Latest Developments:
- The Governor of Wyoming approved B. 148, which increases various state fees. The measure raises the lobbyist registration fee from $25 to $75 for lobbyists who receive reimbursement or compensation in excess of $500 in a reporting period. It raises the fee for other lobbyists from $5 to $10. The bill takes effect July 1, 2021. Although lobbying is protected speech, jurisdictions are permitted to impose fees to cover their cost of regulation.
- The California Fair Political Practices Commission overruled its staff’s view and issued an opinion (Sanders, No. O-21-001 (4/15/21)) that the state’s new limits on contributions to local candidates in jurisdictions that otherwise do not have a limit are not aggregated with contributions made before the limit took effect. The new law, established by AB 571, limits contributions per election, thus applicable to periods beyond a single calendar year. Accordingly, many donors questioned whether their contributions to candidates made before January 1,2021 would restrict contribution activity after that date for current election cycles.
In Case You Missed It:
- California SOS List: Cal Matters reports that the California Secretary of State has a growing list of unpaid fines levied on California politicians, including judges and legislators. The Secretary of State’s office has “allowed some of the largest fines to languish for many years with no consequences to those who are supposed to pay up.” Some are small, the “political equivalent of a parking ticket.” Some are still contested; the Assembly Speaker’s campaign, which has a pending fine on this list, defended itself by noting that, “‘While it’s in dispute, we are not going to pay it.’”
- Massachusetts Investigates Laundered Contributions: The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance has referred to the state’s Attorney General allegations that a State Senator laundered contributions to his wife’s campaign. MSN carries a Boston Globe article detailing how the Senator “made a series of rapid-fire and hefty donations to the Massachusetts Republican Party, totaling $137,000. And in nearly every instance, the GOP quickly spent similar — if not identical — amounts helping another candidate: the senator’s wife.” The Senator and his wife “have denied they violated any campaign finance laws.”
- Big Win for Alderman in Campaign Finance: The Chicago Board of Ethics, which imposed a fine of $145,000 against a Chicago Alderman for campaign finance violations, reversed course and dropped the fine to $5,000. WTTW reports that the new fine amount is equal to the fine imposed on the corporation that made the excessive contribution. The Alderman must still return the excess contribution to the corporation, which is a city contractor with 80 city contracts over the past 3 decades, including four worth over $90 million.
- First Plea in Hawaii Corruption Case: According to the Honolulu Civil Beat, a city employee “pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud in connection with her acceptance of at least $28,000 from architect William Wong.” She faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Family Pay-to-Play: A Cleveland Councilwoman running for a U.S. House seat vacated by the recently confirmed HUD Secretary has been criticized for taking money from a city contractor. The Intercept reports, that when she first ran for city office, she promised “to “recuse herself from county contracts with ties to [her fiancé] Mark Perkins as necessary.’” According to the article, she later “deemed recusal unnecessary and voted with her colleagues to give a nearly $7 million contract to [a company that subcontracts with her fiancé’s company]… Ten weeks later, one of the firm’s owners helped organize a fundraiser that bankrolled a significant portion of her reelection campaign.” She has voted to approve several other contracts with family ties and received a number of contributions from related parties.