Lobbyist-Bundled Contributions

The latest document regarding the disclosure of certain information about lobbyist-bundled contributions is the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  In this November 2007 document the Commission wrote:

The Commission expects that these proposed rules will become final in early 2008, and that the new disclosure requirements will apply to reports filed three months later. Thus, the first semi-annual reporting period would be January 1 through June 30, 2008, and the first quarterly reporting period would be April through June, 2008.

As of this writing, the rules have not been made final.

Public Service Announcements

The FEC and a number of states have weighed-in on public service announcements featuring officeholders/candidates.  Minnesota’s Campaign Finance and and Public Disclosure Board opines in its advisory opinion 394.   This seems to be a familiar sentiment:

The Board recognizes that any positive public exposure may have some effect on an individual’s chance of being elected. However, this possible collateral effect under the facts presented is not sufficient bring the productions within the scope of speech that is considered to be for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of a candidate.

 

IRS Complaints

The IRS released its complaint process for non-profits:

A complaint (also called a referral) is any communication alleging that a tax-exempt organization is in potential noncompliance with the tax law.  EO receives complaints from the general public, members of Congress, federal and state government agencies, as well as from other parts of the IRS.