Republican Party Of Arkansas Fined By Federal Election Commission

The Republican Party of Arkansas has agreed to pay $360,000 in civil penalties in an agreement with the the Federal Election Commission. The agreement, reached Thursday, also requires the party to submit to annual independent financial audits at the committeesb expense in each of the next five years. Reports on those audits, must be certified by a CPA and be submitted to the FEC each year. The FEC found multiple violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act during the 1999-2000 election including acceptance of excessive and prohibited contributions, failure to maintain required records and submit required disclosure information to the FEC, and improper allocation of activity between funds permissible under federal law and those to be used for state or local purposes only. The FEC found that the party had failed to properly account for more than $2 million in media and other expenses during the 2000 campaign which resulted in excessive use of nonfederal or bsoft moneyb for those expenses. The committee has amended its disclosure reports and refunded excessive and prohibited contributions. They have also hired a certified public accountant and implemented new written financial policies and procedures. Full payment of the $360,000 civil penalty must be completed within six months.