Top Utah GOP lawmaker accused of skirting state laws on campaign finance disclosures

This post has been updated.

A top Republican in the Utah Legislature is facing allegations that he violated state campaign disclosure laws for more than a decade, but he says conflicting information from the Lt. Governor's office is to blame.

On Thursday, Alliance for a Better Utah filed a complaint with Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson about Senate President Stuart Adams's campaign finance disclosures as a candidate and for two political action committees he is listed as the primary officer - the Adams Leadership PAC and the Utah Republican Senate Campaign Committee.

The group alleges that since 2010, Adams and his affiliated political action committees, have reported $428,000 in expenditures made to financial institutions and credit card companies without detailing the ultimate recipient of the funds.

Utah law requires candidates to "reveal...the actual person or entity to whom the disbursement is ultimately made" and "may not merely list disclose, or report the transactional intermediary."

In more plain terms, the FAQ for candidates provided by the Lt. Governor's office explains, "Be sure you report the ultimate payee of an expenditure, and not a transactional intermediary, such as American Express. You didn't pay American Express for your campaign signs, you paid Office Warehouse using American Express."

According to the list of transactions included in the complaint, Adams included some details for his campaign spending through 2020 by breaking down the credit card payments into separate categories. Beginning in 2021, Adams simply noted the amount of the payment and the category. The largest spending by far was for "travel."

Since he was not up for re-election in 2024, Adams is not required to file a disclosure for this year until next month.

There's also a dearth of information on the two political action committees under his control. For instance, the Adams Leadership PAC made a $16,134 payment to American Express on Jan. 4, 2024 that was categorized as "other."

Adams pushed back hard against the allegations from ABU, saying he was told by the Lt. Governor's office that he was in compliance with state law.

“The claim that I failed to follow campaign disclosure requirements is not just inaccurate but a blatant falsehood. This is nothing more than misleading rhetoric, with Alliance for Better Utah once again resorting to desperate fundraising efforts built on misinformation. These kinds of deceitful tactics are intended to distract from the real work of improving our state.”

Emails shared with Utah Political Watch reveal that Adams was given conflicting information about whether his reports were in compliance or not. While it's true he was told his reports did not violate the law, Adams was also informed on three separate occasions that listing a credit card company as a payee was not allowed.

Thursday's complaint from Alliance for a Better Utah is not the first time someone has raised a red flag about Adams's reports.

On Sept. 27, 2023, the Lt. Governor's office emailed Adams about a separate complaint that was filed about his campaign finance reporting on Sept. 27, 2023. In that email, Adams was informed that Utah state law prohibited listing a financial intermediary like credit cards on campaign disclosures.

The next day, Adams received another email from the Lt. Governor's office that reiterated he was not allowed to list American Express as a payee on his disclosures, and he must make a correction.

"Please list each recipient separately," the email read.

That same day, Adams received a separate email from the Lt. Governor's office informing him that as a candidate or office holder, he was not required to list the actual recipients of credit card expenditures.

"Based on our records and the information above, you are compliant with state disclosure law," the email read.

On Aug. 30, 2024, Adams was informed by the Lt. Governor's office that yet another complaint was filed over his financial reporting practices. In that letter, he was informed that he was not in compliance with state law and must correct his reports.

Adams replied that he was informed the previous year that he was told that he was not violating disclosure law, and asked for clarification. The Lt. Governor's office acknowledged that they provided conflicting information and would review the statute.

Last week, Adams was informed by the Lt. Governor's office that the previous determination that he was compliant with state law was wrong.

"After reviewing the matter, statute, and seeking legal counsel, we are confident that listing a transactional intermediary, for example, a credit card company, as the recipient of an expenditure is not sufficient under the requirements of a detailed listing in the code," the email read.

The email went on to explain that while his disclosures did not meet Utah's legal requirements, no punishment would be applied retroactively. The office will begin enforcing the law beginning Jan. 11, 2025.

Utah Political Watch reached out to the Lt. Governor's office on five separate occasions between October and December seeking clarification on credit card payments included in financial disclosures. Those inquiries were ignored.

Adams is not alone. Utah Political Watch identified four Republican legislators who listed credit card payments on financial disclosures without identifying the actual recipient.

• Sen. Don Ipson made five payments to American Express. Three of those, totaling $4,374, were listed as "donations."
• Rep. Thomas Peterson made four payments to American Express for "donations" and "travel expenses."
• Sen. Mike McKell reported 11 payments to American Express this year. McKell did offer some detail that others didn't, noting that some of the expenses were for reimbursements or "food for events."
• Sen. Derrin Owens's campaign made three payments to Visa for "travel expenses."

One legislative candidate in 2024 followed the guidance on credit card payments to the letter. Democrat Aaron Wiley, who lost the SD8 race to Republican Todd Weiler, reported 23 payments to Visa this year, but made sure to include the ultimate payees. Among his expenditures was a $100 donation to Joe Biden's presidential campaign, as well as spending on gasoline, food and supplies.

(This story has been updated to include the response from Adams and his email exchanges with the Lt. Governor's office.)