The Securities and Exchange Commission (”SEC“) plans to reconsider a rule it last considered in 1999 to curb political contributions by investment advisers seeking to manage the investment of state pension funds. The new proposal comes in the wake of continuing investigations by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (“NYAG”) concerning investments by New [...]

In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly addressed the constitutional boundaries of campaign finance regulation. If confirmed, Judge Sonia Sotomayor would bring to the Court real world experience as a campaign finance regulator – likely a first for the Court. Because it is an experience she and I shared, I wanted [...]

Federal campaign finance limits and lobbying registration thresholds have increased due to changes in the Consumer Price Index.
See here for a chart on the 2009-2010 contribution limits applicable to federal contributions.
Additionally, the House and Senate recently posted revised guidance announcing adjustments to the federal lobbying registration thresholds, which are now as follows:
•    $3,000 (previously $2500) in [...]

The incoming Obama administration and members of Congress are reportedly close to an agreement on the principles of an economic stimulus package.  The costs of the plan have been reported to be anywhere from $800 billion to $1.2 trillion.  So what does this have to do with pay-to-play?
A major part of the plan includes making [...]

The Republican and Democratic parties hold their national presidential nominating conventions this year. The Democrats meet in Denver in August. The Republicans gather in Minneapolis in September.
Many of the convention delegates also serve as elected officials at the federal, state and local level. Thus, many are subject to limitations and prohibitions on [...]

It is essential that political committees take steps to protect their assets from misappropriation and errors that lead to misreporting. Earlier this year the Federal Election Commission issued a policy statement creating a Safe Harbor for Misreporting Due to Embezzlement and also more general guidance on internal controls.

The FEC has approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking implementing section 204 of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007.
The proposed rules would require candidate committees, leadership PACs, and political parties to report two or more contributions totaling $15,000 or more in a covered period which were “bundled” by lobbyists, lobbyist entities or [...]

President Bush signed S1, the lobbying and ethics reform bill on Friday, September 14, 2007. The new legislation comes on the heels of House Rules amendments and imposes a variety of new restrictions and requirements that affect lobbyists, lobbyist employers and private entities.

Generally, campaign finance laws limit — or prohibit — the making and acceptance of certain campaign contributions. Some recent laws go further and regulate the act of soliciting contributions. Here are a few examples.

The Federal Election Commission is seeking comments on two proposed alternatives to address electioneering communications. The rulemaking comes as a result of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC in which the Court decided that the ads in question were subject to an exemption from the restriction on the [...]