Heller seeks power to audit campaign finance reports

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 | 9:42 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller is going to ask the Nevada Legislature to give him authority to audit the campaign contribution and expense reports by candidates when there are questionable transactions.

Heller said the recent case of attorney general candidate John Hunt is an example. His office cannot proceed with any inquiry, even if it finds a "glaring error," he said.

A complaint is needed to start an investigation.

Heller previously has asked the Legislature for the authority to audit campaign reports, but lawmakers have refused to give him that power.

In the recent campaign, Republican Brian Sandoval filed a complaint with Heller's office about $160,000 in campaign contributions received by his opponent Hunt. The investigation into that complaint is not complete.

Hunt received the money from Mike Shustek, owner of Vestin Mortgage, a company that had been under investigation by the state Financial Institutions Division. But the division said there was no evidence to file a complaint against Vestin.

Heller issued a statement Wednesday saying he also is revising the campaign contributions and expenses reports required of politicians "to better identify how much money a candidate has received and where that money is coming from." He can do that without approval of the Legislature.

He also detailed the changes he wants the Legislature to make to tighten the campaign reporting laws.

Candidates must submit the campaign contribution reports before the primary and general elections, detailing where they got their money and how it was spent. A final report is due Jan. 15.

Heller said he will now require candidates to report the amount of campaign funds they have in the bank at the beginning of each reporting period. That will provide a "better understanding of how much money a candidate has available from a previous reporting period or campaign," he said.

And he will require candidates to provide expenses incurred during the reporting period but not yet paid.

In August he asked for a variety of bill drafts to be presented to the 2003 Legislature to tighten the campaign laws on reporting contributions and expenses.

He wants to require office holders to file campaign and expense reports annually, rather than just in election cycles. And he would incorporate the financial disclosure form required by the Nevada Ethics Commission. He also wants office holders to report unspent contributions from previous campaigns and contributions in excess of $10,000.

He will ask the Legislature to require candidates to file their reports online. The program, provided free of charge to all candidates, is now being used by 94 candidates and 23 political action committees.

"Using the online system makes the process of completing the reports less time consuming and cumbersome, and at the same time, the reports would be instantly be posted on the Internet, thereby providing citizens and journalists the opportunity to quickly browse an individuals candidate's report to determine who is supporting their candidacy."

In addition, all candidates would file their documents with his office. Local officials now file with their county offices while statewide candidates submit their forms to Heller's office.

He would require contributions of $1,000 or more to be electronically reported to his office within 24 hours of receipt. It would be immediately available to the public.