Latest Developments:
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a decision upholding the Security and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play rule, which, among other things, limits the ability of investment advisors and brokers to make campaign contributions within 2 years of providing paid services to a government entity. The court’s decision in Y. Republican State Committee v. S.E.C held that the rule does not violate the First Amendment.
- The United States Supreme Court ruled that a government contractor is not a “state actor,” and thus not subject to First Amendment restrictions to which the government itself is subject,” unless performing a traditional and exclusive government function. In Manhattan Community Access Corp. v Halleck, the court pointed out that the Free Speech Clause does not prohibit private abridgement of speech. The case arose when a community access cable TV provider banned a content producer whose program criticized the government contractor cable access provider.
- The Governor of New Jersey signed S 150, as he promised last week. New Jersey Spotlight reports that the Governor did not like the bill, but anticipates that there will be a cleanup bill to eliminate objectionable portions of the measure. The measure requires politically active nonprofit 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose their large donors.
In Case You Missed It:
- Lobbyists Benefit from Legislature’s Snit: The Oklahoma Ethics Commission, squeezed financially by the legislature, has lowered lobbyist fees rather than see its future revenue taken away. The Oklahoman reports that the legislature voted to cap the amount the Commission could spend from its revolving fund and removed the current surplus. In response, the Commission reduced the amount of money going into the fund by cutting lobbyist registration fees from $250 to $100 for the next year.
- Anyone can Apply, but Who will be Chosen?: The Albany Times Union reports that a coalition of “good government groups” has released a letter asking for a process to recruit an independent Executive Director of the state’s ethics commission. The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (NYJCOPE) has had three different executive directors since it was created in 2011, all of whom held jobs in Governor Cuomo’s administration. June 28 is the publicly-posted application deadline for candidates seeking the position.
- Walmart Rolling Back Bribes: The New York Times reports that prosecutors, acting under the Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), have secured a guilty plea by the Brazilian subsidiary of Walmart. The company agreed to pay a $282 million fine to settle charges of paying bribes to overseas officials, which is prohibited by the FCPA. According to the article, payments were “often recorded on the company’s books with vague descriptions like ‘professional fees’ and ‘incidental.’” Payments in Brazil included amounts paid to “the sorceress,” who was known “for the ability to obtain government permits quickly.”
- Legislative Advocacy is not Lobbying: New Hampshire Public Radio reports that the state’s House Majority Leader, who is a teacher’s union president, “is adamant that he hasn’t broken any ethics rules by engaging in legislative advocacy” on behalf of the union while sitting as a legislator. A complaint pending before the Legislative Ethics Committee will be heard next week. The union’s public reports indicate that the Majority Leader was paid to spend 9 percent of his time on “political activities and lobbying.” The Majority Leader’s predecessor as union president regularly registered as a lobbyist. However, the Majority Leader says he “does not lobby individual legislators on bills of interest” to the union.
- Lobbying Success in the Cornhusker State: The number of lobbyists, spending on lobbyists, and the number of entities employing lobbyists has dramatically increased in Nebraska, according to the Lincoln Journal-Star. The article quotes a Common Cause Nebraska report that “it has become generally accepted that if you want something done at the Capitol, you should hire a lobbyist.”