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New
York Grassroots Advisory Opinion Challenged Geoff Wills, Esq., Research Associate A group of New York political public relations firms have filed a federal lawsuit against the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) following the enactment of an advisory opinion requiring public relations officials and political consultants to publically disclose contacts with the media. Advisory Opinion 16-01 requires public relations consultants to register as lobbyists when making an effort to influence government through public grassroots campaigns, including any contact with media editorial boards aimed at publishing communications involving a political issue. Under JCOPE’s ruling, a grassroots communication is considered lobbying if it references, suggests, or otherwise implicates activity covered by the New York Lobbying Act or is an attempt to influence a public official through a call to action. Consultants and firms now required to register and report must disclose the client, the fee, and the bill number or government matter at issue. The firms challenging the ruling have been outspoken critics of the measure, making objections known during review and comment periods. Objections to the ruling have been made by members of the media, consulting groups, and civil rights organizations. When asked about JCOPE’s decision, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office stated, “The bill raises some real questions.” The suit challenges the new disclosure requirements on multiple grounds, claiming they are an example of bureaucratic overreach that will have a chilling effect on the rights of all parties involved. Citing a citizen’s right to free speech and the press’s freedom to report and comment on speech, the challengers contend the ruling runs afoul of the First Amendment. Challengers in the suit are asking the court to invalidate the ruling, as well as issue a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the new rules. In response to the lawsuit, JCOPE is standing behind the ruling and has released a statement saying the commission looks forward to defending the matter in court. |
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Michael Beckett, Esq., Research Manager ALBERTA, CANADA: Chief Electoral Officer, Glen Resler, issued a writ on February 23 to administer a by-election for the Calgary-Greenway electoral district to fill Manmeet Bhullar’s seat in the Legislative Assembly. Bhullar, a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), was killed in a traffic accident while attempting to help a stranded motorist on November 23, 2015. Alberta’s New Democratic Party (NDP) set a March 22 election date, drawing criticism from other parties who had not yet nominated candidates. NEW JERSEY: Lobbying regulations now require governmental affairs agents to electronically file all forms, including, but not limited to, registrations, reports, and terminations. In addition to filing registration forms electronically, governmental affairs agents registering for the first time must appear in the office of the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) to pay the annual registration fee and to submit photographs. Each person must present a valid state-issued identification and must submit photographs in order to receive a name tag. Forms and instructions for electronic filing are now available on ELEC’s website. When a group of registered individuals together represent more than one entity, a notice of representation for a represented entity can be filed on behalf of the group, provided the person filing indicates the involvement of the group or indicates the involvement of specific governmental affairs agents. NEW MEXICO: Gov. Susana Martinez has signed legislation designed to standardize electronic reporting for candidate, lobbyist, and political committee filings. House Bill 105 creates a searchable electronic database containing cross-references and allowing the public to download records for analysis. The bill requires lobbyists to notify the state of amended filings or termination of the lobbyist’s employment within one week of the occurrence. Lobbyist reporting dates are changed from May 1 to the first Wednesday after the first Monday in May and a new reporting date is added on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in October. Individuals receiving contributions reported by lobbyists will receive automatic electronic notice of the contributions within 24 hours of the lobbyist’s filed report. Portions of the bill will go into effect on July 1, 2016, with the remaining provisions effective as of December 15, 2017. WASHINGTON: Contribution limits have been updated to reflect adjustment for inflation. Effective February 29, 2016, contribution limits found in Initiative 134 and RWC 42.17A.410 have increased limits from $950 to $1,000; $5,500 to $6,000; $19,000 to $20,000; $1,900 to $2,000; $5,000 to $5,500; and $95 to $100. WISCONSIN: A federal political action committee (PAC) participating in Wisconsin elections only needs to register in Wisconsin if meeting the definition of a political action committee and receiving contributions or making disbursements exceeding $2,500 in calendar year. It is unlikely a federal PAC would be required to register in Wisconsin since the definition now requires the PAC to have the major purpose of express advocacy (as declared by the committee), or to spend 50 percent of the committee’s total spending on Wisconsin elections. However, if a federal PAC maintains a bank account in Wisconsin specifically for activity within the state, the separate bank account will be treated as a committee that will likely meet the major purpose test. In other words, a federal PAC will be required to register in Wisconsin if it maintains a bank account in Wisconsin and the major purpose of the bank account is to facilitate participation in Wisconsin elections. If a federal PAC wants to avoid triggering registration on these grounds, it should not maintain a separate bank account solely for Wisconsin activity. Even if not required to register in Wisconsin, a federal PAC could trigger a late expenditure report if making independent expenditures of $2,500 or more on express advocacy. |
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Legislation We Are Tracking At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in State and Federal Communications' digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying and can be found in the client portion of our website. Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly email updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regard to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.
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Jurisdiction Added to our Website The number of municipalities and regional governments our research associates track continues to grow. We now cover almost 300 municipalities and local governments. This is part of a continuous effort to better serve the needs of our clients. In that effort, we have added abridged jurisdictions to our website. These entries, condensed due to the limited number of relevant local laws, provide the core information our clients need for their government relations work. The new jurisdiction is:
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Two
weeks ago I was honored to receive
one of the Mentor of the Year awards
from the Public Leadership Education
Network, also known as PLEN, in
Washington, DC.
You
should review the necessary gift restrictions for
lobbyists as well as your lobbying disclosure
requirements. Charitable donations often involve
sponsoring an event or purchasing tickets to a
fundraiser. When providing money to a charitable
organization, be careful when making the gift at the
behest of a legislator or other public official. Public
officials can be very involved with charities, and often
make requests to donate to a certain cause. Many states
prohibit this. For example, Maryland law provides a
regulated lobbyist, who is an individual, may not engage
in any charitable fundraising activity at the request of
an official or employee, including soliciting,
transmitting the solicitation of, or transmitting a
charitable contribution. This type of request from an
official could also make the gift subject to a state’s
monetary limits on gifts from lobbyists. You may also
want to give tickets to the fundraiser to a public
official. State law may have applicable exemptions for
providing tickets to a fundraiser. Texas and New York
law permit a registered lobbyist to provide
complimentary attendance to bona fide charitable events.
