1. (a) The payment of travel expenses associated with automobile usage during a campaign is allowable.

2. (b) If a candidate wishes to use campaign funds for reimbursement of travel expenses, the following must be observed:

   1. (1) The campaign may reimburse the candidate and/or campaign workers for actual miles driven relating to campaign activity at a reasonable mileage rate not to exceed the rate at which the State of Arkansas, pursuant to the General Accounting and Budgetary Procedures Law, Arkansas Code § 19-4-101 et seq., as amended, reimburses its employees for private automobile mileage for official business travel;
   2. (2) The campaign must maintain records showing the date of travel, destination or destinations involved, purpose of travel, and odometer readings of each trip for which reimbursement is allowed;
   3. (3) The candidate will be held responsible to ensure that accurate odometer readings are maintained;
   4. (4) Maintenance costs should be paid from personal funds, not campaign funds, as the rate per mile necessarily includes depreciation and anticipated maintenance costs; and

   5. (5)

      1. (A) Nothing in this rule shall prevent a campaign from leasing a vehicle from a third party for campaign use.
      2. (B) The campaign may lease or rent a car for the exclusive use of the campaign, provided it pays the fair market value of all costs associated with the car pursuant to the lease or rent agreement.
3. (c) Following the election, the candidate may not use campaign or remaining campaign funds to reimburse the candidate or campaign workers for automobile expenses or travel unless the expense is related solely to preelection travel and the request for the reimbursement had been submitted to the campaign prior to the time of election or the expense relates solely to retiring a campaign debt.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules contained a footnote to 7 CAR § 3-112(b)(1) as follows: “38 Arkansas Ethics Commission Opinion No. 97-EC-005(B)”.