Latest Developments:
- COELIG Found Constitutional: After a lower court ruled in a lawsuit brought by former Governor Andrew Cuomo that the state’s Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) was unconstitutional because the entity violated separation of powers, New York State’s highest court, with one dissenting vote, has now found that COELIG was validly created.
- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Case to Go to Trial Despite Trump Order Pausing Enforcement: Bloomberg Law reports that, despite President Trump’s order pausing enforcement under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Trump Justice Department intends to go to trial against the former Cognizant Technology president and chief legal officer. The case stems from allegations of a $2 million bribe in connection with the construction of an office park in India.
- California Agrees to Settle Part of Social Media Suit: Politico reports that the California Department of Justice has agreed to a settlement of a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk. Under the terms of the settlement, social media platforms will not be required to tell state officials how they define hateful, extremist, or misleading speech, or to disclose data on how often they flag or remove posts that violate content moderation rules. Platforms will still be required to publicly post their terms of service, share a summary of any changes with state officials twice per year, and disclose how companies enforce their terms of service.
- Special Government Employees and Other Federal Ethics Developments: Since the 1960’s, U.S. presidential administrations have used the “special government employee” designation to allow subject matter experts to sit on advisory boards or serve in narrow, specialized roles without giving up their regular As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the second Trump administration has used the status in a way never before seen. Accordingly. corporations with employees in the position should screen potential conflicts of interest. Separately, the Washington Post reports that President Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to fire Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel; that office investigates whistleblower reports filed by government workers. Finally, Reuters reports that Bradley Weinsheimer, the U.S. Justice Department’s senior ethics official, resigned after President Trump’s administration pulled him off his duties and assigned him to a new sanctuary cities working group.
- Michigan Passes Revolving Door Ban: While Michigan currently has no revolving door restrictions, the House Government Operations Committee has passed 3 bills that would impose a 2-year waiting period before former legislators or state department directors can act as lobbyists. The bills now head to the full House for consideration.
- Fine Against Orange County, CA Developer: The Voice of OC reports that Ryan Ogulnick, an Orange County developer, is facing an $87,000 fine from the Fair Political Practices Commission for allegedly laundering campaign money, failing to comply with ad disclosure requirements, and committing campaign filing violations. The case is described as one of the most complex and egregious cases the FPPC has seen in recent years.
- Ted Cruz Cleared of Wrongdoing over Podcast Syndicator’s Donations to Super PAC: In a 5-1 ruling, the FEC has found that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz did not run afoul of campaign finance laws when the company that syndicates his podcast contributed nearly $1 million through a series of payments to a super PAC supporting Cruz’s reelection bid.
- Portland, ME, Establishes Ethics Commission: The Portland Press Herald, reports that Portland, Maine, has voted to establish an ethics commission after voters approved the creation of the commission more than two years ago as a part of an overhaul of the city charter.
Reminders:
- States and localities continue to adjust limits: the South Dakota Secretary of State has published notice that the gift limit has increased to $127.16. In Tennessee, the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance has released updated campaign contribution limits, including that contributions from individuals increased from $4,900 to $5,300 for statewide candidates and from $1,800 to $1,900 to legislative, other state, and local office candidates. In Anaheim, The City of Anaheim, CA, has posted that its contribution limits will increase from $2,500 to $2,700 for corporations, PACs, individuals, and labor unions.
- California’s San Francisco Ethics Commission invited interested parties to comment on potential amendments to the Commission’s Enforcement Regulations. The next meeting will be held March 6 at 11:30 am-1:00 pm, all times Pacific. Anyone who wishes to attend should RSVP by sending an email to cheung@sfgov.org. A link to the meetings will be provided via email the week of the meetings.
In Case You Missed It:
- Contract Terms Changed to Omit Reference to Tesla: From the Washington Post, the terms of a $400-million contract to build armored electric vehicles with Tesla were changed to omit reference to Tesla after some outlets reported on the possible contract going to the Elon-Musk owned company. The “Armored Tesla” contract has been changed to one for “Armored Electric Vehicles”.
- $24,500 Fine against Space Coast Rocket Founder: From Florida Today, Space Coast Rocket founder Robert Burns was ordered by a state judge to pay $24,500 in fines in relation to what the judge called a “pattern of nonreporting contributions received, and expenditures made, while…actively campaigning for and against multiple candidates.” Burns had ignored 84 letters regarding the failure to file reports to the Florida Ethics Commission.
- Indictment of Maine Legislator: From the Portland Press-Herald, a Maine lawmaker has been indicted by an Oxford County grand jury on charges that he forged signatures and made a false statement on campaign finance forms last year. The 12 charges include 10 counts of aggravated forgery, unsworn falsification, and criminal violation of the Maine Clean Elections Act, which allows candidates to demonstrate baseline support by collecting a minimum number of $5 qualifying contributions and documenting those contributions with forms signed by the contributors.
- Minnesota Senators Try to Oust Democrat Accused of Burglary: Republican senators in Minnesota are seeking expulsion of Nicole Mitchell, a Democratic/Farmer/Labor state senator, because she is facing two felony charges tied to her alleged break-in at her stepmother’s home last year.