Section 3-305 Implementation and Enforcement.

City Charter Section

(a)  The provisions of this Article shall be implemented by ordinance to be operative not later than September 1, 2019.

(b)  Each violation of any provision in this Article shall be punishable by imposition of a civil fine which is not less than two nor more than twenty times the amount of the unlawful Contribution or Expenditure or Independent Expenditure at issue.

(c)  Any person may file a written complaint of a violation of any of the Provisions with the City Auditor.

(d)  The City Auditor, otherwise having reason to believe that a violation of any provision has occurred, shall issue a complaint regarding such violation.

(e)  Upon receipt or issuance of a complaint, the City Auditor:

(1)  Shall examine the complaint to determine whether a violation has occurred and shall make any investigation necessary.

(2)  Within two business days of receiving or issuing a complaint, shall issue a notification, including a copy of the complaint, to every person who is the object of the complaint.

(3)  Shall accept written materials supporting or opposing the complaint for a period of 10 business days following any such notification.

(4)  Shall render a decision on the complaint within 10 business days of the close of the material submission period.

(f)  If the complaint is received or issued within 30 days of the date of the election involving the object of the complaint, then all time periods stated in subsections (e)(3) and (e)(4) above shall be reduced by one-half.

(g)  The City Auditor may issue subpoenas to compel the production of records, documents, books, papers, memoranda or other information necessary to determine compliance with the provisions of this Article.

(h)  Upon finding a violation of the requirement for timely disclosure set forth in Section 3-303 above, the City Auditor shall determine  the true  original sources of the Contributions and/or Independent Expenditures used to fund the Communication at issue and shall immediately issue a statement to all interested parties and news organizations containing all of the information about the involved donor(s) required by Section 3-303 above.

(i)  The complainant or any person who is the object of the complaint may, within 30 days of the issuance of the decision, appeal that order to the appropriate Circuit Court as an agency order in other than a contested case.

(j)  The decision in the matter shall be deemed final, following completion of any judicial review. Such decision shall be enforced by the City of Portland. If the decision is not enforced within thirty (30) days of the decision becoming final, the complainant may bring a civil action in a representative capacity for the collection of the applicable civil penalty, payable to the City of Portland, and for any appropriate equitable relief.

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