There are few things as seductive in politics today as good data, and few things as challenging for commercial firms as the statutory bar on the use of FEC data for commercial purposes. That came to a head yesterday, when the FEC was unable to reach a decision on an advisory opinion request on use … Continue Reading
With a full complement of six commissioners for the first time since early 2017, the FEC met in open session yesterday. Led by FEC Chair Shana M. Broussard and Vice Chair Allen Dickerson, the first meeting addressed a number of non-controversial matters that lent themselves to consensus. That said, there were several interesting features to … Continue Reading
Last week, the Department of Justice’s FARA Unit released a curious advisory opinion. The new opinion stated that it replaced an advisory opinion released by the Department in December 2019, and it revised the Department’s guidance on the scope of the lawyers’ exemption to FARA. As far as we can tell, this is the first … Continue Reading
With the swearing in of Shana M. Broussard, Sean J. Cooksey, and Allen Dickerson, the Federal Election Commission now has a full roster of six Commissioners for the first time since 2017. While the FEC briefly enjoyed a quorum with four Commissioners in May, since then it has lacked a sufficient number of Commissioners to … Continue Reading
Tomorrow, the FEC will hold its first open meeting since last August, now that Commissioner James Trainor III has been sworn in. The agenda will consist of four reasonably routine matters, consisting of three advisory opinion requests and a request for comments on whether the Commission should begin a rulemaking. As of this morning, all … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice’s FARA Unit appears to have signaled a significant narrowing in the scope of a major FARA exemption that is especially important to private sector companies, including U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations. The apparent narrowing of FARA’s exemption for those who register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”) appeared in an advisory … Continue Reading
The Department of Justice has begun informing persons who obtained Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) advisory opinions that it will “soon” publish on its website copies of advisory opinions issued since January 1, 2010. The opinions apparently will be redacted to remove the identities of the requesters and their clients. For years, the Department has … Continue Reading
Last week the Federal Election Commission (FEC) took incremental steps toward defining the rules for those considering becoming a candidate and how candidates interact with Super PACs. FEC AO 2015-09 (Senate Majority PAC and House Majority PAC). As expected, the agency could not reach consensus on most of the legal issues raised, but it did … Continue Reading
That the FEC often deadlocks is noteworthy but no longer newsworthy. How parties who are regulated by the FEC deal with this logjam, however, remains hotly debated and timely. The prospect of 3-3 votes on advisory opinion requests, in particular, is often the subject of much handwringing. How should a party deal with a deadlock … Continue Reading
Connecticut’s campaign finance regulator, the State Elections Enforcement Commission (“SEEC”) recently released an important advisory opinion that made clear that a state contractor that is otherwise barred from giving to a state political party under Connecticut’s pay-to-play law can give to the party’s federal account, a point SEEC staff had previously addressed. However, the state … Continue Reading
On Thursday, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was unable to agree on whether Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. could sponsor a Separate Segregated Fund (a corporate “SSF” or “PAC” in common parlance) that solicited contributions from the employees of its dealers and service centers. The request resulted in an unsurprising deadlock and a surprising discussion about … Continue Reading
As we recently predicted the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act is prompting the FEC to reconsider, and likely revise, its decision in an earlier Advisory Opinion, 2013-02 (“Winslow I”), that the definition of “spouse” under federal election law did not apply to same-sex … Continue Reading
As forecasted, a federal court has entered a permanent injunction that permits Super PACs in New Jersey to raise unlimited funds, pursuant to the parties’ agreement. This resolves the suit brought by the Fund for Jobs, Growth & Security after the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission advised the Fund in March that it was powerless … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court’s decision today invalidating the Defense of Marriage Act will impact campaign finance laws as well, probably nowhere more clearly than in casting doubt on the FEC’s February decision advising a candidate for the special U.S. Senate Primary Election in Massachusetts that he could not treat contributions from a same-sex couple married under … Continue Reading
A few weeks ago the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission issued an advisory opinion indicating that it would enforce the state’s contribution limits against groups that (i) have a major purpose of influencing New Jersey elections and (ii) do so exclusively by making independent expenditures. Although the Commission recognized that its position might be … Continue Reading
Groups that are planning to run independent expenditures in the New Jersey gubernatorial election this year should be aware of a new advisory opinion issued by the State’s Election Law Enforcement Commission late last week. Under this latest guidance, groups that support or oppose New Jersey candidates may have to register as political committees and … Continue Reading
That is the question before the Federal Election Commission on Thursday at its next open meeting. In a draft Advisory Opinion posted Friday, the preliminary answer is that a former candidate’s campaign committee faces no limits on contributions to a Super PAC. The question is posed by former candidate, Mike Haridopolos. He dropped out of … Continue Reading
In June, the FEC approved a process for making text message political contributions limited to $50 per month. In August, the FEC clarified the compliance responsibilities related to these small, anonymous text message contributions. Now, just three weeks later, the FEC has approved a process for making text message contributions that exceed $50 per month … Continue Reading
The FEC made public today two advisory opinions, AO 2012-26 (m-Qube II) and 2012-28 (CTIA), that clarify the permissibility of political contributions via text message. Though the FEC gave general approval to text message contributing in AO 2012-17 (m-Qube I), campaigns and service providers sought additional guidance from the FEC to ensure compliance with the … Continue Reading
Last month, the FEC approved a method for contributing to federal political committees by text message (AO 2012-17), but noted that the process described in that AO might not be the only permissible method. Since that opinion, there have already been additional requests that seek clarification of the Commission’s rules on text message contributions. On Monday, … Continue Reading
Text messaging and donor focused websites in campaign fundraising were among the topics covered at the open meeting last Thursday (audio of meeting). Two decisions will mark important milestones in the FEC’s regulation of money in cyberspace. Contributions by text message. FEC AO 2012-26 (Cooper for Congress, et al.) (draft AO) and 2012-28 (CTIA) (AO … Continue Reading
Does a recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) advisory opinion request point to the next generation of fundraising structure for campaigns, political committees, and issue advocacy groups? We have already seen Super PACs join together to take advantage of the joint fundraising committee (JFC) structure. Now, American Future Fund (AFF) and American Future Fund Political Action … Continue Reading
