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MHPC's Testimony: True or Untrue?

Statements about TABOR Donations & Solicitations

The public controversy over MHPC's involvement in the TABOR campaign began over statements made by MHPC attorney Dan Billings. During the October 31 session, Billings made this clear statement about MHPC's TABOR donations and solicitations:

          Really, what this comes down to is really the issue is whether or not MHPC needs to file a 1056B report and if MHPC has not specifically solicited or accepted any contributions to support the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.  So, as a result, even if Maine Heritage Policy Center had to file a 1056B report, that would only show their expenditures. It would not show any contributions because they haven’t accepted any contributions related to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.  
          So Mr. Lindemann’s concern about funding which is something that he was raising with the IRS in regards to Maine Heritage Policy Center long before this issue, that’s not going to be addressed by the issue before you here today assuming you agree with the staff that MHPC is not a PAC and it is interesting that at least one of the parties on the other side agrees with that opinion. So the issue about where the money’s coming from that may be a legitimate issue, that may be a policy issue. But that’s really not before us here today unless someone has information which no one’s come forward with yet to show that MHPC had been soliciting or accepting contributions specifically for the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. (p.28-29. italics/bold added. See transcript here.)

However, in the 1056-B disclosure ordered by the commission, MHPC concedes that there were such TABOR donations despite the earlier denial. But what about solicitations? 

MHPC disclosed one fundraising letter as the problematic nature of the initial denials was exposed. As the Ethics Commission staff memo of December 12 observes about the post-election solicitation: 

TABOR is heavily featured in the letter, and it is unknown whether pre-election fundraising letters relied upon TABOR to a similar extent.

Later, an additional fundraising solicitation surfaced. The August 2 e-mail sent from Becker is also focused on TABOR. It is, in fact, the sole project named. 

Curiously, MHPC's 1056-B report declares no expenditures for such fundraising activities whatsoever. That has become one element in a separate complaint the Ethics Commission has taken up against MHPC. When will that be resolved? Billings requested that this opportunity for his client to dispel doubts about it needed to be delayed because "...it would be an unfair burden for MHPC to require the organization to respond to Mr. Lindemann's new complaint at the same time it is participating in the court's consideration of his appeal." Here is MHPC's "participation" in that appeal. 

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So, judge for yourself. Was Billings' statement factually accurate when he emphatically asserted "MHPC has not specifically solicited or accepted any contributions to support the Taxpayer Bill of Rights."

I encourage all interested to review the materials and reach their own reasoned conclusions based on the evidence.

                                                                                                -CL

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