Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen could be fined for filing her first-quarter campaign finance report nearly seven weeks late.
The Florida Division of Elections sent Fitzenhagen a letter on April 11, one day after the deadline for candidates to submit their reports for Jan. 1 to March 31. She received a second notice May 6, which informed her she could face a civil penalty.
The report was filed Friday, with Fitzenhagen reporting $13,250 in contributions.
Fitzenhagen said Thursday that she changed accountants and was communicating with elections officials in Tallahassee.
“Things got away from me while I was focused on the legislative session,” she said. The session ran March 5 through May 3.
Any fine Fitzenhagen faces will depend on how much she raised or spent during the quarter.
Candidates who don’t file their reports face a fine of $50 per day the first three days following the deadline, then a $500 fine per day after that until the report is received. The maximum fine is 25 percent of the candidate’s receipts or expenditures, whichever is higher. In Fitzenhagen’s case, that would be $3,312.50. Any fine would have to be paid out of her own pocket. That money goes to the General Revenue Fund, according to the Division of Elections.
Chris Cate, spokesman for the Division of Elections, said any fine would be determined upon her filing the report, and it could be waived in full or in part if Fitzenhagen files an appeal to the Florida Elections Commission. Fitzenhagen on Thursday said she intends to pay the fine if it comes to that. The commission may grant an appeal based on several grounds, including whether they believe she showed good faith in trying to comply with the statute governing campaign finance reports.
She’ll have 20 days from the due date to file an appeal after receiving notice of the fine.
Records show Fitzenhagen raised more than $248,000 for her 2012 campaign.
