Latest Developments:
- The U.S. Senate Republican Leader filed an Amicus brief with U.S. Supreme Court in FEC v. Cruz, which seeks to strike down loan repayment restrictions in the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. Senator McConnell’s brief urges that “the Court should strike the entire statute.” However, Politico reports that at the oral argument, “there was little sign that the justices intend to transform the pending case into a broadside at campaign finance law.” USA Today, via MSN, explains the case and the positions taken by all sides.
- The Washington State Supreme Court upheld an extraordinary campaign finance fine, in State of Washington v. Grocery Manufacturers Association. The Seattle Times, as posted on the court’s website, reports the court “upheld a record $18 million fine against a national grocery industry group for violating state campaign finance laws during a 2013 battle against a food-labeling initiative… An attorney for the grocery group, which since has renamed itself the Consumer Brands Association, said it was disappointed in Thursday’s ruling and may take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
- A Federal Judge struck down Montana’s Clean Campaign Act in Montana Citizens for Right to Work v. Mangan. The Helena Independent Record explains that the judge found “that the 2007 campaign practices law violated a political committee’s free speech and due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.” According to the article, the “Montana Citizens for Right To Work, a political committee that was active during the 2020 elections, in September filed a challenge to the state’s requirement that candidates and political committees give targeted candidates a heads-up on attack ads published or broadcast within 10 days of Election Day.” An attorney for the plaintiff said, “the law places an unconstitutional burden on its right to speak freely.”
- The Colorado Court of Appeals , in No Laporte v. Board of County Commissioners, considered “whether campaign contributions can, under the Due Process Clause, disqualify an elected official from serving as a decisionmaker in quasi-judicial proceedings.” Legal Newsline explains that the court, relying on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co, “rejected claims a county commissioner should have recused himself from voting on a concrete plant permit because the company’s shareholders contributed several thousand dollars to his campaign.”
- The Washington Public Disclosure Commission released proposed amended rules regarding “how commercial advertisers respond to requests for records of the political advertising and electioneering communication it provides, the format for making such information available, and the content that must be disclosed.”
- The Oregon Ethics Commission latest quarterly newsletter, Ethics Matters, reminds us that a slew of amended regulations took effect on December 31, 2021, including revised rules pertaining to lobbying and gifts.
In Case You Missed It:
- C. Pay-to-Play Law to Take Effect: JDSupra reports that after two years of delay for lack of funding to enforce the law, the District of Columbia’s pay-to-play law will take effect November 9, 2022. Essentially, “the ban will affect those having or seeking business of $250,000 or more with the District government,” prohibiting political contributions to covered officials.
- Minimizing Risk in Corporate Political Spending: The Harvard Business Review asserts that “political donations greatly heighten corporate risk.” It argues “that corporations need to implement systematic and principled reforms to avoid future gaffes and controversies, reduce their involvement in time-wasting and costly political spending, and better align their lobbying and donations with their stated values.”
- Big Money in Massachusetts: The Boston Globe reports that the “single largest political donation in state history” was recently made to a ballot measure, continuing an upward trend spike in ballot measure spending across the country.
- What Happened to $400 Million in Campaign Funds: Business Insider reports on the status of the now-dormant Presidential Election Campaign Fund. The fund continues to grow with tax form check offs. Major candidates haven’t tapped the fund since 2008, but congress is unable to agree on what to do with the money in the fund.