State ethics commission approves $300,000 consent order with New Georgia Project and affiliated action fund

The Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission on Jan. 15 approved a consent order with New Georgia Project, Inc., and New Georgia Project Action Fund, Inc., resolving allegations that the organizations failed to register and report millions of dollars in contributions and expenditures during the 2018 statewide election cycle and the 2019 MARTA referendum.

Commission staff attorney David Amati told commissioners that the agency’s investigation and subsequent litigation produced bank records and other evidence showing extensive electioneering activity and undisclosed financial transactions. “Following receiving those bank records, we amended the complaint with specificity,” Amati said during the meeting, and presented a consent order in which the respondents admitted the violations and agreed to a $300,000 fine.

The consent order recites that the entities raised and did not publicly disclose more than $4.2 million in contributions and more than $3.2 million in expenditures during the 2018 election cycle, and that they raised roughly $646,000 and spent about $173,000 without required…