Latest Developments:
- The North Dakota Ethics Commission approved a $10 food and drink exception to its gift rules for public officials. At their July 29 meeting, effective immediately, “[f]ood or beverage with a value of $10 or less…[may be] purchased for a public official in conjunction with an informal social and educational event.” The food must be consumed at the event and a state resident must be present.
In Case You Missed It:
- Disarray in the DC Suburbs: The Prince George’s County, Maryland School Board is at a standstill after considering an ethics committee recommendation that 7 of its 14 members be removed over conflict-of-interest violations. According to Maryland Matters, “prior to the board’s public meeting, the [unaccused] members convened in closed session and voted to accept the ethics committee’s determination.” Yet, in open session, the implicated members blocked the board from proceeding on the ethics charges and the board failed to arrive at a resolution.
- The Missouri Ethics Commission is seeking $191,550 from former state-Rep. Courtney Curtis for failure to pay fines stemming from past ethics orders. Curtis was sentenced in March after he “pleaded guilty earlier that month to federal charges revolving around his misuse of campaign funds” and is currently in federal prison, according to the Louis Post Dispatch. His initial fines were $19,150, meaning the Commission is imposing ten times the amount.
- Michigan Campaign Finance Loophole: Michigan Live reports that complaints have been filed in Michigan, where the incumbent governor is employing a nearly 40-year-old precedent “to collect unlimited funds from individual donors.” The 1983 ruling dispenses with caps for individual contribution limits to candidate committees (currently $7,150) if the candidate is facing a recall. Opponents contend the governor is exploiting the exception given that a recall “is not actively being sought.”
- Major Fines in The Last Frontier: Staff for the Alaska Public Officers Commission recommended $52,650 in fines for alleged campaign finance violations against Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson’s 2021 election campaign. According to the commission, the committee failed to “disclose tens of thousands of dollars in debt for more than seven months after it was incurred — until after this year’s April 6 election and the May 11 runoff — among multiple other infractions of state campaign finance rules.” The Anchorage Daily News reports that the Mayor’s campaign says it is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
- Campaign Funds for Legal Defense in the Empire State: Local media reports that New York State legislators and good government groups are pushing reforms in the state campaign finance laws that permit politicians “to pay lawyers defending them against allegations of wrongdoing” with campaign funds. In the wake a string of high ranking and high-profile politicians, including the former assembly speaker and current governor, using campaign funds for legal defense of personal wrongdoing, it has appeared unseemly to groups pushing reform. In defense of the practice, a spokesperson for the governor maintained that “[u]sing campaign funds instead of taxpayer dollars for this purpose has been well established for decades.”