ADA agrees to fine for political spending, but AHA may fight
Catching up with the State Ethics Commission: The Atlanta Development Authority has agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for promoting passage of a 2008 ballot question, but attorney Randy Evans said the city’s public housing agency disputes a similar complaint. Also last week, the commission backed down from requiring more financial reporting by so-called independent committees, demonstrating yet again the limits on its powers.
The sky’s the limit for Georgia PACs
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour‘s political committee collected $231,000 last quarter, far outpacing the $148,000 it had raised in the previous nine months. Barbour reported the donations not in Jackson, but in Atlanta, where state law allows unlimited corporate contributions to political action committees. Mississippi caps corporate donations to PACs at $1,000. The sky’s the limit in Georgia, where Barbour’s committee is registered. There, in a nutshell, is why political action committees love Georgia. Read on …
Ex-speaker signs consent order over $220K fund transfer
Former House Speaker Glenn Richardson has signed a consent order over his apparently unauthorized transfer of nearly $220,000 in campaign funds to a political committee under his control. The State Ethics Commission will decide whether to sign off on the consent agreement Tuesday. It is unclear whether the order would require Richardson or the MMV Alliance Fund to pay a fine.
Ethics agency probing ex-speaker’s $220K fund transfer
Former House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s transfer of nearly $220,000 to the MMV Alliance Fund, a political committee under his control, is now the focus of a state investigation. The State Ethics Commission opened the inquiry Jan. 27 because MMV does not appear to be among the groups allowed to accept excess campaign funds.
