The following summarizes the periodic reporting requirements under Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Rhode Island laws for certain corporate entities to file reports regarding their business...more
On February 2, 2021, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced new federal campaign contribution limits in accordance with the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, which requires the FEC to adjust certain federal...more
On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order, “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel,” requiring certain appointees to sign an ethics pledge (Biden Pledge). Similar to presidential ethics...more
2/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Ethics ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Governments ,
Gifts ,
Golden Parachutes ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbying Disclosure Act ,
OMB ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Trump Administration
In light of the events at the Capitol on January 6, many companies have been reevaluating their political giving and the use of political action committees. The nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics has been tracking the...more
The next quarterly update required under the Illinois pay-to-play law is due August 14, 2020. As described in earlier mailings, this law requires many companies with aggregate annual state bids, proposals and contracts...more
On June 25, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Jack Abramoff intends to plead guilty to criminal violations of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), in what is the first known criminal prosecution under...more
7/1/2020
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbying Disclosure Act ,
Lobbyists ,
Marijuana ,
Political Campaigns ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Transparency
In an attempt to further curb foreign influence in U.S. elections, there is a recent trend among states and localities to propose legislation restricting political spending by corporations with foreign owners. Existing...more
5/6/2020
/ Corporate Contributions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Local Ordinance ,
PACs ,
Political Contributions ,
Presidential Elections ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Bans ,
State Legislatures
Below we summarize findings from a recent report on Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) compliance and remind you of an upcoming LDA deadline....more
In light of recent news reports on stock trades made by certain senators after they received intelligence briefings on the COVID-19 crisis, we want to remind you of the provisions of the Stop Trading on Congressional...more
As federal, state and local governments grapple with the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of jurisdictions have modified certain ethics, lobbying and campaign finance requirements in response to the crisis. Below, we describe...more
3/27/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Donations ,
Electronic Filing ,
Ethics ,
Executive Orders ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Gifts ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Late Fees ,
Lobbying ,
PACs ,
Political Contributions ,
Public Officials ,
Relief Measures ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State of Emergency
Below, please find a summary of notable political law developments in New York, Texas and the city of Los Angeles.
New York State Reduces Contribution Limits Beginning in November 2022 -
Late last year, the New York...more
2/27/2020
/ Campaign Contributions ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
City of Los Angeles ,
City Planning Departments ,
Contribution Limits ,
Ethics Commission ,
General Elections ,
Land Developers ,
Lobbying ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Primary Elections ,
Public Officials ,
State and Local Government ,
State Elections ,
State Legislatures
The following describes periodic pay-to-play reporting requirements under Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island laws. Certain corporate entities must file reports regarding their business relationships...more
2/12/2020
/ Affiliates ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
Corporate Entities ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Requirements ,
PACs ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Contributions ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
Now that the calendar has flipped to 2020, planning and fundraising efforts are intensifying in advance of this summer’s national party conventions. ...more
On June 25, the Preventing Adversaries Internationally from Disbursing Advertising Dollars Act (the bill) was introduced in the U.S. Senate. The bill proposes expansions of existing prohibitions on political activities of...more
On February 7, 2019, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced new federal campaign contribution limits. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 requires the FEC to adjust certain federal contribution limits every...more
The following describes the periodic reporting requirements under five state laws for certain corporate entities to file reports regarding their business relationships with these states, as well as their political...more
2/11/2019
/ CEOs ,
Corporate Entities ,
Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Deadlines ,
PACs ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Contractors
On January 14, 2019, the New York state legislature passed A. 776 (the bill), which is designed to close the “LLC loophole” in state campaign contribution laws that treats LLCs as individuals, rather than corporations. New...more
With heightened attention to investment and depository rules as well as increased enforcement of federal and state pay-to-play rules, registered investment advisers (RIAs) and broker-dealers should address the unique legal...more
1/23/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Contingency Fees ,
Custody Rule ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Gifts ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Lobbying ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Personal Liability ,
Political Contributions ,
Public Officials ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State and Local Government ,
State Contractors ,
Work Restrictions
On Election Day in 2018, voters in three states approved amendments to rules involving a variety of ethics reforms involving lobbying, contributions and gifts....more
12/21/2018
/ Amended Legislation ,
Ballot Measures ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
Charter Amendments ,
City Councils ,
Constitutional Amendment ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cooling-Off Rule ,
Ethics ,
General Assembly ,
Gifts ,
Lobbying ,
Local Ordinance ,
PACs ,
Political Contributions ,
Public Officials ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
The Maryland State Board of Elections recently sent out a notice to pay-to-play law filers for whom it is missing an Initial Report....more
Below please find a discussion of recent lobbying developments in the District of Columbia and Boston, Massachusetts....more
Now that the 2018 midterm elections are over, we must contend with legal issues that arise from activities related to federal, state and local inaugural and transition committees, as well as recounts and runoff elections. As...more
11/14/2018
/ 501(c)(3) ,
501(c)(4) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
CFTC ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consultants ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Gifts ,
General Elections ,
Inauguration Committees ,
Lobbying ,
MSRB ,
Municipalities ,
PACs ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Political Parties ,
Recount Committees ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Election ,
State and Local Government ,
State Elections ,
State Procurement Contracts ,
Transition Team
Below, please find a discussion of recent developments in New Hampshire
and New York.
New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Office of the Attorney General recently has indicated that, going forward, it will interpret state...more
10/31/2018
/ Campaign Finance Reform ,
Corporate Contributions ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbyists ,
New Legislation ,
PACs ,
Political Contributions ,
Popular ,
Public Employee Retirement Funds ,
Registration Requirement ,
Solicitation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General
This mailing summarizes Missouri's new requirements for certain federal PACs and Maine's new requirement that lobbyists attend in-person anti-harassment training....more
Recently, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) noted in its quarterly compliance newsletter dated June 8, 2018 that it has “compliance concerns” regarding issuer-solicited charitable donations. The MSRB’s...more