loophole lets gov groper's PACs pay rent to himself

looks like "mr open-all-the-books" got caught again. the guy who wanted to audit the state's finances, needs to have his own books audited. by someone with some ethical common sense.

Loophole lets rent flow to governor
Building he owns charges political groups he controls
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
...
According to records filed with the secretary of state, three Schwarzenegger-controlled committees have paid rent to Main Street Plaza: Citizens for Afterschool Programs, which advocated for the initiative; Californians for Schwarzenegger, one of Schwarzenegger's committees during the recall; and the California Recovery Team, Schwarzenegger's main fund-raising committee since becoming governor.

Rent for a space with two offices is $3,334 per month, according to Tom Hiltack, the lawyer representing Schwarzenegger's fund-raising committees. Hiltack said the fee had been negotiated between himself and a lawyer for Schwarzenegger's real estate company and was a typical rate for the area.

State law prohibits a candidate or elected official from using campaign funds to pay rent on property owned by the same candidate or elected official. But a 1999 advice letter by the Fair Political Practices Commission, which is the state's arbiter on campaign finance laws, allows campaign funds to be used to pay rent to a company, even if the company is solely owned by the politician.

It's a ruling that Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, called ridiculous. He said Schwarzenegger was "violating the spirit of the law.''
...