§ 163-278.8.  Detailed accounts to be kept by political treasurers.

(a) The treasurer of each candidate, political committee, and referendum committee shall keep detailed accounts, current within not more than seven days after the date of receiving a contribution or making an expenditure, of all contributions received and all expenditures made by or on behalf of the candidate, political committee, or referendum committee. The accounts shall include the information required by the State Board of Elections on its forms.

(b) Accounts kept by the treasurer of a candidate, political committee, or referendum committee or the accounts of a treasurer or political committee at any bank or other depository listed under G.S. 163-278.7(b)(7), may be inspected, before or after the election to which the accounts refer, by a member, designee, agent, attorney or employee of the Board who is making an investigation pursuant to G.S. 163-278.22.

(c) All expenditures for media expenses shall be made by a verifiable form of payment. The State Board of Elections shall prescribe methods to ensure an audit trail for every expenditure so that the identity of each payee can be determined. All media expenditures in any amount shall be accounted for and reported individually and separately with specific descriptions to provide a reasonable understanding of the expenditure.

(d) All expenditures for nonmedia expenses (except postage) of more than fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be made by a verifiable form of payment. The State Board of Elections shall prescribe methods to ensure an audit trail for every expenditure so that the identity of each payee can be determined. All expenditures for nonmedia expenses of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less may be made by check or by cash payment. All nonmedia expenditures of more than fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be accounted for and reported individually and separately with a specific description to provide a reasonable understanding of the expenditure, but expenditures of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less may be accounted for and reported in an aggregated amount, but in that case the treasurer shall account for and report that the treasurer made expenditures of fifty dollars ($50.00) or less each, the amounts, dates, and the purposes for which made. In the case of a nonmedia expenditure required to be accounted for

individually and separately with a specific description to provide a reasonable understanding of the expenditure by this subsection, if the expenditure was to an individual, the report shall list the name and address of the individual.

(e) All proceeds from loans shall be recorded separately with a detailed analysis reflecting the amount of the loan, the source, the period, the rate of interest, and the security pledged, if any, and all makers and endorsers.

(f) The treasurer shall maintain all moneys of the political committee in a bank account or bank accounts used exclusively by the political committee and shall not commingle those funds with any other moneys. (1973, c. 1272, s. 1; 1977, c. 635, s. 1; 1979, c. 1073, ss. 16, 20; 1981, c. 814, s. 1; 1985, c. 353, ss. 1, 2; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 744, s. 1; 1999-424, s. 7(m); 2004-125, s. 5(a); 2005-430, ss. 2, 3; 2006-161, ss. 2, 3; 2006-195, s. 4; 2008-150, s. 10(a); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)