There has been a lot of activity recently in Libertarian National Committee (LNC) v. Federal Election Commission (FEC), CCP’s challenge to the FEC’s overbroad application of contribution limits to the decease. On March 18th, Judge Wilkins of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia certified the following question to the Court of Appeals: “Does imposing annual [...]
UPDATE: Libertarian National Committee v. FEC
Published on May 10, 2013
Filed Under: Blog, Libertarian National Committee v. FEC Legal Documents
Constitutionally Suspect Nevada Bill Would Chill Nonprofit Groups’ Speech Rights
Published on May 9, 2013
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Center for Competitive Politics’ External Relations Director Matt Nese submitted comments today to the Nevada Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee on Senate Bill 246, which expands the state’s definition of “committee for political action” to broadly cover many organizations, which only minimally participate in electoral politics. The bill’s revised definition of “committee for political action” uses a monetary trigger that blurs the distinction between [...]
Filed Under: Blog, External Relations Press Releases, Featured Content, Press Releases
Campaign Finance Laws Ensure Noncompliance
Published on May 9, 2013
As FEC Commissioner Caroline Hunter likes to point out, the Federal Election Campaign Act (at 2 U.S.C. § 437d(a)(9)) (FECA) charges the Federal Election Commission (FEC) with “encourag[ing] voluntary compliance” with the law. Ironically, the same statute is so littered with counterintuitive and nonsensical provisions that they virtually ensure noncompliance. The FEC complaint filed by [...]
Filed Under: Blog
California Bill Requiring Burdensome Disclosure from Nonprofits and Local Groups Would Stifle Speech
Published on May 8, 2013
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Center for Competitive Politics’ External Relations Director Matt Nese filed comments today on California Assembly Bill 45, currently being considered before the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill, which introduces a new reporting regime for donors who contribute $200 or more to “multipurpose organizations,” is really, according to Nese, “so broad as to likely be misunderstood by everyday citizen groups that choose to speak on issues unrelated [...]
Filed Under: Blog, External Relations Press Releases, Featured Content, Press Releases
Keating Testimony Video link
Published on May 8, 2013
CCP President David Keating testified yesterday before members of the New York State Senate on public financing of elections with a warning that emulating the campaign finance regime of New York City — something Gov. Cuomo has proposed — will not reduce corruption in the state and, in fact, may be one of the causes [...]
Filed Under: Blog
Ezra Klein Really Sorry About All That Evil Money Talk
Published on May 8, 2013
Tuesday, Washington Post’s Ezra Klein took to his Wonk Blog and offered something of an apology for getting “way too excited” over the influence of money in the last election. Given that nearly everyone’s in agreement that the hysteria over big donors buying elections was overblown, Klein feels inclined to begin his mea culpa by [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Featured Content, Uncategorized
Are shareholders demanding more corporate disclosure? Proxy results continue to say “No.”
Published on May 7, 2013
As campaign finance activists and Democratic Party shills continue to urge the SEC to involve itself in campaign finance – in this case by requiring corporations to disclose publicly their trade association dues, contributions to 501(c) organizations, and all other expenditures that might at some point end up supporting the corporation’s political interests, one argument [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance Federal, Corporate Governance Press Release/In the News/Blog, Disclosure, Featured Content, Federal, Federal Press Releases and Blogs, Chubb, corporate disclosure, EMC Corp., General Dynamics, IBM, Manhattan Institute, SEC, Valero Energy
CCP Study Used to Counter Public Financing Push in New York State
Published on May 7, 2013
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – CCP President David Keating will testify this morning at a hearing of the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Elections seeking “to examine the abuses within New York City’s taxpayer funded political campaign system and the implications for state taxpayers if the system were to be expanded statewide.” CCP’s report “Clean Elections and [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Featured Content, Press Releases
CCP Harvard Business Law Review “Using the SEC to Regulate Partisan Politics”
Published on May 2, 2013
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — CCP Founder and former FEC Chairman Brad Smith and CCP Legal Director Allen Dickerson currently have a paper up for review to be published in a forthcoming Harvard Business Law Review entitled “The Non-Expert Agency: Using the SEC to Regulate Partisan Politics.” Professor Stephen Bainbridge, William D. Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance Press Release/In the News/Blog, Featured Content, Press Releases
Media Watch: Washington Post survey reveals public misunderstanding of super PACs; article reveals the paper shares in that misunderstanding
Published on May 2, 2013
Two days ago, the Washington Post published the results of a survey it conducted, which indicated a majority of Americans could not properly explain what a super PAC is. Ironically, the Post ran a story today on the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race to fill the seat of former Sen. John Kerry, in which it reported, [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Citizens United, Disclosure, Featured Content, Media Watch