With the change of Presidential Administrations and with a new Congress, many current federal government officials and employees – whether elected, appointed, or hired – are exploring employment opportunities in the private...more
12/2/2024
/ Communication Restrictions ,
Ethics ,
Executive Branch ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Elections ,
Government Agencies ,
Integrity Policies ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbying Disclosure Act ,
Post-Employment Communications ,
Rules of Professional Conduct ,
U.S. House ,
Work Restrictions
While this November’s election is over, many organizations remain politically active in between the general election and the time that newly elected and re-elected officials take office. In fact, many individuals and...more
11/21/2024
/ Campaign Funds ,
CFTC ,
Donations ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Federal Elections ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
General Elections ,
Inauguration Committees ,
Lobbying Disclosure Act ,
MSRB ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transitional Arrangements
North Carolina recently enacted House Bill 237, which now permits federal PACs and political organizations (527s) to contribute to North Carolina candidates and political committees without registering or reporting as a state...more
If there are two political law compliance issues that perennially bedog federal, state, and local government contractors, it is the myriad of state and local pay-to-play laws and procurement lobbying laws. In the FAQs below,...more
Under new joint guidance issued by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics, Committee on House Administration, and Communications Standards Commission, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives may officially co-sponsor certain...more
Despite major “reforms” to New Jersey’s pay-to-play laws in 2023, certain state and local government contractors doing business in New Jersey still must file the Business Entity Annual Disclosure Statement by April 1, 2024....more
After months of controversy, the U.S. Supreme Court has adopted its first-ever Code of Conduct for Justices. Each of the nine Justices agreed to the code and signed on to an accompanying joint statement acknowledging that the...more
West Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, and Kentucky are some of the latest states to update their laws related to donor disclosure. The updates follow a recently passed Arizona ballot measure, reported in Election Law News last...more
The Chicago Board of Ethics took up an unprecedented number of enforcement matters at last month’s meeting addressing potential violations of the City’s prohibition on use of city property in campaign advertisements. The...more
As reported in the November 2022 issue of Election Law News, California expanded its state pay-to-play law effective January 1, 2023. Contributions to local elected officials are now covered by the special pay-to-play...more
Arizonans overwhelmingly approved a statewide ballot measure in last week’s election requiring groups making independent expenditures in the state to reveal the “original source” of funding. The additional disclosure will be...more
The federal requirements surrounding certain election-related communications leading up to the general election are currently in effect through November 8, 2022. The 90-day coordinated communications period and 60-day...more
New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) adopted its first comprehensive lobbying regulations in 2018. However, the legal effect of these regulations had been unclear following a litigation settlement between...more
New laws and court wins out of several states are favoring more campaign finance disclosure.
The Tennessee General Assembly recently passed a bill requiring politically-active 501(c)(4) organizations – often referred to...more
The Alaska Public Offices Commission declined to adopt contribution limits following last summer’s Ninth Circuit decision invalidating the state’s previous limits. The court struck down Alaska’s prior $500 per year limit on...more
The District of Columbia’s long-awaited pay-to-play law will take effect on November 9, 2022, after over two years of delay. The District’s pay-to-play law was originally set to go into effect on November 4, 2020, but was...more
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission recently adopted several regulations aimed at increasing disclosure related to charitable donations made at the request of elected officials – a practice known as “behested...more
The North Dakota Ethics Commission implemented an exception to the lobbyist gift ban that now allows a lobbyist to purchase food or beverage valued at 10 dollars or less, excluding gratuity, for a public official in...more
Colorado. The Colorado Secretary of State recently adopted permanent rules regulating lobbying of its independent redistricting and reapportionment commissions. The new permanent rules replace a set of temporary rules that...more
Benchmark Construction Company, Inc., which regularly does business with the city of Chicago, was fined $5,000 for excessive contributions to a Chicago council member’s political committee. The fine comes after the company...more
During the 2020 election cycle, Nevadan James Kyle Bell solicited over 42,000 individuals via email to contribute to political committees purportedly supporting Donald Trump and Joe Biden. According to the U.S. Department of...more
In February 2021, the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission issued substantial fines, totaling $162,500, for the failure of two entities and affiliated individuals to register as lobbyists and file disclosure reports in...more