Essential Ethics

Latest Developments: The President-Elect of the United States’ Inaugural Committee is in business and accepting donations. However, the Committee’s donation page makes clear that it “does not accept contributions from lobbyists,… foreign agents…. or fossil fuel companies, their executives, or from…

Latest Developments: The United States Senate Rules and Administration Committee held a hearing on three nominees to the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday. The President nominated Shana M. Broussard, Sean J. Cooksey, and Allen Dickerson to fill empty seats on the…

Latest Developments: The Supreme Court of the United States, on Monday Nov. 9th, refused to grant cert to a case “challenging the legality of super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in…

Latest Developments: Oregon Voters approved Measure 107, which permits the state legislature and local governments in Oregon to enact laws to “limit contributions made in connection with political campaigns or to influence the outcome of any election…” It also…

Latest Developments: The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics met and considered revisions to the Comprehensive Lobbying Regulations. The newest revisions are subject to formal notice and the state’s rule-making process and will be put through a new 45-day…

Latest Developments: The Michigan Secretary of State released inflation-adjusted lobby reporting thresholds, fees, and penalties for 2021. The changes include an increase in the threshold that requires registration from expenditures of more than $2,535 in a 12-month period to…

Latest Developments:  The United States Department of State issued a release requesting that U.S. “think tanks and other foreign policy organizations that wish to engage with the Department disclose prominently on their websites funding they receive from foreign governments,…

Latest Developments: The California Fair Political Practices Commission has proposed a series of regulations that would adjust contribution and gift limits in the state, beginning January 1, 2021. The commission will hold a hearing on the regulations at its…

Latest Developments: The Arizona Court of Appeals decided The Arizona Advocacy Network Foundation v. State of Arizona, which reinstates a statute that limits the Citizens Clean Elections Commission’s ability to require disclosure of political spending by nonprofit organizations. The…

Latest Developments: The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics approved a new Advisory Opinion regarding gifts to third parties, including gifts from interested sources, that are solicited by public officials (also known as behested payments).  In addition, the Albany…