Compliance Notes – Vol. 2, Issue 48 | Nossaman LLP

LATEST UPDATES ON LOBBYING, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCING

We read the news, break through the noise, and provide the notes for you.

Welcome to Nossaman’s Compliance Notices Government Relations and Regulation Group – A regular recap of headlines, legislative and regulatory changes, and court cases related to campaign finance, lobbying compliance, electoral law, and government ethics at the federal, state, and local levels.

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Campaign funding

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved a civil penalty of $ 35,000 from the Senate campaign of former Massachusetts MP Joe Kennedy III. Although Rep. Kennedy’s campaign reported to the FEC and Kennedy himself repaid all of the money, the commission voted to reconcile the matter with Kennedy’s Senate campaign and to impose a fine. (Bryan Metzger, business insider)

ethics

North Dakota: Leaders of the 2018 poll that created the North Dakota Ethics Committee say the panel’s draft conflict of interest rule excluding campaign contributions would violate state constitutional provisions on the appearance of bias in “quasi-judicial” trials . The Executive Director of the Ethics Committee argued that a blanket ban or mandatory denial would be in violation of the First Amendment. The panel awaits the attorney general’s opinion and takes public comments on the rule. (Jack Dura, The Bismarck Tribune)

Legislation & voting actions

The European Union: The European Commission recently proposed a bill banning media companies from targeting people with political ads based on categories that regulators deem sensitive, including religious beliefs, sexual orientation, race, political beliefs and health status, without the express consent of users . The bill would also impose wide-ranging disclosure requirements on social media companies for any political ad they display, such as: (Sam Schechner, Wall Street Journal)

new York: New York City legislature wants more than 800,000 New Yorkers who are not citizens to register as members of political parties and vote in local elections. Non-citizens can vote as long as they are green card holders or have the right to work in the United States. If the city council approves the bill in December, New York City will become the largest parish in the country, allowing legal residents to vote in local elections. The measure would not apply to federal or state elections. (Jeffery C. Mays and Annie Correal, New York Times)

North Carolina: The Supreme Court will see if the North Carolina General Assembly can intervene to defend the state voter ID card, even though the state attorney general is already doing so. The challenge to the state legislature is of a procedural nature, arguing that state law explicitly allows the General Assembly to join the case in order to defend the interests of the legislature. The Fourth District rejected the argument, however, on the grounds that the legislature could only intervene if a federal court first found that the Attorney General was not adequately representing the interests of the legislature. This case marks the third case in this term in which the court is considering procedural challenges against controversial state laws. (Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, Bloomberg Law)

South Dakota: The South Dakota Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling overturning an amendment to the state’s Constitution. The change, passed by 54% of voters in November 2020, would have legalized recreational marijuana use. However, the court found that the change would have violated the state’s requirement that constitutional amendments deal with only one issue. The court argued that the amendment contained provisions dealing with three different subjects with different aims or purposes. (Steve Helber, Associated Press)

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