Latest Developments:
- The Governor of New Jersey approved A 227, which requires members of the Drug Utilization Review Board to disclose gifts from the pharmaceutical industry as well as other financial interests members have in that industry. The measure took effect immediately.
- The Governor of Illinois signed SB 536 which, among other things, provides that in judicial elections a “political committee may not accept contributions from any group that is not required by law to disclose the identity of its contributors or accept contributions from any out-of-state source.” NPR Illinois explains that the sponsor indicated that “the legal community and scholars” are “progressively worried about undue influence in judicial elections, especially appellate and supreme court justices whose terms last a decade.” The measure took effect immediately.
- The Texas Ethics Commission published its proposed changes to a variety of rules, including changes to campaign finance and lobbyist reporting thresholds. The rules also authorize cryptocurrency contributions. The Commission voted to propose the rules in September; the new rules would take effect January 1, 2022.
In Case You Missed It:
- New Pennsylvania Lobby Reporting “Useless”: Lancaster Online reports that “Lobbyists and lobbying firms are for the first time disclosing their financial interests in companies for which they lobby…” However, the article characterizes the disclosures as “haphazard and, arguably, useless…” The article points out that “Amid a narrow reporting period and few guidelines, lobbyists interpreted the new requirement in a variety of ways.”
- Behested Payments Lead to Indictment: Two more individuals were indicted in the continuing corruption inquiry at San Francisco City Hall. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, one former official “asked his clients to make charitable contributions to San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Association ‘intending that those donations would influence’ then- San Francisco senior building inspector Bernie Curran ”in the performance of his official duties…”
- No Book Deal: The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics, at its monthly meeting, voted to revoke its staff’s informal advisory opinion that granted approval for former Governor Cuomo to publish a book while in office. Politico explains that the opinion conditioned its approval on the Governor’s promise “not to use state resources or personnel on the lucrative endeavor. News has since emerged that state employees did help with the book…”
- Loans as Contributions: According to USA Today, the Federal Election Commission accused a U.S. Senator’s campaign “of accepting millions of dollars of potentially improper loans…” The Senator’s campaign countered that “all the loans and contributions were legal.” The issue, as described by the article, is that “Most of that money came from financial institutions ‘that did not appear to be made in the ordinary course of business’ because the banks were not assured repayment. FEC auditors said that means they appeared to be prohibited contributions from financial institutions.”
- Secret Lobbyist Fines: The Albany Times-Union reports that the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics.
acknowledges that it has collected over $250,000 in fines from lobbyists for late reports. However, “officials will say little else about the program, including which lobbyists have faced penalties, why they’ve been fined – or why their staff chooses to forgive certain fines. The secrecy of the program makes it difficult to know whether the ethics agency is enforcing the rules evenhandedly…”