Latest Developments:
- The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission approved an increase in contribution limits. The new limits are: $7,600 for each primary and general election for statewide offices, $4,500 for each runoff election for statewide offices, $3,000 each for primary and general election for legislative and local offices, and $1,600 for each runoff election for legislative and local offices. The amounts are in the aggregate, per election cycle. The increases are effective immediately.
- The New Hampshire Attorney General issued “guidance on our interpretation and enforcement of our State’s lobbyist laws related to reporting.” The guidance focuses on in-house lobbyists and provides that “permitting an individual or entity to avoid registration and reporting simply because the nature of his/her/its employment is primarily for a non-lobbying purpose would frustrate the intent of the statute.”
- The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics has another new Chair this month, Jose Nieves, who is a criminal defense attorney from Queens. The Commission held a meeting almost exclusively in executive session and, when it returned to public session, announced that it had retained independent counsel to “conduct an inquiry into the legal and procedural operations of the Commission.”
- The San Francisco Ethics Commission issued its report on Gifts to City Departments. The Commission’s review of gift laws comes “In light of the recent corruption allegations brought by federal and local agencies against City officials and contractors…” The recommendations in the report largely center on further limiting gifts from “restricted sources” and requiring additional disclosure. Specifically, the recommendations are aimed at prohibiting gifts to any city official that pass through an intermediary from what is otherwise a restricted source for that official.
Reminder:
Corporate Political Activities 2021 – Latest Developments: The Pracitising Law Institute (PLI) will conduct its annual two-day conference on October 12-13, 2021, both in-person and online. You may register here.
In Case You Missed It:
- Resignation for Campaign Finance Violations: According to ABC13 WHAM, the Mayor of Rochester, New York resigned from office, effective December 1, as part of a plea agreement in which she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of “accepting donations over the state limits in (her) 2017 re-election campaign.” Her attorney “said any mishandling of campaign funds was not intentional.”
- Campaign Committee and Lobbying Don’t Mix: The Columbia Missourian reports that the Missouri Ethics Commission told the current Mayor of Columbia, who is also a registered lobbyist, to “terminate his campaign committee.” The Mayor is not running for reelection, and state law “requires that registered lobbyists must dissolve their candidate committees and that the campaign money should be returned to donors or contributed to a nonprofit group or political party committee.”
- Oregon Congressional Candidate’s Funds Questioned: According to ABC News, a former Member of Congress, who lost in 2020, donated leftover campaign funds to a veteran’s nonprofit that he created. Instead of aiding veterans, the money has been used to nurture his “political ambitions, providing $65,000, records show, to his 2022 bid for a rematch with longtime Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio.” According to the article, “the transfer of $65,000 from [his] nonprofit to his campaign was listed as a ‘refund’ in filings…”
- Georgia Rethinks Ban on Campaign Funds for Security: The Georgia Recorder notes that “seven years ago, the state ethics commission ruled candidates and officeholders could not use campaign funds to help secure their homes.” However, following several serious incidents, including what one official described as “a torrent of abuse, attacks & death threats,” the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission appears ready to approve a new advisory opinion at its next meeting in December permitting the use of campaign funds for home security.
- Free Lunch Program: The Associated Press reports that “Free lunches earn business access to New Mexico lawmakers.” New Mexico legislators receive no salary; they only receive a per diem for travel expenses. As a result, “staff and legislators depend on food during the legislative sessions and interim committee hearings.” The article notes that the buying legislators’ lunch is “a legal and a frequent practice that some people find unappetizing.” But one watchdog group explained that “as long as they are disclosed, it’s legal for companies to buy legislators lunches and give gifts.”