Essential Ethics

Latest Developments: The Supreme Court of Washington State issued its decision on Washington v. Grocery Manufacturers Association, which reinstates an extraordinary $18 million fine.  In the trial court, the GMA was found to have violated the state’s…

Latest Developments: The United States Government Accountability Office released its report on 2019 Lobbying Disclosure.  The report to congressional committees analyzes the accuracy of a sample of lobbying reports but does not make any recommendations. COVID-19 Update:  Many…

Latest Developments: COVID-19 Update:  Many Regulatory Agencies have modified their practices in response to the COVID-19 emergency.  Some agencies have postponed hearings and are closed to the public, but available by telephone or internet.  Each…

Latest Developments: COVID-19 Update:  Many Regulatory Agencies have modified their practices in response to the COVID-19 emergency.  Some agencies have postponed hearings and are closed to the public, but available by telephone or internet.  Each…

Latest Developments: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in Campaign Legal Center, et. al v. F.E.C. upheld the Federal Election Commission’s exercise of prosecutorial discretion to not retroactively punish contributions made by LLCs and…

Latest Developments: The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration held its hearing on the nomination of James E. Trainor III to serve on the Federal Election Commission.  Rollcall reports that “Senators are likely to vote on his nomination in the…

Latest Developments: The President of the United States approved Senate Bill 394, which revises the 1963 Presidential Transition Act and adds an ethics agreement provision.  Government Executive Media reports that the nonpartisan bill is designed to “clarify the General…

Latest Developments: The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics met this week and, among other things, unveiled proposed amendments to its Comprehensive Lobby Regulation.  As we previously reported, the major changes center on grassroots lobbying, including social…

Latest Developments: A United States District Court Judge indicated that he would uphold most of San Francisco’s recent ballot measure, which requires additional disclaimers on political advertising.  According to Courthouse News Services, the judge noted that “requiring…

Latest Developments: The Internal Revenue Service held a hearing on Proposed Regulation 102508-16.  That regulation clarifies that 501(c)(4) organizations are not required to report information about their donors of more than $5,000.  According to the IRS analysis, “The proposed regulations would…