State tells Murrison to report trip as gift

The California Fair Political Practices Commission will take no action against Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Teri Murrison, whose travel expenses it had been investigating since October.

In an “advisory letter,” the commission told Murrison it “will be closing” its case against her as a result of recent findings.
  

 At issue was whether Murrison violated the state’s Political Reform Act by routing her travel expenses for a property rights conference held in Denver Nov. 5 to 7 through the county in an attempt to avoid the act’s gift reporting requirements. The act is a sunshine law designed to make public any conflicts of interest public officials may have.

But the FPPC did say that Murrison must report the reimbursed expenses as a gift.

The county fronted Murrison the money to attend the conference — the total trip cost was estimated at $500 to $1,000 — with the sponsoring group, the American Stewards of Liberty, agreeing to reimburse the county.

The American Stewards of Liberty is a Texas-based group that wants to see restrictions eased on land managed by the federal government. The group has been at odds with environmental groups in the West over the years.

Supervisors approved the move on Oct. 20, under the advice of the County Counsel’s Office. The commission opened its investigation shortly after that meeting.

The theory put forth by the County Counsel’s Office at the time was Murrison could avoid reporting requirements under the Political Reform Act if the county acted as a go-between.

 Adrianne Korchmaros, the investigator who handled Murrison’s case and signed the advisory letter, said that’s not the way the law works. She said when a third party reimburses the travel expenses for a public officials, the money is always considered a gift to the official, regardless of whether it goes through a public board.

Therefore, Murrison will be required to report the reimbursement as a gift. But, Korchmaros noted, gift limits will not apply to the contribution, as the American Stewards of Liberty is a nonprofit group and the travel was related to a “governmental purpose” by “educating local leaders in property rights issues.”

The Political Reform Act, with a few exceptions, prohibits elected officials from receiving gifts above $420 per year from a single source.

Therefore, to comply with the law, Murrison will be required to report the expenses for her Denver trip as a gift as well as a trip to a similar property rights conference in Texas she attended one year ago. Murrison had routed the money for that trip through the county as well.

The convoluted reimbursement procedure had also been used last year by Supervisor Paolo Maffei, according to the County Counsel’s Office. Maffei is also required to submit an amended political gifts form revealing the contribution.

Murrison said she didn’t intend on any wrongdoing by maneuvering her trip costs through the county and stressed that she was acting on the advice of the County Counsel’s Office.

The commission resolves its cases through warnings, advisory or closure letters, administrative fines and, in some instances, civil lawsuits. Advisory letters, such as that sent to Murrison, are issued with the FPPC determines there was insufficient evidence to prove a violation of state law, but the subject of the complaint should be made aware of “future responsibilities.”