Second Circuit Upholds Connecticut Pay-to-Play Law
In a much anticipated opinion (attached), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld significant portions of Connecticut’s pay-to-play law. Interestingly, while the Court upheld the state’s very strict prohibition against contractors from contributing to the campaigns of state candidates, it invalidated a similar provision as applied to state lobbyists. The opinion also rejected a provision of the law which prohibited contractors and lobbyists from soliciting campaign contributions from others.
The ruling is quite significant when one considers the breadth of the existing Connecticut law as compared with pay-to-play restrictions in other states. Like many states, lobbyists, state contractors and prospective state contractors are prohibited from making contributions to certain state candidates, candidate-affiliated political action committees and party committees. What makes the law noteworthy, and a special little compliance nightmare for those seeking to adhere to it, is that the solicitation restrictions apply not just to principals of state contractors, but also to their families.
In upholding the portion of the law pertaining to contributions by state contractors, the Court noted Connecticut’s sordid (but hardly unique) history with political scandal that fostered the law. Because of this past history with corruption, and the State’s recognized interest in preventing even the appearance of future such corruption, the Second Circuit determined that the contractor contribution ban survived First Amendment scrutiny. (See Green Party of Ct. v. Garfield, 09-0599-cv(L) at p.15-16 & 18-19). That analysis, as far as it goes, seems sensibly grounded and well rooted in Constitutional precedent.
Where the Court’s opinion could be argued to deviate from the terra firma of reality, and where compliance officers throughout the country can be forgiven for muttering to themselves in disbelief, is with respect to the analysis upholding the prohibition on contributions by spouses and children of contractors. Without even identifying past evidence that malevolent contractors have ever used their immediate families to circumvent any laws, the Court nonetheless upheld the ban:
In light of the recent corruption scandals, [the Connecticut] General Assembly must be given “room to anticipate and respond to concerns about” the “circumvention” of the bans on contractor contributions. Indeed, were we to affirm the ban on contributions by contractors but strike down the ban on contributions by their family members, we would invite the very circumvention that the General Assembly was trying to prevent.
Id. at 22.
What may appear logical in judicial chambers can take on an entirely new light when confronted from the perspective of a compliance officer tasked with ensuring that the CEO’s spouse complies with the ban and then periodically inquiring about ongoing compliance. I know I wouldn’t want to be put in the position of telling my own wife who she could make a campaign contribution to. It is especially difficult counseling clients that this conversation has to take place with the CEO. And equally as troubling when weighed against the First Amendment privileges it infringes upon.
Nonetheless, the law and constitutional analysis are clearly here to stay. Look for more states to follow Connecticut’s lead and impose pay-to-play restrictions on extended families.
Reacting to investigations that have
Several efforts are underway at the state and local levels to re-examine New Jersey’s stringent pay-to-play laws. This is probably a good development. Without question, New Jersey’s pay-to-play laws, put into effect in 2006, are considered by most in the regulated community to be among the most intrusive and confusing in the country. That is not a good combination for those doing business in the state or the lawyers seeking to advise them. Fortunately, it appears that the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) agrees with that assessment and has announced its intention to support revisions to the law.
In early June 2010,
It just wouldn’t be right to have a pay to play blog and not post a comment about recent developments in the grand daddy of all pay to play trials: United States v. Blagojevich.
As we have
Last Thursday, the Indiana State Senate passed a comprehensive piece of ethics legislation by an impressive 50-0 vote. Conspicuously absent from the Senate bill was previously-included language containing "pay-to-play" language, including a provision that would bar vendors holding or seeking state contracts worth $100,000 or more per year from donating to the campaigns of candidates seeking state office. At issue now is whether a House-Senate conference committee will reinstate the stricken language before sending the bill to Governor Mitch Daniels for signature.
Despite the numerous
As we previously reported in our
Last week, the State of New York provided a graphic illustration of the perils confronting legislators as they attempt to balance public calls for dramatic reform against their own natural self-interest in blunting the impact of the restrictions they are imposing upon themselves.
New legislation in California, if passed, would prohibit a person acting as a placement agent in connection with any political investment made by a state public retirement system, unless the person is registered as a lobbyist and is in full compliance with California’s
I received an email from a law student who posed a question about the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision in
As we mentioned in our
For those that interact with this area of the law, it is well known that New Jersey has some of the most robust pay-to-play laws in the nation, at both the state and local levels. Perhaps not surprisingly, due to the numerous
New York
With the opening of legislative sessions nationwide, 2010 is sure to be one of the busiest years ever for pay-to-play legislation. As
A bill has recently been introduced in the Michigan State Senate to curtail a new element of “pay to play” politics. Michigan State Senator Cameron Brown (R-Fawn River Township, MI), has introduced a bill to prohibit candidates from paying others to endorse their candidacy. Like virtually all new restrictive pieces of pay to play legislation (especially those of dubious constitutionality), this legislation arises from recent significant media attention paid in Detroit to an alleged practice by city council candidates to pay unions, community organizations and other organizations to endorse their candidacy.
Trends regarding the enactment of pay-to-play legislation remain remarkably consistent and robust nationwide. Typically, pay-to-play legislation is passed in the wake of a corruption scandal that befalls a high-ranking public official. In such an instance, the political pressure on governing bodies is so tremendous to act, that pay-to-play reform is inevitable.
While we salute Mayor Franklin for her leadership in establishing a more ethical climate in City government, one of the things we see as little changed from past administrations is well-connected insiders continuing to show up in disproportionate numbers of the chosen few who are selected for work contracted by the City of Atlanta, and by the Atlanta airport.
On September 23, 2009, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced a ban on pay-to-play practices related to the $116.5 billion dollar New York State Common Retirement Fund (the “CRF”). The Comptroller issued an Executive Order and Interim Policy that prohibits the CRF from doing business with any outside Investment Adviser within two years after the Investment Adviser, or any senior officers or executives of the Investment Adviser, has made a contribution to the State Comptroller, or to a candidate for State Comptroller. An “Investment Adviser” is any Investment Adviser required to be registered with the SEC, and those Investment Advisers exempt from registration under section 203 of the Federal Advisers Act.
While most agree the 