Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill says that the days of candidates failing to comply with state campaign reporting laws are over. To prove it, he just released the names of 92 violators that have not yet submitted annual campaign finance reports for 2016.
“Our intention in releasing these names to the public is to further encourage candidates and PACs to bring their filings into compliance allowing the citizens of our state to review the extent of their fiscal responsibility,” Merrill said.
Annual reports were due on January 31. All names published by Secretary Merrill have also been turned in to the Attorney General’s Office and Ethics Commission.
Alabama law requires any candidate or political action committee that raises or spends $1,000 in a campaign year to submit a report to the state. Currently, there are no penalties for those who have not followed the rule, though the upcoming election season will soon bring significant changes.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, administrative penalties will be issued in the amounts of $300 (or 10% of contributions or expenditures not reported) for first time offenders, $600 (or 15% of contributions or expenditures not reported) for second time offenders, and $1,200 (or 20% of contributions or expenditures not reported) for third and subsequent offences respectively. Fines will be assessed and issued when candidates or PACs fail to meet the filing deadline.
You can view the names released by Secretary Merrill here.
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