 | 2003-746 |
Created By: Sylvia Scott on 01/18/2005 at 11:02 AM
Category: Campaign Finance Rulings
Caption:
Dismissed Document:
LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS
DATE: January 13, 2005 OPINION NO.: 2003-746
RE: In the matter of Republican State Leadership Committee
The Louisiana Board of Ethics (the “Board”), in its capacity as the Supervisory Committee on Campaign Finance Disclosure, at its August 12, 2004 meeting, conducted a public hearing for the purpose of exploring the following:CHARGES
1.
That the Republican State Leadership Committee may have violated Sections 1491.1 and 1505.1D of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act (“CFDA”) (La. R.S. 18:1491.1 and 1505.1D) by failing to register as a political committee for the year 2003.
2.
That the Republican State Leadership Committee may have violated Sections 1505.1A and/or B of the CFDA (La. R.S. 18:1505.1A and/or B) by failing to file the campaign finance disclosure reports required of political committees by the provisions of Section 1491.6 of the CFDA (La. R. S. 18:1491.6) for the October 4, 2003 primary election based upon its opposition to the candidacy of Charles Foti, a candidate for Attorney General in that election.
Or, In the Alternative,
That the Republican State Leadership Committee may have violated Section 1501.1 of the CFDA (La. R.S. 18:1501.1) by failing to file the campaign finance disclosure reports required for the October 4, 2003 primary election based upon its expenditures in opposition to the candidacy of Charles Foti, a candidate for Attorney General in that election.
On the basis of the evidence and testimony adduced, the Board now makes the following essential:I.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1.
The Republican State Leadership Committee (“RSLC”) is a political organization organized pursuant to Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to raise money for state and local political activity such as issue advocacy. The RSLC regularly files with the IRS a list of all its receipts and disbursements on Form 8872. This form is available for public inspection.
2.
RSLC made the following payments to the Murphy Pintak Gautier Hudome Agency for the production and placement of a 30-second television commercial entitled Next and an identical radio advertisement:
Date Amount
9/12/03 $200,000
9/17/03 $ 50,000
9/22/03 $132,000
9/22/03 $103,000
9/25/03 $ 27,000
10/17/03 ($ 23,122) - credit
Total $488,878
3.
The RSLC paid the “issue rate” at KTBS in Shreveport and WBRZ in Baton Rouge for the broadcast time to run the advertisement. Form 8872 filed by the RSLC for the year 2003 with the IRS included disclosure of the described expenditures as “Media Placement, Issue Advocacy, Louisiana.” This report is publicly available.
4.
The Next commercial ran in major Louisiana media markets throughout the State during the 30 days preceding the October 4, 2003 election. It opened with a black screen onto which the following typed words appeared, as they were read by a narrator (with the exception of the source information and the directive to call Sheriff Foti):
Paid for by Republican State Leadership Committee
When Sheriff Charlie Foti released a cocaine dealer 14 years early by mistake – a 13 year old child got molested. Source “Times Picayune” 9/22/99.
When women facing traffic charges and thousands of others were illegally strip searched at Foti’s jail – it was a “tragedy.” Source “Gambit Weekly” 8/5/03.
And when a construction company gave Charlie Foti nearly $10,000 – they got a $5 million contract illegally without public bid. Source “Times Picayune” 2/12/95, “The Advocate” 2/15/95.
Sheriff Charlie Foti
What Will He Do Next?
(Foti’s picture inserted here)
Call Sheriff Foti
(504) 827-6777
Tell Him to Follow the Law
5.
Charles Foti was one of two candidates for Attorney General in the October 4, 2003 election. Mr. Foti was the democratic candidate. The other candidate was a republican.II.
APPLICABLE LAW
Section 1501.1 of the CFDA provides:
§1501.1. Reports by persons not candidates or committees
Any person, other than a candidate or a political committee, who makes any expenditure or who accepts a contribution, other than to or from a candidate or to or from a political committee, shall file reports of all information required by R.S. 18:1491.7 for such person if either said expenditures or said contributions exceed five hundred dollars in the aggregate during the aggregating period as defined for committees. Such reports shall be filed at the same time and shall contain the same information as reports required of political committees by this Part and shall be certified correct as required by R.S. 18:1491.6(A) by the person filing.
The following term is defined in Section 1483(9)(a) of the CFDA and is relevant when analyzing the above Section:
(9)(a) “Expenditure” means a purchase, payment, advance, deposit, or gift, of money or anything of value made for the purpose of supporting, opposing, or otherwise influencing the nomination or election of a person to public office, for the purpose of supporting or opposing a proposition or question submitted to the voters, or for the purpose of supporting or opposing the recall of a public officer, whether made before or after the election.
III.
OPINION
It is the opinion of the Board that the Republican State Leadership Committee violated Section 1501.1 of the CFDA by failing to file campaign finance reports disclosing expenditures made on advertisements in opposition to Charles Foti’s candidacy for Attorney General in the October 4, 2003 election. Section 1501.1 provides that any person who makes independent expenditures in support or opposition to a candidate is required to file campaign finance disclosure reports. The CFDA defines “expenditures” as disbursements made to support, oppose, or otherwise influence a person’s nomination or election to public office.
The RSLC argued that its advertisement did not contain explicit words “expressly advocating” Mr. Foti’s election or defeat as required by Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976). However, the definition of expenditure in the CFDA [LSA-R.S. 18:1483(9)] includes those disbursements made with the purpose of supporting, opposing, or otherwise influencing the nomination or election of a candidate. The Board believes that the RSLC sought to influence an election by publishing, shortly before the election, statements constituting express advocacy about a local public official who was also a democratic candidate for State wide office. The Board believes any viewer of the advertisement would understand, even without explicit word of express advocacy, that when taken as a whole and in its factual context, the unmistakable intent of the advertisement was to oppose or otherwise influence Mr. Foti's election. Thus, its disbursements for the advertisement were “expenditures” as defined by the CFDA.
The Republican State Leadership Committee made “expenditures” as defined by the CFDA when it made disbursements for the purchase of state-wide run advertisements concerning Charles Foti that were run during the 30 days preceding the Attorney General election, in which Mr. Foti was one of two candidates. The expenditures totaling $488,878 made by the Republican State Leadership Committee to purchase the statewide advertisements were made to oppose and otherwise influence Mr. Foti’s election to public office.
R.S. 18:1505.4A(2)(v) authorizes the Board to impose a penalty of up to $200 a day, up to a maximum of $3,000, for each campaign finance disclosure report that is not timely filed. Also, R.S. 18:1505.4A(4)(b) authorizes the Board to impose an additional penalty of $10,000 for each campaign finance disclosure report that was filed more than ten days from the due date of the report. In this particular situation, the Board imposes a fine of $20,000 upon the Republican State Leadership Committee for violating Section 1501.1 of the CFDA by failing to file the 10th day prior to the primary election campaign finance disclosure report, which was due by September 24, 2003; the election day expenditure report, which was due by October 14, 2003; and, the 10th day prior to the general election campaign finance disclosure report which was due by November 5, 2003. IV.
DECREE AND ORDER
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the Board finds as a matter of fact and as a conclusion of law that the Republican State Leadership Committee violated Section 1501.1 of the CFDA by failing to file the 10th day prior to the election, the election day expenditure, and the 10th day prior to the general campaign finance disclosure reports in connection with the October 4, 2003 election disclosing expenditures made in opposition to Charles Foti’s candidacy in the October 4, 2003 election.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that a fine of $20,000, made payable to the Treasurer of the State of Louisiana, be imposed upon the Republican State Leadership Committee for violating Section 1501.1 of the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD, this 13th day of January, 2005
s/Robert L. Roland s/T. O. Perry, Jr.
Robert L. Roland, Chairman T. O. Perry, Jr.
s/John W. Greene s/E. L. Guidry, Jr.
Judge John W. Greene Judge E. L. Guidry, Jr.
Absent and did not participate in the hearing s/Michael J. Kantrow, Sr.
R. L. Hargrove, Jr. Michael J. Kantrow, Sr.
s/Joseph Maselli s/Hank Perret
Joseph Maselli Henry C. Perret, Jr.
Absent and did not participate in the hearing Did not participate in the hearing
Ascension Delgado Smith Dr. Dolores Spikes
s/Edwin O. Ware
Edwin O. Ware
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