When the owner of a business runs for public office, he or she has to be careful not to use the assets of the business for the campaign. In the past, this issue has come up when the business owner uses money from a business account, uses customer mailing lists, or business equipment in a
FEC
Donor Disclosure: Will FEC’s Dismissal of Complaint Usher in More Secrecy in 2014?
By Lawrence H. Norton & Margaret Rohlfing on
With donors now allowed to give unlimited sums to Super PACs and other political advocacy groups, the biggest issue in campaign finance regulation is what such groups must disclose about their fundraising and spending, and when. Some states have moved aggressively to bolster their disclosure rules, with a couple of states filing suit to force …
Oral Arguments at the D.C. Circuit Signal Delay in Decision on Federal Ban on Government Contractor Contributions
By Margaret Rohlfing on
On May 16, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held oral arguments in the case challenging the long-standing ban on federal government contractor political contributions, Wagner v. Federal Election Commission. Last fall, a lower federal court upheld the ban, in section 441c of the Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”), finding…
A Lester, What’s a Lester?
By Ronald M. Jacobs on
Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig is well known for his work on intellectual property issues, having developed the Creative Commons licensing system. For the past several years, however, he has been focused on political corruption and the role of money in politics.
Professor Lessig recently gave a TED Talk, in which he …
Think Your Advocacy Group is Not Subject to FEC Rules? Think Again.
By Lawrence H. Norton on
A federal court last week ruled that a small nonprofit, formed under Wyoming law to advocate positions on various political issues, may have to include certain federally-mandated disclosures on its ads and fundraising appeals, and may even have to register and report as a federal political committee.
The ruling is an important reminder that advocacy…
The Ban on Corporate Contributions Survives for Now
By Ronald M. Jacobs & Lawrence H. Norton on
The Supreme Court announced today that it will not hear a case challenging the longstanding federal ban on corporate contributions. The case involved promises by a CEO that his corporation would reimburse employees for contributing to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign. The trial court held that the ban on corporate contributions was unconstitutional in the…
McCutcheon and State Contribution Limits: Collateral Targets
By Lawrence H. Norton & Ronald M. Jacobs on
While the landmark Citizens United case concerned only the federal ban on the financing of election ads by corporations, the Supreme Court’s ruling implicitly struck down a host of similar state laws. That’s because the Court decided that a ban on political expenditures that are not coordinated with candidates or parties violates the U.S. Constitution.…
Contribution Limits in Limbo?
By Ronald M. Jacobs & Lawrence H. Norton on
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…
Candidates and Super PACs: A Complicated Relationship
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…
The FEC Increases the Lobbyist Bundling Threshold
By Ronald M. Jacobs & Lawrence H. Norton on
Last week the FEC increased the reporting threshold for contributions bundled by lobbyists to $17,100 (up from $16,700).
These bundling reports are required of authorized federal candidate committees, leadership PACs, and political party committees if the “reporting committee” receives two or more bundled contributions that exceed the $17,100 threshold.
A bundled contribution is any contribution…