Essential Ethics

Latest Developments: Oakland Increases Contribution Limits Through Mid-2029: Oakland has voted to increase limits to candidate committees and officeholder accounts. Candidates who accept voluntary spending limits may now receive up to $900 from individuals and…

Latest Developments: Oklahoma Announces New Ethics Rules: The Oklahoma Ethics Commission has announced new rules for 2025. Changes include raising the anonymous donation limit from $50 to $200, raising the monetary meal cost from $500…

Latest Developments: Maine Contribution Limit Challenged: From Reform Compass, two super PACS have sued to challenge a law passed by 75 percent of Maine voters that caps contributions to super PACs at $5,000. Cases cited…

 Latest Developments: FEC Commissioner Departs, Leaving Gap: Federal Election Commission Commissioner Allen J. Dickerson announced his departure from the FEC, leaving only three remaining commissioners; as Politico and other outlets have observed, high-level enforcement and…

Latest Developments: GAO Releases Report: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released its 18th annual review of federal lobbying; findings include that 21% of quarterly reports listed lobbyists who didn’t fully disclose their relevant…

Latest Developments: California Attorney General Issues Warning to Businesses: In a recently-released alert about violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), California’s Attorney General reminds businesses that it is illegal to make payments to…

Latest Developments: Executive Order on Elections Includes a Lobbying Provision: President Trump’s wide-ranging Executive Order includes a provision referencing the longstanding “Byrd Amendment.” In addition to prioritizing foreign interference in elections, the “Attorney General shall likewise…

Latest Developments: Tennessee Republican Pardoned for Campaign Finance Violations: The New York Times reports that President Trump pardoned Brian Kelsey, an imprisoned former Tennessee state senator who was two weeks into a 21-month sentence for…

Latest Developments: COELIG Found Constitutional: After a lower court ruled in a lawsuit brought by former Governor Andrew Cuomo that the state’s Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) was unconstitutional because the entity violated…

Latest Developments: Potential for Sweeping FCPA Changes: President Trump has issued an executive order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on the grounds that current FCPA enforcement impedes the United States’ foreign policy…