Latest Developments:
- Multnomah County, Oregon (County Seat: Portland) announced that it will implement campaign contribution limits. According to the release, a “Circuit Court judge has ruled that Multnomah County’s campaign contribution limits are constitutional and do not violate free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.” Accordingly, the “County Elections Division will implement the contribution limits. More information on implementation will be posted in the coming weeks…”
- The Pennsylvania Secretary of State added a page to its website explaining Lobbying Disclosure Equity Reports. The site includes FAQs, a link to the reporting site, and a reminder that the first reports are due October 7, 2021, for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2021.
Reminder:
Corporate Political Activities 2021 – Latest Developments: The Pracitising Law Institute (PLI) will conduct its annual two-day conference on October 12-13, 2021, both in-person and online. You may register here. Separately, Nielsen Merksamer clients will join together on September 9, 2021, in a virtual client workshop to discuss new developments in political law, to share experiences and best practices and to earn CLE credit. Clients can email Donna Flanagan for additional information.
In Case You Missed It:
- They Can Say They Tried: The Governor of Illinois, who previously announced his support for an ethics reform bill, SB 539, returned the bill to the state legislature. In his message, the Governor asked legislators to remove language that “confuses and interferes with the existing processes of the Executive Inspectors General.” He characterized the change as “one technical drafting error.” Although the Senate accepted the change, the house rejected the amendment, thus killing the legislation.
- Georgia Leadership Advantage: S. News & World Report points out that Georgia’s new law permitting unlimited spending by leadership committees is “described by analysts as an ‘incumbent protection scheme’” that offers “the current governor a massive advantage in a crucial race next year.” An incumbent may set up a leadership committee that is allowed to collect unlimited contributions from individuals at any time; a challenger can only set one up after becoming a nominee for the office.
- No-Bid Contracts for Contributors: The Associated Press reports that a former aide sued the Indiana State Treasurer alleging that she “violated state law in handing out contracts that paid more than $6 million to firms linked to her political supporters.” The article says that the lawsuit asserts that “contracts went to eight banks, a financial services company and the Indianapolis law firm Ice Miller. It says all 10 companies either directly contributed or had business ties with others who contributed to Mitchell’s 2014 or 2018 treasurer campaigns, or her unsuccessful 2020 run for Congress.”
- Repeal and Replace: Spectrum 1 News in Syracuse is reporting that, in the wake of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent resignation, certain good government groups are calling for wholesale replacement of the state’s ethics commission (JCOPE). JCOPE, created by the Cuomo administration a decade ago, “has long been criticized for lacking transparency in its decision making or investigation and pursuit of small-bore targets.” State legislators have proposed a constitutional amendment that would replace the commission…designed to be more independent [in which a] majority of the commission’s members would be appointed by the judiciary, not the legislature or the governor.”
- Nonprofits Fights for Anonymity: According to the Colorado Sun, “A deep-pocketed nonprofit that has directed millions of dollars to conservative causes in Colorado over the past two years is heading for a showdown with Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold over whether it can keep its donors secret.” The group is appealing a $40,000 fine for failing to disclose its donors in connection with $4 million it spent opposing three ballot initiatives in 2020.
- Detroit City Hall Corruption: The Federal Bureau of Investigation acknowledged that it searched Detroit City Hall and other locations “as part of an ongoing public corruption investigation.” The Detroit Daily News reveals that the investigation concerns city towing operations, bribery, and “secretly” paying for campaign advertising billboards.
- Non-Disclosure on Voluntary Disclosure Form: WBTV reports that the Charlotte City Manager, Economic Development Director, and several other City officials are in the process of resubmitting their conflict of interest disclosure forms after they “failed to disclose numerous organizations…[they are] involved with on government ethics forms.” One such conflict-of-interest concerns “a project that has gone past schedule and overbudget…[and] is being led by…a nonprofit for which [City Manager] Jones is a volunteer board member.” Curiously, however, “City ordinance does not require city employees or the City Manager to fill out the…form” although they do so voluntarily.