Louisiana Congressman Cleo Fields was fined $2,500 on Friday by the state Board of Ethics for not submitting a report on leftover funds and debts from his 2004 Public Service Commission campaign.
Fields, a Baton Rouge Democrat elected to Congress in 2024, did not comment on the fine when contacted. The report, due in February, would have documented any spending or debt forgiveness in 2024 related to that old campaign.
Fields lost the District 3 public service commissioner race to Lambert Boissiere in a 2004 runoff. For years, officials have been required to file reports for old election accounts if more than $2,500 remains in contributions or debts. In June, the threshold was raised to $5,000, but Fields’ account still required reporting.
At the end of 2023, the account held $3,470 in leftover contributions and $317,000 in personal loans made by Fields, according to a previous report.
The congressman requested that the ethics board waive the fine, but the board declined, following staff recommendations. The board did not explain the decision, though they often deny such requests when officials have missed prior reporting deadlines.
Fields has a history of late filings. He submitted his 2019 Louisiana Senate campaign report 10 days late and previously missed deadlines for state senate elections in 1995, 1997, and 1999. Fines for those late filings totaled $2,980 and were paid in full.
The ethics board’s action underscores ongoing enforcement of campaign finance reporting rules, even for older election accounts, and highlights the importance of timely filings by elected officials.
