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 example, … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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. (Georgia law … Continue Reading
