Atlanta, GA – The Georgia Association of REALTORS® (GAR) announced today that it has negotiated a settlement with the State Ethics Commission over a former GAR employee's failure to file timely campaign disclosure reports.

"At the Georgia Association of REALTORS®, we are committed to participating in the political process in full compliance with all disclosure laws. The employee responsible was terminated and we immediately moved to implement additional systems to ensure this situation does not occur again," said Robert T. Hamilton, GAR Chief Executive Officer.

Hamilton continued, "we are pleased to have settled this matter and we are ready to put this situation behind us. The REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) will continue to support good government candidates who support private property rights."

Over a period of 15 months, an employee of GAR responsible for filing campaign disclosure reports for RPAC, a political action committee connected to GAR, failed to file five campaign contribution disclosure reports totaling $585,732.78. These funds were spent during the 2006 primary and general elections in support of candidates running for the Georgia General Assembly and Lieutenant Governor. The State Ethics Commission initiated an investigation of REALTORS® on July 26, 2007. GAR has agreed to pay an $80,000.00 fine and file all campaign disclosure reports in full compliance with the law, bringing closure to the investigation.

The Georgia Association of REALTORS®, The Voice for Real EstateTM in Georgia, is a voluntary member association comprised of more than 41,000 real estate professionals and industry affiliates. REALTOR® is a registered mark which identifies a professional in real estate who subscribes to a strict Code of Ethics as a member of NAR.

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