It's been a good month for critics of Nevada's oft-maligned campaign finance laws.

The Silver State has routinely ranked at or near the bottom of nationwide political transparency surveys. Legislators have rarely led the way in efforts to repair the state's rickety reputation for election oversight.

But ex-state Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson's dramatic downfall under a cloud of admitted election spending misdeeds has sparked renewed interest in strengthening anti-corruption statutes.

Now, five weeks after Atkinson's tearful resignation, another North Las Vegas Democrat is facing questions about her use of campaign donor dollars.

Atkinson pleads guilty:Former state senator admits to using $250K in campaign funds for SUV, night club

A Reno Gazette Journal analysis of public records reveals state Sen. Pat Spearman paid nearly $103,000 in campaign funds to a consulting firm with close ties to her sister.

State campaign finance reports show Donna Spearman-Davis and Crawford Management Group were the two largest recipients of Spearman’s campaign cash — accounting for about 30 percent of the nearly half-million dollars the former congressional hopeful and longtime state senator spent between 2012 and 2018.

Spearman-Davis was paid more than $41,000 as a campaign staffer over that time period, a tally topped only by Crawford Management, the Las Vegas-based consulting firm that shared an address with Spearman-Davis, according to public records.

Phoenix PAC — a political action committee co-managed by Spearman-Davis and headquartered at that same address — received another $4,250 in campaign funds from Spearman.

Such payments may run afoul of state law if they exceed the fair market value normally paid for the type of services Spearman-Davis provided.

Yet there’s no way for the public to know exactly what Spearman’s sister did for the campaign, much less the going rate for her work. That’s because Nevada law only requires candidates to self-report the broad purpose of their campaign spending — such as “travel,” “consulting,” or “paid staff.” Those reports are not independently audited or regularly scrutinized by regulators.

And lawmakers look unlikely to change that anytime soon.

Despite repeated pledges to tighten election spending rules in response to the Atkinson scandal, that legislation is yet to see a hearing.

No comment from lawmaker

Spearman, for her part, declined to answer the RGJ’s questions about her sister’s campaign role.

“She’s not working for me and I’m not answering any more questions about that,” she said on Tuesday.

It’s not clear who else was asking those questions.

The Nevada Secretary of State’s office, charged with overseeing compliance with campaign finance laws, declined to comment on whether it was looking into Spearman.

Angelique Crawford, president of Crawford Management, was similarly reluctant to talk. She quickly hung up on a reporter when asked about Spearman-Davis’ relationship with her consulting firm.

“I’m a private citizen,” Crawford said. “I don’t have to give that information to you.”

Spearman-Davis did not return requests for comment. A LinkedIn profile page describes her as an "administrative assistant" to Spearman.

Where the money went

Spearman's sister had no other campaign clients, according to state election disclosures.

Spearman also made up roughly 94 percent of Crawford Management’s reported election business.

Despite its inexperience, federal filings show the consultancy firm was also the second highest-paid vendor on Spearman’s failed 2018 congressional campaign, when it received $30,000. Spearman-Davis was listed as the “designated agent” on that campaign, according to disclosures on the Federal Election Commission’s website.

Fully half of the state campaign checks cut to Crawford and Spearman-Davis were made in non-election years.

Spearman, an ordained minister and U.S. Army veteran, ran unopposed in her 2016 re-election primary race. She won both of her general election campaigns by landslide margins against little-known opponents.

It’s not illegal for a Nevada candidate to put a family member on the campaign payroll, so long as they’re not making more than the going rate for the services they provide.

But the state has never clarified the fair market value of campaign services, leaving regulators to judge potential lawbreakers on a case-by-case, expense-by-expense basis.

“In some instances, using campaign funds to pay a family member for services rendered to the campaign may be legitimate,” said Wayne Thorley, deputy secretary of state for elections. “In other cases, it may be a violation of the personal use prohibition.”

Reforms to state law following Atkinson downfall

Election attorneys see payments such as Spearman’s as just the latest reason to strengthen oversight of campaign spending.

“Unfortunately, the law doesn’t say much about any of these situations,” said Kevin Benson, a Carson City-based attorney who specializes in election law. “There is an attorney general’s opinion stating that Nevada’s personal use law should generally follow the federal regulations. However, Nevada has never actually adopted regulations on the matter.

“That being said, if it was just a blatant scheme, I think the state could go after the candidate for personal use. As we recently saw with the Atkinson indictment, it can also be criminal fraud.”

Atkinson last month confessed in a federal plea agreement to misusing some $75,000 in campaign donations to open and operate the Urban Lounge nightclub in downtown Las Vegas, where he often hosted political fundraisers for other Nevada Democrats. He also spent $20,000 to lease a Jaguar SUV, $8,600 to repay a personal loan and at least $100,000 to pay off credit card charges.

The 49-year-old former lawmaker is due back in federal court on July 11 to be sentenced. He’s expected to face up to 33 months behind bars.

Related:Campaign funds opened a club, leased a Jaguar. Can lawmakers make sure it doesn’t happen again?

Spearman isn't the first to have questionable campaign payments

Spearman, a fellow North Las Vegas Democrat, is far from the first Nevada candidate to face scrutiny over paying a family member, though such cases rarely result in a formal investigation.

The RGJ last year revealed that Democratic governor hopeful Chris Giunchigliani had paid her late husband’s political consulting firm more than $1 million in campaign funds between 1996 and 2014.

Giunchigliani cut more than 200 checks to Gary Gray and his firm for everything from special events to office expenses, but mostly paid for advertising and consulting services.

Two months later, the newspaper found Republican ex-U.S. Sen. Dean Heller had paid his son’s company at least $52,500 in campaign funds since 2016.

Heller Enterprises LLC — a little-known music production company started by Harrison Heller in 2013 — was the Heller camp’s second-highest-paid social and digital media consultant.

Both cases turned heads among good government groups, who said the payments smacked of nepotism and self-dealing.

James DeHaven is the politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. He covers campaigns, the Nevada Legislature and everything in between. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.

More on the the state legislature