House committee approves updated campaign finance forms for closed primaries

The House Committee on Government Affairs approved updated campaign finance reporting forms submitted by the Louisiana Board of Ethics during a June 11, 2025, committee meeting, Chairman Beaulieu said.

The forms revise summary pages and instructions to reflect a closed party primary system that took effect last year and aim to reduce reporting errors, David Bordelon, ethics administrator, told the committee. "This is to update the candidate forms for those positions that are affected by the closed party primary system that was created last year," Bordelon said. "The bulk of the changes were to the summary pages into the instructions just to make that clear."

The revisions incorporate staff recommendations and were presented to the committee as a final packet, Bordelon said. He also told members that the packet had been approved by Senate Governmental Affairs. Representative Baham asked whether certain fields on Schedule A1 would be automatically calculated when candidates file electronically; Bordelon deferred to the board’s IT director, Jerilyn Breeze, for technical detail. Gerald Bridal of the Louisiana Board of Ethics explained the electronic system’s behavior: "The way that the system is set up is you pick names from your address book and assuming you pick the same name from your address book across contributions, it will total the contributions for that election cycle automatically." The committee confirmed that paper filers would have to perform calculations manually.

Members also asked about how contributions designated for runoffs would be reported. Bordelon said the revised forms allow designation for a runoff and that the form would show that designation. Representative Baham framed a hypothetical about a donor wanting to give a total amount that would exceed a single-election limit and asked whether the contribution could be split or held until a runoff; committee members were directed to guidance on the board’s website that explains how to report such contributions.

Committee members raised questions about who is subject to penalties for late filings. Bordelon said that the reference in the instructions to chairs and treasurers applies to political committees; individual candidates are responsible for their filings, while committees and their chairs or treasurers may be subject to board enforcement if a committee fails to file on time.

Chairman Beaulieu moved to accept the packet as presented and, with no recorded objection, the committee approved the forms by voice vote. Bordelon and staff were thanked for their work during the session, and the committee adjourned.

The packet discussed includes Form 102 and associated schedules; the board’s website hosts additional guidance on reporting contributions and designation for runoffs, the ethics staff said.