than ten (10) business days after its receipt by the regis try. If\na contribution or expenditure report is filed late with the registry, that data\nshall be made available on the internet within twenty -four (24) hours of the\nregistry's receipt of the data;\n(e) Make filer-side software available free of charge to al l individuals or entities\nsubject to the reporting requirements of this chapter;\n(f) Establish a training program on the electronic reporting program and make it\navailable free of charge to all individuals and entities subject to the reporting\nrequirements of this chapter;\n(g) Maintain all campaign finance data pertaining to legislative and statewide\ncandidates online for twenty (20) years after the date the report containing the\ndata is filed, and then archive the data in a secure format;\n(h) Require candidates and slates of candidates running for statewide office, and\ncampaign committees of candidates and slates of candidates registered to run\nfor statewide office, beginning with elections scheduled in 2015, to\nelectronically report all campaign finance re ports that must be submitted to\nthe registry under this chapter. If any statewide candidate, slate of candidates,\nor campaign committee of a statewide candidate or slate of candidates submits\na campaign finance report in a nonelectronic format for an elect ion scheduled\nin 2015 or later, the registry shall require the statewide candidate, slate of\ncandidates, or campaign committee of the statewide candidate or slate of\ncandidates to resubmit the campaign finance report in an electronic format;\n(i) Require al l candidates, slates of candidates, committees, and contributing\norganizations, beginning with the primary scheduled in 2020, and for each\nsubsequent election scheduled thereafter, to electronically report all campaign\nfinance reports required to be submit ted to the registry under this chapter. If\nany candidate, slate of candidates, committee, or contributing organization\nsubmits a campaign finance report to the registry in a nonelectronic format for\nan election or calendar period beginning in 2020 or later , the registry shall\nrequire the candidate, slate of candidates, committee, or contributing\norganization to resubmit the campaign finance report in an electronic format.\nIf any candidate, slate of candidates, committee, or contributing organization\ndoes no t submit the required campaign finance reports electronically by the\napplicable filing deadline, the registry shall publish the candidate, slate of\ncandidates, committee, or contributing organization's name as a delinquent\nfiler until such time as the camp aign finance report is properly filed in an\nelectronic format; and\n(j) Require all independent expenditure reports to be submitted electronically\nwithin forty-eight (48) hours of the date that the communication is publicly\ndistributed or otherwise publicly  disseminated, beginning with the primary\nscheduled in 2020, and for each subsequent election scheduled thereafter.\n(7) In conjunction with the program of electronic reporting set out in subsection (6) of\nthis section, the registry shall deem an electronic  report to be filed when submitted\nby either of the following methods:\n(a) Online internet transmission; or\n(b) Hand delivery of the electronic report, saved on a current and compatible\ncomputer component, and downloaded at the registry.","path":["KRS Chapter 121"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=58067","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:18Z","sha256":"41b8bd7a7e252e6b331c7ac6d5dcc3d8d95152aa33f324a5d2929983656fa879","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-121.110","next":"us-ky/krs-121.130"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}