Compliance Notes - Vol. 6, Issue 7
RECENT LOBBYING, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE UPDATES
Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved two advisory opinions at its March 27, 2025, open meeting. The FEC approved Advisory Opinion 2025-02 and Advisory Opinion 2025-03 in response to requests from the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico and the American Samoa Democratic Party, concluding that the requestors qualify as a state committee of a political party. (FEC Press Release, AO 2025-02 & AO 2025-03)
Government Ethics & Transparency
Colorado: Colorado lawmakers killed a proposal Thursday, March 27, 2025, that would have prohibited lobbyists from donating to legislators, statewide elected officials, or candidates for those offices. Senate Bill 148 fell at the measure’s first hurdle on a 2-3 bipartisan vote by a committee. The bill would have expanded a 31-year-old Colorado law prohibiting lobbyists from donating to campaigns during the Legislature’s 120-day annual session. Had the bill passed, the proposed year-round prohibition would have bumped Colorado into a handful of states that more broadly limit lobbyist donations to the policymakers they are trying to influence. However, it failed to get out of the Senate’s State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. (Seth Klamann, The Denver Post)
Kansas: Kansas lawmakers passed a bill relaxing ethics laws to allow more nonprofits to reimburse politicians for travel to events and conferences and give more leeway for the executive branch to accept gifted or discounted tickets to entertainment events. Currently, travel reimbursement is limited to nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations “established for the purpose of informing, educating and strengthening state legislators in all states.” The bill expands who can reimburse lawmakers for expenses incurred from participating events to any nonprofit nonpartisan organization that does not engage in lobbying in the state of Kansas. The bill will now go to the governor to be signed or vetoed. (Jack Harvel, Topeka Capital-Journal)
Ballot Measures & Legislation
Utah: As part of a batch of seventy-five bills Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed on Monday, March 24, 2025, he approved SB73, that layers on new requirements for ballot initiative seekers. Now law, SB73 requires initiative backers to include in their application for the initiative a detailed description of how the proposed law would be funded and if it would require a new tax. That provision of the bill took effect the moment Cox signed it. The governor did not issue a signing statement; however, proponents of setting new rules for ballot initiatives argued during the Legislature’s 2025 session that Utah voters need to know the fiscal impact of proposed ballot initiatives. Critics, including the anti-gerrymandering group Better Boundaries, opposed the bill as another piece of legislation that makes it even more difficult for Utahns to exercise their ballot initiative power in a state where it is already hard enough. (Katie McKellar, Utah News Dispatch)
We read the news, cut through the noise and provide you the notes.
Compliance Notes from Nossaman’s Government Relations & Regulation Group is 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. Our attorneys, policy advisors and compliance consultants are available to discuss any questions or how specific issues may impact your business. If there is a particular subject or jurisdiction you’d like to see covered, please let us know.
