Latest Developments:
- The Chair of the Democracy Reform Task Force in the United States House of Representatives reintroduced R. 1. The Hill notes that one of the primary purposes of the bill is “to reduce the influence of lobbyists and to close the so-called revolving door.” The bill also makes changes to campaign finance provisions and revises the membership, powers, and authority of the Federal Election Commission and the powers and appointment of the Chair.
- The (Incoming) President of the United States issued a new Executive Order governing ethics. The order bans gifts from lobbyists and imposes several revolving door restrictions. The Associated Press reports that the order prohibits incoming administration officials from accepting golden parachutes from their former employer and limits lobbying after leaving the administration for the duration of the Biden Administration or two years whichever is longer.
- The (Outgoing) President of the United States issued an Executive Order withdrawing Executive Order 13770, which imposed a five-year revolving-door ban. Politico reports that the order will “give some of his staff relief after appointees have had difficulty finding jobs in a Democratic-controlled capital.” According to ABC8 News, the “new order states: ‘Employees and former employees subject to the commitments in Executive Order 13770 will not be subject to those commitments after noon January 20, 2021.’” President Clinton issued a similar order at the end of his term.
- The United States Department of Justice announced another prosecution for violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. According to the press release, the defendant identified himself as “a former political science professor or as an expert on foreign affairs.” He “pitched himself to Congress, journalists, and the American public as a neutral and objective expert on Iran.” However, the Department of Justice asserts that he “was actually a secret employee of the Government of Iran and the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations (IMUN) who was being paid to spread their propaganda.”
- The Federal Election Commission issued Advisory Opinion 2020-02 regarding the purchase of political advertising by U.S. citizens living abroad. The Commission concluded “that the Act and Commission regulations do not prohibit [a U.S. citizen’s] proposed purchase of such online political advertisements even though you reside abroad. The Commission also concludes that neither the Act nor Commission regulations require you to provide Facebook or any other media platform with proof of a U.S. bank account or a U.S. residential address as a prerequisite to the purchase of political advertisements on their platforms.”
In Case You Missed It:
- Goodbye Aloha: Honolulu Civil Beat reports that, as the legislature convenes, one thing has changed: “A ban on food items and other items of nominal value affects state officials and the business of lobbyists.” New regulations adopted by the Hawaii State Ethics Commission include a “ban on ‘gifts of aloha.’” Gifts of Aloha are “small gifts and food.” The article quotes a commission spokesperson who says “‘if there’s some kind of authority vested in state officials over the persons giving the gifts, then the state official shouldn’t be accepting the gifts.’”
- Second Thoughts: A North Dakota legislator has introduced a measure to require taxpayers to pay for legislators’ meals since lobbyists gifts were banned by a voter-adopted ethics reform. According to the Associated Press, one lawmaker lamented that “the removal of the lobbyist meals perk was forcing him to develop unhealthy eating habits….” The proponent told the AP that “dinners funded by lobbyists and other groups had gone from ‘steak and lobster to finger food’… Lawmakers used to joke about the weight they packed on during a session, but this session, he said, the freebie food is nonexistent.”