March 21, 2018 •
Federal Court Finds FEC Decision Concerning Outside Political Activity of Group During 2010 Elections Inconsistent with Governing Statutes
On March 20, a federal court found the Federal Election Commission (FEC) failed to interpret campaign finance laws correctly as applied to an outside group’s political activity during the 2010 federal elections. In 2012, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in […]
On March 20, a federal court found the Federal Election Commission (FEC) failed to interpret campaign finance laws correctly as applied to an outside group’s political activity during the 2010 federal elections.
In 2012, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) had brought a complaint to the FEC alleging American Action Network (AAN), an outside nonprofit entity that ran nearly $18 million in television advertisements just before the 2010 federal midterm elections, was a “political committee” and subject to federal disclosure requirements.
A majority of the commissioners did not find “reason to believe” that AAN violated any law and the complaint was dismissed. Crew appealed the FEC decision to the United States District Court for The District of Columbia.
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper found the FEC’s analysis used to determine whether AAN was a political committee “was inconsistent with the governing statutes,” granted summary judgment in favor of CREW, and remanded the matter back to FEC to address CREW’s initial complaint again.
April 30, 2013 •
Tuesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Keep up with the latest government relations news with these articles:
Lobbying
“Ethics Group CREW Bails on Lobbying Efforts” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political Moneyline.
Arizona: “Action lacking despite opportunities to improve Arizona’s lobbyist reporting system” by Evan Wyloge and Hank Stephenson in the Arizona Capitol Times.
Florida: “NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell lobbies lawmakers in Tallahassee to back Dolphins stadium renovation bill” by Toluse Olorunnipa and Charles Rabin in the Miami Herald.
Michigan: “State Rep. Andy Schor intros bills to adjust term limits, restrict post-office lobbying by lawmakers” by Angela Wittrock in Michigan Live.
Utah:”Loopholes allow lobbyist spending to vanish from reports by Lee Davidson” in the Salt Lake Tribune.
Campaign Finance
“Why don’t Americans care more about campaign finance reform?” by Juliet Eilperin and Scott Clement in the Washington Post.
“Bipartisan Campaign Finance Bill Aims to ‘Follow the Money’” by Chris Vest in Associations Now.
Maine: “Senate backs resolutions supporting campaign finance, immigration reforms” by Matthew Stone in the Bangor Daily News.
Ethics
“Latest ethics proposal rejected by AG” by John Lyon in the Arkansas News.
New York: “NY ethics board proposes changes to gifts, disclosure requirements by some lobbying groups” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
South Carolina: “Fate of ethics bill to be determined Tuesday in S.C. legislature” by Kirk Brown in the Anderson Independent Mail.
Procurement
“7 Ideas for the Future of Local Government” by Steve Ressler in Government Technology.
January 8, 2013 •
Tuesday Government Relations News
Don’t miss the articles you need to keep up with the latest news about ethics, lobbying, campaign finance, and more:
Ethics
“Citing Flawed Process, Lawyers Call for Changes in Ethics Office Inquiries” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.
“CREW Files DOJ, FEC Complaints Against Payday Lender for Illegal Conduit Contribution to Super PAC” in ENews Park Forest.
Colorado: “Ethics commission moves forward with Gessler investigation” by John Tomasic in the Colorado Independent.
Maryland: “Common Cause hires new state director” by Michael Dresser in the Baltimore Sun.
South Carolina: “Ethics commission discusses reform recommendations” by The Associated Press in GoUpstate.com.
Wisconsin: “Funding cut threatens popular Wisconsin campaign finance database” by Steven Elbow in The Capital Times.
Lobbying
Ohio: “Former Rep. Steve LaTourette and wife to start law firm’s lobbying practice” by Sabrina Eaton in the Plain Dealer.
Campaign Finance
“Outside, secret money likely to flow in 2013” by Tarini Parti in Politico.
Minnesota: “Campaign Finance Board looks to strengthen public disclosure law” by Tom Scheck in MPR News.
New York: “Campaign finance reform crusader Cuomo fund raises at Waldorf Astoria” by Carl Campanile in the New York Post.
New York: “Mayoral candidate files lawsuit challenging limits on campaign contributions” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
New York: “NY proposal: Use casino money to fund NY campaigns” by Michael Gormley in the Huffington Post.
New York: “NY campaign funding drops, but Senate GOP gets most money” by Joseph Spector in the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
Legislative Issues
“SC House minority leader steps down” by Adam Beam in The State.
Social Media and Government Tech
“The Library of Congress is Archiving 170 Billion Tweets — on Tape” by Julia Wetherell in TechPresident.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
