News Archive

Government affairs representatives, general counsels, and political compliance officers, will be invited to join Nielsen Merksamer on February 10, 2016 for a complimentary briefing on the top political compliance issues to watch and election priorities to track for 2016

Nielsen Merksamer political law partners Jason Kaune, Jennie Skelton, and Darrin Lim will discuss the latest developments in campaign finance regulation and political law enforcements at a major governmental ethics conference on December 6 – 9 in Boston, MA.

On November 17, 2015, Nielsen Merksamer voting rights, redistricting and initiative law partner Chris Skinnell spoke at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum at Claremont McKenna College regarding Evenwel v. Abbott, due to be argued before the United States Supreme Court on December 8, and its potential implications for redistricting and voting rights law.

On October 16, 2015, Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Barry Goode ruled that a referendum aimed at blocking a 36-unit in-fill development project in central Moraga is invalid on two grounds and therefore may not proceed to the ballot.

California Governor Jerry Brown closed out his legislative signing period by approving a flurry of bills that change the disclosure and reporting requirements for political and nonprofit groups active in the state.

On October 13, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court denied plaintiffs’ petition for certiorari in Rubin v. Padilla, a constitutional challenge by California’s “minor” political parties to California’s Proposition 14 (the Top Two Candidate Open Primary Act). The Court’s refusal to take up the petition means the Court of Appeal’s decision upholding the Act is now final. See Rubin v. Padilla, 233 Cal. App. 4th 1128 (2015).

Eases general law cities’ move to district-based voting in response to threatened litigation and signs bills to combat low voter turnout; vetoes other proposed voting rights bills.

Voters in San Francisco will have a crowded ballot to sort through at the upcoming City general election on November 3, 2015. In total, the fate of eleven measures will be decided at the ballot box on a variety of issues including affordable housing policies, lobbyist registration and reporting requirements, development plans, and renewable energy standards.

On September 10 and 11, Nielsen Merksamer attorneys will again speak at the Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) annual two-day conference Corporate Political Activities 2015: Complying with Campaign Finance, Lobbying and Ethics Laws.  Senior partner Chip Nielsen has co-chaired and co-organized this popular conference since 1977.  Jason Kaune, who heads the firm’s political law section, has served on the PLI faculty since 2000.

California cities and other jurisdictions have become familiar-some through expensive litigation-with the California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”) and its goal of invalidating at-large electoral systems that would not be vulnerable under the federal Voting Rights Act. The voting rights landscape in California could change again, radically, if one or more bills currently pending before the Legislature become law. For example, the “safe harbor” of single-member districts could be stripped away, while at the same time cities are forced into a district-based electoral system, and adjusting district boundaries is subjected to scrutiny and final approval by the California Secretary of State.