Latest Developments:
- Oregon Voters approved Measure 107, which permits the state legislature and local governments in Oregon to enact laws to “limit contributions made in connection with political campaigns or to influence the outcome of any election…” It also authorizes the passage of laws that require campaign finance disclosure and that identify persons or entities who paid for political advertisements.
- Missouri Voters approved Amendment 3, which reduces the threshold for lobbyist gifts to public officials from $5 to zero and reduces campaign contribution limits. The measure also moves the power to redraw districts from the state demographer to a bipartisan commission.
- The Federal Election Commission received a complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (“CREW”) alleging that the White House Chief of Staff misused campaign funds. In the complaint, CREW alleges that after Mark Meadows decided not to run for re-election to Congress, he used campaign funds for a number of personal expenses, including “$2,650 to a jewelry store, over $5,800 in payments for field representative mileage, and over $6,500 in spending at numerous restaurants and clubs, … as well as purchases at a grocery store and a ‘cupcakery.’”
- The Hawaii State Ethics Commission fined the former Chief Examiner of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Insurance Division $5,000 for accepting four meals worth a total of $654. According to the Commission’s Resolution of Charge, the former employee considered these “social dinners,” but they were paid for by Risk & Regulatory Consulting, LLC (RRC), a contractor overseen by the former Chief Examiner. The Chief Examiner was responsible for “negotiating the contract rate paid to RRC and for monitoring RRC’s performance of its work on all financial examinations.”
In Case You Missed It:
- New FEC Commissioners(?): According to Roll Call, the President of the United States is poised to nominate two new Commissioners of the Federal Election Commission. The article indicates that the two new Commissioners will be Sean J. Cooksey, currently counsel to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Shana M. Broussard, who is currently counsel to FEC Commissioner Steven Walther (Ind-NV).
- Lingering COVID Problems: The Austin, Texas City Ethics Commission is grappling with a transparency problem. The Austin Monitor reports that the Commission meets in a back room at City Hall that was open to the public before the pandemic. But the Commission’s meetings are not broadcast. Currently, the only option for the public is to “wait a few days, and then check for an audio recording.” Participants can call in, but are urged to call in 15 minutes early. Commissioners are now looking at how “meetings could be streamed to the public.”
- Multi-State Revolving Door: The Indianapolis Monthly reports that the Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives is a registered lobbyist in the City of New York. The Speaker claims he does not lobby but has been listed for six years as a New York City lobbyist for his employer, College Board. He also assured the reporter that “‘there is an organizational firewall in place to ensure I am not involved in any of my employer’s matters involving the state of Indiana.’”
- Bipartisan Consonance: According to the Wichita Eagle, both the “Kansas Democratic and Republican party committees likely violated state campaign finance law by failing to disclose which candidates they’re backing and attacking with more than $1.7 million in mailers this election cycle.” The article notes that the “Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission has notified both party committees and asked them to correct this year’s reports, but it’s unclear if the information will be available before the election.” Apparently neither party has correctly reported expenditures since 2010, noting that in “the past decade, both major state parties stopped reporting information that is required by state law.”