Our Political Law group provides bipartisan expertise to clients engaged in political activity at all levels of government. Our team has extensive experience advising on compliance matters, including campaign finance, lobbying and government ethics laws; election laws; the tax implications of political activity; and the reputational risks associated with political activity.
The Political Law group serves a broad client base, including corporations, trade groups, nonprofits, political organizations and public as well as private individuals. Our goal is to maximize the scope and effectiveness of our clients' political activities by ensuring they are fully compliant with federal, state and local law. Here are some of the ways we help our political law clients:
Our attorneys audit clients’ political activity programs and develop compliance policies, procedures and training programs to help ensure that clients’ campaign, advocacy, fundraising and other political initiatives comply with all applicable laws.
We establish federal and state political actions committees (PACs), advocacy groups and other entities for our clients, and advise them on soliciting and making contributions, their reporting obligations and member/donor confidentiality.
We provide advice to clients regarding compliance with federal and state lobbying and gift laws, and prepare, review and submit disclosure reports to regulators.
We represent individuals and organizations in rulemaking proceedings and other advisory opinion request proceedings.
We have extensive experience representing clients in audits and investigations conducted by federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Election Commission, Government Accountability Office, Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, as well as the United States Congress, and various state and local regulatory agencies.
Our Political Law group has the experience, expertise, knowledge and judgment to help ensure that our clients are fully compliant with all applicable laws and rules in today’s era of heightened scrutiny of political activity.
The Federal Election Commission has adjusted some of the individual and PAC contribution limits for the 2023-2024 election cycle.
The amount that individuals and non-multicandidate PACs can give to federal candidates has been increased by $400 to $3,300 per election to each federal candidate. Since primary and general election contests are viewed as separate “elections,” an individual or a non-multicandidate PAC may now contribute a total of $6,600 to a federal candidate.
A new Maryland law, which will go into effect on July 1, 2022, requires all organizations that pay lobbyists at least $500 in compensation to file reports on a semiannual basis disclosing contributions to candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Controller and Members of the General Assembly. Reports must be filed even if no political contributions are made during a six-month reporting period (November – April and May – October). As a result, many corporations and associations that employ or retain lobbyists will now have Maryland reporting obligations.
In a PPP Frequently Asked Questions release, the SBA stated that for purposes of determining the eligibility of section 501(c)(6) organizations for First Draw and Second Draw PPP Loans, “lobbying activities” is defined by the Lobbying Disclosure Act, rather than the Internal Revenue Code.
Under the Economic Aid Act, trade associations, chambers of commerce and other 501(c)(6) organizations are now eligible to receive PPP loans provided that lobbying is not more than 15% of an applicant’s activities and the cost of its lobbying did not exceed $1 million in the most recent tax year prior to February 15, 2020.
On his first day in office, President Biden signed an Executive Order that imposes ethics obligations on appointees to his Administration. While the Order has some similarities with the ethics Executive Orders issued by Presidents Trump and Obama, there are several new provisions of importance to individuals that go to work for the new Administration as well as to organizations that interact with Biden Administration appointees.
On August 21, 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a 2018 US District Court decision holding that the FEC’s independent expenditure (“IE”) disclosure rule was contrary to law.
Another election year is upon us, and once again federal and state candidates are on track to raise and spend unprecedented sums for their election efforts. That means corporations, trade associations, 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, and their leaders, members and donors will be inundated with political contribution requests. They may also be asked to help candidates and political parties in other ways, such as hosting fundraisers or providing in-kind contributions of goods or services.
For many organizations, political engagement is not an option – decisions by federal, state and local officials may be critical to their success. Any organization engaged in political activity must understand the basic rules of the road in order to avoid common pitfalls. Here are our Top 5 compliance tips for addressing the political law risks facing your organization this election year.
As the April 22 deadline approaches for submitting quarterly federal lobbying reports, organizations that employ or retain lobbyists must be aware of new registration and reporting obligations.
In an opinion released on August 3rd, US District Court Judge Beryl Howell greatly expanded the FEC donor disclosure reporting requirements for independent groups – like Section 501(4) and 501(c)(6) organizations – that sponsor independent expenditures and other candidate advocacy communications. The court delayed the implementation of its ruling for 45 days to give the FEC time to draft interim rules.
Nonprofit organizations are often overly cautious in speaking out about their causes and interacting with candidates in election years for fear of violating a complex set of laws and rules. You can and should participate in the election-year conversation. Here’s how.
On July 16, 2018, the IRS announced that it has eliminated the requirement for most nonprofit organizations to provide confidential donor information to the IRS on Schedule B to their annual IRS Form 990. Although limited in scope and with no impact on public transparency, the change has significant political ramifications and has ignited a firestorm of support and condemnation across the political spectrum. This includes a partisan Senate Finance Committee vote and delay in the Senate confirmation vote on the new IRS Commissioner.
DC Partner Jim Kahl and Nancy Bukar, Sodexo Vice President of Government Affairs & Assistant General Counsel, co-presented to The Association of Corporate Counsel (National Capital Region) in a webcast last Tuesday on “Election Year Corporate Political Activity: Understanding the Legal Risks and Strategic Opportunities.”
A recent article in Associations Now features DC-based political Law partners Jim Kahl and Jeff Altman. “Whether you see an opportunity to advance your agenda or a need to defend members’ interests, it’s wise to reexamine your government relations strategy right now,” says Kahl. “What we know now is that a Republican majority means organizations need to be ready to respond to bills immediately,” says Altman. “With the new Congress, legislation will be passed very quickly.”
Whether your organization has a long lobbying track record or is starting fresh with a new administration, you need to know how federal lobbying, tax, and gift rules will affect your advocacy work. Here's a primer for beginners and a refresher for veterans.
Whiteford, Taylor & Preston Political Law expert James Kahl was quoted this week in an article in the Boston Globe about potential campaign finance violations by a Massachusetts law firm.
The final weeks of the 2016 election season continue to offer unique opportunities to drive interest and support for your industry, profession or cause. Whatever your tax status, you have a constitutionally protected right to conduct a wide range of educational, issue advocacy and lobbying activities in order to engage your members, donors, the general public, policy makers, and candidates. Trade associations and social welfare organizations can do much more to help elect their preferred candidates. Although compliance with tax, election, ethics and lobbying laws can be challenging, they also offer opportunities, not obstacles, to generate interest and support for your public policy goals in these final days of the 2016 election season and beyond.
Every election year, corporations, associations, their PACs, and their leaders are asked to host or participate in fundraising events for federal candidates. All incorporated entities – corporations, trade associations, or advocacy organizations – are barred from making contributions (monetary or in-kind) to any candidate for federal office. As we enter the heart of the 2016 election year, corporation and association leaders must make sure that their organizations know the rules for participating in federal fundraising events or risk significant monetary penalties and adverse publicity.
Another election year is upon us, and once again federal and state candidates are on track to raise and spend unprecedented sums for their election efforts. That means corporations, trade associations, 501(c)(4) advocacy organizations, their political action committees (“PACs”), leaders, members and donors will be inundated with political contribution requests. They may also be asked to help candidates and political parties in other ways, such as hosting fundraisers or providing in-kind contributions of goods or services.
This 30-minute webinar highlights key political law compliance considerations for corporations and associations as we head into the end of a busy 2020 election season and as organizations assess their legislative priorities in Congress and state legislatures in the New Year.
The same political activity may involve federal, state and local laws. Understand the rules to identify opportunities and avoid risks and adverse publicity.
Whiteford is pleased to announce that Chambers and Partners has once again ranked the firm highly in its 2023 list of leading firms and business lawyers.
