RECENT LOBBYING, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE UPDATES
We read the news, cut through the noise and provide you the notes.
Welcome to Compliance Notes from Nossaman's Government Relations & Regulation Group – a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes and court cases involving campaign finance, lobbying compliance, election law and government ethics issues at the federal, state and local level.
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Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance
Maine: A federal judge has halted enforcement of a voter-approved law designed to bar foreign government-owned entities from spending money to influence Maine referendums. The decision by U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen is not the final ruling— but suggests that she views significant portions of the law, supported by 86% of Maine voters back in November, could include domestically held corporations and, as a result, are unconstitutional. (Steve Mistler, Maine Public)
Pennsylvania: State Representative Joe Webster (D-Montgomery)has proposed legislation that would require the disclosure of corporate expenditures on elections and require receipts and credit card statements to be filed in campaign finance reports, among other changes. The bill aims to enhance transparency of political spending by corporations and nonprofits. Webster's bill is a companion to one introduced by Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny). The bill would also prohibit foreign-owned entities from contributing to campaigns or other influencing groups, limit donations and allow leftover funds to be donated. (Ben Wasserstein, 90.5 WESA)
Government Ethics & Transparency
Arizona: A lawsuit asking the courts to block the state from enforcing a law voters approved in 2022 to require the disclosure of the sources of anonymous election spending has been rejected by a judge for the second time. The parties plan to appeal the judge's decision. (Jerod Macdonald-Evoy, Arizona Mirror)
New Jersey: A New Jersey businessman pleaded guilty Friday to trying to bribe U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), admitting that he gave the Senator's wife a car to influence him and agreeing to a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to testify in the corruption case against the Senator. Jose Uribe, of Clifton, New Jersey, pled guilty to seven charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery from 2018 to 2023, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion. Uribe told Judge Sidney H. Stein that he conspired with several people, including Nadine Menendez, to provide her with a Mercedes-Benz in return for her husband "using his power and influence as a United States senator to get a favorable outcome and to stop all investigations related to one of my associates." (Larry Neumeister, AP News)
Ballot Measures & Elections
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that former President Donald J. Trump cannot be barred from Colorado's primary ballot under the 14th Amendment. The ruling paves the way for the GOP presidential frontrunner to appear on the ballot nationwide despite facing eligibility challenges in dozens of states. The justices reversed the Colorado supreme court's decision "[b]ecause the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates." Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold wrote in a post on X that she was "disappointed" in the court's decision. (Sareen Habeshian & Erin Doherty, Axios)
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