Past Articles Highlight Important Changes in Election Law
With the 2004 Presidential election just around the corner, the editors of Election Law News have created the following index of past newsletter articles highlighting important changes in campaign finance law, lobbying regulation, ethics and the taxation of political activities.
Corporate Communications
Corporate Communications Guide (May 2004): Practical tips to assist corporations and trade associations that want to continue their lobbying and other forms of communications featuring federal candidates and officeholders, but want to avoid the legal pitfalls of violating election laws
Three Cheers for Corporate Partisan Communication (March 2004): Corporations and trade associations may communicate with their respective restricted classes about federal candidates, federal parties and federal elections, and may urge members of its restricted class to vote for a particular federal candidate, to vote against a particular federal candidate or to donate personal funds to selected federal candidates or committees.
The Corporation As Political Host: When Corporations Sponsor Appearances by Federal Candidates (July 2003): Corporations often have an interest in hosting appearances by candidates for federal office. The Federal Election Campaign Act and regulations issued by the FEC impose certain restrictions on corporate-sponsored forums for federal candidates.
Disclaimer Requirements
TV and Radio Disclaimer Requirements of BCRA (January 2004): Under BCRA and rules promulgated thereunder by the FEC, all electioneering communications, independent expenditures and certain other public communications by candidates, PACs, political parties and other persons must contain certain disclaimers.
Disclaimers for Printed Matter (March 2003): One section of the new FEC regulations regarding disclaimers on communications to the general public by candidates, PACs and other entities specifically applies to printed communications.
FEC Rules
Rules for Two-Year Individual Aggregate Limits Changed (January 2004): The FEC amended its rules regarding the federal biennial aggregate contribution limits for individuals to state that contributions to federal candidates made by individuals on or after January 1, 2004 will apply against the two-year aggregate contribution limits for the two-year election cycle in which the contributions are made.
New FEC Airplane Reimbursement Rules Effective January 2004 (January 2004): The FEC amended its regulations pertaining to reimbursement by federal candidates and committees to corporations or other entities for the use of airplanes owned or leased by them.
FEC Approves Final Coordination Rules (December 2002): In its final rules, the FEC defined the parameters of coordination in light of the mandates contained in BCRA. Under the new rules, both content and conduct standards must be implicated in order for the FEC to find that a communication was impermissibly coordinated with a candidate, an authorized committee or a political party committee.
Contribution Limits
Contribution Limits (March 2003): Identification of contribution limits to candidate committees and PACs and state, district local and national party committees.