Prairie Public Broadcasting

Dems to pay $200 fine for reporting violation BISMARCK, ND (NDPR) - Senate Minority Leader David O'Connell (D-Lansford) says it's his fault.

Democrats will pay a $200 penalty for being late to file a campaign disclosure report. In March, the state Senate Democratic Caucus got a $2500 contribution from a railroad labor union political action committee. But the party caucus wasn't registered as a fund-raising committee until June 9.

Secretary of State Al Jaeger says the committee should have been registered at least two months earlier.

O'Connell says he had left that in the hands of someone else in the party -- but that person had an illness in the family, a family wedding, along with spring planting, so the deadline was missed.

O'Connell says he should have followed up -- but didn't.

"It's fair -- I missed the filing date, and the Secretary of State is doing his job," said O'Connell. "The law's the law. You always learn something from things like this -- always double-check."

The state Republican Party filed a complaint with Jaeger's office about the failure to disclose the contribution.

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