§464. Qualifying fees; additional fees imposed by political party committees; financial statements

            A. Method of payment. The qualifying fee shall be paid to the official with whom the candidate qualifies and shall accompany the notice of candidacy. The qualifying fee shall be paid in cash or by certified or cashier's check on a state or national bank or credit union, United States postal money order, or money order issued by a state or national bank or credit union.

            B. Amount of qualifying fees. The qualifying fees for candidates in primary elections are:

            (1) For state candidates -- seven hundred fifty dollars for governor, four hundred fifty dollars for justice of the supreme court, judge of a court of appeal, and member of the public service commission, and six hundred dollars for all other state candidates.

            (2) For local candidates -- three hundred dollars for state senator and district judge, two hundred twenty-five dollars for state representative, parish president, and other district or parochial offices, one hundred fifteen dollars for police juror, parish council member, and school board member, and seventy-five dollars for ward and all other local offices.

            (3) For municipal candidates -- forty dollars in a municipality with a population of less than five thousand, seventy-five dollars in a municipality with a population of five thousand or more but less than twenty-five thousand, one hundred fifty dollars in a municipality with a population of twenty-five thousand or more but less than fifty thousand, two hundred twenty-five dollars in a municipality with a population of fifty thousand or more but less than one hundred thousand, three hundred dollars in a municipality with a population of one hundred thousand or more but less than three hundred thousand, and three hundred seventy-five dollars in a municipality with a population of three hundred thousand or more. Population for purposes of this Paragraph shall be the population shown by the latest federal decennial census.

            (4) For candidates for membership on state central committees and parish executive committees of political parties -- seventy-five dollars.

            C. Additional fees imposed by state central committees. (1) A state central committee of a political party may impose an additional fee on a state candidate or a candidate for presidential nominee who is affiliated with that political party. The amount of the additional fee shall be uniform as to all candidates for each office of the same kind or character and in no event shall be in an amount in excess of one-half the qualifying fee fixed by law. If a state central committee of a political party fixes an additional fee, then at the time a state candidate or a candidate for presidential nominee qualifies with the secretary of state, the secretary of state shall collect the additional fee and make a record containing the name of the candidate from whom received, the amount of the fee, and the state central party committee with which the candidate is affiliated. After the close of the qualifying period for state candidates in a primary election, the secretary of state shall immediately transmit all additional fees so collected to the state central committee for the party with which the candidate is affiliated. The fee so imposed and collected shall be retained and used by that state central party committee.

            (2) A state central committee of a political party may fix and impose an additional fee on all candidates for membership on that committee; however, if an additional fee as authorized by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection is imposed on state candidates, then a fee of not less than twenty-five dollars shall be assessed and collected from all candidates for membership on the state central committee. The additional fee shall be paid at the time of qualification as a candidate and shall be collected by the official with whom the candidate qualifies. The official who collects these additional fees shall make a record containing the name of each candidate from whom received, the amount of the fee, and political party with which the candidate is affiliated. After the close of the qualifying period for a candidate in a primary election, the official who collected such additional fees shall immediately transmit all additional fees so collected and the name of each candidate to the state central committee on which the candidate is seeking membership. The fee so imposed and collected shall be retained and used by the state central committee imposing the fee.

            (3)(a) In any parish, a state central committee of a political party may impose an additional fee on a local or municipal candidate who is affiliated with that political party. The amount of the additional fee shall be uniform as to all candidates for each office of the same kind or character and in no event shall be in an amount in excess of one-half the qualifying fee fixed by law.

            (b) If a state central committee of a political party fixes an additional fee, then at the time a local or municipal candidate qualifies, the additional fee shall be paid to and collected by the official with whom the candidate qualifies. The official who collects these additional fees shall make a record containing the name of each candidate from whom received, the amount of the fee, and political party with which the candidate is affiliated. After the close of the qualifying period for a candidate in a primary election, the official who collected the additional fees shall immediately transmit all additional fees so collected and the name of each candidate to the state central committee. The fees so imposed and collected shall be retained and used by the state central committee imposing the fee.

            (4) The additional fee imposed by a state central committee of a recognized political party with which thirty percent or less of the registered voters in the state are affiliated at the opening of the qualifying period for all candidates for membership on that committee shall be two hundred sixty-two dollars and fifty cents unless such amount is decreased by resolution adopted by a majority of the members of the state central committee of such party.

            D. Additional fees imposed by parish executive committees. (1)(a) A parish executive committee of a political party in any parish may impose an additional fee on a local or municipal candidate who is affiliated with that political party. The amount of the additional fee shall be uniform as to all candidates for each office of the same kind or character and in no event shall be in an amount in excess of one-half the qualifying fee fixed by law.

            (b) If a parish executive committee fixes an additional fee, then at the time a local or municipal candidate qualifies with the clerk of court, the clerk shall collect the additional fee and make a record containing the name of the candidate from whom received, the amount of the fee, and the parish executive committee with which the candidate is affiliated. After the close of the qualifying period for a candidate in a primary election, the clerk shall immediately transmit all additional fees so collected to the parish executive committee with which the candidate is affiliated. The fee so imposed and collected shall be retained and used by that parish executive committee.

            (2) A parish executive committee of a political party may fix and impose an additional fee on all candidates for membership on such committee; however, in no event shall the additional fee be in an amount in excess of one-half of the qualifying fee fixed by law. If an additional fee as authorized by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection is imposed on local and municipal candidates, then a fee of not less than twenty-five dollars shall be assessed and collected from all candidates for membership on the parish executive committee. The additional fee shall be paid at the time of qualification as a candidate and shall be collected by the official with whom the candidate qualifies. The official who collects these additional fees shall make a record containing the name of each candidate from whom received, the amount of the fee, and the political party with which the candidate is affiliated. After the close of the qualifying period for a candidate in a primary election, the official who collected the additional fees shall immediately transmit all additional fees so collected to the parish executive committee on which the candidate is seeking membership. The fee so imposed and collected shall be retained and used by the parish executive committee imposing the fee.

            E. Clerks' fees. Each clerk of court may retain from the qualifying fees of each local and municipal candidate and each candidate for membership on a political party committee a fee of not more than ten percent, but not less than ten dollars, which shall be retained by the clerk and used by him to cover his office expenses for filing and recording the candidate's qualifying papers. However, the sums retained by the clerk of court shall be retained only from those qualifying fees that are remitted to the secretary of state.

            F. Financial statements. Each state central committee and each parish executive committee shall file a financial statement annually, certified by the treasurer or, if none, by the chairman, as to its accuracy, with the legislative auditor. Each parish executive committee shall file a copy of the financial statement with the state central committee of the party with which it is affiliated. The financial statement shall be in a form approved by the legislative auditor.

            G. Use of fees. Fees collected by state central committees and parish executive committees pursuant to this Section shall be used solely for the operation of such committees. No such fees shall be used for the direct benefit of any particular candidate for public office.

            H. Notice of imposition of fees. Each state central committee and parish executive committee shall, no later than thirty days prior to the beginning of qualifying, notify, in writing, the secretary of state and the clerk of court of any parish affected, if said committee will impose additional qualifying fees on candidates. However, once the notice of imposition is filed in accordance with this Subsection, a notice need not be filed again unless the state central committee or parish executive committee discontinues such imposition or changes the amount of fees to be imposed.

            Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Amended by Acts 1978, No. 292, §1, eff. July 6, 1978; Acts 1979, No. 229, §1, eff. July 13, 1979; Acts 1982, No. 531, §1, eff. July 22, 1982; Acts 1983, No. 519, §1, eff. July 8, 1983; Acts 1984, No. 672, §1; Acts 1985, No. 123, §1; Acts 1986, No. 669, §1; Acts 1987, No. 831, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1988; Acts 1988, No. 235, §1; Acts 1989, No. 652, §1; Acts 1991, 1st E.S., No. 1, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1992, No. 596, §1; Acts 1992, No. 944, §1; Acts 1992, No. 949, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1993; Acts 1997, No. 469, §1; Acts 2003, No. 910, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 526, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2004, No. 604, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2018, No. 584, §1, eff. May 28, 2018.

NOTE: See Acts 1989, No. 652, §2, relative to disposition of funds from fees.