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Politics

Political Groups To Pay $1 Million For Election Rules Violation

A pair of out-of-state nonprofits will pay the largest fine ever in California for election-rule violations.

An investigation revealed they failed to divulge the donors of an $11 million contribution during the 2012 elections.

Ann Ravel, chair of the Fair Political Practices Commission, says donors used two organizations to funnel money to conservative causes: The Center to Protect Patient Rights and Americans for Responsible Government.

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“The fact that outside interests that actually were circuitously routed through the Koch brothers network... is an issue in this case,” Ravel said.

The groups will pay the state $1 million for filtering donations to anti-tax and anti-union efforts on last November’s ballot.

Malcolm Segal is the attorney for the Center to Protect Patient Rights. He says there was never an intention to break the rules: “The regulations in this state are fairly draconian and it’s important in the future to make sure that there’s full compliance.”

The Fair Political Practices Commission says it’s now pursuing a $15 million penalty from two other out-of-state nonprofits.

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