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 prior federal jobs and that 63% of the 3,566 cases referred to the Department of Justice for failure to file quarterly reports from 2015 through 2024 remain unresolved as of December 2024.
- New Mexico Bill Vetoed: New Mexico’s Governor has vetoed House Bill 143, which would have required lobbyists to provide more details about the specific legislation lobbied, whether legislation was supported or opposed and if their positions changed, and the names of a lobbyist’s employer that lobbied on the legislation, either directly or through the registered lobbyist.
- Ohio Increases Contribution Limits: The Ohio Secretary of State has published new contribution limits: individuals and PACs may now contribute $16,615.67 to candidates, $24,923.51 to a legislative campaign fund, and $49,847.01 to the state party.
- Kentucky Codifies Donor Privacy Protections: Kentucky’s House Bill 45, which the Governor has signed into law, prohibits contributions or expenditure by foreign nationals and requires a “paid for” disclaimer on certain advertisements. The bill also creates a new statute stating that “a lawful donor to a tax-exempt organization possesses a right of privacy in his or her donations” and requires the government to take steps to prevent disclosure of donors to 501(c) nonprofits.
- Shareholder Proposals Regarding Corporate Political Activity: Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility announced they had filed 60 shareholder proposals for the 2025 proxy season, calling for increased disclosures and strengthened oversight of corporate political activities at a diverse set of companies and sectors. These proposals included 32 resolutions on lobbying, 23 on political election spending, and 5 asking companies to assess if their lobbying on climate issues is consistent with their stated climate goals and objectives.
- Potential for Tax Status Revocation: In the face of threats to revoke the tax-exempt status of Harvard and other business entities, NPQ (Nonprofit Quarterly) explains the well-established procedures for revoking federal tax exemption.
Reminders:
- Reporting LLC attribution information has become easier! Federal committees must report certain attribution information for contributions from limited liability companies, and the treasurer must often show that the committee has used “best efforts” to obtain, maintain, and submit the information; the FEC has now produced a Sample Donor Response Form to make obtaining and tracking this information easier.
In Case You Missed It:
- Trump Fundraising Disclosed: The Wall Street Journal reports that Donald Trump’s inaugural committee raised almost $250 million from corporations and large donors, more than doubling the previous record. Politico reported donations to the corporate-sponsored Egg roll event at the White House.
- Federal Lobbying Revenue Up in 2025: Politico reports that, while lobbying revenues were up nearly across the board during the first three months of 2025, groups with ties to President Trump have seen the biggest changes, with one group reporting a tenfold increase in revenue from the previous year and another moving from 16th to 4th in the rankings.
- FCPA Case Proceeds Despite Directive: Despite President Trump’s executive order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Washington Post reports that federal prosecutors have indicated they will proceed with a bribery case against the founders of Smartmatic.
- Lobbying Law Allows Reporting Delay: From Mississippi Today, the Speaker of the House in Mississippi accepted Superbowl tickets from a mobile sports betting company less than a week after the House advanced legislation to legalize mobile sports betting in Mississippi. The Speaker’s communications director thanked the client on social media, only to later edit the post to remove any reference to the client or to having received “hospitality.” No lobby report is yet required.
- Trump IRS Pick Benefits from Supreme Court Ruling: Politico reports that President Trump’s pick for IRS Commissioner has benefited from a 2022 Unites States Supreme Court ruling striking down a limit on the amount of post-election funds that can be used to pay back personal loans from candidates. A month after his likely nomination was announced, Former Representative Billy Long raised funds from firms in the tax consultancy industry to pay back a loan to his now-dormant 2022 U.S. Senate campaign.
- Cape Cod Democrat Indicted on Charges Related to Psychic Payments: From Boston.com, a Massachusetts state representative was arrested following his indictment on five counts of wire fraud and one count of falsification of records after he stole $36,000 from the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod over a 14-month span while serving as the group’s executive officer, purportedly having used the stolen funds to pay for, among other things, “personal psychic services.”