Utah election officials let top GOP lawmaker off the hook over campaign disclosure violations

Utah election officials are letting a top Republican lawmaker off the hook for years of improperly reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign spending. Despite admitting the lawmaker violated state law, officials say they won't retroactively enforce the rules.

Utah law requires candidates to disclose "the actual person or entity" that receives a payment using campaign funds and not a "financial intermediary" like a credit card company.

Utah Political Watch obtained a letter from the Lt. Governor's office sent earlier this week to candidates and officeholders, explaining that listing payments to credit card companies on financial disclosures was not allowed.

"Based on this definition, listing yourself as the payee when reimbursing yourself for expenditures, a credit card company (e.g. American Express), a money transfer service (e.g. Venmo), or other intermediaries is insufficient; the final payee of the good or service must be listed," the letter read.

The letter was prompted by at least three complaints in the past 16 months alleging Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, improperly disclosed hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to credit card companies. The grievances are for his campaign, as well as two political action committees under his control.

An analysis of campaign disclosures reveals since 2014, Adams has reported nearly $400,000 in campaign payments to American Express or AMEX with little to no detail about where those funds ultimately went.

For example, the Adams Leadership PAC made a $16,134 payment to American Express on Jan. 4, 2024 categorized as "other" with no additional information.

Emails obtained through an open records request reveal Adams was given conflicting information about disclosing credit card expenditures following the first complaint in 2023. In two separate emails, Adams was informed that listing a credit card company was not allowed under current law. He was given seven days to amend his reports.

However, a third email to Adams said there was no issue with his reports, directly contradicting the two previous messages. There is no record that Adams attempted to get clarification.

When another complaint was lodged over his financial disclosures this summer, Adams pointed to the contradicting information to defend himself. Because of that error, the Lt. Governor's office says that part of the law will only apply to future disclosures.

"Recognizing that different guidance was issued in the past, this requirement will not apply retroactively, but will be enforced moving forward," the letter continued.

That refusal to enforce the law is bewildering to Jeff Merchant, executive director of Alliance for a Better Utah, which filed another complaint over Adams's disclosures last month.

"It is remarkable that the LG’s office, whose almost only role is enforcing our limited election laws, would choose to both admit that candidates and office holders, such as President Adams, have intentionally violated the law and choose to not hold them responsible for those intentional violations," Merchant said.

"These are the legislature’s own rules—they created them. If neither the executive nor legislative branches have any interest in either enforcing those rules or changing them, organizations such as Better Utah may have no choice but to go to the courts to find out where the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been spent by legislative leadership have actually gone," he added.

Adams has refused to say whether he would voluntarily amend his previous disclosures to comply with state law.

"I have always been, and remain, fully committed to complying with campaign disclosure requirements. Additionally, I will adhere to the updated guidelines issued by the Lt. Governor's Office last week," Adams said through a statement provided by a spokesperson.

The Lt. Governor's office did not respond to requests for comment. Their updated guidance on reporting credit card transactions was sent to candidates one day after Utah Political Watch first asked whether Adams was required to amend his past reports.

Adams's seeming ignorance of this particular provision in Utah election law is curious, since he was the Senate Majority Whip when it was passed.

Lawmakers passed reforms after the John Swallow scandal

In 2014, lawmakers passed several pieces of legislation that spun out of the Legislature's investigation into alleged corruption by former Attorney General John Swallow.

That included HB394, a campaign finance reform measure that greatly expanded which information candidates and officeholders are required to include on financial disclosures.

"This is a very important piece of legislation," Sen. John Valentine said during Senate floor debate in March 2014.

During that discussion, Valentine specifically mentioned that it was no longer permissible to just list a credit card payment with no other details on disclosures.

"This bill provides that if you make a payment, for example, to Visa, you must at least list those items that you have paid with that Visa card. In other words, no longer is it going to be permitted for you to say 'Visa $1,000.' You must say, 'Visa $1,000' and break down what it was used for," Valentine added.

Adams may have missed Valentine's comments as he was recorded as "absent" both times the bill was up for a vote in the Senate.

Lawmakers felt the changes were so urgent that they went into effect the moment then-Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill, instead of waiting the usual 60 days.