Home > Blog > Browse Blog
BLOG
Enforcement
Bauer on FEC "deadlocks"
Published on May 20, 2009
Category: Enforcement
Bob Bauer's latest public comments — rare since his blog retirement — focus on the meaning of recent "deadlocks" at the FEC. As usual, Bauer's comments are thoughtful, thorough and mostly agnostic on whether or not the deadlocks pose a monumental problem as most in the "reform" community charge. Bauer, doesn't buy the line from those in the pro-regulation camp that Republican commissioners are being rampantly partisan or refusing to uphold the law. Rather, Bauer writes, the Republic
Arizona's clean elections campaign finance reform champion not so clean?
Published on May 7, 2009
Category: Enforcement, Taxpayer Financed Campaigns
Last week I wrote about Doug Quelland, a Republican state legislator in Arizona who is in danger of having the Arizona Clean Elections Commission nullify the voters' decision and toss him out for allegedly failing to comply with the rules of Arizona's so-called clean elections program. In that post I wrote about my concerns regarding this effort to deny the voters in Arizona's 10th District the person they elected to office. Those concerns remain, but yesterday I saw a news article on the case
A quick note re: 11 CFR 100.22(b)
Published on April 29, 2009 07:00 AM
Category: Enforcement, Expenditure, Political Committees & 527s
Professor Rick Hasen of the Election Law Blog directs readers to footnote 30 of the Republican Commissioners' statement of reasons in the Americans for Job Security matter, which, to Hasen, "looks pretty clearly ... that the 100.22(b) test is being read in light of WRTL [II]." Click on the headline to see why there is a "reasonable interpretation other than" to believe Republican Commissioners are four-square behind the enforcement of the questionable 11 CFR 100.22(b).
A ‘Lantern’ of light for independent political speech?
Published on April 24, 2009 06:25 AM
Category: Enforcement, Political Committees & 527s
Earlier this month the Federal Election Commission made public its decision not to proceed with any investigation against a 527 group named The Lantern Project, which had run issue ads about then-Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) during his 2006 general election battle against now-Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). As Professor Hasen noted on his Election Law Blog, this ruling may be "A Huge Development in FEC 527 Enforcement" because, "[i]f this is going to be the standard for what 527s can do i
Brian Svoboda on Federal Election Commission Press Releases
Published on April 13, 2009
Category: Enforcement
Roll Call has a very informative article today on the tension at the Federal Election Commission between the goals of transparency and caution in terms of what type of information is released and language is used in press releases when a case is concluded. The full story is here (subscription required): FEC Split Over Its Openness A few brief excerpts:The Federal Election Commission's leaders are struggling with... how open and expansive the agency should be in publicizing its caseload...... in
An example of the FEC's broken complaint process
Published on March 16, 2009
Category: Enforcement
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
FEC Adopts E&J for Bundling Rules: Ho-Hum
Published on February 4, 2009
Category: Enforcement, Lobbying
Yesterday (Feb. 3) the FEC adopted the Explanation & Justification (E&J) for the bundling rules originally adopted in December. That means that the E&J will be published in the federal register and the rules will take effect. Both the rules and the E&J adopted yesterday can be found here. This was a ho-hum event - the rules published in December were pretty clear, and the E&J gives the fairly obvious reasons for their adoption. The "reform&quo
FEC Commissioners release statement on The November Fund
Published on January 23, 2009 02:43 PM
Category: Enforcement
In a statement released today, three FEC commissioners explained why they decided not to pursue further enforcement action against The November Fund, an independent group that received donations from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The central issue in the matter was whether The November Fund was a "political committee" as defined in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). The November Fund is an issue advocacy group registered with the IRS as a 527 organization. Citizens for Respo
Wall Stree Journal Praises "Yes on Term Limits v. Savage:" CCP Served as Co-Counsel
Published on December 26, 2008 12:29 PM
Category: Disclosure, Enforcement, Jurisprudence & Litigation, Other
The Wall Street Journal today praises the 10th Circuit's opinion in Yes on Term Limits v. Savage, striking down as unconstitutional an Oklahoma law limiting the political speech and association rights of non-resident petitioners, and urging Attorney General Drew Edmondson to drop his plans to appeal. The case struck down an Oklahoma law that placed burdens on the rights of Oklahoma citizens to petition government for redress of grievances by limiting their ability to hire out of
A Bundle of Noise: The Overwrought Reaction to the FEC's Bundling Rules
Published on December 23, 2008 05:00 AM
Category: Disclosure, Enforcement, Lobbying
Pretty much like clockwork, if the FEC does something, it is criticized by so-called "reform" organizations for not being tough enough. Such is the predictable response of the "reform" lobby to the FEC's new rules on bundling. But that response tells us more about the ultimate interests and Kafkaesque rules the reform lobby would like to t see in place than it does about the FEC's rules or the ultimate interest of the public - such as it may be - in bundling
