Latest Developments:
- The Governor of California signed several campaign and election law bills this week:
- SB 47 requires that a petition for an initiative, referendum, or recall include the name of the committee promoting it, along with the names of the top contributors to the committee on the petition itself.
- SB 71 prohibits the use of a candidate’s or official’s legal defense fund account to pay any penalty, judgment, or settlement of a claim of sexual harassment.
- AB 201 provides an alternate means for campaign advertisement disclosure requirements in the case of a communication that is a text message.
- AB 220 permits the use of campaign funds for child care expenses of a candidate.
- AB 571 extends the state’s contribution limits to local elections, unless the local jurisdiction has established a “different” contribution limit. (Currently, this amount is $4,700 per election.)
- AB 864 revises disclosure requirements for political advertising, including exempting requested emails from mass mailing disclosure requirements, i.e., emails to those who signed up to receive the emails.
Nielsen Merksamer will provide a brief analysis of all the important political law measures to clients after the last day for signing bills.
- The Washington Public Disclosure Commission issued a new video “how to” reminder that the requirement that lobbyists report completion of their training takes effect on December 31, 2019. Thus, as lobbyists re-register, they must certify that they have completed the required lobbyist training course.
Reminder:
The Practising Law Institute’s a one-day, focused program on Corporate Political Compliance 2019, which was held in San Francisco, CA on October 3, 2019, is available online, and may be found here: Corporate Political Law Compliance 2019. Nielsen Merksamer co-chairs this program. Highlights of this year’s program included:
- FPPC Chair Richard C. Miadich joined the Conference to give an update on the Commission’s Task Force to Study Best Practices for Regulating Campaign Activity on Digital Media.
- Michael J. Sullivan, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance, explained the role of a state regulatory agency in the enforcement process.
- McGregor W. Scott, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, discussed criminal prosecutions of political bribery cases.
- A panel of Fortune 500 companies discussed their internal political law compliance programs. Participants included Altria, Boeing, Chevron, and General Electric.
In Case You Missed It:
- Campaign Finance Violations Hit Ukraine Businessmen: CBS News reports that two men who play key parts in the Ukraine intrigue were arrested at Dulles Airport and charged with campaign finance violations for allegedly funneling foreign money to federal political committees. The two men, who are employed by the President’s personal attorney according to NBC News, “deceived ‘the candidates, campaigns, federal regulators, and the public by entering into secret agreements, laundering foreign money through bank accounts in the name of limited liability corporations, and through the use of straw donors … who purported to make legal campaign contributions’” (quoting the federal indictment). According to CNN, two others were also indicted, one of whom has been arrested.
- “No Wonder Good People Don’t Run for Office in California”: The Orange County Register published an opinion that overwhelming disclosure requirements have a deleterious effect on well-meaning citizens who may not understand overly-detailed laws. The article provides an insight into how “citizens who enter politics independently are treated more harshly under the Political Reform Act than players who are on ‘the team.’” Without a “professional political campaign treasurer” and “a specialized political attorney,” candidates are far more likely to face severe penalties from the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission for lapses in compliance.
- No Fingerprints on the Contributions: The Center for Responsive Politics tells us that “presidential candidates are still not revealing information about the well-connected donors helping them raise campaign cash. Federal candidates are not required to disclose information about bundlers – elite fundraisers who solicit contributions to a candidate from wealthy friends, business associates and other contacts – unless the bundler is a federal lobbyist. However, previous presidential candidates such as George W. Bush, John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton voluntarily disclosed at least some information about their bundlers.”
- Go to Jail; Go Directly to Jail; Do not Pass Go: The Mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey resigned after admitting in federal court that he stole money from a youth basketball team that he founded, according to Fox News. The Mayor raised the money from donors “using his political office,” but spent it on personal expenses over the course of five years. His lawyer indicated that the Mayor “only admitted misusing private funds, not public money, which he argued made the mayor better than many of his predecessors.” The article notes that, “as of 2007, four of the city’s last eight mayors had been arrested on corruption charges and one-third of the nine-member City Council was either in prison or under house arrest.”
- Maybe that’s why it’s called “PayPal”: A Maryland legislator resigned after being charged with wire fraud. The Washington Post reports that the delegate is accused of “soliciting donations that were directed to a PayPal account that was not disclosed in state campaign finance filings.” She apparently told supporters the money would go toward her re-election and to maintain her leadership position; instead, she spent the money on personal expenses.
- Unlimited Gifts, but only for Elected Officials: The Wichita Eagle compared its city to neighboring cities and found that it is one of the few cities with no gift limits for city council members. The paper found that “city employees can be fired for accepting gifts, travel or meals from anyone doing business with the city, according to the city’s code of ethics. Those rules don’t apply to the mayor and city council.” Under current law, “Wichita’s mayor and city council members are free to take unlimited gifts.”
- No more Gifts and Unlimited Travel: The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau has “approved new ethics rules Tuesday that ban members from accepting gifts and tighten controls over travel,” according to the Las Vegas Review. As a result of an investigation about practices conducted by the Las Vegas Review, the Bureau “remove(d) a $400 limit on accepting gifts and no longer encourage(s) board members to travel abroad on LVCVA business.”