2019 Annual Statements of Economic Interests are now due June 1, 2020, rather than April 1st, according to a unanimous decision of the California Fair Political Practices Commission at a special meeting held April 2nd....more
Amidst one of the busiest times for federal lobbyists, the Government Accountability Office released its annual audit of compliance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”). ...more
As schools close, municipalities issue orders to shelter in place, and primary elections are postponed, it’s harder than ever to keep track of all the moving pieces....more
Although it may feel like the 2020 presidential election year has already been here for months (or years), the calendar finally reads 2020. Before you get too busy with 2020, we wanted to share a few useful tips for your PAC...more
1/16/2020
/ Campaign Contributions ,
Contribution Limits ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Federal Elections ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbyists ,
PACs ,
Political Campaigns ,
Presidential Elections ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation
On July 30, 2019, a federal district judge set aside the Internal Revenue Service’s Revenue Procedure 2018-38, a rule that had allowed 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations and other nonprofits to withhold donor information...more
Increased federal contribution limits for the 2019-2020 election cycle were recently announced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). ...more
On July 25, 2018, Senator Michael Bennett (D-CO) and Representative John Sarbanes (MD-3) announced the, “Curtailing, Lobbyists and Empowering Americans for a New (CLEAN) Politics Act of 2018.”...more
7/31/2018
/ Campaign Contributions ,
Foreign Agents ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbying Disclosure Act ,
Lobbyists ,
Political Campaigns ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Policy ,
Registration Requirement ,
Threshold Requirements
At the same time that the IRS is making it easier for nonprofits to shield their donors from inadvertent disclosure, states continue to adopt new laws designed to shed light on who is funding politically active nonprofits. ...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 included a surprise for some federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) Registrants: organizations that elect to calculate their lobbying expenses using Method C--the Internal Revenue Code (IRC)...more
3/12/2018
/ Campaign Contributions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbying Disclosure Act ,
Lobbyists ,
New Legislation ,
Political Campaigns ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform ,
Tax Returns ,
Trump Administration
The California DISCLOSE Act (Assembly Bill 249), was signed into law on October 7, 2017. It overhauls portions of California’s Political Reform Act (“PRA”) that require disclosure of certain campaign finance activity and...more
On Friday, March 31, 2017, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its annual audit of compliance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), as amended by the Honest Leadership and Open...more
The IRS has released a new, interactive Form 990-EZ (Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax) to make the annual chore of return filing even easier for “small” tax-exempt organizations, and help them avoid...more
While the coming 115th Congress and Trump Administration seem to be anything but predictable, there are several known events that will help drive the timing of national, and some regional, policy debates. They should be...more
The California Fair Political Practices Commission, charged with implementing the state’s campaign finance law, recently announced new gift and contribution limits for the 2017 – 2018 cycle. The agency is required to adjust...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released two position papers that affect new, and some existing, social welfare organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Last month the IRS...more
The California Fair Political Practices Commission (“FPPC”) has overhauled its regulations that define when an independent expenditure will be deemed to have been coordinated with a candidate or ballot measure committee. ...more
10/23/2015
/ Amended Regulation ,
Ballot Measures ,
Campaign Contributions ,
Contribution Limits ,
Disclaimers ,
Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) ,
Fund-raising ,
Governor Brown ,
Independent Expenditures ,
New Legislation ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Candidates ,
Safe Harbors
Political committees organized outside California (federal PACs and PACs formed in other states) may have to disclose their own donors to the State of California even though they have not made a direct contribution in...more
Lobbyists subject to new fundraising restrictions in 2015 -
Effective January 1, 2015 lobbyists and their cohabitants are prohibited from hosting fundraising events for candidates and elected officials (for which the...more
On May 14, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 27 (S.B. 27), increasing the disclosure requirements that non-profit "multipurpose" organizations are subject to when engaging in California elections. This legislative...more
Any entity engaged in the making of independent expenditures ("IE") to support or oppose candidates or ballot measures is subject to increased disclosure obligations and greater liability, due to a new law that goes into...more