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Ethics commission adopts advisory opinion: transfers intended to circumvent limits may qualify as contributions if coordination proven
Summary
The commission adopted AO2025‑01, concluding that under a tightly specified hypothetical, transfers routed through leadership committees could be treated as contributions to a candidate if there is demonstrable coordination that evinces intent to evade contribution limits.
The State Ethics Commission on Sept. 17 adopted advisory opinion AO2025‑01, which addresses whether transfers routed through leadership committees or other intermediaries can be treated as contributions to a candidate when facts show coordinated action intended to circumvent statutory contribution limits.
The opinion considered a narrow hypothetical submitted to staff in which a candidate solicits a $500,000 payment from an independent committee to air television advertisements, the independent committee coordinates with a leadership committee and the leadership committee immediately pays the ad costs. Staff concluded—and the commission adopted—that if the specific facts could be proven, the transfers…
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