Latest Developments:
- The Oregon Supreme Court, in Multnomah County v. Merhwein, upheld campaign contribution limits in the county that includes the City of Portland. The court found that prior cases that overturned contribution limits “were erroneous in reasoning.” The court concluded that “the contribution limits are not facially invalid” under the state’s Constitution. Oregon Public Broadcasting notes that the ruling “opens the door to the adoption of new campaign money limits throughout Oregon.”
- COVID-19 Update: Government agencies and courts continue to respond to the COVID-19 emergency. Each week we will add the latest information. For more information about filing deadlines, contact our Political Reporting Unit. Among the more notable developments this week:
-
- The United States District Court for the District of Columbia rejected a request to include lobbyists and other political consultants in the COVID-19 relief under the CARES Act. In American Association Political Consultants v. U.S. Small Business Administration, the court indicated that a 24-year old regulation that excludes 18 different kinds of businesses from SBA general business loans embodies “SBA’s longstanding policy that the agency should not use federal funds to subsidize political consulting and lobbying.” According to Courthouse News, the plaintiffs intended to use funds to “make payroll, not run political ads.” Campaigns & Elections reports that the Association has filed an appeal.
-
- A Federal Judge in Arizona issued an order rejecting requests from ballot measure campaigns to permit them to collect signatures online. The judge cited the state’s constitutional requirements that the signatures be on a “sheet” and that the signature gatherer be physically present with the elector who signs the petition. According to AZCentral, the Secretary of State supported the proposal while the Attorney General opposed it. A similar lawsuit is pending in state courts.
-
- The Hawaii State Ethics Commission has further extended the deadline for January-February lobbying expenditure reports to June 1, 2020, which is the same date that March-April reports are due.
-
- The Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board reminds filers that “(s)ince all campaign finance reports are required to be filed electronically, filing deadlines have not been changed.” Anyone with COVID-19 related issues that impede timely filing is urged to contact the board.
-
- The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will extend the filing date for nonprofits, including political nonprofits, that file Form 990 information returns to July 15, 2020.
- The California Fair Political Practices Commission’s Law and Policy Committee met, as we reported last week, to discuss proposed regulations and other possible actions to increase regulation of contributions by limited liability companies. After accepting comments from the regulated community that were concerned about the complexity and lack of justification for the rule, it appears that the regulation will advance to the full Commission. No timetable has been announced. The FPPC continues its activism as it shelters in place with a meeting of the Digital Transparency Task Force on April 23. The meeting will discuss the current legal landscape for regulating digital political lads and enforcement challenges.
- The Federal Communications Commission issued a clarification (Order of Reconsideration) to indicate that it willapply a “standard of reasonableness and good faith decisionmaking” to broadcasters with regard to political advertisement disclosure. Multichannel News reports that the standard applies “when it comes to deciding what political ads trigger disclosure requirements, and that the disclosure requirement clarification applies only to issue ads.” The order also clarifies that the rules do not apply to candidate advertisements.
Reminders:
The Practising Law Institute presents a one-hour program on COVID-19 Political Compliance Considerations for Companies and Nonprofits on May 21, 2020 at 1 p.m. EDT. Register here for the briefing presented by Jason Kaune and Elli Abdoli of Nielsen Merksamer. The program, which is free to PLI members, will outline the government ethics, lobby disclosure, and campaign finance rules you need to know in connection with working with public officials, donating goods, and engaging in political activity during the pandemic.
In Case You Missed It:
- Facebook Geography Lesson: According to KFOX14, Facebook plans to label “some election-related posts with their geographic origin in an attempt to curb political misinformation by foreign-based pages that mimic legitimate groups and political parties.” The article indicates that “Facebook will initially target pages based outside of the U.S. that reach a large number of people inside the U.S.”
- Charity Begins at Home: The Mayor of San Diego has raised more than $3 million in behested payments to charities, with roughly half of that amount going to the nonprofit he created. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that “(m)any of the donations have been made by people and companies with direct business interests before the city.”
- Portland Mayor Ensnared by New Disclosure Rules: The Oregonian reports that the Portland City Auditor ruled, in response to a complaint, that the Mayor “broke new city election rules by not properly disclosing his largest campaign contributors on his re-election website or two campaign social media accounts.”
- Zombies Being Killed: NBC Los Angeles reports that the station “is contacting nearly 100 former federal candidates who have no plans to run for office but are still sitting on enormous campaign war chests.” According to the report, “hundreds of campaign accounts have been dormant for years, with a combined $200 million in cash sitting idle.” Several former Congress members pledged to contribute their funds to charity in response to the inquiry.
- Motor City Pay-to-Play: The President of the Detroit City Council is alleged to have received payments from a local bank that violate state pay-to-play laws. The Intercept reports that officials from a bank with contracts with the Detroit police and pension fund made excessive contributions to the council president, who is also a trustee of the pension fund.