Latest Developments:
- The Federal Election Commission met and, as part of its agenda, discussed a proposal to address so-called “Scam PACs.” According to the proposal, “These proposed changes would not label committees as scam PACs, nor would they require any changes in how committees report their information to the Commission. Rather, the proposed updates would aim to improve how existing data is displayed so that potential contributors could be better informed about the activities of political committees to which they may contribute.” Generally, the proposal would require the Commission’s website to disclose how much of a PAC’s spending goes to direct candidate support. The Commission did not take formal action on the proposal.
- The California Fair Political Practices Commission, at its recent meeting, listened to a presentation from staff about the commission’s enforcement process, priorities, and case processing statistics. The FPPC’s caseload remains high, but the recent expansion of the Streamline Enforcement Program is expected to help resolve cases faster and allow staff to focus on higher priority violations. The FPPC concluded, in one of the enforcement matters considered at the meeting, that funds from private corporations deposited into a community college foundation’s account were not donations because they comprised consideration for contracts. They were also sufficient to fund ballot measure contributions made by the Foundation and thereby avoided the prohibited use of public funds for campaign purposes.
Reminders:
The Practising Law Institute presents Advanced Topics in Ethics and Compliance 2021: State and Local Government Contracts on Thursday, May 6 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern (10:30 a.m. Pacific). The half-day program covers eligibility requirements, compliance obligations, and perils and pitfalls of state and local contracts. Topics include pay-to-play laws, lobbying restrictions, blackout periods, and scrutiny from ethics agencies. The Chair of the program is Nielsen Merksamer’s Elli Abdoli. Panelists include Jason Kaune of Nielsen Merksamer. Register here.
In Case You Missed It:
- Massachusetts Mulls Lobbyist Prohibition: The former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, who was convicted of federal corruption charges in 2011, sought to register to lobby the legislature in 2019, but was rejected based on his conviction. MSN carries a Boston Globe article that explains the issue is now in the hands of the state’s Supreme Court. After a superior court overturned the Secretary of State’s rejection, the Supreme court “is expected to rule on whether [the former Speaker] and others guilty of federal corruption charges should be barred from lobbying state lawmakers, the governor, and other Massachusetts officials for 10 years after their conviction, even if their crimes aren’t directly cited in the state law.”
- FEC Reboot Under Review: The New York Times reports the Democrats in congress plan to revise the make-up of the Federal Election Commission. The proposal, in R. 1, would “reconfigure the panel from being evenly divided to having a 3-to-2 split, making stalemates far less likely, giving more power to its presidentially appointed chairman and building in stronger enforcement mechanisms.” The Times notes that under the present configuration in which partisanship is split evenly “the F.E.C. has been an idle bystander, a ‘zombie’ watchdog in the view of many in the campaign finance world from both political parties.”
- FEC Opinion Implemented in a Big Way: Following the Federal Election Commission’s adoption of Advisory Opinion 2021-03, which allows officials and candidates to spend campaign funds on security, recently filed campaign reports indicate that “Members of Congress spent hundreds of thousands in campaign funds on security in the first three months of this year.” Politico reports that “Congressional spending on private security has surged among members of both parties since the deadly riot on Jan. 6.”
- Shareholders Target Lobbying: Politico describes how “Hundreds of American companies have promised to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but their lobbying hasn’t always jibed with their public promises.” As a result, “Investors have filed a record 13 shareholder proposals targeting climate lobbying this year, up from four filed last year.”
- Support “from Amazon to Uber” for Inaugural Committee: Politico describes fundraising by the Biden Inaugural Committee among corporate America. “Biden barred his inaugural committee from taking money from lobbyists and foreign agents as well as fossil fuel companies, but he accepted corporate contributions of up to $1 million and checks of up to $500,000 from individuals.”