Two state Senate Democratic political action committees have been fined $100 apiece by the Arkansas Ethics Commission in settlements of complaints filed by state Republican Party Executive Director Sarah Jo Reynolds, according to commission records released Thursday.
The Arkansas Senate Democratic Caucus agreed to pay a $100 fine and receive a public letter of caution from the Ethics Commission in a settlement in which it agreed that the caucus violated state law by failing to file reports on time for the second, third and fourth quarters of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, Commission Director Graham Sloan said in a letter dated Monday to former Sen. Bobby Joe Pierce, D-Sheridan.
"It was one of the mess-ups," said Pierce, who lost to El Dorado Republican Trent Garner in November's general election. Pierce is listed as the political action committee's chairman, according to its PAC registration on the secretary of state's website. But Pierce said he's no longer the PAC's chairman.
The Senate Democratic Caucus PAC agreed to pay a $100 fine and receive a public letter of caution from the commission in a settlement in which it agreed that the political action committee violated state law with several campaign-finance reporting errors, Sloan said in a letter dated Monday to the committee.
Senate Democratic Caucus leader Keith Ingram of West Memphis is the chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus PAC, according to its registration on the secretary of state's website.
The 35-member Arkansas Senate consists of 26 Republicans and nine Democrats.
Metro on 07/28/2017