LR state senator is warned, fined $500

Hutchinson filed own ethics report

— The Arkansas Ethics Commission gave state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson a $500 fine and a public letter of warning, saying he illegally converted campaign contributions into “personal income.”

The money — $2,700 — was deposited in 2010 into the account of Hutchinson’s then girlfriend. At the time, Hutchinson was married to another woman, Stephanie Hutchinson, but the couple were separated, Hutchinson said.

The Republican lawmaker from Little Rock also violated state law by failing to accurately disclose these expenditures on campaign finance reports during the 2010 election cycle, and by failing to keep records of these expenditures, commission Director Graham Sloan said in a letter to Hutchinson dated Wednesday.

In 2012, Hutchinson filed a complaint against himself with the commission regarding the checks. He signed the settlement agreement Dec. 28.

The public letter of warning, dated Wednesday, was signed by commission Vice Chairman J. Barrington Minix of Little Rock.

The letter “is condemnatory in nature and serves to express strong disapproval of your misconduct,” Minix wrote.

“It is the Commission’s view that such misconduct serves to undermine public confidence in the integrity of the governmental process. You are advised not to engage in the same activity again.”

Hutchinson said Wednesday that he’s paid back the $2,700 to his campaign.

He said two campaign-related checks were written to Julie McGee when she was his girlfriend and he was married and separated from his then-wife. The checks were “unauthorized,” Hutchinson said.

“I don’t want to comment on it any further,” said Hutchinson. “I have dealt with it. ... I am ready to move on.”

Hutchinson, a 38-year-old lawyer, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has served in the Senate since 2011 and previously was in the House from 2001-2007.

McGee has maintained that Hutchinson gave her the campaign checks to deposit into her account, while Hutchinson has contended that the campaigns checks were taken without his knowledge or authorization and his signature was forged, Sloan said.

Sloan said the commission didn’t refer the case to Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley because “it didn’t rise to the level of something that warrants referral.”

The criminal offense would be a Class A misdemeanor under state law, he said.

Sloan said he recalled only one case that the commission has referred to a prosecuting attorney, and the commission received a response that the prosecutor’s office was busy with robbers and murderers and would not pursue the matter.

In September, Hutchinson told police that McGee, his exgirlfriend, assaulted him with a preserved alligator head.

McGee was arrested and charged with third-degree domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

McGee could not be reached for comment by telephone on Wednesday afternoon.

In March, a political consulting firm based in Louisiana filed a lawsuit against Hutchinson and his state Senate campaign and claimed that Hutchinson owed the firm $28,470.68 from his 2010 campaign.

The firm is The Political Firm LLC of Denham Springs, La.

In July, Hutchinson reported paying $15,000 to the firm after he acknowledged a disputed debt of $28,000 with the firm in a campaign finance report in April. He reported paying $1,500 to the firm in September.

Hutchinson said he hopes to resolve the dispute after he hears back from the firm’s attorney.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/03/2013

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