The state ethics commission Wednesday dismissed new allegations that former Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine took illegal campaign contributions during his 2010 campaign for governor.
Douglas Chalmers, Oxendine’s lawyer, argued that the state missed key deadlines to file new ethics complaints against the ex-insurance commissioner over how he raised and spent money during his failed 2010 campaign.
The commission ruled that because the contributions occurred more than a year ago, the statute of limitations barred the panel from charging Oxendine with a violation.
Commission staffers discovered what it said were 19 contributions over the legal limit after auditing Oxendine's account following a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the former commissioner's campaign account.
The commission’s ruling could set a precedent for future cases barring the panel from going after candidates if they raise or spend contributions illegally as long as the commission doesn’t find out about it for a while after the alleged violations occur.
“The reality is …. there may well be some things we can do nothing about,” said commission chairwoman Hillary Stringfellow.
The commission denied Chalmers’ attempt to dismiss allegations that Oxendine spent more than $200,000 he raised for two races - the 2010 GOP runoff and general election - that he never ran.
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