David E. Owens

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Since the early days of the internet, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has kept its hands off of unpaid online political expression. Though federal campaign finance law generally treats paid online communications as something of value subject to contribution limits and public disclosure, the FEC has long carved out an exception for internet communications that are not “placed for a fee.” With the rise of social media, this “internet exemption”—originally intended to protect expression on personal blogs in the early 2000s—has given campaigns, businesses, and political organizations significant leeway to produce and distribute political messages online. In recent years, some groups have tested the outer limits of the exemption, treating all costs that could conceivably support an unpaid online post as exempt from regulation, including not only the costs to produce the content posted online, but also less direct “input costs,” like consultant travel, surrogate media training, and event production. The FEC initially continued its hands-off approach, declining to rein in this broad interpretation, but in light of a recent federal court decision, groups may soon need to reevaluate their assessment of which activities really are exempt.Continue Reading FEC to Reconsider Regulation of Free Online Political Advocacy

As summer draws near, the tempo of the planning and fundraising for the DNC and RNC national party presidential nominating conventions is increasing. After the challenges and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, both parties are eager for a return to robust in-person attendance. For corporations, trade associations, and other nonprofit organizations seeking to host events or to provide support for the conventions, understanding the legal guardrails is essential.

House and Senate Gift Rules Apply to the Conventions

There is no special gift rule exception for convention events. All events to which federal legislators and congressional staff are invited must comply with House and Senate gift rules. Convention event planners and sponsors should be particularly mindful of the following events and items that the gift rules expressly allow:Continue Reading A Guide to Supporting the 2024 Presidential Nominating Conventions: From Hosting Events to Writing a Check

A federal government contractor has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $125,000 for making prohibited contributions to super PACs. The penalty is the largest the Federal Election Commission has obtained for violating the ban on federal contractor contributions.

According to settlement documents made public earlier this month, a Florida-based disaster response firm made contributions…

Companies that do business with state and local governments are subject to a wide array of laws restricting their political contributions, as well as the personal political contributions of their owners, officers, and some employees. These laws are known as pay-to-play laws because they are aimed at severing the relationship — or the appearance of a relationship — between a contribution (the “pay”) and the award of a government contract (the “play”).

Violations of pay-to-play laws — even a single, inadvertent political contribution — can result in costly bid disqualifications, voided contracts, and damaging publicity.

In approaching compliance, government contractors should do a risk assessment that takes into account where the company does business with government agencies, whether its contracts are covered by relevant laws, and where its employees live. For many companies, pre-clearing contributions and political fundraising (which some laws also cover) and training affected personnel are essential elements of an effective compliance plan. Also, companies should adopt protocols for registration and reporting to state election boards, as there are some pay-to-play laws that impose such requirements instead of, or on top of, contribution restrictions.

Pay-to-play laws vary across jurisdictions; we have outlined the broad requirements and highlighted certain relevant updates but encourage consultation with our political law attorneys to customize a compliance plan for your particular needs.Continue Reading Pay-to-Play Laws Remain in the Spotlight: Government Contract Eligibility Hinges on Awareness and Compliance

The Lobbying Disclosure Act Guidance (Guidance) issued by the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate was updated on June 15. The updates clarify currently existing provisions of the LDA, add additional examples, replace references to the LDA with hyperlinked citations to the U.S. Code, and remove references to Line numbers (the online reporting platform does not have Line numbers for drafting reports, but the final version of the reports available on the House and Senate websites still have Line numbers).  The Guidance is available here. A brief discussion of the changes to the Guidance is below:
Continue Reading Revisions to the Lobbying Disclosure Act Guidance: What These Changes Mean for You

year-end-reportsJanuary is always a busy month for filing lobbying and campaign finance reports. It is also a good time to think about changes for the upcoming year that might simplify filing obligations.

•  State Lobbying Reports. Most states require year-end reports to be filed at some point in January. Many also require re-registration or renewal of registration for the next year. Pay attention to deadlines, and think about where you are likely to be active in 2016. Perhaps it is time to de-register or let your registration lapse if you will not be active in a particular state. Different states have different thresholds for when registration and reporting are required, so be sure to consider how what you are doing matches what is required.
Continue Reading PAC and Lobbying Deadlines Loom Large in January—and a Chance to Get Organized