For Immediate
Release: September 23, 2004
Sen. Jeff Rabon
Rabon Says Corporate Oklahoma Should
Take Note
Of Texas Indictments Related to Delay’s PAC
Indictments handed down in Texas Tuesday against
eight corporations which made alleged illegal contributions
to a political action committee created by Houston Congressman
Tom Delay should serve notice in Oklahoma that law enforcement
officials everywhere are cracking down on attempts to use
corporate politics to buy political power, State Senator
Jeff
Rabon said Thursday.
“There’s a reason corporate money is banned
from campaigns. The Austin grand jury that handed down the
indictments sent a message – the political process
in this country isn’t for sale – and I hope
Oklahomans, especially Oklahoma’s corporate officers,
are listening,” said Rabon, D-Hugo.
Earlier this month, Rabon and Senator Richard
Lerblance, D-Hartshorne, called for an investigation
by the state multi-county grand jury into the fund raising
practices of Oklahomans for Lawsuit Reform, a group formed
to seek changes in the state’s civil justice system.
The pair cited a fund-raising letter from OLR founder John
Brock which said the aim of the non-profit organization
in the current election cycle, however, was actually to
elect Republican candidates to the Oklahoma Legislature.
In the letter, Brock said that there are no limits to how
much corporations can they contribute to OLR’s cause
and that their donations can remain anonymous because the
group is considered a 501c4 organization by the Internal
Revenue Service and is, thus, not a political action committee.
But Rabon charged again Thursday that to actively seeking
to elect candidates from a specific party makes OLR a PAC
and makes corporation contributions illegal.
“Mr. Brock’s letter makes it very clear that
OLR intends to use corporate donations to fund an attempt
to elect a Republican majority in both the Oklahoma House
of Representatives and the Oklahoma State Senate,”
Rabon said. “That’s just what Congressman Delay’s
PAC, Texans for a Republican Majority, did two years ago.
It would be a shame if Oklahoma corporations got caught
up in this same kind scandal.
“It would also be a shame if illegal corporate contributions
were used to influence the outcomes of legislative races
this year.”
Rabon said Thursday’s announcement was intended as
a reminder to corporate officers of what election laws say
about corporate contributions and the potential consequences
of violating those laws.
Article 9, Section 40 of the Oklahoma Constitution provides
that no corporation organized or doing business in Oklahoma
shall be permitted to influence elections by contributions
of money or anything of value.
Title 21, Section 187.2 of Oklahoma Statutes prohibits corporations
from contributing to any campaign fund of any party committee
for the benefit of such party committee or its candidates.
Title 21, Section 187.1 of Oklahoma Statutes prohibits campaign
contributions to be made to a particular candidate or committee
through an intermediary or conduit for the purpose of evading
laws relating to campaign contribution limits.
“Our laws on this issue should be easy for anyone
to understand. I’m hoping Oklahomans also understand
that if you break these laws there’s a price to pay,”
Rabon said.
For
more information contact:
Senate Communications Office -
(405) 521-5774
