Code Section
Nevada > Statutes > Campaign Practices Contributions

N.R.S. 294A.125 - Candidate who receives contributions in excess of $10,000 before year of election required to report contributions received, expenditures made and account balances in reporting periods; procedure for reporting; contents of reports. [Effective January 1, 2019.]

Overview of Statute

This section requires reporting for candidates who receives contributions in excess of $10,000.

Statute

1.  In addition to complying with the requirements set forth in NRS 294A.120 and 294A.200, a candidate who receives contributions in any year before the year in which the general election in which the candidate intends to seek election to public office is held shall, for:

      (a) The year in which the candidate receives contributions in excess of $10,000, list:

             (1) Each of the contributions received and the expenditures in excess of $100 made in that year;

             (2) The total of all contributions received and expenditures which are $100 or less; and

             (3) The balance in the account maintained by the candidate pursuant to NRS 294A.130 on the ending date of the reporting period.

      (b) Each year after the year in which the candidate received contributions in excess of $10,000, until the year of the general election in which the candidate intends to seek election to public office is held, list:

             (1) Each of the contributions received and the expenditures in excess of $100 made in that year;

             (2) The total of all contributions received and expenditures which are $100 or less; and

             (3) The balance in the account maintained by the candidate pursuant to NRS 294A.130 on the ending date of the reporting period.

2.  The name and address of the contributor and the date on which the contribution was received must be included on the list for each contribution in excess of $100 and contributions that a contributor has made cumulatively in excess of that amount.

3.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 294A.3733, the report must be filed electronically with the Secretary of State.

4.  A report shall be deemed to be filed on the date it was received by the Secretary of State.

(Added to NRS by 1997, 236; A 1999, 2553, 3557; 2001, 274; 2001 Special Session, 168; 2003, 2997; 2005, 2296; 2011, 1701; 2013, 1335, 2384; 2017, 3350)

Definition [Contribution]

1.  “Contribution” means a gift, loan, conveyance, deposit, payment, transfer or distribution of money or of anything of value other than the services of a volunteer, and includes:

      (a) The payment by any person, other than a candidate, of compensation for the personal services of another person which are rendered to a:

             (1) Candidate;

             (2) Person who makes an independent expenditure; or

             (3) Committee for political action, political party or committee sponsored by a political party which makes an expenditure for or against a candidate or group of candidates, without charge to the candidate, person, committee or political party.

      (b) The value of services provided in kind for which money would have otherwise been paid, such as paid polling and resulting data, paid direct mail, paid solicitation by telephone, any paid paraphernalia that was printed or otherwise produced to promote a campaign and the use of paid personnel to assist in a campaign.

2.  As used in this section, “volunteer” means a person who does not receive compensation of any kind, directly or indirectly, for the services provided to a campaign.

See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 294A.007.

Definition [Expenditures]

1.  Money paid for advertising or communication on television, radio, billboards or posters, in newspapers or other periodicals or by mail; and

2.  All other money paid, to advocate expressly the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or group of candidates or the passage or defeat of a clearly identified question or group of questions on the ballot, including any payments made to a candidate or any person who is related to the candidate within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity.

See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 294A.0075.

Definition [General election]

The election held pursuant to NRS 293.12755.

See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293.060.

Definition [State]

A state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293D.080.

Definition [Candidate]

Any person:

      1.  Who files a declaration of candidacy;

      2.  Who files an acceptance of candidacy;

      3.  Whose name appears on an official ballot at any election; or

      4.  Who has received one or more contributions in excess of $100, regardless of whether:

      (a) The person has filed a declaration of candidacy or an acceptance of candidacy; or

      (b) The name of the person appears on an official ballot at any election.

See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 294A.005.

Regulations & Guidance

Commission on Ethics Opinions

  • CEO 99-61 (2000) Noting that the Legislature amended former NRS 281.501 (cf. NRS 281A.420), effective October 1, 1999, to provide that the disclosure requirements of former NRS 281.501 (cf. NRS 281A.420) do not require a public officer to disclose any campaign contributions that the public officer reported pursuant to NRS 294A.120 or 294A.125 in a timely manner, the Commission on Ethics stated that the statute clearly does not prohibit a public officer from disclosing any campaign contributions that may appear significant enough in relationship to the public officer's total campaign budget to raise the question of the effect of the contributions on the independence of judgment of a reasonable person in the public officer's position. In such casese, the Commission stated that the disclosure and abstention standards of former NRS 281.501 (cf. NRS 281A.420) may be implicated.

Attorney General's Opinions

  • AGO 98-29 (1998) With regard to the ethical standards of public officers, a campaign contribution made to a public officer is treated differently than the pecuniary interest of the public officer. A campaign contribution is considered a constitutional right on the part of the contributor to participate in the electoral process, while a pecuniary interest is afforded no protection at all in the ethical realm of government. Pursuant to former NRS 281.501 (cf. NRS281A.420), only a pecuniary interest which amounts to a conflict of interest will require disclosure and abstention. Had the Legislature intended for campaign contributions to trigger a possible conflict of interest, the Legislature could have included campaign contributions in former NRS 281.501 (cf. NRS 281A.420). Public policy strongly encourages the giving and receiving of campaign contributions. Adequate protection against corruption and bias is afforded through statutory disclosure requirements (see NRS 294A.120, 294A.125 and 294A.350). Once an elected official properly files his contribution and expenditure report, it becomes public information. Additional disclosure by the elected official is not therefore required.