BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Candidates for public office would have to explain why the purchase of LSU football tickets and meals at restaurants with campaign funds are legal expenditures under a proposal being considered by a state ethics panel.
Under state law, campaign contributions cannot be used, loaned or pledged for any personal use unrelated to a political campaign, the holding of public office or party position.
The Advocate reports the Louisiana Board of Ethics is in the process of drafting proposed guidelines, tackling an old and thorny subject of what constitutes “personal use” of campaign funds.
The Louisiana Board of Ethics is in the process of drafting proposed guidelines, tackling an old and thorny subject of what constitutes “personal use” of campaign funds.
Ethics Board Vice Chairman Scott Schneider is chairing a subcommittee developing guidelines on how expenditures will be assessed for compliance with the law.
“These will be our expectations,” he said.
The idea is to have the rules approved this spring by the Ethics Board, then given to the Legislature for sign-off.
The working draft includes a list of allowed expenditures, such as campaign advertising and bumper stickers, and a list of what’s banned outright, such as country club membership dues, personal residence mortgage payments and legal fees for criminal defense.
Then, there’s a long list of items for which there would be a “presumption” that the expenditures are for personal use. Candidates would have the chance to explain why they should be considered campaign expenses or those related to the holding of office when they file their campaign finance report.
The presumptively inappropriate expenditures include those for clothing; admission to a sporting event, concert, theater or other entertainment venue unless related to a campaign fundraiser; dues, fees or gratuities for civic, nonprofit or social organizations; and travel, lodging, food and drink unrelated to campaign or public position.
“If I had my way, I would make it (the law) a lot clearer,” said Schneider, a New Orleans lawyer. “The goal here was to say, ‘You should not be able to use your campaign funds to subsidize your lifestyle.’”
