watching Florida crumble -- (Fl. Elections Commission)

[donsu]

http://feloniouselephant.blogspot.com/


Florida Rethug's $311,000 fine wiped clean
Florida state Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla is walking tall today thanks to a 3rd District Court of Appeals ruling that overturned a $311,000 fine levied against the legislator by the Florida Elections Commission. The Republican politician dodged criminal charges in the case, but was fined for 311 separate counts of campaign finance reporting violations stemming from a 1999 special election. The appeals court ordered the state legislature to come up with a more workable system of campaign finance reporting guidelines. Wait, did I just say that three appealate judges ordered another branch of government to change the law to their specification? Uh, aren't Republicans supposed to be the party of judicial restraint? Read about it here.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-0911campaignfine,0,4679853.story?coll=sfla-news-florida

-snip-

But the 3rd District Court of Appeal on Wednesday struck down all but 17 of 311 violations found by the commission and ordered his fine recalculated. The court also called on the Legislature to give ``more specific guidance'' to candidates on how closely they must track campaign money.

If the state wants candidates to do anything more than a cursory check of financial reports, the court said, ``A system needs to be devised which is workable given the time demands of a political campaign.''

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The appeals court ordered a new hearing on the fine for the violations it upheld because lobbyist and Elections Commissioner Anne Jolley Byrd had a conflict of interest.
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