During the six months preceding a gubernatorial election and during the time interval between the gubernatorial election and the first day of July following election, it shall be unlawful for any sheriff to:

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(2) Increase the payroll or other operating expenses of his office more than fifteen percent over its average amount of such expenditures for each of the months of the first six months of the twelve months preceding said election; or

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From an accounting perspective, "other operating expenses" does not include software. GASB No. 51, Accounting and Reporting for Intangible Assets, states that computer software is an intangible asset (Para 1) and that intangible assets should be classified as a capital asset (Para. 5).

GASB No. 34, Para. 21, states that capital assets should be depreciated (amortized for intangible assets) over their estimated useful lives.

No definition is provided for in the statute of "other operating expenses". A general definition is "A category of expenditure that a business incurs as a result of performing its normal business operations." Another is "those costs associated with a company's main operating activities." They do not include capital assets.

As for your question, "can a sheriff or clerk expend more than the 10% discussed in the statutes for the purchase of computer systems and software in the six months prior to a gubernatorial election?", our answer has to be that it appears that it could, however, since there is no definition in statute, or AG opinion interpreting, we cannot be certain how a prosecutor may interpret "other operating expenses", and therefore cannot guarantee that it is allowable. We would suggest a legal opinion from the entity's own attorney or an opinion from the AG.