LobbyComply Blog

As of June 16, the website and public registry of the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner are currently offline because of a “potential security vulnerability.” The Ethics Commissioner’s office did not disclose how the problem was identified or any risks for users of the office’s website. The Office, which oversees compliance with the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons and the federal Conflict of Interest Act, is not commenting on “specific cybersecurity measures or ongoing assessments” for both security and confidentiality reasons,” according to The Globe and Mail.

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National/Federal

What to Know About States’ Efforts to Limit Corporate Donations in Politics

MSN – Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Geoff Mulvihill (Associated Press) | Published: 5/12/2026

Two states could try a new way to reduce the influence of corporations and hard-to-track dark money groups that have been able to spend unlimited amounts on politics since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling. Hawaii lawmakers sent a bill to the governor that would redefine corporations in a way that precludes spending on elections. A volunteer group in Montana is gathering signatures in hopes of putting a similar issue to voters in November.

Transportation Secretary Duffy Filmed a Reality Show, Funded by Firms He Regulates

NPR – Rachel Treisman | Published: 5/12/2026

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has returned to his reality television roots, filming a cross-country road trip with his family that will be released as an unscripted series ahead of America’s 250th birthday in July. Those involved say production costs were covered by a nonprofit called The Great American Road Trip Inc. Its public list of sponsors is stacked with travel-related companies, like Toyota, Boeing, and United Airlines, with ties to the Department of Transportation, raising ethics questions.

From the States and Municipalities

Canada – New Brunswick Government Proposes Overhaul of Lobbying Rules

Yahoo News – Eli Ridder (Canadian Press) | Published: 5/12/2026

The New Brunswick government proposed an overhaul of its lobbying rules that would require hundreds more people to register as lobbyists and would empower the provincial ethics chief to fine rule breakers. If passed into law, the reforms would also require lobbyists to regularly record their meetings with politicians and other lobbying activities in an online searchable database.

California – Arcadia Mayor, Accused of Being Chinese Foreign Agent, Strikes Deal with Feds and Resigns

Yahoo News – Brittny Mejia and Rebecca Ellis (Los Angeles Times) | Published: 5/11/2026

Facing charges of acting as an illegal foreign agent of China, Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang resigned after reaching an agreement to resolve the federal case. She was accused of doing the bidding of Chinese officials, such as sharing articles favorable to Beijing, without prior notification to the U.S. government as required by law. City officials and Wang’s attorneys said the conduct described by federal authorities occurred before Wang was elected.

Connecticut – CT Legislators Remove Nepotism Ban That Would Have Applied to Them

Yahoo News – Paul Hughes (CT Insider) | Published: 5/6/2026

The Connecticut House voted to strip a nepotism standard to bar public officials and state employees from arranging jobs, promotions, or special advantages to relatives or friends from an ethics bill. The prohibition would have applied to the 187 members of the General Assembly. The Office of State Ethics proposed the nepotism standard for the first time as part of its annual legislative recommendations.

Illinois – Former Chicago Mayoral Candidate Paul Vallas Fined $214,000 by Ethics Board for Campaign Finance Violations

Yahoo News – Jake Sheridan (Chicago Tribune) | Published: 5/12/2026

Former Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas was fined $214,000 for violating campaign finance rules by accepting excessive contributions from people who were doing business with the city. The Board of Ethics found an unnamed “unsuccessful candidate” in the 2023 city elections violated the law by accepting $202,000 in contributions from 12 city contractors, even though the law limits such donors to giving no more than $1,500 annually to candidates seeking city office and elected officials, according to the board.

Missouri – Wide-Reaching Missouri Election Bill Includes Changes to Automatic Campaign Donations

St. Louis Public Radio – Sarah Kellog | Published: 3/12/2026

Missouri lawmakers passed a wide-reaching election bill that included changing the process of collecting recurring campaign donations. Candidates in Missouri will no longer be able to collect automatic campaign contributions without the explicit permission of the donor. The bill also allows lobbyists to maintain candidate committees under certain circumstances.

Nevada – A Reno Mayor Candidate Kept Old Donations for Her Campaign. It Opened a Can of Legal Worms.

Nevada Independent – Eric Neugeboren | Published: 5/11/2026

When Kate Marshall began fundraising in 2024 for a bid for Reno mayor, she had a leg up over the other candidates: about $116,000 in her campaign account from her time as Nevada’s lieutenant governor. Keeping that money has kicked off a series of complaints to state election officials, most recently from the Nevada Republican Party alleging she violated Nevada campaign finance law by accepting a $500 contribution in 2022 and not eventually draining her entire campaign account.

New York – Judge Restores Blakeman’s Ticket in NY’s Matching Funds Program

MSN – Timothy Fanning (Albany Times Union) | Published: 5/17/2026

A state Supreme Court justice overturned a decision by New York’s campaign finance board that had barred Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman and his running mate Todd Hood from receiving public matching funds. Hood’s campaign was found ineligible by the state Public Campaign Finance Board to receive public funds because Hood, the sheriff in Madison County, never filed the required paperwork. That decision, which was criticized by good government groups and Republican lawmakers as a partisan move, left Blakeman at a significant financial disadvantage against Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Virginia – Virginia’s High Court Strikes Down Voter-Passed House Map Favoring Democrats

MSN – Gregory Schneider and Patrick Marley (Washington Post) | Published: 5/8/2026

The Supreme Court of Virginia invalidated the referendum that could have given Democrats four extra seats in the U.S. House, a major win for Republicans who started a national redistricting war to maintain control of the chamber. The court ruled the General Assembly violated the state constitution in establishing the ballot measure approved by voters. A four-to-three majority of the court ruled the Legislature had improperly submitted the referendum to voters, rendering the results “null and void.” The court restored the pre-referendum map that was adopted in 2021.

Campaign Finance

Louisiana: “Louisiana Ethics Board Raises Questions About Judges’ Campaign Transparency” by Julie O’Donoghue (Louisiana Illuminator) for Yahoo News

Elections

National: “Democrats Swept Elections Far Beyond the Big Races in Referendum on Trump” by Naftali Bendavid (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

California: “Ex-S.F. Human Rights Chief Sheryl Davis Hit with Slew of Ethics Charges” by Michael Barba (San Francisco Chronicle) for MSN

Washington DC: “Jury Finds D.C. ‘Sandwich Guy’ Not Guilty of Assaulting Officer” by Salvador Rizzo (Washington Post) for MSN

Illinois: “Judge Says Immigration Officers’ Use of Force in Chicago ‘Shocks the Conscience’” by Kim Bellware and David Nkamura (Washington Post) for MSN

Oregon: “Judge Rules Trump Administration Failed to Meet Legal Requirements for Deploying Troops to Portland” by Claire Rush and Gene Johnson (Associated Press) for MSN

Oregon: “Oregon Lawmakers Quietly Hire Their Family Members with Taxpayer Money – and Little Oversight” by Carlos Fuentes (Portland Oregonian) for MSN

Tennessee: “Trump Pardons Former Tennessee House Speaker, Top Aide Awaiting Prison” by Natalie Allison (Washington Post) for MSN

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Turning Point USA Political Arms Accused of Violating Arizona Dark Money Disclosure Law” by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy (Arizona Mirror) for Yahoo News

National: “Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump’s Pay-for-Access Operation” by Kenneth Vogel and David Yaffe-Bellany (New York Times) for Seattle Times

Oregon: “Judge Overturns Campaign Finance Violations from Rene Gonzalez’s 2024 Run for Portland Mayor” by Jamie Parfitt (KGW) for MSN

Utah: “A Utah Progressive Group Mentioned a GOP Lawmaker in Its Fundraising. He Sent a Legal Threat.” by Emily Anderson Stern (Salt Lake Tribune) for MSN

Ethics

National: “Trump Fires Labor Statistics Chief After Large Revision to Jobs Report” by Andrew Ackerman and Jacob Bogage (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Push to Ban Lawmaker Stock Trading Finds New Life” by Mychael Schnell (The Hill) for MSN

Nevada: “Clark County Commissioners to Face Ethics Board Over Accepting Pricey F1 Tickets” by Mary Hynes (Las Vegas Review-Journal) for MSN

Redistricting

Texas: “Texas Democrats Flee State in Effort to Block GOP’s House Map Overhaul” by Patrick Marley (Washington Post) for MSN

On June 6, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission announced their updated 2025 Ethics Rules had become available.

Some of the changes in the updates include increasing the meal expenditure limit for lobbyists or legislative liaisons from $500 to $750; eliminating the requirement of attendance at events by lobbyists, liaisons, or lobbyist principals when associated with a permissible gift; and increasing the permissible anonymous political contribution from $50 to $200. Additionally, the rules clarify that political contributions are prohibited by or from foreign nationals in connection with any state or local campaign. This prohibition includes advances of personal funds; contributions or donations made to political party committees and organizations; state or local party committees for the purchase or construction of an office building fund; and contributions or disbursements to make electioneering communications.

The rules also include a modified blackout period for campaign finance complaints and an incorporation of Senate Bill 890, which moves all political subdivision campaign finance reporting and compliance requirements to the Ethics Commission beginning on November 1, 2025.

The 2025 Annotated Ethics Rules and the 2025 Ethics Laws document, which is a compilation by the commission of the state’s constitutional provisions, statutes, and ethics Rules, are usually updated annually in July. This year, both documents were updated and became effective on June 1. The rules have the full weight of law in Oklahoma as they are adopted and published in accordance with state law.

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Voters will decide whether to pass a ballot measure this upcoming November election which would tighten the city’s public ethics laws.

Ballot Measure OO would establish and revise various requirements of the Public Ethics Commission and its members.

It would also amend the lobbyist registration act to prohibit lobbyists from making direct payments of more than $50 per year to local elected officials, candidates, and their families.

If approved by voters on November 5, the measure would be effective 10 days after the vote but the amendments to the lobbyist registration act would be effective January 1, 2025.

The Ethics Commission announced it will hold a public hearing to address proposed amendments to the commission’s complaint process at 9:00 a.m. on September 26.

The purpose of the proposed amendments is to establish uniform deadlines and procedures during the complaint process by modifying the timeline for an appeal from a summary dismissal; providing a timeline to appeal a finding of the Ethics Commission to district court; describing the process the used to compute time; and clarifying terminology related to time computations.

The hearing will be held in Bismark at 600 E Boulevard Ave, Judicial Wing Room 321 and online through Microsoft Teams.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Missouri’s 2-year revolving door restriction violates the First Amendment.

On appeal from the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Missouri, former state Rep Rocky Miller and General Assembly employee John La Vanchy prevailed in Miller v. Ziegler, invalidating the ban.

The ban was enacted in 2018 and prohibited any person serving as a member of or employed by the General Assembly from acting or serving as a paid lobbyist, registering as a paid lobbyist, or soliciting prospective employers or clients to represent as a paid lobbyist during the time of their service until the expiration of two calendar years after the conclusion of the session of the General Assembly in which the member or employee last served.

The county has recently proposed governance changes through charter reform which will go before voters as a ballot measure this upcoming November.

Some of the proposed changes include expanding the Board of Supervisors from five to nine while also creating a position of an elected County Executive.

The measure would also create an independent ethics commission to further increase transparency and accountability of government officials.

Voters will have an opportunity to vote for this measure come November 5, 2024.

On May 9, a New York appellate court unanimously upheld a lower court decision finding the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) unconstitutional.

The court found COELIG violates the governor’s ability to enforce ethics laws as many members of the commission are not appointed by the governor.

The commission will continue to promote compliance with ethics and lobbying laws and may continue to process ethics disclosures and lobbyist filings.

COELIG stated they will seek an appeal and a stay to continue enforcing ethics and lobbying laws during the appeals process.

More ethics and campaign finance changes happening at the state level. Check out which states are making moves in today’s NYCU Video Digest!

 

Campaign Finance

National: Pete Buttigieg Swears Off the Lobbyist Money He Once Accepted by Jeremy Peters and Shane Goldmacher for New York Times

Missouri: Columbia Developer Funnels Tens of Thousands Through Shell PACs to Lawmakers by Yue Yu (Columbia Missourian) for KPVI

New Mexico: City Now Allows Online Donations for Candidates by Jessica Dyer for Albuquerque Journal

Ethics

National: Acting Defense Secretary Cleared of Wrongdoing in Probe of His ties to Boeing by Dan Lamothe and Missy Ryan for Washington Post

Maryland: Anne Arundel County Delegate Posts Advertisements, Tries to Sell Car on Official Social Media by Chase Cook for Capital Gazette

North Dakota: North Dakota Legislature Finalizes Ethics Bill, but ‘Safeguard’ Looms over Measure 1 Implementation by John Hageman (Forum News Service) for Dickinson Press

Tennessee: Feds to Sue Sen. Steve Dickerson and Other Pain Clinic Owners Over Fraud, Forgery Allegations by Brett Kelman for The Tennessean

Procurement

California: NRA Sues City of L.A. Over Its New Contract Disclosure Law by Dakota Smith for Los Angeles Times

On April 24, a bill relating to lobbying activities by political subdivisions was introduced into the Iowa Senate.

Senate Bill 639 would enact new statutes concerning political subdivisions contracting with or otherwise compensating a person to lobby on behalf of the political subdivision.

The legislation requires authorities for a political subdivision to use requests for proposals to solicit lobbying services, limits the duration for lobbying contracts to five years, and prohibits renewals of contracts without new requests for proposals.

Additionally, the bill requires public disclosure of the lobbying contract.

The proposed legislation defines “political subdivision” as a county, city, township, community college, area education agency, or school district.

The legislation also defines “lobbying” as direct action to encourage the passage, defeat, approval, veto, or modification of legislation, a rule, or an executive order being considered by the general assembly, a state agency, or a statewide elected official.

The city of Chicago’s lobbyist ethics training for 2018-2019 is now available.

The deadline to complete the mandatory training is before 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 1.

The ethics training course is available at the Chicago Board of Elections website.