Overview
- The eight-member board split 4-4 on whether to assess roughly $9.8 million in penalties, so no fines or refunds were imposed.
- Deputy general counsel Jordan Andrew told members that at least five votes are required to assess penalties and that a 4-4 vote results in none being owed.
- Board staff previously concluded Friends of Don Harmon accepted more than $4 million above state limits after the March 2024 primary under their reading of the law.
- The Liberty Justice Center filed a citizen-initiated complaint that could allow a court to review the board’s handling or order the board to act.
- The dispute centers on whether Harmon’s January 2023 $100,001 self-contribution opened unlimited fundraising only through the 2024 primary or through his next election, and the board chair said lawmakers or courts may need to clarify the election-cycle definition.