The Republican Governors Association will pay $40,000 in penalties for campaign finance violations stemming from its spending during Vermont’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign.
During that campaign, the RGA spent $760,000 on political advertising through a Vermont political action committee called Green Mountain Prosperity PAC. However, the RGA spent an additional $290,000 on advertising under its own auspices to support Republican candidate Brian Dubie with ads attacking Democratic candidate Peter Shumlin.
The RGA is being penalized for failing to register itself as a Vermont political action committee, and not filing campaign finance reports with the state. It also violated Vermont’s $2,000 contribution limits, the Attorney General’s Office said in a news release.
The penalty announced Tuesday by Attorney General Bill Sorrell is the third and final campaign finance suit brought by the state for violations during the 2010 campaign.
A previous suit against Dubie and the RGA was settled with penalties, and a case against the Democratic Governors Association and its Vermont PAC, Green Mountain Future, ended with penalties as well after the DGA lost its appeal before the Vermont Supreme Court.
The Washington County Superior Court ruling in this latest case can be seen here.