Latest Developments:
- California Pay-to-Play Law Amended: SB 1243 and SB 1181 have been signed by the Governor and will make the following changes to the state’s pay-to-play law (known as the Levine Act) applicable to local and appointed officials as of January 1, 2025: the threshold for contributions triggering disclosure and disqualification will increase from $250 to $500; new exceptions will be available for procurement and development agreements; contributions of agents and parties will be disaggregated but agents will be subject to an outright ban on contributions; and the period to cure a violation during the 12 months after the date of a final decision adjusts from 14 days to 30 days. We expect further regulations and clarifications to be forthcoming from the Fair Political Practices Commission.
- California Deepfakes Law Blocked: A federal judge has blocked implementation of California’s AB 2839, which aims to regulate a broad spectrum of election-related content that is “materially deceptive” in the form of AI and deepfakes; the court found that the law does not use the least restrictive means available for advancing the State’s interest. Meanwhile, Axios reports that at least 26 states have passed or are considering bills regulating the use of generative AI in election-related communications, and bipartisan federal legislation about AI has been introduced, but no federal laws on this topic have passed.
- Federal Judicial Ethics Rule Clarification: The U.S. Judicial Conference’s Committee on Financial Disclosure has issued a revised ethics rule stating that U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges on lower courts do not have to publicly disclose when they dine or stay at someone’s personal residence, when certain conditions have been met, even if the residence is owned by a business entity.
- DC Fee Changes: The District of Columbia’s Board of Ethics and Governmental Accountability has announced changes, including the increase of initial registration fees from $250 to $350 (from $50 to $100 for nonprofits), the civil penalty increases from $10 to $100 a day, and all registered lobbyists and clients must now timely file all registration forms and activity reports or face a $100 penalty for each day the filing is late, up to $6,000.
In Case You Missed It:
- Mayor Adams Indicted: New York City mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, on the allegation that he took bribes and solicited illegal campaign contributions.
- Federal Legislative Ethics and Events: Politico reports that although federal rules generally bar lobbyists from playing a significant role in organizing or participating in trips sponsored by corporate entities, these rules do not apply to nonprofits, with the result that U.S. representatives and their staff have taken at least 17,000 trips since 2012 that were paid for by private parties, many of them nonprofits with ties to lobbyists and special interests.
- $4.1 Million Pay-to-Play Fine: From the San Diego Union Tribune, a judge has sentenced a Virginia-based defense contracting firm to pay more than $4.1 million in fines and forfeitures as part of a corruption scandal in which one of the firm’s executives bribed a civilian employee from San Diego’s Naval Information Warfare Center in exchange for millions of dollars in government contracts.
- $6 Million Robocall Fine: Reuters reports that the FCC has finalized a $6 million fine against a political consultant over fake robocalls that mimicked President Joe Biden’s voice, urging New Hampshire voters not to vote in that state’s Democratic primary.