Legal

Summary of Request From: Commission Staff The Advisory Opinion Request seeks clarification regarding the proper application of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act to factual situations involving campaign expenditures for use of aircraft for campaign purposes pursuant to an arrangement where the candidate is a part-owner in a company that owns aircraft for

Summary of Request From: Commission StaffThe Advisory Opinion Request seeks clarification regarding the proper application of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act to factual situations involving campaign expenditures for attorney’s fees associated with the defense of a candidate for statewide office. Specifically, the request seeks additional guidance from the Commission regarding the treatment

1) Does Georgia law permit ActRight Fund (ActRight Fund and the ActRight.com website, is an online clearinghouse for conservative action. The goal is to permit donors to contribute to state and federal candidates nationwide) to register a separate segregated fund (ActRight Georgia) to accept designated contributions from individuals for Georgia candidates?2) May ActRight Georgia distribute

REVISED ADVISORY OPINION ADOPTED AT NOVEMBER 16, 2012 COMMISSION MEETING: GEORGIA GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE COMMISSION ADVISORY OPINIONC.F.C. 2012-01QUESTION PRESENTED Whether candidates who have no contributions and no expenditures other than their own payments of their own qualifying fees must file more than the initial and final campaign financial disclosure reports. ADVISORY OPINION The

If the below conditions are met and neither entity is a parent or subsidiary business entity to the other, the employer corporation and the employee-sponsored PAC would be unaffiliated, would it be permissible for the two entities to each make a maximum contribution to the same candidate under O.C.G.A. $ 21-5-41(c)? Conditions:An employer corporation would

The Commission has been requested to issue an advisory opinion seeking guidance on lobbyist conduct with respect to the two above points of inquiry. As the Commission has reiterated in recent opinions, it is bound by the Ethics in Government Act (the “Act”) “[t]o do any and all things necessary or convenient to enable it

The Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (“ACCG”) and the Georgia Municipal Association (“GMA”) (collectively “Local Governments”) requested the above opinion from the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (the “Commission”). The Local Governments cite policy reasons why the question should be answered in the affirmative. The Commission concludes that county and city elected

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (the “Commission”) has received this request for advisory opinion based on the above hypothetical. Upon review of the limited circumstances provided in the hypothetical, the answer is “no”, the individual would not need to register as a lobbyist in Georgia. The issue of whether an individual is

The Political Law Group has requested the above opinion from the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (the “Commission”). The Political Law Group suggests that the answer to the this question is “no” based on the premise that lobbyistdisclosure requirements do not require reporting of all lobbying expenditures, but only those specifically made for

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce (the “Chamber”) has requested the above opinion from the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (the “Commission”). The Chamber states that the answer to the above question is “no” under the circumstance where the individual’s employment contract does not specifically state that he or she is being compensated to