The City of St. Petersburg, Florida yesterday passed an ordinance designed to take the question of “Super PACs” to the Supreme Court for the first time. The ordinance, which we discussed in detail earlier this year, imposes a $5,000 limit on contributions to groups that raise money for or make independent expenditures or electioneering communications … Continue Reading
Starting this month, nearly all of Kentucky’s campaign contribution limits increase, excepting contributions that remain either unlimited in amount or prohibited. Perhaps the most substantial change is the establishment of building fund accounts for political party executive committees, which may now accept unlimited funds from corporations. Also of note is the elimination of an aggregate $10,000 … Continue Reading
Last summer there was much ado about the two parallel efforts of a “Dream Team” of attorneys to “end Super PACs.” Their goal was to get the Supreme Court to overturn the decision of the D.C. Circuit in SpeechNow v. FEC, and similar decisions in other circuits, which led to the creation of Super PACs. … Continue Reading
Covington recently released a high-level primer that provides political consultants with a practical resource for creating and running a federal Super PAC in a legally compliant manner. The primer, which is available here, explains the history and basic rules that apply to federal Super PACs. The primer then discusses the following key topics: checklist of … 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
California has existing regulations that define when expenditures by outside groups, including super PACs, are coordinated with candidates and become illegal contributions to those campaigns. These rules create a presumption of coordination under certain circumstances. Yesterday, the Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) approved revisions to its rules on independent expenditures and coordination that expand the … Continue Reading
The Wagner case, decided today by the D.C. Circuit, is important because of its analysis of the constitutionality of federal campaign contribution restrictions and, by extension, of pay-to-play laws generally. Covington has been monitoring this case since the district court decision in 2012, to the argument before the D.C. Circuit in 2013, and the decision … Continue Reading
Few subjects in federal campaign finance law are so frequently garbled by commentators, the press and the public as what a Super PAC is and how it operates. Here is a short list of common mistakes. 1. Super PACS are “shadowy” “dark money” groups that mask where their money comes from and how its spent. … Continue Reading
Super PACs in the Empire State and in the Big Apple are about to become more “super.” Today, a New York federal court finally (albeit begrudgingly) struck down a state law that effectively capped contributions to state Super PACs at no more than $150,000. Prior to today’s ruling, New York had been one of a … Continue Reading
The rules on corporate contributions to Super PACs were made clearer today when the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released its finding that Chevron Corporation’s $2.5 million contribution in 2012 to the Congressional Leadership Fund (a Super PAC) had not violated the bar on government contractors making contributions in federal elections. Public Citizen and several environmental … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon, in McCutcheon v. FEC, on whether the Federal Election Campaign Act’s biennial aggregate limits on individual political contributions are constitutionality permissible. Many have argued that, if the Supreme Court strikes down the federal limits, aggregate limits imposed by state law will likewise be tossed aside. That may … Continue Reading
The press and comedians have recently focused on campaigns loading “B-roll” footage onto Internet sites where Super PACs and other outside spending groups can download the footage to use in political ads. Senator McConnell’s campaign’s use of this tactic has drawn the most attention, but it is far from the first or only campaign to … Continue Reading
On Monday, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction preventing Pennsylvania from enforcing its ban on corporate contributions and expenditures insofar as the challenged statute forbids corporations from contributing to political committees that exclusively make independent expenditures. In General Majority PAC v. Aichele, No. 1:14-cv-00332 (M.D. Pa. 2014), a DC-based Super PAC brought a First … Continue Reading
At the federal level, it is generally illegal for an outside group like a Super PAC or a 501(c)(4) organization to coordinate its independent expenditures with the candidate it supports. The same is true in many states. As we recently reported in our 2013 FEC Year in Review, however, the FEC did not act on … Continue Reading
With the New Jersey gubernatorial primary election fast approaching, we have been tracking a legal challenge to the State’s treatment of contributions to Super PACs. Back in March, the Election Law Enforcement Commission issued an advisory opinion to the Fund for Jobs and Growth, explaining that the group would need to adhere to contribution limits … Continue Reading
Despite seemingly widespread agreement between and among Vermont state legislators and Governor Shumlin that contributions to Vermont Super PACs should be capped in principle, it now appears unlikely that Senate Bill 82 will make it to the Governor’s desk in 2013. The two chambers of the state legislature were unable to agree on the specifics … Continue Reading
Yesterday the Vermont House of Representatives moved the State one step closer to imposing contribution limits on independent-expenditure only committees, more commonly known as Super PACs. As we reported here, the Senate has passed a bill (S. 82) that would limit contributions to Super PACs to $3,000, but only if the U.S. Court of Appeals … Continue Reading
Although over the last year many states have exempted Super PACs—i.e., groups that only make independent expenditures—from the strictures of contributions limits, Vermont may be headed in another direction. This is not the first chapter in the Vermont Super PAC story. As we noted last July, the Vermont Attorney General declared that the State would … Continue Reading
Earlier this year we predicted that battles over the definition of “coordination” and Super PAC “independence” would play a significant role in the development of campaign finance law in the coming years. In keeping with that forecast, last week, the California Fair Political Practices Commission for the first time fined a Super PAC for allegedly … Continue Reading
This morning the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing on “Current Issues in Campaign Finance Law Enforcement.” The focus of the hearing was what the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service are doing to enforce campaign finance law violations post-Citizens United with respect to contributions to Super PACs and … 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
The Vermont Senate might soon scrap the Green Mountain State’s campaign finance law in its entirety in favor of new legislation. The pending bill would change contribution limits, increase reporting frequency, and require groups paying for electioneering communications to disclose their major donors. The ambitious bill, which is making its way through the state senate, … 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
When is an independent expenditure-only committee, or Super PAC, truly independent of the candidate the Super PAC supports? Surprisingly few courts in the post-Citizens United world have decided this question. A recent Vermont Superior Court decision, however, provides a rare example of a court grappling with this issue. The case involved allegations of coordination between … Continue Reading
