Jay Falstad: Too Busy Attacking Property Rights to Obey the Law

Among the members of the anti-growth movement, Jay Falstad's voice has been one of the loudest and one of the ones most often heard.

Jay happens to be the paid lobbyist for Queen Anne's Conservation Association, a key part of the web of front groups organized and maintained by the I've Got Mine crowd.

Now, overall, I think reasonably well of Jay. Unlike most of the others anti-growthers, he honestly seems to believe what he says. That makes it both better, because he's honest, and worse, because he truly doesn't care about property rights. But as much as I disagree with him, I respect him.

But that doesn't excuse him for flouting state ethics law.

Back in 2007, Jay was a lobbyist registered with the state of Maryland. As such, he was obliged to adhere to the State Ethics Code.

At the same time, Jay was also the chairman of the Republican Environmental Alliance PAC, a group he started in 2006 and still chairs today.

That's where the problem starts. Two problems actually.

First, there are Jay's actions as chairman of the PAC. On two separate occasions he made transfers of funds from the PAC to political candidates, once to a state senator and once to a delegate.

This is a very big deal. Section 15-714 of the Maryland Code clearly states:

(d) Restrictions on activities. --

(1) A regulated lobbyist who is subject to this section or a person acting on behalf of the regulated lobbyist may not, for the benefit of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, or Comptroller, or a member of the General Assembly, or a candidate for election to the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, or member of the General Assembly, engage in the following activities:

(i) soliciting or transmitting a political contribution from any person, including a political committee;

A lobbyist transmitting funds from a PAC to the campaign of a state senator or delegate, which is what Jay did, is unquestionably a violation of state ethics law.

That's the first problem. Here's the second.

Going back to the ethics code, section 15-714(d)(ii) and (iii) state that lobbyists are also prohibited from:

(ii) serving on a fund-raising committee or a political committee;

(iii) acting as a treasurer for a candidate or official or as treasurer or chairman of a political committee;

If one checks the definitions listed in section 15-714, it states that "political committee" is defined by section 1-101 of the Election Law Article. And section 1-101 has this to say about PACs:

(ff) Political Action Committee. - "Political action committee" means a political committee that is not:

(1) a political party;

(2) a central committee;

(3) a slate;

(4) a political committee organized and operated solely to support or oppose a single candidate; or

(5) a political committee organized and operated solely to support or oppose a ballot issue.

Since a PAC is clearly a political committee in the eyes of the code, it certainly looks like Jay violated ethics law on this count as well.

On two counts then Jay has violated state ethics law. That should make everyone in QAC suspicious of his work, as a lobbyist for QACA, as chairman of the Republican Environmental Alliance PAC, and as a player in local politics in general.

In particular we ought to be wary when it comes to the current election. According to Frank Frohn supporter Paula Kougores, Jay has raised $3000 for Frohn's campaign.

With those kind of ethics law violations, it makes one wonder if that was all on the up and up.