Latest Developments:
- Federal Campaign Finance Lawsuit Fails: Though it expressed sympathy, the Sixth Circuit felt constrained by U.S. Supreme Court precedent and rejected an attempt to overturn federal limits on political parties’ ability to coordinate spending with candidates.
- Coordination Settlement: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Oakland’s former mayor has agreed to pay $21,000 in penalties to settle claims that she violated election rules by failing to disclose her involvement in campaigns to pass a city ballot measure and defeat two incumbent City Council candidates; the Ethics Commission had recommended a fine of over $50,000.
- Oregon Investigates Reciprocal Donations: From OregonLive.com, the Oregon Secretary of State has demanded an investigation into whether Portland City Council and mayoral candidates agreed to reciprocate campaign contributions in an effort to obtain matching funds from the city even though giving contributions on a quid-pro-quo basis likely violates Oregon law.
- Irvine to Change Lobbying Rules: As reported by Voice of OC, the City of Irvine, CA, is in the process of changing its lobbying rules; the new framework will add revolving door restrictions, reduce the threshold from $10,000 per quarter to $1,000 per calendar month, and remove any compensation threshold for in-house lobbyists. The city will now require registration whenever there is more than one lobbying contact per City official per municipal issue and has added a $5,000 per year threshold for spending by expenditure lobbyists.
- New IRS Technical Guides: The IRS has published new technical guides, including one that provides examples of activities prohibited for a Section 501(c)(3) organization and explaining steps an organization should take to avoid an inadvertent violation.
Reminder:
- PLI Corporate Political Activities Conference: PLI hosted its annual comprehensive program September 19-20, co-chaired by Nielsen Merksamer, and led by an expert faculty of senior officials from the Federal Election Commission, the Department of Justice, corporate compliance officers, and private practitioners. Focal points include developments in national lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics rules. You can attend or view discussion panels online! Check out the top five take-aways on social media. Linked In
In Case You Missed It:
- Crypto Donations Set Records: Newsmax reports that donations from or in support of the crypto industry have hit a record $190 million this year, nearly double the amount from the 2022 midterms and 13 times higher than in the 2020 election.
- New Mexico Project Faces Contempt Charges: According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the New Mexico Project, which was ordered to register as a political committee and report its donors, has done neither, and it now faces possible contempt charges from a state court judge.
- Tennessee Governor Requests Ethics Ruling: From The Tennessean (Nashville), Governor Bill Lee has responded to criticism of his trip to Florida to speak at a conservative conference by asking the Tennessee Ethics Commission to clarify whether accepting such payments are allowed under state law and promising to repay the expenses if the conclusion is that they are not.
- Santa Clara County Reports Multiple Violations: As reported by the San Jose Spotlight, political committees across the county have failed to comply with disclosure rules, and Santa Clara county has produced a list of violators, many of whose violations date back to 2022 but have not been enforced because of a combination of backlogs and differing approaches to enforcement.