The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) revised the state’s campaign finance regulations to address issues related to payment applications, the depository reporting schedule, and independent expenditures.

Under the revised regulations, contributions may be received through peer-to-peer payment applications.

The revised regulations also flesh out the rules surrounding independent expenditures made by traditional PACs and ballot question committees and update the depository reporting schedule to match the schedule contained in G.L. §55-19.

The revised regulations are now in effect.

The Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) will hold a public hearing related to proposed changes to Massachusetts’ state campaign finance regulations on February 15 at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Proposed changes include a revised campaign contribution limit chart; changes to the filing schedule for depository PACs; and additional guidance regarding disclosure requirements for traditional and independent expenditure PACs.

In total, 35 changes are proposed by the agency.

Individuals wishing to attend the hearing can email jtait@cpf.state.ma.us to request the virtual hearing link.

Written comments may also be submitted by email or mail until 5:00 p.m. on February 22 to gbirne@cpf.state.ma.us or to Gregory Birne, OCPF, Room 411, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108.

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) missed a self-imposed deadline this week to release updated regulations limiting political contributions from labor unions.

A spokesperson for the agency said it could take several more weeks to work out the details and release the new rules.

The push to update a labor union contribution loophole comes after a 2018 court ruling upholding the state’s ban on corporate contributions.

The ruling acknowledged the significant difference for labor unions.

The draft regulations released in March seek to reduce the amount of money a union can contribute to a candidate annually from $15,000 to $1,000.

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance released draft regulations this week that would reduce the amount of money a union can contribute to a candidate annually from $15,000 to $1,000.

A state law banning corporate contributions was upheld by the high court this year, but the ruling noted Massachusetts law was unclear regarding contributions from unions.

The draft regulation would also cap union contributions at $500 to a PAC, and $5,000 to a political party.

A public hearing on the draft regulations will be held on March 15 with the final regulations expected by May.

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance has issued an emergency regulation requiring independent expenditure disclosure prior to the primary election on September 4.

“Due to the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 3, the statute would not require independent expenditures made on Aug. 23, 24 and 25 to be disclosed prior to the Sept. 4 primary election. However, independent expenditures made between Aug. 26 and Sept. 2 would be disclosed before the election.”

This emergency regulation will eliminate the gap in disclosure, and now independent expenditures must be disclosed within 24 hours if they are utilized on August 23, 24, or 25.

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance released a draft version of updates to the agency’s regulations taking affect at the end of the month.

The changes were subject to a public hearing last month and aim to make the regulations consistent with changes to campaign finance law and agency practices of the last few years.

Some changes include updated due dates for electronically filed reports, clarifications on when an organization must register as a political committee, and explanations of the circumstances in which an independent expenditure political action committee (PAC) becomes a traditional PAC.

The official effective date of the updated regulations has not yet been announced, and a final copy of the changes will not be publicly available until later this month.