COMMISSION NOTIFIES duo of state-law violations.

Commission says 2 violated state campaign finance laws

In settlements of complaints against them, state Reps. Brandt Smith and Jack Ladyman received public letters of caution from the Arkansas Ethics Commission for violating state law, according to commission records released Friday.

On another matter, the commission also chose its next president and vice chairman Friday.

Smith, a Jonesboro Republican, agreed with the finding that he unintentionally violated the law by failing to timely file a campaign finance report in the third quarter for this year’s election cycle, commission Director Graham Sloan said in a Jan. 16 letter to Smith.

“It is noted that the report in question was filed on October 18, 2019, which was three days after the due date,” Sloan wrote.

Smith, who is the House Republican whip, said Friday that he tried to file the report online with the secretary of state’s office by the Oct. 15 deadline, but he couldn’t because he had failed to register with the office for the 2020 election cycle. He registered and the report was filed late.

Smith said he thanked Ray Hackworth of Jonesboro for filing the complaint against him to hold him accountable. Hackworth later confirmed that Smith thanked him.

In his settlement, Ladyman, a Jonesboro Republican, agreed with the finding that he unintentionally violated the law by failing to timely report the contributions raised at a Sept. 9 fundraiser, Sloan said in a Jan. 16 dated letter.

“They were included on the October monthly report you filed on November 18, 2019, which was three days after the due date,” Sloan said in his letter to Ladyman. Hackworth also filed that complaint.

Ladyman, who is chairman of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, said Friday he tried to upload the information on the report online, but he wasn’t registered with the secretary of state’s office to do so for this election cycle. He said he filed the information late after he registered.

Also during Friday’s meeting, the commission elected Ashley Driver Younger of Little Rock as its chairwoman and Alice Eastwood of Rogers as its vice chairwoman.

Younger succeeds commissioner Tony Juneau of Rogers as the chairman of the five-member panel. Eastwood succeeds Younger as the vice chairman. Younger, a claims attorney for Stephens Insurance, was appointed to the commission by Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin. Eastwood, a senior director of international ethics for Walmart Inc., was appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

The other ethics commissioners are Lori Klein of Searcy and Sybil Hampton Jordan of Little Rock.

Jordan has served more than a year past the Dec. 31, 2018, expiration of her appointment because Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has yet to appoint a replacement. Typically, state officials make their Ethics Commission appointments within a few months of the end of a commissioner’s term.

“We are diligently searching for the appropriate person to fill this position,” Rutledge spokeswoman Amanda Priest said Friday. “We have interviewed several candidates, but they have been unable to serve because of their employment or they have declined because of the time commitment.”

Jordan is the only Democrat and of a minority race on the commission. State law requires the officials appointing these commissioners to ensure there is at least one member of a minority race, one woman and one member of the minority political party.

Juneau’s appointment to the commission expired Dec. 31. House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, is to appoint a replacement.