Challenge

The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) alleged that the Arizona contributor to SBAC was actually an intermediary for other, hidden donors. The FPPC and the AZ donor settled the civil lawsuit with a large fine. This became a serious problem for SBAC. Despite cooperating during the entire investigation and having no knowledge that the funds it received were from an intermediary, SBAC was suddenly faced with an FPPC demand to “disgorge” the already spent $11 million. This demand included potential personal liability for the debt against SBAC’s officers.