Here are the facts; how Citizens Against Unfair Taxation PAC is coloring outside the lines of the law.

In Thursday's Lake Worth Herald the article, "City Resident Files Complaint With Elections Commission", it was explained how the Citizens Against Unfair Taxation (CAUT) PAC was formed illegally. I will go into this in more detail later but will lay out simple FACTS for the time being. The purpose of the PAC is to defeat the City's LW2020 bond question on the August 26th ballot.

FACT: On 6/16/14 Atlantis resident Dennis Dorsey (Treasurer) and Katie Mcgiveron (Chair) formed CAUT with the County Supervisor of Elections instead of filing with the City of Lake Worth. One of the duties of the City Clerk, Pam Lopez, is to handle such matters. (Note: The YES PAC which supports the LW2020 Plan was registered with the City by our own Lake Worth City Clerk.)
FACT: It was only after CAUT was discovered did they begin publicly stating their intentions in Lake Worth. In other words, CAUT was raising money and spending money "under the radar," or so they thought.
FACT: A reader of my blog informed me a PAC had been registered with the County with a Lake Worth connection by looking at the Supervisor of Elections website. It took a drive to the Supervisor of Elections office by me on July 15th to get the particulars and I reported the existence of CAUT to my readers.
FACT: For 29 days CAUT was raising and spending money to defeat the City's LW2020 Plan unbeknownst to the City and the public.
FACT: CAUT states the nature of their organization as: "Education against unwanted, unneeded taxation."
FACT: CAUT lists their issues as OPPOSING "Inappropriate tax burdens to the citizens of Palm Beach County." They are doing more than educating, they are persuading people to vote one way or another in an election.
FACT: In none of CAUT's formation documents do they cite any issues or any interests to do with Lake Worth, FL. None.
FACT: The Florida election statutes, in section 106.03(3)(c), state clearly that PACs formed to support or oppose municipal issues are to be filed with the municipality, not the County.
FACT: They have not specified a registered agent as required by state statutes. See below:

Florida Statutes

Title IX: Electors and Elections

Chapter 106: Campaign Financing/Section 03

106.03: Registration of political committees and electioneering communications organizations.

(3)(b): Except as provided in paragraph (c), a political committee which is organized to support or oppose candidates or issues to be voted on in a countywide election or candidates or issues in any election held on less than a countywide basis shall file a statement of organization with the supervisor of elections of the county in which such election is being held.

(c) A political committee which is organized to support or oppose only candidates for municipal office or issues to be voted on in a municipal election shall file a statement of organization with the officer before whom municipal candidates qualify.
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Chapter 106: Campaign Financing/Section 022

106.022: Appointment of a registered agent; duties.

(1): Each political committee, committee of continuous existence, or electioneering communications organization shall have and continuously maintain in this state a registered office and a registered agent and must file with the filing officer a statement of appointment for the registered office and registered agent. 

(2) An entity may change its appointment of registered agent and registered office under this section by executing a written statement of change and filing it with the filing officer. The statement must satisfy all of the requirements of subsection (1).

(3): A registered agent may resign his or her appointment as registered agent be executing a written statement of resignation and filing it with the filing officer. An entity without a registered agent may not make expenditures or accept contributions until it files a written statement of change as required in subsection (2).