Dozens of lobbyists at the Georgia Capitol — including one of the governor’s deputies and a member of the state ethics commission — have been slapped with hefty fees for failing to file their disclosure reports on time.
An ethics measure that took effect this year assesses as much as $11,000 in late fees for missed deadlines, and so far in 2011, late-filing lobbyists have run up penalties of about $550,000, according to a compilation done for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The steep fees are a surprise in a state known for comparatively weak ethics laws. But few lobbyists have paid the fees, and most probably never will. That’s because lawmakers rewrote the law during the 2011 session to lighten the measure’s impact. Many of those who the ethics commission says owe money may be granted a waiver exempting them from paying anything.
Although lobbyists may get off easy, state legislators may not be so lucky. New or in some cases higher late fees also apply to lawmakers, who must file campaign disclosures and other reports. House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) is working with others on legislation that could bar lawmakers and other candidates from qualifying for office if they owe the state late fees. Lawmakers may also be kicked off House committees if they haven’t paid up.
The AJC reported last month that more than 40 members of the 236-member General Assembly owed the state money for either filing campaign reports late or not filing them at all.
Financial disclosure forms — which tell Georgians about the financial interests of public officials — were due last week. The new, higher fees go into effect for campaign reports due this week. The commission posted a notice saying some of the late fees might be waived if politicians had trouble contacting commission staffers because of the high volume of reports coming in this week and next.
During the 2010 session, lawmakers approved increased reporting of lobby gifts and imposed steep fees on lobbyists reporting late. They also increased fees on lawmakers and candidates for filing reports late, and imposed new late fees for those who failed to timely file financial disclosures. The new late fees kicked in this year.
In the past there were sporadic efforts to go after serial offenders. But the late fees were so minimal that often it was not worth the state’s time to pursue offenders. Now, officials believe the fines are big enough that — in the most egregious cases — they can afford to take violators to court.
“The thinking was to send a signal that we are very serious about these reports,” said House Ethics Chairman Joe Wilkinson, R-Sandy Springs. “The public officials should never forget that they work for the citizens. They are our bosses and they should know what we are doing.”
Good-government groups say disclosures showing who pays for campaigns, pointing out potential conflicts of interest and making clear what lobbyists spend on lawmakers are vital information for Georgians.
But the lobbyists found the fees hard to swallow and argued successfully for changes during the 2011 session.
This year, lobbyists who were a day late filing reports were hit with $275 fees. The fees could reach $11,275 after a few weeks if lobbyists still hadn’t filed.
Among those facing the $11,275 fee was Michael Shaffer, Deal’s deputy chief of staff for legislative and external affairs. Shaffer, who didn’t report spending any money on lawmakers during the session, has asked that the fees be waived. Brian Robinson, Deal’s spokesman, noted that the governor’s office doesn’t have a budget for lobbyists’ gifts to lawmakers.
Another person hit with the top late fee was Dan Lee, a former lawmaker turned lobbyist. Lee said he hadn’t officially registered to lobby for the session until after the report in question was due. He also said the new law exempts him from the fee.
Other members of his firm, also facing big late fees, have submitted waiver requests.
So has Josh Belinfante, a lobbyist who serves on the commission. An invoice says he owes $550 for filing two disclosures late in April.
Belinfante called his late filing “inadvertent.” Because he represents companies doing business or hoping to do business with the state, he has to file extra disclosures. He filed one report on time, but not two others.
While he serves on the commission that will decide the future of his and other late fees, Belinfante said he will recuse himself from his case, “I am not going to decide any of these [waiver] cases,” he said. “I have not talked to members of the commissions on this case.”
Legislators softened the law during the 2011 session, and that will be the basis for the waiver requests. Lawmakers added a grace period for lobbyists reports so fees aren’t assessed if they are one day late during the session. They also allowed lobbyists to apply for the late fees to be waived if they had no spending to report.
A spot check of the commission’s listing of late fees found that most of the $550,000 that’s owed will fall under those provisions, and may eventually be waived.
William Perry of Common Cause Georgia said the changes were included in legislation that passed without advocates getting a chance to see the proposal before it got out of a House committee. “At the time I said I can’t tell you if it’s good or bad because I don’t know what’s in it,” he said.
He acknowledged that the provisions of the original law were “pretty strict,” but Perry added, “People knew the rules. I didn’t have any expenses to report but I filed on time.”
Wilkinson, the House ethics chairman, said he supported adding the grace period for lobbyists after hearing them complain about having to file around the time of the January ice storm, when some Georgians lost electricity. In such a situation, he said, it seemed wrong to penalize lobbyists if they were a day late filing a report. He said it also “seemed reasonable” to give lobbyists the chance to appeal late fees.
Wilkinson said it will be up to the commission to decide if lobbyists should be penalized for owing the state money.
On the other hand, the legislation Ralston and Wilkinson are working on would present strong incentives for lawmakers to pay up.
Those fees are going up from a high of $75 per violation to a maximum of more than $1,000 per late filing for lawmakers. The loss of a committee assignment and inability to run for re-election should convince legislators to file on time or pay up when they don’t, Wilkinson said.
House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, said she doesn’t automatically reject the idea of keeping candidates off the ballot if they owe late fees. But several of her fellow Democrats owe late fees, and Abrams says she would like to see how the system works, whether there will be verification of what fees are owed and whether candidates may appeal. Some Democrats who are listed as owing late fees have told the AJC that the ethics commission’s reports are in error.
“We have to abide by the rules we set,” Abrams said. “What I am concerned about is how far we reach to ensure that compliance.”
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