The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is most likely going to be fined by California’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FFPC) for failing to report about $37,000-worth of late, non-monetary contributions to their support of the Proposition 8 campaign in 2008. The fine, which amounts to $5,539.00, came, as LA Now reporter Ruben Vies explains, “in response to a complaint filed in November 2008 by Fred Karger, a gay-rights activist and co-founder of Californians Against Hate, who accused the Mormon Church of failing to report the value of the work it did to support Proposition 8.”
As the Church’s official website Newsroom explained, “In the last two weeks leading up to the election, the Church mistakenly overlooked the daily reporting requirement for non-monetary contributions [apparently the cost of staff time spent by Church employees] and instead reported those contributions together in a later filing.” The LDS Church denied that it intentionally misrepresented contributions and expressed appreciation for “the fairness and consideration with which the Fair Political Practices Commission has addressed this oversight.” The issue is expected to be resolved in coming weeks.
For background information, click here. To see the FFPC document stipulating the terms of the violation click here.
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