Last year, we blogged about a new and highly restrictive disclosure law in New Jersey that took aim at so-called “dark money” spending by nonprofit and political organizations. In response to a series of lawsuits, a federal court has issued an order permanently prohibiting the state from enforcing the law
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State Law
New Online Political Advertising Rules Coming to California January 1
Amid ongoing focus on how social media and other companies approach online advertising, California’s latest effort to require disclosure of online advertising will take effect January 1. We blogged on these revisions to the California DISCLOSE Act, sometimes called the Social Media DISCLOSE Act, when they passed back in 2018. …
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California Poised to Adopt Campaign Contribution Limits for City and County Elections
The California legislature passed a new law this week that, if signed by the Governor, would impose campaign contribution limits on city and county elections in the state. Under current law, cities and counties may adopt their own contribution limits, but most have not. According to the legislature, this has…
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New Jersey, Colorado Join Growing List of States Regulating “Dark Money”
So-called “dark money” — political contributions and spending by groups that do not have to disclose their donors — continues to draw the attention of state legislators, with Colorado and New Jersey recently adopting laws that attempt to force some donor disclosure from the groups. They join other states, including…
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California Social Media DISCLOSE Act Becomes Law, Takes Effect 2020
Earlier this week, California Gov. Jerry Brown approved the Social Media Disclose Act, to take effect in 2020. We previously blogged about the Social Media DISCLOSE Act, which will place new disclosure obligations on social networks like Facebook and Twitter; advertising platforms like Google; and anyone who engages in…
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California’s New “Social Media DISCLOSE Act” Regulates Social Media Companies, Search Engines, Other Online Advertising Outlets, and Political Advertisers
California’s new “Social Media DISCLOSE Act” takes on the trending topic of online political advertising disclosure. Assuming Gov. Jerry Brown signs the bill, then come 2020, social media networks like Twitter and Facebook, as well as Google and similar tools, may face burdensome new obligations related to California…
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Survey of the Pay-to-Play Laws of the United States
Companies doing business with state and local governments or operating in regulated industries are subject to a dizzying array of “pay-to-play” rules. These rules effectively prohibit company executives and employees (and in some cases, their family members) from making certain personal political contributions. Even inadvertent violations can be dangerous: a …
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Colorado Enacts Replacement Campaign Finance Enforcement System
Just one week ago, a federal court in Colorado held that the state’s system for enforcing its campaign finance laws was unconstitutional. Moving quickly, the Colorado Secretary of state has enacted temporary enforcement rules, effective immediately.
Under the new rules, any person may file a complaint, just like under…
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Colorado Campaign Finance Enforcement System Found Unconstitutional
In a case with interesting ramifications, a federal court this week struck down major parts of Colorado’s campaign finance enforcement system as unconstitutional.
The system at issue, which was created through a ballot initiative, generally allowed any person who believed there had been a violation of the state’s campaign finance…
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Politically Active Nonprofits Face New Donor Disclosure Law in Washington
Yesterday, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the DISCLOSE Act, a law that imposes new donor disclosure requirements on politically active nonprofits.
Under the new law, a nonprofit entity—including, but not limited to a charity, educational institution, advocacy group or trade association—may be required to register with…
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