Hefty fines are proposed for candidates' financial fixes

Legislators won't be able to sneak in late additions to campaign finance reports without punishment if draft legislation ultimately is successful.

A draft of a bill was unanimously approved Wednesday by the Political Subdivisions Interim Subcommittee.

"With the ability to amend financial statements, you can substantially hide things and still call yourself honest," said Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, a member of the committee who presented the bill. "There needs to be a penalty so people are making a very sincere effort to file on the dates they are supposed to."

Allen said the bill is not meant to be punitive, but the fines could be hefty.

If a candidate for a state race misspelled a contributor's name on his financial report, he would have to pay at least $25, or 5 percent of the contributor's gift.

If a candidate listed an incorrect amount for a contribution and received more than he reported, he would have to pay 5 percent of the difference, or at least $25. And if a candidate forgot to report a contribution altogether, he would have to pay at least $25, or 5 percent of the donation.

"There is just simply no motivation for accuracy on amendments at this point in time, and I'm hoping this will resolve it," Allen said.

But Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, believes the measure would do the opposite because it would deter candidates from reporting mistakes.

"That's just a request for people not to put the correct info in," Taylor said. "I don't understand that."

The bill would also impose major fines for political groups and some candidates who fail to file financial reports.

If a political party, political-issues committee, school-board candidate or judge doesn't file a financial statement in time, the lieutenant governor's office could assess a $1,000 fee, plus another $50 per day the report is late.

However, if a judge removes a candidate's name from the ballot for not filing a financial statement on time, the candidate wouldn't have to pay the fee, Allen said.

"That's punishment enough," Allen said. "You don't need to have the administrative fee."

In the 2006 general election, 11 candidates were removed from the ballot for not filing financial statements before Sept. 15, state elections director Michael Cragun said. A judge later restored four of those candidates to the ballot.

If the proposed fees had been in effect during that election, the four candidates reinstated would have still had to pay the fee.

"So if you want to be on the ballot, you've got to pony up the dough," said Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com