Lincoln Sen. Danielle Nantkes will pay $750 in late filing fees for waiting six weeks to file a final campaign statement with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.

Nantkes filed the report mid-afternoon Thursday, said Frank Daley, executive director of the commission.

It was due Jan. 16.

“I turned it in today, it was just a mistake,” Nantkes said. “It was my responsibility and we’ll take care of it and pay the fine.”

All other candidates for the Legislature filed final campaign statements on time, according to the Accountability and Disclosure Web site.

Nantkes, who serves District 46, has been in the public eye since receiving a ticket Feb. 14 for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. She is serving her first term in the Nebraska Legislature.

Daley said early Thursday afternoon Nantkes had not yet filed the report.

She filed it several hours later.

The commission had mailed letters to her campaign Jan. 31 and Feb. 14, he said, reminding her of the filing deadline and warning her about the fine. The first letter went to her residence. In February, two letters were mailed to her residence and one to her place of business.

Late filings are subject to a $25 a day fine, which can accumulate up to $750. The fine is owed after the report is turned in, Daley said.

Nantkes on Feb. 20 paid a $725 fine for late filings of two reports due during the general campaign. The first campaign statement was due Oct. 10 and filed Oct. 18, resulting in $200 in late fees. The second statement was due Oct. 30 and filed Nov. 20, adding a $525 fine.

Both of her primary campaign statements were filed on time.

Daley said that in every election about a half-dozen candidates file their post-election report late.

Nantkes had listed Dan Nolte as her treasurer on all of her campaign statements. But when contacted, Nolte said he had not served as her treasurer. She had asked him over a year ago, he said, but he had not signed on to her campaign because he decided to run for Lancaster County clerk.

“We had a three-minute conversation and I never heard another word,” he said. “I haven’t talked to her since last summer.”

Nantkes said Thursday Nolte was her treasurer, but she had handled the day-to-day aspects of her campaign.

Jack Gould, director of Common Cause Nebraska, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization that works to hold elected leaders accountable to the public interest, said the final campaign report is important for those monitoring a candidate’s fundraising and spending.

It shows a total picture of the campaign, including late contributions, and can help determine if a campaign was conducted correctly.

“It’s the law,” Gould said, “and it’s the responsibility of everyone to do everything on time.”

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.