At one end of the money pipe is a national 527 organization with the Alabama attorney general on its executive committee and his former campaign manager as its executive director.

At the other end is the attorney general's reelection campaign.

But it's in the middle of the pipe where things get murky.

Last month Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange's reelection campaign accepted a $50,000 donation from a newly registered Alabama political action committee. That PAC, in turn, received the same amount of money from a 527.

After the Alabama Media Group inquired about the transfer last week, the Strange campaign returned the donation to the PAC, while maintaining that it did not believe the contribution violated Alabama's campaign finance law that bans transfers between PACs and 527s.

"The Campaign is not aware of any legal violation," Strange campaign treasurer J. Ashley Newman wrote to the PAC's treasurer on Friday. "Nonetheless, in an abundance of caution, we are returning the contribution and enclosing a check in the amount of $50,000."

Republicans reforms

After taking office in 2010, the newly elected Republican Alabama legislative majority banned campaign finance transfers between political action committees, commonly called PAC-to-PAC contributions. For years, PAC-to-PAC contributions gave candidates and their political benefactors a way to obscure the source of campaign cash, and banning the practice was a signature piece of the Republicans' ethics reform agenda.

That legislation also prohibited tax-exempt 527 groups from making donations to PACs doing business in Alabama.

And that is where $50,000, which ended up in the attorney general's campaign account last month, might have crossed the line of the law to get to its destination.

From DC to Alabama

The route that cash traveled began in Washington, D.C., at the Republican Attorneys General Association. In January, the Internal Revenue Service granted that organization 527 status.

Under the law, 527s are tax-exempt organizations that can influence policy debates and advocate stands on issues for national candidates. They must disclose their donors at least quarterly to the IRS, but are not subject to more frequent reporting requirements imposed on other PACs by the Federal Elections Commission. There is no limit to how much an individual or corporation can give to a 527.

When donating to state and local candidates, 527s can be governed by the local laws, which vary from state to state. Because in the past 527s have been used to obscure the trail of campaign funds before, they are commonly included under the umbrella of so-called "dark money" groups.

In April, the Republican Attorneys General Association's political director, Scott Will, set up a political action committee in Alabama called the RAGA Alabama PAC.

According to its campaign finance reports, that committee has accepted one donation -- $50,000 from the national 527.

And it has made one contribution -- $50,000 to Strange's campaign.

Strange serves on the Republican Attorneys General Association executive committee, and his former campaign manager, Jessica Garrison, is listed on the organization's website as its executive director.

So did the transfer break Alabama's campaign finance law?

Matthew Bailey, a Huntsville resident, filed a complaint with the Alabama Ethics Commission this week saying it did. He also sent copies of the complaint to the Alabama Attorney General's Special Prosecutions Division, the Alabama Secretary of State and the United States Attorney in the Middle District of Alabama.

When contacted for comment Thursday, Bailey said that he believes the complaint he made speaks for itself and he had no further comment.

Last week, Will, the political direct at the national organization, said that the Alabama PAC they set up is the national organization's way of complying with Alabama law. He described the RAGA Alabama PAC as an "account" rather than a separate legal entity.

"RAGA's placement of funds into its Alabama account was not a contribution to an 'other organization' under Alabama law," Will said. "RAGA Alabama PAC is how RAGA complies with Alabama law requiring organizations to register and report with the state when making contributions in the state."

When asked for comment, the Strange campaign released the letter to RAGA Alabama PAC informing the committee that it was returning the donation.

Since taking office four years ago, Strange has defended the new campaign finance law in court, specifically against a challenge by the Alabama Democratic Conference, which challenged it in 2011. In that case, the ADC initially prevailed, but the attorney general's office appealed. That appeal is ongoing.

Violating the PAC-to-PAC ban is a Class A misdemeanor.