Latest Developments:
- The Conference Board released the results of a survey that “reveals the environment for corporate political activity shows no signs of calming in 2022.” The report cites hot-button issues, employees, and investors as factors contributing to the tumultuous environment for corporations that engage in political spending.
- The New Mexico State Ethics Commission released a proposed new Disclosure Act that would replace the current act, and require additional disclosures. The Albuquerque Journal explains that the proposal has “increased transparency requirements for lobbyists” and would require reporting “gifts of $50 or more from lobbyists…”
- Elections Canada posted the annual increase to contribution limits for 2022. The chart notes that “The limits increase by $25 on January 1 in each subsequent year.” The new limit is $1,675 to each candidate, party, or leadership contestant.
- The Campaign Legal Center issued a report, Top Ten Transparency Upgrades for Ethics Commissions, “to provide state and local ethics commissions with innovative transparency solutions to improve how they effectively implement their ethics programs.” The report includes specific recommendations and examples from ethics commissions around the country.
- The Hawaii State Ethics Commission named Robert D. Harris as its new Executive Director and General Counsel.
In Case You Missed It:
- Replacing NY JCOPE: The Governor of New York wants to replace the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics with a new commission run by law school deans. The Buffalo News reports that new entity would be subject to open meeting and freedom of information laws. But some things would remain the same: “like JCOPE, it would police ethics in state agencies and also be the reporting and enforcement entity of the lobbying industry in Albany.”
- Delaware Ends Mandatory Campaign Fines: The Associated Press reports that a new Delaware law revises the way fines are imposed and calculated for failure to file campaign finance reports. According to the article, the change “eliminates the mandatory $50 daily fine and instead says the commissioner ‘may’ issue a citation. A citation would carry a fine of $50 a day, along with mandated training for filing reports, but the maximum fine would be capped at 100 days, or $5,000.” According to the AP, “candidates and committees owed more than $600,000 in fines for failing to file campaign finance reports just for the 2020 election cycle alone.”
- Hoosier Lobbying: The Indianapolis Star names the top 25 spenders on lobbying activities over the past five years in an effort to influence the state legislature. “Most are companies or trade groups from industries that are highly regulated by state government.”
- More Corporate PAC January 6 Review: Roll Call reports on the results of a webinar that looked at corporate PAC contributions, which paused for many PACs in 2021 and remain paused for some. “The political risks, and potential rewards, of corporate PACs aren’t going away this year… Some companies said they are still evaluating what to do next.”