Significant campaign finance reform legislation cleared the Maryland House of Delegates Thursday, and is now under consideration by a committee of the Maryland Senate. The Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2013 (HB 1499 and SB 1039) responds to recommendations of the recently convened Maryland Commission to Study Campaign Finance Law. The bill addresses

Last week Qualcomm and New York State’s Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, announced that Qualcomm will begin posting its political spending on its website. In exchange, the NY Comptroller has agreed to drop the lawsuit it filed against the company.

As described here, last month the NY Comptroller sued Qualcomm on behalf of the state’s pension

The Federal Election Commission not only limits how much an individual can give to a particular candidate, PAC, or party committee, it also limits the aggregate amount an individual can give to all federal political committees during a two-year period (the aggregate biennial limit).

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court accepted a case challenging

In the wake of the 2012 elections, questions linger about what kinds of relationships are permissible between a candidate and an independent-expenditure only group (i.e., a Super PAC). In planning their activities, Super PACs may consider using a photo of the candidate from a campaign ad or website, or even approaching candidates and

We hope you will join us for a webinar on February 27 at 1:00, called Political Law 101. We will cover all the major topics you need to be thinking about as you ramp up for lobbying the new Congress and state legislatures, host site visits and other events, and prepare for the next election

The New York State comptroller filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm on behalf of the New York State pension fund, a major Qualcomm shareholder and the country’s third largest public institutional investor, seeking access to the company’s records to determine how it is spending corporate funds in the political arena.

According to the novel complaint, which

On December 11, New York’s attorney general revealed new regulations that would, if adopted, require nonprofit groups doing business in New York to disclose the percentage of total spending devoted to political activities in New York. The rules also would require groups that spend more than $10,000 to identify any donor giving $100 or more.

Many “political” organizations have 501(c)(4) arms that claim to allow their donors to remain anonymous. Donors who don’t mind being disclosed often give to independent expenditure committees (“super PACs”), which publicly disclose all of their donors to state or federal officials. Those who prefer not to disclose their name, address, occupation, and employer will often

The landmark Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case paved the way for explosive growth in political spending during the 2012 election cycle.  However, for government contractors and their principals, a growing number of “pay-to-play” laws restrict political contributions and fundraising, and can result in severe penalties, including the loss of contracts. Venable has

Americans for Responsible Leadership (“ARL”), a Phoenix-based nonprofit organization, disclosed its donors today in response to a ruling late yesterday from California’s highest court. The suit to enforce a new California disclosure regulation was filed by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”). According to the FPPC, the contribution was funneled to ARL from two