Alabama Ethics Commission noted a rise in appeals of civil penalties under the Fair Campaign Practices Act during this past municipal election cycle, a trend they attribute in part to municipal candidates adjusting to new statewide filing requirements.
Under the FCPA, the Secretary of State’s Office is responsible for imposing civil penalties on any person who does not file campaign finance reports on time. Those penalties can be appealed to the state commission within 14 days.
The commission may reduce or dismiss a fine upon a finding of good cause, but the person appealing bears the burden of proof, staff members explained during the meeting.
Within the last year, these filings came under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State’s Office. Before that, these appeals would be handled by the municipality’s probate court, a structural shift that state staff anticipated would lead to more missed or late filings.
“We are near the course of this municipal cycle, and this is the first big cycle that municipals came under the Sec. State’s office for FCPA filings. In the past, they were filing at the local probate office. So this is the first time they came in front of us,” said Mike Jones, Secretary of State’s General Counsel.
Jones said they had spent significant time preparing municipalities for the transition, adding that the total number of problems was actually less than expected.
Even so, state personnel said they observed recurring issues during the municipal cycle and are now working with local governments to provide more structured guidance. Jones said they would soon meet with municipal representatives and attorneys this week to discuss recommendations aimed at reducing reporting errors ahead of future elections.
“We’re hopeful that if we continue to educate and train, they will continue to come down substantially,” said Jones.
State staff said the goal is to improve understanding of the reporting system so that civil penalties and appeals decline as municipal candidates become more familiar with the statewide filing process.
