Jacksboro lawmaker gets record $15,000 fine

The fine against Baird, R-Jacksboro, was one of several penalty orders Wednesday by the Registry of Election Finance. Others included a second $10,000 fine against a political action committee formed by Knoxville lawyer Jeff Hagood and a $500 penalty against lobbyist Bill Nolan of Anderson County.

Baird’s campaign and personal financial interest disclosures for 2004 were not filed, registry director Drew Rawlins said. Both documents were due Jan. 31, and Baird did not respond to certified letters from the agency seeking explanation.

Registry board member Lee Anne Murray of Nashville proposed the $15,000 penalty against Baird — $10,000 for failing to file a campaign disclosure and $5,000 for not filing the conflict-of-interest statement. The seven-member board unanimously approved the penalty.

Baird has been penalized twice previously, Rawlins said — $300 in 2003 for filing his financial disclosure late and $1,000 in 2000 for filing a campaign finance disclosure late.

Rawlins said he believed the $15,000 fine was the single highest penalty ever against a sitting lawmaker.

The maximum fine for a single violation is $10,000.

Baird, who could not be reached for comment by The Knoxville News Sentinel newspaper, can request reconsideration of the penalty once the required forms are filed.

Other penalties approved on unanimous vote by the board Wednesday included:

— A $10,000 fine against The Jeff Hagood Fund for a Better Tennessee, a political action committee created April 1, 2004, by Hagood — former husband to state Sen. Jamie Hagood, R-Knoxville, and the lawyer for Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer.

Under state law, PACs must file a financial disclosure four times a year. The Hagood PAC did not file a report for the second quarter of 2004 and was fined $10,000 earlier, Rawlins said. A fourth quarter report also was not filed, prompting the second $10,000 penalty Wednesday.

Hagood said he was unaware of the possible fine and would challenge the assessments at the registry’s July 13 meeting.

— A second $10,000 fine against William Howard Robinson Jr. of Nashville, who in 2003 filed papers as a Republican candidate for governor in 2006, then did not file required reports for both 2003 and 2004 showing whether he had raised or spent any money.

He was earlier fined $10,000 for the 2003 report, which has not been paid.

— A $500 fine against Nolan for the late filing of a required “lobbyist activities report.”

— A $250 fine against Susie Alcorn, a lobbyist and veteran Republican political activist who managed U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander’s 2002 campaign. Alcorn was charged with failing to file her lobbyist activities report.

— A $250 fine against Ross Loder, former deputy director of the Tennessee Municipal League, for filing his lobbyist activities report late.