State’s treasurer-elect fined $100, cautioned
In a settlement of a complaint with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, state Treasurer-elect Dennis Milligan has agreed to pay a $100 fine and receive a public letter of caution from the commisson, according to records released Wednesday.
Milligan on Sunday signed the settlement of a complaint filed against him in September by Lindsay Brown of North Little Rock.
Milligan, a Republican from Benton who is the Saline County circuit clerk, agreed in the settlement with the commission that he violated four provisions of state law.
The commission concluded that Milligan failed to disclose required information about his sources of income from Triple Crown Investments and Milligan Racing for 2013, his business interests in The Maples Inc., and his holdings in Ford Motor Co. — all in connection with his personal financial disclosure form for 2013, which he filed July 25, 2014.
The commission also found that Milligan violated state laws by accepting a $150 contribution from the Franklin County Republican Committee, which had not registered with the secretary of state’s office in accordance with the law, and by accepting a $100 contribution from a prohibited political action committee, the Johnson County Republican Women’s Club.
His $100 fine includes $50 fines each for the contributions from the Franklin County Republican Committee and the Johnson County Republican Women, according to commission records. Milligan is a former chairman of the state Republican Party.
The commission also concluded that Milligan violated state law by failing to disclose the complete address for Precision Excavating LLS, which made a contribution or contributions that in the aggregate totaled more than $50 to Milligan.
Milligan spokesman Jim Harris said Wednesday night that “there seems to be little common sense in the idea that the candidate must know if a county committee has followed all the rules before it gives money to his campaign. That is what the Ethics Commission determined in this case.”
“The Ethics Commission is also discouraging candidates to self-policing their own financial reports. If a candidate reviews a previously filed report, finds an error and corrects it, it opens that candidate to potential punishment from the commission. Such a process does not encourage candidates to do what Dennis Milligan did — review and correct his report to make it more open, accurate and transparent,” Harris said.