A chamber VP blames a faulty fax machine. A board attorney says, "tough cookie, mister."
Empower PAC, the political action committee of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, is facing a $1,200 fine by the Louisiana Board of Ethics over the PAC's failure to submit a campaign finance disclosure report on time.
The report was submitted to the board on Aug. 16, six days past due. The chamber is requesting the fine be waived. In a letter to the board, chamber Vice President Bruce Conque blames a technology snafu for the tardy report:
The report was faxed to your office on Friday August 10 2012 We did use the correct fax number for your office However we unknowingly experienced technical issues on the transmission We were unaware of the problem until receipt of your August 16 notice of late filing.
On follow up we learned of another failed fax to another party on the same day In both cases we assumed that the transmissions were completed. Admittedly we have no record of the fax to your office or of the other transmission.
We have since taken corrective steps to verify all fax transmissions so that we may avoid a repeat of this embarrassing and costly mistake in the future.
Board attorney Aneatra Boykin notes in her analysis of the chamber's waiver request, "The campaign finance report disclosed $150.84 in receipts, $45.88 in disbursements, and $4,025.13 in funds on hand. The IT department has no record of the report being faxed on August 10, 2012."
Boykin is recommending the board decline to waive the fine. The case will be heard on Thursday in Baton Rouge. To read more about it, click here.