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Pay to Play Updates – June 2023

By Benjamin Keane, Michael Zolandz, C. Randall Nuckolls, Michael Pfeifer, and Merrill Weber
June 16, 2023
  • California
  • General
  • In The News
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An excerpt of Dentons’ Political Law Playbook.

CA State Court Upholds the Constitutionality of SB 1439’s Expanded Pay-to-Play Provisions – A California Superior Court recently upheld the constitutionality of the state’s controversial new pay-to-play laws, which went into effect at the beginning of this year. The law at issue, S.B. 1439, was initially challenged in February 2023 on grounds that it violated free speech as protected by both the federal and California constitutions. In his ruling, Judge Richard Sueyoshi found that California had not violated the plaintiff’s free speech and petition rights because the state had acted upon a compelling government interest in passing a law designed to prevent corruption or the appearance of corruption in local government operations in the same manner that it was already addressing such issues at the state level. The law – which is covered in detail in a previous post on Dentons’ Pay-to-Play Blog – expanded California’s long-standing state pay-to-play provisions to cover elected officials of local agencies and extended the contribution prohibition period for “covered parties” from three months to twelve months following a final decision in a relevant proceeding.

About the Political Law Playbook

Dentons’ Political Law Playbook is a monthly update on the most important developments in the areas of political law, government ethics, campaign finance, lobbying and election law. Each edition of Political Law Playbook will cast a spotlight on the unique issues at the intersection of law, policy and politics and give you a window into how the Dentons Political Law, Ethics and Disclosure team can help you navigate the compliance challenges you face.

To read the full editions of the newsletter, click here. Please click here to contact the authors of Political Law Playbook.

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Benjamin Keane

About Benjamin Keane

Ben Keane is a Partner in the Washington, DC and Atlanta, GA offices of Dentons and co-head of the firm’s Political Law, Ethics and Disclosure Team. Mr. Keane focuses his practice on the representation of elected officials, political candidates, PACs, SuperPACs, political parties, corporations, non-profit organizations and other entities with regard to federal, state and local election law, campaign finance, lobbying, pay-to-play, and ethics matters. He regularly counsels businesses, trade associations and other non-profits on the establishment and maintenance of successful political law compliance frameworks. Additionally, Mr. Keane assists clients across the country with political law investigation and audit matters involving federal, state and local government authorities, and frequently counsels presidential nominees, appointees and other federal officials on confirmation and ethics matters.

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Michael Zolandz

About Michael Zolandz

Mike Zolandz is the chair of Dentons' Federal Regulatory and Compliance practice, and serves as the Managing Partner for Dentons’ Washington, DC office. Mike focuses his practice on advising clients on their most critical and complex trade compliance and foreign investment projects, specializing in cross-border transactions and regulations related to international commerce.

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C. Randall Nuckolls

About C. Randall Nuckolls

Randy Nuckolls is a partner Dentons’ Washington, D.C. office and is a member of the Public Policy practice. He has more than thirty years of experience working on federal policy issues.

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Michael Pfeifer

About Michael Pfeifer

Michael Pfeifer is member of Dentons' Political Law, Ethics and Disclosure team. The focus of his practice is providing lobbying, campaign finance, and government ethics compliance counsel and representation to trade associations, political action committees (PACs), corporations and other business entities, non-profit organizations and elected officials at the federal, state and local levels.

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Merrill Weber

About Merrill Weber

Merrill M. Weber is an associate in Dentons’ Washington D.C. office and member of the Political Law, Ethics and Disclosure team. Her practice focuses on providing counsel on state, federal, and local lobbying, campaign finance, and government ethics compliance issues to clients including trade associations, political action committees (PACs), corporations and other business entities, and non-profit organizations.

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