TITLE LXIII
ELECTIONS

CHAPTER 664
POLITICAL EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

Enforcement

Section 664:21

    664:21 Penalty. –
I. Any fine assessed under the provision of this section shall be paid to the secretary of state for deposit into the general fund.
II. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the enforcement powers of the attorney general under RSA 664:18.
III. Any person who fails to file any report or statement on the date on which the report or statement is due under this chapter shall be subject to a daily fine of $25 for every weekday for which the report or statement is late and until the report or statement is actually filed, except that candidates for the general court shall be subject to a daily fine of $5 under this paragraph.
IV. A person liable under the provisions of this paragraph shall not also be subject to the penalties imposed under paragraph III. Any person who otherwise violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person or shall be guilty of a felony if any other person.
V. (a) Whoever violates any of the provisions of RSA 664:16-a shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000.
(b) Whoever violates, or orders, aids, or abets a violation of RSA 664:17, relative to removing, defacing, or destroying political advertising on private property, shall be subject to a civil penalty of $250 for each piece of political advertising removed, defaced, or destroyed, up to a maximum of $2,000.
(c) The court, upon petition of the attorney general, may levy upon any person who violates the provisions of RSA 664:16-a or RSA 664:17 the civil penalties under subparagraphs (a) and (b).
(d) The attorney general shall notify suspected violators of RSA 664:16-a or RSA 664:17 of the state's intention to seek a civil penalty, to negotiate, and to settle with such suspected violators without court action.
VI. (a) A political committee other than a political committee of a candidate that fails to register in accordance with RSA 664:3 shall be subject to a fine up to 25 percent of the total amount of independent expenditures made during the period from the date the political committee was required to register to the date the political committee registered.
(b) A political committee that fails to report independent expenditures in accordance with RSA 664:6, IV-a shall be subject to a fine up to 25 percent of the total amount of independent expenditures not reported or reported late.
VII. Any person who willfully makes and subscribes to any statement filed under this chapter that he or she does not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter shall be guilty of false swearing under RSA 641:2.
VIII. (a) Whoever violates any provision of RSA 664:14, or a provision of RSA 664:17 not related to removing, defacing, or destroying political advertising as provided for in paragraph V of this section, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000.
(b) The attorney general shall notify suspected violators of this section of the state's intention to seek a civil penalty, to negotiate, and to settle with such suspected violators within the civil penalty limits established in this section without court action.
(c) Whoever is subject to a civil penalty under this paragraph shall also be subject to the payment of restitution for damages.
IX. Any individual, political committee, or organization responsible for reporting under RSA 664:6 and 664:7 that files a report with illegible material content shall receive a written warning for a first offense and shall be charged a civil penalty of $1,000 per offense for any subsequent offenses.

Source. 1979, 436:1. 1989, 212:9. 1991, 387:27, 28. 1992, 267:2. 1994, 4:29. 2003, 266:7. 2004, 50:3. 2009, 144:226, 227. 2014, 279:11, eff. July 28, 2014. 2021, 168:8, eff. Sept. 28, 2021. 2022, 234:3, 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2023. 2024, 365:17, eff. Jan. 1, 2025.