Ethics Commission March Meeting Recap

Political Party Rule Review, Public Hearings, and a Statement on Political Subdivision Campaign Finance

The Ethics Commission is engaging in a comprehensive study of the Ethics Rules as they relate to Political Party Committees. Any Rule Changes to the Ethics Rules as a result of this study will be submitted to the legislature as 2024 Ethics Rule Change 01 (2024 ERC 01).   The Commission will take public comment on the Ethics Rules as they relate to Party Committees during Public Hearings scheduled for: 1. Tulsa: June 9, 2023 2. Lawton: July 14, 2023 3. Oklahoma City: August 11, 2023 Additional information will be released closer to the meeting dates. A review of the current Rules will take place on May 12, 2023, in Room G-3 of the State Capitol.

Political Subdivision Campaign Finance

The Commission also took a rare vote today to release limited information on a confidential complaint filed with the Commission concerning an alleged violation of the Municipal Campaign Finance and Financial Disclosure Act.  The information released is that the complaint involved municipal campaigns. In moving to dismiss the Complaint, Commissioner Jarred Brejcha, Vice-Chair of the Commission stated: 

Complaint No. C-20-10, involves alleged violations of the Local Government Campaign Finance and Financial Disclosure Act.  A prefatory statement to a motion on this Complaint is necessary.  

In 2014, the Oklahoma legislature enacted the Local Government Campaign Finance and Financial Disclosure Act for regulation of campaigns at the political subdivision level. In the Act, the Legislature identified that campaigns ware inextricably intertwined with elections and that conduct of campaigns are a matter of statewide concern; the Legislature identified information on local campaigns should be available locally to be more accessible to the electorate; and the Legislature found that enforcement of campaigns for elective office should be uniform statewide.  The Legislature subsequently utilized the Ethics Rules passed by this Commission for state campaigns and applied those Rules to local campaigns.  

Important to note, the public policy behind uniform campaign law and uniform enforcement across all levels of government in Oklahoma is sound. Centralized enforcement leads to consistent enforcement which leads to increased compliance with the law.  The legislature vested enforcement of the local campaign laws with the Commission and created a political subdivision enforcement division with the Commission.

Recognizing the enforcement for local campaign finance law with the Commission could not be absorbed even in part by existing Commission resources the Legislature created a dedicated state fund to finance the Political Subdivision Enforcement Division. The legislature also established a financial safeguard to avoid unintended consequences and overburdening the Commission with these new responsibilities, providing that the Commission was only required to enforce the local campaign finance laws when the local government campaign finance fund possessed over $100,000.

The balance in that account is at $0–the same level it has been at since 2014 when it was created.  As part of its budget request each year the Commission has requested one-time funds to staff the division. Each year that request is not filled.  

That background information is necessary and relevant to this motion because this motion is not based on whether it appears campaign finance laws at the local level may have been violated, the motion is based on the fact the account set up to enforce local campaign finance laws does not now, nor has it ever, had funds available to fund the division established by the legislature to enforce these laws.

Mr. Chairman, with that explanation, I move to dismiss Complaint Number C-20-10. 

The motion passed unanimously.