Corporations, trade associations, non-profits, other organizations, and individuals face significant penalties and reputational harm if they violate state laws governing corporate and personal political activities, the registration of lobbyists, lobbying reporting, or the giving of gifts or items of value to government officials or employees. To help organizations and individuals comply with these rules, Covington
Georgia
Covington Releases 400-Page, 50-State Survey of Pay-to-Play Rules (2022 Edition)
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 single political contribution can, for…
Contribution Limits in Georgia U.S. Senate Run-Off Elections
By Zachary G. Parks on
Posted in Campaign Finance
With control of the U.S. Senate at stake, hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to flow into Georgia over the next two months as voters decide the outcome of two U.S. Senate run-off elections. Donors seeking to make contributions to support their preferred candidates in these run-offs should be mindful of a variety of…
Survey of the Pay-to-Play Laws of the United States
By Zachary G. Parks & Kevin Glandon on
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 single political contribution can, for …
Georgia Legislature Limits Gifts from Lobbyists
By Angelle Smith Baugh on
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?
By Angelle Smith Baugh on
Posted in Government Ethics, State Law
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…
Georgia Lobbyist Gift Ban?
Last Friday, David Ralston, the Georgia House Speaker, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) that he would propose a complete ban on gifts from lobbyists to legislators. If such a ban were adopted, it would mark a dramatic departure from current Georgia law, which does not impose any limit on gifts to state legislators. …