Essential Ethics

Latest Developments: The Illinois First District Court of Appeal upheld Cook County’s restrictions on campaign contributions from lobbyists and persons seeking official actions from the county. In Berrios v. Cook County Board of Commissioners, the County Assessor…

Latest Developments: A State Court in Nashville has enjoined Tennessee’s Pre-Election Blackout Period: In Tennesseans for Sensible Election Laws v. Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance et al, 18-0821-III, plaintiffs sought to make contributions within 10…

Latest Developments: The Oklahoma Ethics Commission, at its meeting on Friday, September 14, unanimously adopted Ethics Rule Amendment 2019-03, which consists of revolving door provisions that prohibit elected officials and agency heads from lobbying for two years following their service. The…

Latest Developments: The Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision and upheld the California Attorney General’s requirement that nonprofit organizations that engage in political spending must disclose their donors to the state, as…

Latest Developments: The Federal Election Commission is touting a campaign safety information program established by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI program, called “Protected Voices,” is intended to raise awareness among campaigns of the risk of…

Latest Developments: Among the recollections of the late Sen. John McCain’s legislative achievements, NPR ran a segment on the Senator’s impact on Campaign Finance, including his essential role in the so-called Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002,…

Latest Developments: The Governor of New York signed SB 4761, which bans the use of placement agents, including registered lobbyists, who seek to obtain investments by the New York State Common Retirement Fund.  The bill takes effect immediately. The…

Latest Developments: A United States District Court Judge in Wyoming found the state’s ban on campaign robocalls to be unconstitutional.  According to Government.com, the ban on political calls was far more restrictive than the limits on commercial robocalls. …

Latest Developments: A federal District Court Judge in Washington, D.C. issued a 113-page opinion invalidating a 38-year old Federal Election Commission regulation that required any person’s federal Independent Expenditure Report to only disclose contributors to the ad addressed by that report….

Latest Developments: The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) met on July 31.  The Commission highlighted its efforts to educate the public on the new lobby regulations that take effect on January 1.  The…