O-SenseIn 1974, Idaho voters passed the Sunshine Law with 77.56 percent in favor. The stated purposes include, “[t]o promote openness in government and avoiding secrecy” in regards to financing of political activities in Idaho.
I’ve read political finance disclosure reports for decades. They are an important tool for tracking where the money comes from and where it goes.
Political parties in Idaho and their county or regional affiliates that spend more than $5,000 in a year are required to file a campaign financial disclosure with the Idaho Secretary of State as a political committee.
One required to do so is the Republican Region VII Committee (“Region 7”). The Idaho GOP is broken up into regions and Region VII is the Upper Snake River Valley, including Bonneville, Butte, Jefferson, Madison, Teton, Fremont, Clark, Custer and Lemhi counties.
The chair of Region 7 is Bryan Smith, a former congressional candidate. The 2015 report recently filed (you can view it here) is signed by the Region 7 treasurer and certifies that the report is “true, complete and correct Campaign Finance Disclosure as required by law.”
I believe this particular report falls short of the legal requirements. I would note up front this may just be a result of inadvertent errors. But, the effect is to deny the citizens of Idaho information they are entitled to.
For instance, under the Sunshine Law, a contribution is defined as a “transfer of money or anything of value”. Idaho Code § 67-6602(c). That subsection goes on to say that: “For purposes of this act, contributions, other than money or its equivalents shall be deemed to have a money value equivalent to the fair market value of the contribution.”
But, I have doubts that all such “in-kind” contributions have been disclosed by Region 7.
Consider that Region 7 in August of last year held its annual barbecue featuring then-presidential candidate Rand Paul (more about that in a second). It was held at Riverbend Ranch, a magnificent facility owned by Frank Vandersloot, the head of Melaleuca. The market value had to be thousands of dollars if not more, given that several hundred people were hosted.
Yet, on the Region 7 report, there is no contribution listed by Mr. Vandersloot or any of his entities. And, the lack is not his fault. Under the Sunshine Act, the burden of reporting is on the beneficiary, here Region 7.
The report also seems to be missing sufficient food for a barbecue. Historically, this barbecue depends on farmers and ranchers contributing the various meats (turkey, pork, beef, etc.) and local produce. The Region 7 report has no identified expenditures or in-kind contributions for food even though that is a specific category on the report itself. Some items are labeled “Event Expenses” and may be mislabeled, but the total seems far short of what would be necessary to feed such a crowd. Included are $1,200 in in-kind contributions that could be food related and $1,827.74 paid to a barbecue outfit. There are a few others that could be food (Broulims, etc.) but the total still seems to be less than $4,000.
To illustrate my point, the 2015 Region 7 report included an expenditure of $11,074.38 to a local restaurant and caterer for the usually much smaller Region 7 2015 Lincoln day dinner held in the early in 2015.
The law also requires disclosure of the name and address of any contributor who contributes more than $50 in a calendar year. I have had conversations with several people who exceeded that threshold and yet they do not show up on the Region 7 report by name, address, etc. as required. Why?
Another issue is the required political disclaimers. The Idaho Secretary of State, in its Campaign Disclosure Manual, points out that a political treasurer has a requirement to “[c]learly indicate on all public political advertising the person responsible for such communication.” The wording suggested is “Paid by [the political committee]” and the name of the treasurer.
I have in my possession the Region 7 flyers for 2016 Lincoln Day Dinner and the barbecue back in August of last year (you can view them here and here). Neither have the legally required disclaimer of who is paying for the communication despite each being sent to a large number of individuals.
The August 2015 barbecue also featured then-presidential candidate Rand Paul. Federal election law specifically bars the use of corporate funds to promote a presidential candidate. The FEC requires a political party holding an event to include a disclaimer “Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee” to avoid having the expenditure designated as a contribution to the federal candidate, in this case Paul’s presidential campaign.
The problem for Region 7 is that they receive corporate money from numerous corporate entities as sponsors of tables at the event. The flyer, in fact, specifically solicits corporate table sponsors at $500 dollars for a half table or $1,000 for a full one. Without the required disclaimer, a strong case can be made that Region 7 made an improper corporate contribution to the Paul presidential campaign in violation of federal law.
I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but that error is compounded by the fact that Region 7 is right now sponsoring Ted Cruz’ father as the guest speaker at their Lincoln Day dinner set for March 5, 2016. The flyer promoting that upcoming event also lacks the required state disclaimer and the federal one necessary to protect the Cruz campaign.
This all may be a case of sloppiness. I might have found similar items in other reports by other entities.
But, the law requires something more. Everyone who files a report – whether a candidate, a political action committee or a party committee – owes a duty to the public to comply fully with the spirit and detail of the law.
Steve Taggart is an Idaho Falls attorney specializing in bankruptcy (www.MaynesTaggart.com). He has an extensive background in politics and public policy. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
