Indiana House’s chief budget writer is missing $30,000 from campaign

The lawmaker who has been tasked with main the Indiana Home’s price range committee and crafting the multi-billion greenback state price range appears to have misplaced just below $30,000.

In keeping with Rep. Tim Brown’s last marketing campaign finance report, the Crawfordsville Republican’s marketing campaign gave the retiring lawmaker $29,995 from his marketing campaign account. However, as first reported by Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Brown mentioned he did not really obtain that cost.

He advised IndyStar his account was lacking $29,995 and he could not account for it. He needed to steadiness out the account to shut it for his retirement, he mentioned, so he wrote that the cash went to him. 

He urged that it could have simply been an accounting error. 

“A few years in the past, there was an accounting situation and the secretary of state confirmed that I had more cash than I really had,” Brown advised IndyStar. “So I did not have that cash in my account.”

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First elected in 1994, Brown mentioned he has no thought when or how what he referred to as the accounting situation arose. He added that it might have been “unimaginable” to determine now. 

Brown mentioned he did not suppose he was breaking any guidelines, however he wasn’t sure.

Both method, he does not seem like going through a stiff penalty. Below Indiana legislation, if somebody recordsdata a “faulty” marketing campaign finance report, they may resist a $100 nice. 

Somebody must file a written criticism with the Indiana Election Fee to get the method began, and to date no complaints have been filed, in keeping with the 2 co-directors of the Indiana Election Division.

If a criticism is filed, the committee could be notified and have time to repair the error, earlier than any election fee listening to to find out whether or not the candidate needs to be fined. 

Brown spent the opposite $15,000 remaining {dollars} in his account for a wide range of issues, together with a $12,000 contribution to the Home’s marketing campaign committee and $3,000 to reimburse his spouse for campaign-related incidentals and a meal for his committee.

Brown was chosen to function Home Methods and Means chair beginning in 2012, and isn’t operating for reelection in November. 

Name IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270 or e-mail her at kaitlin.lange@indystar.com. Comply with her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.