Developments in Federal and State Campaign Finance, Lobbying, and Ethics Laws
Last week Michigan followed several states by increasing both contribution limits and frequency of disclosure from candidates. The bill, which took effect immediately, also includes new identification requirements for persons or groups paying for robocalls while exempting so-called “issue-ads” and their donors from being disclosed in campaign finance reports.
Contribution Limits and Disclosure
The …
Please join us for a webinar on January 16, 2014, at 1:00pm EST, which will provide a tune-up on government affairs compliance and examine recent trends. 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 and prepare for the …
The maximum contribution to Florida candidates has jumped from $500 to $3000 per election for candidates in statewide elections and from $500 to $1000 per election for state legislative candidates. The new limits took effect on November 1, part of a sweeping overhaul of the state’s campaign finance and ethics laws signed into law in …
On April 16, Ron Jacobs, Larry Norton, and Janice Ryan will host a program for nonprofits covering campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, and gift rule issues for trade associations, social welfare organizations, and charities. Perfect for those who have already seen our Political Law 101 session and want to learn answers to more advanced …
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.…
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…
On November 2, 2012, the District Court for the District of Columbia, two days after oral argument, upheld the long-standing ban on political contributions from federal government contractors. In Wagner v. Federal Election Commission, three independent contractors with various federal agencies argued that the ban on federal contractor contributions in section 441c of the…
Outside groups have become a potent political force in the 2012 election campaign. Unleashed by the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case and subsequent lower court rulings, such groups can raise unlimited sums from individuals and corporations for ads and other spending that is not “coordinated” with a candidate. The most dramatic example:…
When does an organization—such as a 527 committee or a 501(c)(4) organization— have to register with the FEC as a political committee and disclose its donors? The Fourth Circuit recently upheld the FEC’s rules that answer that very question.
In the past the answer was very important because a political committee could only accept individual…
