Compliance Notes - Vol. 5, Issue 32
RECENT LOBBYING, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE UPDATES
We read the news, cut through the noise and provide you the notes.
Welcome to Compliance Notes from Nossaman’s Government Relations & Regulation Group – a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes and court cases involving campaign finance, lobbying compliance, election law and government ethics issues at the federal, state and local level.
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Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance
Florida: After more than two weeks of trial, jurors found former Republican State Senator Frank Artiles guilty of most of the charges in a “ghost candidate” scheme. Authorities claim Artiles recruited “ghost candidate” Alex Rodriguez to run as a third-party candidate to eventually siphon votes from incumbent Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez in the 2020 District 37 race. Rodriguez received more than 6,000 votes and Republican candidate Illeana Garcia beat the incumbent by just 32 votes. Florida law permits ghost candidates but prohibits people making excessive campaign contributions of more than $1,000. Jurors found Artiles guilty of excessive campaign contributions, specifically six that totaled $26,812.92. He also was convicted of conspiring to make campaign contributions and procuring the falsification of a candidate oath form. Artiles was found not guilty of procuring falsification of a voter registration form. (Christian Colón, NBC 6 South Florida)
Government Ethics & Transparency
California: A federal judge on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, blocked a California measure restricting the use of digitally-altered political “deepfakes” just two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law. Chris Kohls, known as “Mr Reagan” on X (formerly Twitter), sued to prevent the state from enforcing the law after posting an AI-generated video of a Harris campaign ad on the social media site. Kohls claimed the First Amendment protected the video because it was a parody and the judge agreed. Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez wrote, “most of [the law] acts as a hammer instead of a scalpel,” calling it “a blunt tool that hinders humorous expression and unconstitutionally stifles the free and unfettered exchange of ideas.” The judge carved out an exception for a “not unduly burdensome” portion of the law that requires verbal disclosure of digitally altered content in audio-only recordings. The ruling is a blow to a push by the state’s leading Democrats to rein in misleading content on social media ahead of Election Day. (Tyler Katzenberger, POLITICO)
Indiana: Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s campaign drew criticism when it released a TV ad September 30, 2024, showing an image of Democrat Jennifer McCormick’s supporters holding doctored signs behind her declaring “no gas stoves” when those signs never existed. The Republican gubernatorial candidate’s campaign released the ad containing the altered image and audio that said McCormick wants to “ban gas stoves.” However, the campaign later pulled the ad and replaced it with one containing a disclaimer that the image had been doctored, which is now required under a state law passed earlier this year. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Enrolled Act 1133 into law in March 2024, which allows candidates for office or current elected officials to sue individuals who create or disseminate altered audio or visual campaign materials without their consent. A senior campaign advisor said the ad was “mistakenly” shared with TV stations and was being replaced with the version that includes the disclaimer. (Brittany Carloni, Indianapolis Star)
