Effective today, corporations can now make unlimited campaign contributions directly to candidates in Alabama state and local elections. The Alabama legislature passed this law to remove the $500 per election cap on corporate contributions in May, but, as we previously covered, there was some ambiguity regarding when the law would take effect.
Angelle Smith Baugh
Angelle Smith Baugh is of counsel in the firm’s Election and Political Law and White Collar Litigation practice groups. She has significant experience in broad-based crisis management, advising clients on legal and political matters presenting complex risks.
Angelle's practice focuses on defending companies and individuals in high-profile congressional investigations, as well as other criminal, civil, and internal investigations. She represents clients before House and Senate Committees, as well as in criminal and civil government investigations before the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice, Federal Election Commission, and the Office of Congressional Ethics.
She assists companies and executives responding to formal and informal inquiries from Congress and executive branch agencies for documents, information, and testimony. She has experience preparing CEOs and other senior executives to testify before challenging congressional oversight hearings.
Angelle also has experience and expertise navigating federal and state ethics laws, and provides ongoing political law advice to companies, trade associations, PACs, and individuals.
Wisconsin Assembly Votes to Permit Corporate Independent Expenditures, Double Contribution Limits
Yesterday, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a bill that would modify Wisconsin’s ban on corporate expenditures and double the state’s political contribution limits. In response to Citizens United, the bill lifts Wisconsin’s blanket prohibition on corporate expenditures. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the bill would permit corporate independent expenditures and corporate…
New Alabama Law Allows Unlimited Corporate Campaign Contributions
New changes to Alabama law will allow corporations, like individuals, to make unlimited campaign contributions in Alabama state and local elections. Last Friday, Governor Robert Bentley signed the law which removes the $500 per election cap on corporate contributions. (The Alabama Attorney General’s Office interpreted the $500 per election cap to mean corporate contributions to…
Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Campaign Finance Enforcement Hearing
This morning the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing on “Current Issues in Campaign Finance Law Enforcement.” The focus of the hearing was what the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service are doing to enforce campaign finance law violations post-Citizens United with respect to contributions to Super PACs…
Georgia Legislature Limits Gifts from Lobbyists
Last night the Georgia legislature reached a compromise and passed new gift laws with no time to spare before the end of the legislative session. The fate of the changes to the gift rule was in limbo earlier this week when the House passed a complete ban on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers and the…
Georgia: New Ethics Rules Really on Their Mind?
Revisions to Georgia’s gift rules, which seemed a near certainty earlier in the year, have stalled as the legislative clock runs out this week. Georgia law currently imposes no limit on gifts to state legislators. In the 2012 primaries, Georgia voters overwhelming supported a non-binding ballot initiative calling for a $100 cap on gifts and…
Gift Rule Refinements Percolating In New York
This week, the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE), which is refining New York’s ethics rules, found itself debating whether a cup of coffee is an item of “nominal value.”
What constitutes an item of “nominal value” can be a challenging question, especially if it is not defined by a dollar amount. …
Hosting an Inauguration Reception? Beware the Gift Rules.
Inauguration Day may be a holiday in DC, but the congressional and executive branch gift rules still apply. Today, the House Committee on Ethics issued guidance to House Members and staff regarding Inauguration events. Today’s House guidance offered some clarity regarding who may pay for and who may attend certain kinds of events, specifically:
- Member
…
Proposed New York Regulation Worries Trade Associations
A proposed New York regulation would force trade associations to disclose the full dues payment of any member who pays over $5,000 in dues – and trade associations are not happy about it.
Trade associations are joining forces to scale back proposed ethics regulations implementing ethics reform legislation New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) signed…
Fifty Shades of Lobbying
Personal relationships between lobbyists and government employees can be tricky — especially in Washington where many people work for the government. Lobbyists face many odd questions when managing their personal relationships with government employees. Can you invite old friends to your company suite at Nationals Stadium? Can you bring a gift to a wedding? Can…