Donors to state tax board candidates bypass contribution limits
Two days after California's elected tax board gave SpaceX exemptions worth millions of dollars last year, the Hawthorne rocket company donated $7,500, at the request of board President Jerome Horton, to a nonprofit group founded by his wife.
SpaceX made the donation as a sponsor of a public conference headlined by Horton as he was running for reelection.
Such donations are among the ways that businesses and others with matters before the state Board of Equalization have benefited its members despite a tough law passed in 1990 to prevent conflicts of interest, a Times analysis shows.
Other ways to bypass the contribution caps include giving through political action committees, donating just below the legal limit and contributing to board members' outside projects.
full: http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-sac-california-tax-board-20151129-story.html
