corporate political activity

This year has not been a great one for activists seeking to force corporations to increase disclosure of their political activities.  According to the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Legal Policy, average shareholder support for proposals related to political spending or lobbying declined again this year, from 22 percent to 20…
Continue Reading Shareholders Try New Tactic in Corporate Political Disclosure Fight

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…
Continue Reading The More Things Change: The FEC and Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.

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…
Continue Reading Effective Today: Alabama Allows Unlimited Corporate Campaign Contributions

Twenty House Democrats yesterday introduced proposed legislation that, if enacted in its current form, would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to:

  • Require corporations and labor unions which “submit[] regular, periodic reports” to their shareholders and members to include certain detailed information concerning their political spending.  That information

…
Continue Reading OPEN Sesame or a Potemkin Village?

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…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Assembly Votes to Permit Corporate Independent Expenditures, Double Contribution Limits

Earlier this week, activist investors attempted to push through a shareholder resolution barring Chevron from using corporate funds for political activities.  The resolution called for the board of directors to “adopt a policy to refrain from using corporate funds to influence any political election.”  If passed, it would have prohibited…
Continue Reading Chevron Shareholder Resolution Attempting to Bar Corporate Political Activity Resoundingly Defeated

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…
Continue Reading New Alabama Law Allows Unlimited Corporate Campaign Contributions

A hot topic we’ve been tracking closely this year concerns the regulatory and legal battles over corporate political activity disclosure.  This past week has been notable in two respects.

As we’ve previously reported here, in December 2012 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) identified potential rulemakings that it might…
Continue Reading Update on Corporate Political Activity Disclosure

A brewing controversy over Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy’s trip to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner highlights how media corporations and other firms that invite public officials to events can become embroiled in government ethics matters (h/t Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law Blog).  The Governor reportedly accepted an invitation to…
Continue Reading Connecticut Governor’s Gift Rule Issue Highlights the Legal Minefield for Corporate Events

This year’s march of state government campaign finance reforms continues, with the Governor of Utah signing H.B. 43 into law earlier this week.

Utah already requires corporations—including nonprofits—to report how much they spend on political expenditures once they reach a $750 threshold for a calendar year.  But the newly enacted…
Continue Reading Utah Corporate Disclosure Bill Signed Into Law