House Speaker Frank Chopp pays $1,700 fine over campaign-finance violations
OLYMPIA — State House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, has agreed to pay about $1,700 in fines, plus attorneys fees and other costs, related to violations of Washington’s campaign-disclosure law.
The agreement, announced this week, stems from a complaint filed in December accusing Chopp — who as speaker leads the Democrat-controlled House — of a variety of violations.
A review by the state Attorney General’s Office found that in two instances, Chopp’s campaign was late in filing campaign-finance disclosures. In 2016, Chopp’s campaign was late by two weeks in reporting $5,150 in donations. In 2015, the campaign reported $6,722 four weeks later than it should have, the AG’s office said in a statement.
In a third instance, the speaker’s campaign was eight days late in returning an overpayment. The review also found that some campaign and travel debt wasn’t disclosed during last year’s campaign in a timely manner.
Read more: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/frank-chopp-pays-1700-fine-over-campaign-finance-violations/