McGraw
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Legal Newsline) - West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw's office says gubernatorial candidates who raised campaign money for committees for the 2012 election can't use those funds for this year's special election.
In a letter dated Feb. 11 to Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, assistant Attorney General Barbara Allen stressed that the letter is not a binding legal opinion.
"A candidate with an (existing) committee for a 2012 election may only contribute excess funds from that committee after the general election, which would eliminate any possibility of the candidate transferrin funds from his or her 2012 election committee to his 2011 election committee," Allen wrote.
Tennant had sent a letter to McGraw asking for his help in interpreting state code, specifically those laws on campaign finances.
Tennant spokesman Jake Glance said copies of the letter had been sent to gubernatorial candidates.
Tennant, in her three-page letter sent Feb. 3, wrote, "The unique situation of our special election for Governor has raised issues of code interpretation for which the Secretary of State can find no West Virginia legal precedent."
To view the entire article, visit the West Virginia Record.