Latest Developments:
- Puerto Rico’s Department of Justice introduced its new online registration portal for lobbyists. While the Department’s new website contains a link to the portal, The Weekly Journal reports that the Department still has some technical issues to work out.
Reminder:
The American Bar Association’s webinar, International Political Influence and Corruption in Elections: Will Recent Events Lead to Stricter U.S. Regulation? is available online. The webinar is a timely overview of the laws regulating foreign influence and corruption, and possible changes to come, was the topic of a well-received American Bar Association panel discussion moderated by Nielsen Merksamer Of Counsel Mike Columbo and featuring a presentation by Federal Elections Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub. The one-hour online CLE is available to ABA members free of charge and to the public for a fee, and may be accessed here: International Political Influence and Corruption in Elections.
In Case You Missed It:
- Bundling as a Workaround: The New York Daily News reports on an increasing use of bundling campaign contributions by developers and others who do business with New York City and, thus, are limited to $400 donations to mayoral candidates. The Daily News found that “(d)uring the last wide-open election in 2013, a whopping $1.7 million was bundled and given to candidates for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president and city council from 93 people doing business with the city at the time.” According to the report, “(t)welve people who have city business, prohibiting them from giving more than a few hundred bucks themselves, have already bundled $112,405 in donations for 2021 candidates.”
- FEC Struggles: The Federal Election Commission continues to struggle without a quorum. According to The Hill, “in the wake of the campaign finance violation charges leveled against two associates of Rudy Giuliani,” the Chair indicated that “there ‘may well be a lot of money that is slipping into our system that we just don’t know about.’” The Chair lamented that “(w)hen campaign finance issues are on the front pages of the newspaper every single day, this is a particularly bad time for the FEC not to have a quorum.”
- Democratic Lobbyists Squeezed: The Hill reports that “Democratic lobbyists find themselves in a tough spot, eager for their party to recapture the White House in 2020 but also bristling at the top-tier candidates’ attacks on K Street.” Lobbyists have pointed out that while candidate’s “proposals may be intended to target K Street’s biggest spenders, they could also silence voices for progressive causes.”
- Amazon Prime Election: More than 40 states use one or more of Amazon’s web services for election-related matters. According to Reuters, Amazon Web Services has quietly moved into the state and local election business and it “now runs state and county election websites, stores voter registration rolls and ballot data, facilitates overseas voting by military personnel and helps provide live election-night results, according to company documents and interviews.” The Democratic and Republican parties, Joe Biden, and the Federal Election Commission also use Amazon Web Services. The article points out the various benefits and risks to election users.
- Disclosure Dispute: The Legacy Foundation Action Fund is challenging the authority of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission to enforce campaign disclosure laws. Arizona Capitol Times reports that the group is challenging the $96,000 fine that the Commission imposed for the group’s failure to disclose its activity. The group asserted that its advertisements – aimed at the Mayor of Mesa, who was running for Governor – were not intended to influence the election; they were merely educational. A Maricopa County Judge upheld the fine; a Notice of Appeal was filed this week with Arizona Court of Appeals. The group has already been to the Arizona Supreme Court on this matter once, receiving an unfavorable decision.
- Quit While You are Ahead: A former county commissioner and senate candidate accused of fairly minor ethics violations settled a dispute with the Florida Ethics Commission by agreeing to pay a $500 fine and correct errors on his disclosure forms. “(N)one of the errors appeared intentional or malicious. Rather, they were the kind of errors candidates for office, especially novice candidates, make because of the somewhat labyrinthine nature of disclosure forms,” according to Flaglerlive.com. He subsequently refused to answer “a series of 27 basic questions seeking clarity about his previous candidacies and the forms he filed. He just had to admit or deny statements.” As a result, the proposed punishment has been increased to a $10,000 fine, along with a gubernatorial censure and reprimand.
- Beware Blackout-Period Hazards: The North Carolina Clean Energy Business Alliance, a lobbyist employer prohibited from soliciting contributions for legislators during a legislative session, sent out a solicitation for contributions to a legislator based on a favorable action he had taken just days before on a piece of legislation. WBTV reports that the organization sent an email to members asking for contributions up to the maximum allowed for the member’s opposition to a bill sponsored by Duke Energy. The organization believes it has the right to communicate with its members on any subject; the legislator says he will return any contributions received if the North Carolina Board of Elections rules the solicitation to be illegal.