By SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer Thursday, December 21, 2006

In a 4-0 decision, with one commission member absent because of a conflict of interest, the commission gave the Portland-based conservative think tank 30 days to file the information. Commission member Jean Ginn Marvin recused herself from the proceedings because she is treasurer of the policy center.

The Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices took up the matter at the request of Texas resident Carl Lindemann, who believes the policy center should have formed a political action committee to handle its role in the citizen initiative.

Political action committees are required to file forms with the state to show where they get their money, what position they are taking on an issue and how the money is spent.

Instead, the commission voted to require the center to file a different form, called a 1056-B, which requires a group to disclose how much money it received to support its position on a particular issue and how much staff time and other expenditures were made in relation to a campaign.

Those forms are filed only if a group exceeds $1,500 in either contributions or expenditures to influence a ballot question. The commission ruled that the policy center exceeded that amount during the TABOR campaign.

Lindemann's attorney, John Branson of Portland, said it's "highly probable" they will appeal the decision because they don't believe the commission had enough information to make an informed ruling. Branson pushed the commission to launch its own investigation of the center, using subpoena power if necessary, to get documents and sworn testimony from center employees.

Two of the commission members, A. Mavourneen Thompson and Andrew Ketterer, voted to conduct an investigation, but the motion failed on a 2-2 vote. Commission members Vinton Cassidy and Michael Friedman voted against the motion.

The commission then voted 3-1 that the policy center was not a political action committee, with Thompson voting against the motion.

She said she didn't have enough information to make that determination.

Friedman said although the group spent time on the campaign in 2006, he doesn't believe it's the sole focus of the organization.

"They weren't developed in 2006 for the purpose of TABOR," he said. "I don't think it was their major reason for existing."

Bill Becker, executive director of the center, said after the meeting that he has not yet decided whether to appeal the decision. He said he needed more information from the ethics commission staff about what kind of information he would be required to report.

He said he would not release a list of his donors, saying they often request anonymity or are businesses that don't want their names released.

After first stating that the center didn't receive any contributions to support TABOR, Becker and his attorney, Dan Billings, said the center did in fact receive four contributions to support their TABOR efforts. But they said the money was deposited into a general account that supports all of their activities, not just their work on the measure.

Under questioning, Lindemann admitted to the commission that he was behind one of the contributions because he asked an old college friend to send in a check.

Lindemann then used the center's response as evidence that it did accept contributions for TABOR.

Billings said the center, as authors of the measure, did attend several forums and speak to the media about the value of the initiative. It did not spend money on television, radio or newspaper advertising, and it did not conduct a mass mailing, he said.

"It's only natural they would talk about issues they are interested in, in the context of the debate," he said.

Unlike political action committees formed for a specific purpose, which dissolve after a campaign, the policy center will be around for years to come, he said.

"What the emphasis may be will change with what the issue of the day is," he said.

But Branson argues that the limited disclosure required by the 1056-B doesn't tell the public enough about who's behind initiative campaigns.

He described the policy center as the "public relations arm" of the TABOR campaign.

"That is a Christmas gift for their organization," he said of the commission's decision not to require them to file as a political action committee.

Susan Cover -- 623-1056

scover@centralmaine.com