We read the news, cut through the noise and provide you the notes.
Welcome to Compliance Notes from Nossaman’s Government Relations & Regulation Group – a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes and court cases involving campaign finance, lobbying compliance, election law and government ethics issues at the federal, state and local level.
Please enjoy this installment of Compliance Notes.
Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance
At its open meeting the week of September 15, 2024, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved a Notice of Disposition of a rulemaking and a draft interpretive rule regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI) in campaign ads. The FEC approved a Petition for Rulemaking, filed on July 13, 2023, that asked the FEC to revise existing rules on the fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority to clarify that the related statutory prohibition applies to deliberately deceptive campaign ads using artificial intelligence. The FEC announced that it is not initiating a rulemaking. The FEC also approved an interpretive rule clarifying that the statutory provision at 52 USC § 30124 and 11 CFR 110.16 that prohibit fraudulent misrepresentation of campaign authority apply irrespective of the technology used to conduct fraudulent misrepresentation, including content generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence. (FEC Press Release) (Draft Notice of Disposition) (Draft Interpretive Rule)
Oregon: The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office is investigating four candidates for Portland City Council for swapping donations to help one another unlock thousands of dollars in city funding. Although the candidates say they swapped only small contributions of $5 to $20, the practice was intended to help campaigns gather 250 individual donations from Portland residents to unlock at least $40,000 through the city’s matching program. All four candidates told KATU they did not intend to manipulate the matching program but instead only wanted to show support for other candidates. (Barry Mangold, KATU)
Government Ethics & Transparency
California: The week of September 15, 2024, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three bills to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence to create false images or videos in political ads ahead of the 2024 election. A new law, set to take effect immediately, makes it illegal to create and publish deepfakes related to elections 120 days before Election Day and 60 days thereafter. It also allows courts to stop the distribution of the materials and impose civil penalties. Large social media platforms are also required to remove the deceptive material under a first-in-the-nation law set to be enacted next year. Newsom also signed a bill requiring political campaigns to publicly disclose if they are running ads with materials altered by AI. (Trân Nguyễn, AP News)
Ballot Measures & Elections
Utah: A Utah judge voided a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have enabled lawmakers to repeal all voter-led initiatives, ruling that the ballot language the legislature chose contained “glaring” omissions. The amendment, if passed, would have allowed Utah’s GOP-controlled legislature to ignore the anti-gerrymandering reforms that voters passed in 2018 and all future voter initiatives. While Judge Dianne Gibson allowed ballots to be printed with Amendment D on them, the judge declared the measure was “void and shall be given no effect.” The judge explained that the legislature must “accurately communicate the ‘subject matter’ of the proposed amendment to voters and to publish the text of the amendment in a newspaper in each county two months before the election. [The legislature] failed to do both.” (Erin Alberty, Axios)
