The question is no longer whether the volatility created by the COVID-19 pandemic will deepen the difficulties businesses and other institutions face in the coming months, but by how much and in what ways. In the past few...more
3/21/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Court Closures ,
Debt-Equity ,
Energy Projects ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
IRS ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Stock Repurchases
Below, please find a summary of notable political law developments in New York, Texas and the city of Los Angeles.
New York State Reduces Contribution Limits Beginning in November 2022 -
Late last year, the New York...more
2/27/2020
/ Campaign Contributions ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
City of Los Angeles ,
City Planning Departments ,
Contribution Limits ,
Ethics Commission ,
General Elections ,
Land Developers ,
Lobbying ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Primary Elections ,
Public Officials ,
State and Local Government ,
State Elections ,
State Legislatures
The following describes periodic pay-to-play reporting requirements under Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island laws. Certain corporate entities must file reports regarding their business relationships...more
2/12/2020
/ Affiliates ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
Corporate Entities ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Requirements ,
PACs ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Contributions ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
Now that the calendar has flipped to 2020, planning and fundraising efforts are intensifying in advance of this summer’s national party conventions. ...more
Effective January 1, 2020, the earnings threshold for an employee to qualify as an exempt executive, administrative or professional employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is rising to $684 per week (or $35,568 per...more
Below please find updates on recent lobbying law developments in Texas and Puerto Rico.
Texas Requires FARA Disclosure by Lobbying Registrants
Texas House Bill 1785, effective September 1, 2019, requires lobbying...more
The next quarterly update for state contractors that is required under the Illinois pay-to-play law is due August 14, 2019. As described in earlier mailings, the state’s pay-to-play law requires a company with aggregate...more
On June 25, the Preventing Adversaries Internationally from Disbursing Advertising Dollars Act (the bill) was introduced in the U.S. Senate. The bill proposes expansions of existing prohibitions on political activities of...more
As discussed in our November 29, 2018 mailing, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) rolled out changes to its Electronic Filing Password Assignment System, requiring PACs and other committees’ passwords to have two-factor...more
On June 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the court) dismissed a challenge to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) pay-to-play Rule 2030 (the rule) brought by the New York...more
6/28/2019
/ Administrative Authority ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Campaign Contributions ,
Corruption ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Election Campaign Act ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
First Amendment ,
Government Entities ,
Important Governmental Objectives ,
Investment Adviser ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Political Parties ,
Preemption ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Solicitation ,
Standing
In a recent mailing we noted that the following Democratic presidential candidates are covered under federal pay-to-play rules (i.e., SEC 206(4)-5, MSRB G-37, CFTC 23.451 and FINRA 2030) because they are currently elected...more
Financial institutions and their employees may be subject to the following federal pay-to-play rules: SEC Rule 206(4)-5 for investment advisers; CFTC Rule 23.451 for commodities-backed swap dealers; FINRA Rule 2030 for...more
5/2/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodities-Backed Swap ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment Adviser ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers
The Office of the Clerk of the House and the Senate Office of Public Records recently amended the online federal Lobby Disclosure Act (LDA) filing system to provide fields for the new disclosures required by the Justice...more
The annual filing for state and local contractors required under New Jersey Chapter 271, known as Form BE, is due April 1, 2019....more
On February 7, 2019, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced new federal campaign contribution limits. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 requires the FEC to adjust certain federal contribution limits every...more
The following describes the periodic reporting requirements under five state laws for certain corporate entities to file reports regarding their business relationships with these states, as well as their political...more
2/11/2019
/ CEOs ,
Corporate Entities ,
Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Deadlines ,
PACs ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Contractors
On January 14, 2019, the New York state legislature passed A. 776 (the bill), which is designed to close the “LLC loophole” in state campaign contribution laws that treats LLCs as individuals, rather than corporations. New...more
With heightened attention to investment and depository rules as well as increased enforcement of federal and state pay-to-play rules, registered investment advisers (RIAs) and broker-dealers should address the unique legal...more
1/23/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Contingency Fees ,
Custody Rule ,
Federal Contractors ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Gifts ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Lobbying ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Personal Liability ,
Political Contributions ,
Public Officials ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State and Local Government ,
State Contractors ,
Work Restrictions
On January 3, 2019, President Trump signed Senate Bill 2896, the Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act of 2018. Effective immediately, the act amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require filers of LD-1...more
On Election Day in 2018, voters in three states approved amendments to rules involving a variety of ethics reforms involving lobbying, contributions and gifts....more
12/21/2018
/ Amended Legislation ,
Ballot Measures ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
Charter Amendments ,
City Councils ,
Constitutional Amendment ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cooling-Off Rule ,
Ethics ,
General Assembly ,
Gifts ,
Lobbying ,
Local Ordinance ,
PACs ,
Political Contributions ,
Public Officials ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has begun sending email communications to PACs and other committees to update their electronic filing passwords to comply with the FEC’s modernized electronic Password Assignment System....more
The Maryland State Board of Elections recently sent out a notice to pay-to-play law filers for whom it is missing an Initial Report....more
Below please find a discussion of recent lobbying developments in the District of Columbia and Boston, Massachusetts....more
Now that the 2018 midterm elections are over, we must contend with legal issues that arise from activities related to federal, state and local inaugural and transition committees, as well as recounts and runoff elections. As...more
11/14/2018
/ 501(c)(3) ,
501(c)(4) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
CFTC ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consultants ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Gifts ,
General Elections ,
Inauguration Committees ,
Lobbying ,
MSRB ,
Municipalities ,
PACs ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Political Parties ,
Recount Committees ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Election ,
State and Local Government ,
State Elections ,
State Procurement Contracts ,
Transition Team
Below, please find a discussion of recent developments in New Hampshire
and New York.
New Hampshire
The New Hampshire Office of the Attorney General recently has indicated that, going forward, it will interpret state...more
10/31/2018
/ Campaign Finance Reform ,
Corporate Contributions ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbyists ,
New Legislation ,
PACs ,
Political Contributions ,
Popular ,
Public Employee Retirement Funds ,
Registration Requirement ,
Solicitation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General