Expenditures from Political Party Fund Monies - Form 31-M

This form is to be used only by state and county political parties.

Any money disbursed from the political party restricted fund account must be reported on this form. A political party may disburse the funds only for the purposes provided for in the Revised Code or allowed by specific Ohio Election Commission opinions. Each disbursement must indicate the category under which it falls. The list of permitted categories is at the bottom of the form. [R.C. 3517.16-3517.18, OEC Advisory Opinions 88- 03, 88-05, 89-01, 89-02 (part), 89-06, 91-02, 92-02, 94-01, 95- 01, 95-02, 98-01].

Political Party Restricted Fund monies may not be used for the following reasons: to further the election or defeat of any particular candidate or ballot issue, to pay party debts incurred as the result of any election, or to make a payment clearly in excess of the market value of the item or service that is received for the payment.

If a county political party accepts corporation or labor deposits into its restricted fund, the county political party must file all reports for that fund by electronic means with the Secretary of State [R.C. 3517.1012(B)]

The Date block should be completed with six digits. For example, March 9, 2005, would appear as 03 09 05.

The State block should be completed with the U.S. Post Office's standard two-letter abbreviation. For example, Ohio would appear as OH.

The Purpose block should reflect one of the eight numbers listed at the base of the page as choices. Copies of receipts or canceled checks for all disbursements of more than $25 must be attached.

Political parties must report their restricted fund activity two times a year. The semiannual report is due by the last business day of July covering all activity through the last day of June, and the annual report is due by the last business day of January covering all activity from the first day of July through the last day of the December of the previous year.

The total amount of restricted fund disbursements should be transferred to line 5 of the Ohio Campaign Finance Report (Form 30-A)