I am excited to have a special guest with me this week. Deanna Mool is a lawyer who has over twenty years of experience with election law. She was worked with legislative caucus as a general counsel, state parties, and many individual candidates. She has decades of experience to share with us today!

Today we are discussing campaign election law basics. We want you to know ahead of time what you will need to know to keep your campaign on the up and up, as well as how to avoid those pesky fines! Join us today as we lay a foundation for a good campaign run the legal way!

In this episode, you’ll learn: 

• Where to start- where to go to find out what petitions and other documents you need to file
• How petitions work- how many signatures you really need and the best way to get signatures to save yourself the headaches
• Who can circulate petitions- what are the legal requirements for someone circulating petitions
• What you need to know about financial fillings- when you need to start filing and who is responsible for them
• What you need to open a campaign bank account- what you need to get before you go to the bank
• How to prevent a complaint against your campaign disclosures- what easy thing you can do to prevent someone from making a complaint against your campaign
• What counts as an in-kind contribution- what you should report as giving in-kind donations
• What happens to money at the end of the campaign- what your options are for the money that is left at the end of the campaign

Resources
IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN) Form SS-4 
National Republican Lawyer Association https://www.rnla.org/ 

Contact Information:
Deanna Mool
Website:
Phone: 217-496-3355

John Tsarpalas
Email: john@commonwealthy.com

Deanna’s Bio: 
Deanna Mool is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law. She also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Illinois in Champaign. After practicing Environmental Law in Indianapolis, she returned to her Central Illinois roots by accepting a job as General Counsel to a House legislative caucus. While acting as General Counsel, Ms. Mool was in charge of the legal review of all legislation.

Following her legislative branch work, Ms. Mool became General Counsel of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Ms. Mool was in charge of all department legal activities including the state regulation of hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory surgical centers, and other health care facilities. She also provided legal advice to all of the Department’s more than 100 programs, including such diverse areas as: bioterrorism, asbestos removal, private wells, plumbing licensure, mobile home regulation, communicable diseases, and a variety of other health care programs. Ms. Mool drafted the official HIPAA Preemption Analysis. Mool Law Firm, LLC continues to assist a wide variety of clients with HIPAA compliance, including the new Omnibus Rule.

In 2001, Ms. Mool returned to private practice. She opened Mool Law Firm, LLC in 2005.

Transcript: Available here

Thanks for listening!