statement of organization process

Statement of Organization Process

Political Action Committee

Party Committee

Special Function Committee

Step by Step Instructions

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Contents

General Information ............................................................................................................................................................... 2

Public Site Homepage ............................................................................................................................................................ 3

The Guardian Statement of Organization ............................................................................................................................. 4

Registration page ................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Committee Information .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Address .................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Contact Information ............................................................................................................................................... 8

Affiliated Corporation or Labor Union Information .................................................................................................. 9

Depository Information ........................................................................................................................................ 10

Committee Information ........................................................................................................................................ 11

Committee Officer’s Information (cont’d) ............................................................................................................. 13

View Submitted Document .................................................................................................................................................. 14

Pay Registration Fee ............................................................................................................................................................. 15

User ID Credentials ............................................................................................................................................................... 19

Need more help? .................................................................................................................................................................. 21

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General Information

Did you know - ?

A Statement of Organization will be entered using The

Guardians' public site where a login is not required. Once a Statement of

Organization is entered in the system (The

Guardian), it will be placed in a “pending” status and will not be

viewable anywhere until it is approved by an Oklahoma Ethics Commission administrative user through the secure site.

After a Statement of Organization is approved, a Notice

of Acceptance of

Statement of Organization email will be sent to all authorized users for the corresponding entity's registration.

A registered user may add contributions, expenditures, loans, amend registrations and file reports.

The guidelines provided here describe one option or a series of steps to complete the task

described. (Alternate) steps may be available. The ability to execute the transactions and

steps described in this guide will depend upon your user logon security role and the

permissions for access you are granted.

Horizontal Page Navigation Tabs are located at the top of the page. Each one has a set of tabs

to separate functionality and aid navigation.

If you are a... Then...

New user of The Guardian system

Click Registration on the menu bar.

Review the Step-by-Step document and simulations that describe the registration process.

Registered user of the system

Click Filer Login on the menu bar.

Proceed with this document and appropriate simulations.

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Public Site Homepage

Did you know - ? Do not use the “Back arrow” to return to the last page.

1. Click in the address bar of your web browser and go to

https://guardian.ok.gov/PublicSite/HomePage.aspx

The Public Site Homepage is displayed.

2. Click Registration

Reference Guides

Refer to link for additional information for compliance with Ethics Rules and other relevant

law for those committees reporting to the Ethics Commission.

http://www.ok.gov/ethics/Ethics_Laws,_Guides_&_Forms/Guides/index.html

https://guardian.ok.gov/PublicSite/HomePage.aspx

http://www.ok.gov/ethics/Ethics_Laws,_Guides_&_Forms/Guides/index.html

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The Guardian Statement of Organization

Did you know - ?

A Statement of

Organization is

required to be filed

electronically unless

ordered otherwise

by the Ethics

Commission or the

Executive Director

of the Commission.

No registration is

required for:

Out-of-State PACs Non-committee Independent Expenditures or Electioneering Communications

The Select type of entity listing is displayed.

There are four types of committees who can register using The Guardian.

Candidate Committee

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Political Party Committee


For this example we are registering a Political Action Committee.

3. Click the Political Action Committee radio button.

4. Click the Register button to proceed with registration process.

5. Click the Cancel button to cancel the registration process and return to the Public

Site Homepage.

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Registration page

Did you know - ?

Information entered in upper and lower case text will be converted to all Uppercase

The Registration page is displayed.

Important: Required fields are indicated by a Red (*) Asterisk

If... Then...

User Registration Date defaults to current date.

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Committee Information

Tip to Remember.

All fields marked with a red asterisks (*) are required fields and must be completed before proceeding with the registration process.

If Entity is… Then Select Type...

Political Action

Committee (PAC)

Limited Committee Unlimited Committee

Political Party Committee

State Congressional District County Other official party organization


Inaugural & Events Litigation Fund Conference, Seminar, Meeting, or other Event

6. Enter Committee Full Name*.

7. Enter Acronym. (Optional)

8. Enter Purpose*.

9. Select PAC Type*.

For this example we have selected a Limited Committee.

Limited Committees are traditional political action committees organized to make contributions to candidates. They are “limited” in the amount they can receive and contribute.

Unlimited Committees are often called “Super PACs” and are organized for the exclusive purpose of making independent expenditures or electioneering communications or for supporting or opposing a state question. Unlimited committees cannot make contributions to candidates, political parties or limited political action committees. Unlimited committees are “unlimited” in the amount of contributions they can receive and the amount they can spend for independent expenditures or electioneering communications.

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Address

Tip to Remember.


Physical Address:

10. Enter Street Address 1*.

11. Enter Street Address 2. (Optional)

12. Enter City*.

13. Enter State*.

14. Enter Zip Code*.

Note: If Mailing Address is different than Physical Address, click the box to add a

checkmark. A Mailing Address section will display with the same fields as the

Physical Address. (Optional)

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Contact Information

Tip to Remember.


15. Enter Phone 1*.

16. Enter Extension. (Optional)

17. Enter Phone 2. (Optional)


19. Enter Email Address*

20. Enter Website Address. (Optional)

21. Enter Facebook URL. (Optional)

22. Enter Twitter URL. (Optional)

23. Enter Social Media. (Optional)



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Affiliated Corporation or Labor Union Information

Tip to Remember.


This section is required only if this PAC is affiliated with a Corporation or Labor Union.

26. Enter Name.

27. Enter Street Address 1.

28. Enter Street Address 2. (Optional)

29. Enter City.

30. Enter State.

31. Enter Zip.

32. Enter Phone.


34. Enter Email Address.

35. Enter Web Site Address. (Optional)

Note: If Mailing Address is different than Physical Address, click the box to add a

checkmark. A Mailing Address section will display with the same fields as the

Physical Address. (Optional)

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Depository Information

Tip to Remember.


A depository is a financial institution that regularly conducts business in the state where the committee will maintain an account.

36. Enter Financial Institution Name*.

37. Enter Address 1*.

38. Enter Address 2. (Optional)

39. Enter City*.

40. Enter State*.

41. Enter Zip *.

42. Click the Add to List button to save information. The saved information will

display in a grid below the Add to List button.

43. Repeat steps until all depository information has been added.

Once the Depository Information has been added, the information will display in a grid

below the data entry fields.

To Update/Correct information displayed in the data grid, select the Update link which

corresponds to the agent you wish to update.

To Delete an entry in the data grid, select the Delete link.

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Committee Information

Did you know - ?

A committee

requires one

Chairperson and

one Treasurer. A

candidate can only

serve as an officer

of their own

candidate

committee and not

for any other

committee.

Designated Filing Agents are individuals who are authorized by the committee to enter data and file reports on their behalf.

Designated Filing Agents DO NOT display on the Statement of Organization form.

Registering a committee requires one Chairperson and one Treasurer. A committee may

also list one Deputy Treasurer and list as many individuals as desired as Designated Filing

Agents. A Designated Filing Agent is someone you authorize to enter data and file reports

on your behalf.

44. Select Committee Officer Role from dropdown.

45. Enter First Name*.

46. Enter Middle Name. (Optional)

47. Enter Last Name*.

48. Enter Suffix. (Optional)

49. Enter Address 1*.

50. Enter Address 2 (Optional)

51. Enter City*.

52. Enter State*.

53. Enter Zip*.

54. Enter Phone*.

55. Enter Email Address*.

56. Click the Add to List button to save information. The saved information will

display in a grid below the Add to List button.

57. Repeat steps until all designated filing agents have been added.

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Once an Officer’s information has been added, the information will display in a grid below

the data entry fields.

To Update/Correct information displayed in the data grid, select the Update link which

corresponds to the agent you wish to update. The officer you want to update will be

displayed in edit mode. Make the necessary changes and click the Update button.

To Delete an entry in the data grid, select the Delete link. A pop-up window will display a

confirmation message. “Are you sure you want to delete this Committee Member?” Click

OK to delete the officer or Cancel to close the pop-up window.

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Committee Officer’s Information (cont’d)

Did you know - ?

Committee

Statement of

Organizations can

be Conditionally

Accepted. A

Conditionally

accepted Statement

of Organization has

limited access and

cannot file reports.

Clicking the Cancel

button will

terminate the

process.

NOTE:

The acknowledgement agreement check box must be selected before the Statement of Organization will be submitted.

Before submission, checking the acknowledgement is required.

Requirement: By signing, electronic or otherwise, my name below, I, acknowledge that

the information submitted is complete, true and accurate as of the date submitted. I

understand the failure to provide such information is a violation of the Ethics Rules of

Oklahoma. I understand that I can update the information above at any time by filing an

amended statement of organization.

58. Click the checkbox to acknowledge the information is complete and accurate*. 59. Click the Submit Registration button to complete and save the registration data*.

Note: This action will complete the process and direct the user to the View Document page.

Note: To cancel the registration process and return to the Public Site Homepage, click

the Cancel button.

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View Submitted Document

When the Submit button is clicked, the View Document page will display with the message

“Your registration has been submitted for review.”

If the registration fee has already been paid, you are finished with registering a new

Committee.

If the registration fee has not been paid, the Committee can pay it from inside the system.

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Pay Registration Fee

After you log in to the system, the “Entity Overview” page is displayed.

60. Click the Pay Registration Fee button to pay the registration fee.

A new window will display the “Committee and Lobbyist Payments” page.

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61. Enter all your payment information in the required fields (*).

62. After entering all of your billing and payment information, click the Continue

button to process the payment.

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Once you click the continue button you will be able to verify the information you entered is

correct before submitting the payment.

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63. If the information is correct, click the Process Payment button.

A payment successful message will be displayed.

64. Click the Return button to return to the “Entity Overview” page.

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User ID Credentials

Did you know - ?

You will receive two emails with your committee user credentials. The first email will

contain your User ID.

The second email will contain your Temporary Password.

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Click the link in the email and use the USER ID and temporary password to log into The

Guardian.

Once you log into the system with the credentials, the Change Password page will be

displayed.

65. Enter the temporary password in the Previous Password field.

66. Then enter your new password in the New and Verify New Password fields.

67. Choose a security question from the drop-down list box and then enter the

answer in the Verify Answer field.

68. Click the Submit button to change the password and save the security question.

After you click submit you will return to the Registered User Login page.

Once you log into the system the “Entity Overview” page is displayed.

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Need more help?

If you want to learn about other features of The Guardian go to the Public Site Home Page.

From the Public Site Home page go to the Resources tab, then click Publications to review

other helpful step by step documents.

For Additional

Help, please

contact the

Oklahoma Ethics

Commission

Support Team at:

(405)521-3451

OR

[email protected]

https://guardian.ok.gov/PublicSite/HomePage/aspx

mailto:[email protected]

statement of organization process

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