Don Balfour
Age: 56
Political history: Elected to the Senate in 1992.
Work: Executive with Waffle House.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bob Jones University, master’s in business administration from Farleigh Dickinson University.
Family: Wife, Ginny; son, Trey.
How we got the story
As part of our commitment to holding public officials accountable, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has scrutinized how lawmakers are reimbursed for official state travel. The AJC’s team at the state Capitol discovered multiple occasions from 2009-2012 where Sen. Don Balfour was paid for state travel when lobbyists were also reporting that they bought him meals and hotel rooms elsewhere.
The indictment
Balfour is charged with:
— Illegally claiming reimbursement for mileage on Sept. 11, 2007, May 2, 2008, June 16, 2008, Aug. 27, 2008, April 6, 2009, Nov. 10, 2009, April 15, 2010, May 18, 2010, Aug. 20, 2010, Nov. 1, 2010, April 15, 2011, July 7, 2011, Sept. 28, 2011, Dec. 21, 2011.
— Illegally claiming per diem on April 6, 2009, April 15, 2010, Nov. 1, 2010, Sept. 28, 2011, Dec. 21, 2011.
— Accepting reimbursement of $500 for expenses on May 7, 2009 when his private employer, Waffle House, had already reimbursed him for the same expenses.
Balfour faces 16 counts on making a false certificate, each of which carries a punishment of one to five years in prison and up to $1,000 in fines. The one count of theft by taking carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and the one count of false statement and writing is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $1,000 fine.
MyAJC.com
See the state’s 18-count indictment against State Rep. Don Balfour.
State. Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, once arguably the most powerful man in the Senate, was indicted Friday by a Fulton County grand jury on 18 counts of false expense claims and theft.
Attorney General Sam Olens, whose office is prosecuting the case, released the indictment, which is based on allegations that Balfour charged the state for expenses on days he did not have those expenses. Olens, who is charged with prosecuting cases involving state resources, brought the charges after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation ended its probe.
Gov. Nathan Deal has 14 days to name a three-person panel to decide whether Balfour should be suspended. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in April 2012 that Balfour, as far back as 2009, had submitted expense records for mileage and, in some cases, per diem for in-state work on the same days that lobbyists reported buying him meals out of state.
Balfour reimbursed the state $800 in April 2012 after the website Atlanta Unfiltered reported he had previously billed the Senate for mileage on two occasions when he was out of town at conferences.
The indictment includes allegations that date back to 2007.
Balfour did not return messages requesting comment Friday. He has in the past admitted publicly to making "some inadvertent mistakes."
“Our hearts go out to the members of Senator Balfour’s family,” Senate President Pro Tem David Shafer, R-Duluth, said. “The Senate takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard the tax dollars of this state.”
Balfour has long been a larger-than-life figure at the Capitol, ruling over the committee that decided the life or death of legislation and pushing business interests for most of the 11 years Republicans have controlled the state Senate.
He lost his position as chairman of the Rules Committee, the panel that decides what bills reach the Senate floor, in August 2012 after the apparent discrepancies in his expense reports became public. He was given a public rebuke by the Senate Ethics Committee, fined $5,000 and ordered to repay the state about $350.
Legislators’ per diem is a daily amount they get for working on legislative business when the Legislature is not in session. Senate leaders — which at the time included Balfour — are allowed to claim per diem of $173 per day, plus expenses and mileage at 55 cents per mile. Rank-and-file members are limited to 15 such days a year. Lawmakers do not have to provide receipts for their expenses, although they must sign a sworn affidavit that the information provided is “true and correct.”
Among the discrepancies the AJC discovered in 2012 were expense reports for mileage reimbursement Balfour submitted for Nov. 29 and Nov. 30, 2011. But, Henry Turner, a lobbyist for Altria, disclosed that he paid $149.61 for a dinner for Balfour during that time while attending the Republican Governors Association’s annual meeting in Orlando.
On Dec. 1, Callie Brooks Michael, a lobbyist for Southern Strategy Group, said she spent $66 on an Epcot Center ticket for Balfour, which indicates he was still in Orlando. On Dec. 2, Michael also paid for two nights’ lodging for Balfour in Orlando.
Balfour is the second sitting lawmaker under indictment, joining state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, who faces federal charges of wire, tax and mail fraud related to his work with a pair of nonprofits. Brooks was allowed to continue to serve while his case continues.
If Balfour is suspended, his seat would remain vacant until the next election and he would continue to collect his $17,000 legislative salary.
In 1998, Sen. Ralph David Abernathy III was convicted on 35 felony charges related to false reimbursement requests to the Legislature. Abernathy, a Democrat, was prosecuted by Democratic Attorney General Thurbert Baker and served about a year of a four-year prison sentence.
Balfour is a big man known for an appetite for dining and ballgames with lobbyists. He was nicknamed “Donnie Ballgame” because of freebie tickets to sporting events.
He was a former Gwinnett County GOP chairman when he ran for the Senate seat and beat a longtime state lawmaker in 1992. Democrats were in charge of the Capitol then, but Balfour studied their use of power and helped lead the attack once the dominant party became vulnerable.
Balfour was chosen the Senate GOP caucus chairman once Republicans won power in late 2002, and he later took over the Rules Committee. When lobbyists needed a bill to get a vote or wanted to kill legislation, they often went to Balfour. He was frequently at or near the top of the General Assembly in gifts from lobbyists. In 2012, the AJC reported Balfour had accepted tickets to more than 120 events over the previous six years, worth about $22,000. When he traveled overseas, he frequently took in big sporting events, such as Real Madrid-Barcelona soccer matches.
He also has been among the General Assembly’s most prolific fundraisers. Balfour raised about $900,000 between 2008 and the end of 2012, almost all of it from lobbyists, PACs and corporate donors. He had $674,000 left unspent in his campaign account as of June 30. Since being elected in 1992, he’s faced only long-shot opposition.
While Balfour played a big role in deciding which legislation passed, he’s also supported and carried key bills, some of which were controversial. He backed Sunday alcohol sales at stores when many lawmakers were running for cover on the issue. He helped develop and carry the legislation that is phasing out property taxes on cars, a longtime goal of car dealers.
But while he can talk about the most minute details of legislation, Balfour also has run into trouble in the past over his lack of attention to details in other areas.
In 2007, state ethics commission officials noted that Balfour had been late filing campaign disclosures 34 times in less than 10 years. He wound up paying more than $1,700 in late fees. In at least once case, his disclosure was nearly two years late.
“Today’s news is troubling and unfortunate,” Ben Fry, spokesman for Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the president of the Senate, said. “The Constitution and laws of the state of Georgia lay out a process that will now be followed.”
Pat Warner, a spokesman for Waffle House, Balfour’s employer, said,”For the past 29 years, Don Balfour has been a valuable part of the Waffle House management team. For 21 of those years, Sen. Balfour has also worked hard for his constituents and the State of Georgia.”
After citing Balfour’s accomplishments including membership on the board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and having been the first Georgian to be head the National Conference of State Legislatures, in 2009, the Waffle House spokesman said, “We have not completed a thorough review of the indictment, so for any additional comments, we politely refer you to Sen. Balfour’s attorney.”
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