You have to validate and file all campaign finance transactions in ORESTAR. Failing to validate and file a transaction by the transaction’s due date may result in a civil penalty.

A Personal Expenditure for Reimbursement means a person spends their own money on a committee’s behalf and expects to be paid back. For the full legal and procedural requirements for reporting campaign finance transactions, see the Campaign Finance Manual.

A personal expenditure for reimbursement requires at least two separate transactions:

• The first transaction = where and when the person spent their own money on the committee’s behalf.
• The second transaction = when the person is reimbursed by the committee.

This article will be using the same example as the video below. In this example, Jenn uses her own money to purchase office supplies at ABC Office Company with the expectation that her committee will pay her back.

Required Information

To file a Personal Expenditure for Reimbursement transaction, you’ll need the following information:

• Date the person made the expenditure from their personal funds
• Name, city, and state of the business where the expenditure was made
• Amount of the expenditure
• Description of the expenditure

Steps to File a Personal Expenditure for Reimbursement

1. Log into ORESTAR and navigate to your committee’s Private Workshop.
2. Click on the Campaign Finance button to the right of the committee name. Outstanding personal expenditure balances can be found at the bottom of your Account Summary page.
3. Click on the Transactions tab to go to your Transaction Queue.

First Transaction

Where and when the person spent their own money on the committee’s behalf

1. Click on Add to enter a new transaction.
2. Enter the data into the fields from top to bottom.
3. Enter the transaction date by clicking the button to the right of the Transaction Date field. A calendar will appear. Use the arrows to toggle between months or years. The date is when the transaction occurred.
4. Select Transaction Type: Expenditure and the Subtype: Personal Expenditure for Reimbursement.
5. In the Payer of Personal Expenditure field, enter the name of the person that spent their personal funds. In our example, the payer is Jenn. To add a new person, select Add.
6. In the Contributor/Payee field, enter the name of the place where the person spent their personal funds. In our example, the payee is ABC Office Company.
7. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the expenditure without a dollar sign.
8. Select a Purpose from the drop-down list or enter a description in the Description field.
9. The Notes field is optional and will not display to the public. It will only be visible to the committee and the Elections Division.

Second Transaction

When the person is reimbursed by the committee.

1. To file a Cash Expenditure Reimbursement, you’ll need the following information:
   • Date of the reimbursement
   • Payment method
   • Amount
   • Payee’s name, city, and state
2. From the Transaction tab, click on Add. Enter the data into the fields from top to bottom. The date the committee makes the reimbursement.
3. Select Transaction Type: Expenditure and Subtype: Cash Expenditure.
4. In the Contributor/Payee field, enter the name of the entity being reimbursed; in our example, the payee is Jenn.
5. In the Payment Method field, select the form of payment. If selecting check, provide the check number in the field to the right.
6. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the reimbursement without a dollar sign.
7. The description is not required. If you add a description, it is viewable to the public.
8. Select Transaction Purpose: Reimbursement for Personal Expenditure from the drop-down list.
9. Click on Validate near the top of the page.
10. Click File, read the attestation, and click File again.