CCP
PR Firms Sue NY on New Lobbying Rule
The Center for Competitive Politics … announced that five public relations firms filed a lawsuit in federal court today seeking to block a new lobbying rule by the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE). That advisory opinion would force public relations professionals to register as lobbyists…
The unprecedented and widely-criticized JCOPE opinion became final in January and says in part that “a public relations consultant who contacts a media outlet in an attempt to get it to advance the client’s message in an editorial would also be delivering a message” that would count as lobbying and would trigger burdensome filings by PR firms as lobbyists.
In the News
USA Today: Liberals should thank Scalia for right to blast GOP on Supreme Court
Eric Wang
The Citizens United and Wisconsin Right to Life rulings made it possible for advocacy groups today to put the heat of public opinion on senators and presidential candidates to confirm or block Supreme Court nominees, and to push this as a campaign issue. Ironically, many of the same groups exercising their speech rights in this manner also have urged a reversal of Citizens United, whether by constitutional amendment or Supreme Court appointments. Scalia surely would have scolded such intellectual “jiggery pokery.”
Wall Street Journal: PR Firms File Lawsuit to Block Albany Lobbying Rules
Erica Orden
The firms—including BerlinRosen Public Affairs Ltd, which works closely with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Risa Heller Communications LLC and Mercury Public Affairs—sued the Joint Commission on Public Ethics in Manhattan federal court. They seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, arguing the panel’s interpretation of the state lobbying act violates federal constitutional protection of free speech.
“This expansive (indeed, nonsensical) definition of ‘lobbying,’ which was created by administrative fiat, directly inhibits and chills the rights of public relations firms and their clients to participate in discussions of public matters with and in the press, to serve as anonymous sources to the press, and to exercise their core speech and associational rights free from government inspection or the threat of prosecution or sanction,” says the plaintiffs’ brief, filed by the firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP and the Center for Competitive Politics, a Virginia-based nonprofit.
New York Post: PR People fight requirement to disclose communications with reporters
Carl Campanile
Under the new regulation, JCOPE said “any attempt by a consultant to induce a third party — whether the public or press — to deliver the client’s lobbying message to a public official would constitute lobbying.”
The activity would have to be reported under the threat of civil fines or criminal prosecution, the firms said in their lawsuit.
“With these sweeping statements, the Commission’s opinion converts the entire public relations industry in New York State into `lobbyists’ subject to Commission’s disclosure and regulatory regime,” the complaint says.
“And virtually all PR consultants contact media outlets in an attempt to get the media outlet to advance the client’s message.”
Politico New York: PR firms file suit over ‘hopelessly vague’ JCOPE lobbying definition
Bill Mahoney
They argue that JCOPE’s definition of what constitutes lobbying goes beyond the types of activities that have been narrowed by First Amendment case law. While courts have permitted regulations of grassroots lobbying in the past, this has typically been limited to efforts to get third parties to influence lawmakers, such as by paying for a letter-writing campaign. Paying somebody to seek favorable editorials from a third party, they argue, is fundamentally different than paying for television advertisements that seek to encourage the public to act on an issue.
“It’s really a pretty breathtaking expansion in terms of indirect political activity,” said Center for Competitive Politics lawyer Allen Dickerson, “and also, this effort to dragoon the press as part of the lobbying apparatus I think is very dangerous.”
New York Times: Public Relations Firms Sue New York Ethics Panel Over New Disclosure Rule
Jesse McKinley
That new standard caused an uproar among many public relations professionals, who argued that such disclosure would limit their right to free speech as well as the ability of editorial board members and other journalists to talk with such sources about issues and possible articles.
“The commission’s action is a wholesale violation of the First Amendment’s speech and press provisions,” the lawsuit says, noting that while Jcope was cautioned by the public relations firms and others that the opinion was unconstitutional, “its response was to forge ahead, heedless of the impact.”
Albany Times Union: JCOPE draws rights lawsuit
Casey Seiler
The suit is also supported by the Center for Competitive Politics, a Virginia-based nonprofit that has worked against state-imposed restraints on political donations and disclosure requirements that it views as chilling to public engagement.
Intended to address the roles of consultants as “architects of grassroots lobbying campaigns to the public,” the rules at issue were adopted by JCOPE in January. The advisory opinion that accompanies them state in part, “Any attempt by a consultant to induce a third-party — whether the public or the press — to deliver the client’s lobbying message to a public official would constitute lobbying under these rules.”
Albany Business Review: PR firms fighting new lobbying rules
Marie J. French
The opinion pages of newspapers have derided the new rules, which include talking to an editorial board as a lobbying activity.
“The newly expanded definition covers the activities of virtually every public relations firm in the state,” the lawsuit states. “The commission’s action is a wholesale violation of the First Amendment’s speech and press provisions.”
PR Week: Industry groups, 5 PR agencies go to court to halt New York State lobbying redefinition
Frank Washkuch
“Public relations firms that do not want to register as lobbyists will be deterred from communicating with the press on legislative issues, or will be forced to outsource this work to registered lobbyists,” it said. “Moreover, public relations firms will need to create their own internal compliance systems, which will hinder the way public relations firms do business. Alternatively, PR firms may stop doing business in New York State.”
New York Daily News: New York’s free-speech impediment
Editorial Board
New York State has no business imposing rules governing those who speak with media editorial boards — which would include us.
So bully to five public relations firms that have filed suit challenging regulation of such communications.
To regulate is to impede. To impede the free expression of information is to violate the First Amendment. So the rules, imposed by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, cannot stand.
Independent Groups
Los Angeles Times: Citizens United is only 15% of the political cash problem
Nick Penniman and Wendell Potter
The much greater threat to America’s hallowed system of self-government remains the day-to-day routine of “hard money” fundraising.
Hard money refers to contributions given directly to a candidate’s campaign, not to “outside” political groups such as super PACs. Even with a cap on these contributions of $2,700 per individual, such donations constitute the bulk of political spending. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, of the $3.7 billion spent in the 2014 congressional midterms, super PACs, nonprofits and other outside spenders made up around $560 million, or roughly 15%. In contrast, $1.5 billion, or 42%, was spent by candidates themselves, with the rest left to party committees.
Washington Post: Allied super PAC rushing to Marco Rubio’s rescue in Florida
Matea Gold
The latest burst of air support from Conservative Solutions PAC: a $5 million ad buy reported late Tuesday evening to the Federal Election Commission. The group’s newest TV commercial, a soft-focus spot set to stirring music, quotes Ronald Reagan talking about the need to have “heroic dreams” and extols the young senator as the embodiment of the American dream.
CPI: Rubio, other conservatives pummel Trump with attack ads
Cady Zuvich
…a conservative coalition aired nearly 7,000 advertisements in the past week attacking anti-establishment candidate Donald Trump in a last-ditch effort to prevent the real estate billionaire from winning the Republican nomination for president.
Since last Tuesday, a whopping 76 percent of all attack ads in the presidential race targeted Trump, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of data provided by Kantar Media/CMAG, an advertising tracking firm.
Candidates and Campaigns
Time: Why Bernie Sanders’ Upset in Michigan Matters
Sam Frizell
Sanders will immediately begin raising money off of his victory. He raised $42 million in February, outpacing Clinton. The pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA Action is covering some of the shortfall by spending $4.5 million in March.
For progressives supporting Sanders, the victory breathes new life into a campaign for which some have already been preparing obituaries. And it proves that angst over trade deals, which many Americans blame for the country’s loss of manufacturing jobs, is enough to sway voters.
RealClearPolitics: Why Trump Would Get Outspent by Clinton
Bill Scher
Trump’s net worth is in the billions (he says $10 billion, Forbes says $4.5 billion). But most of that is not liquid. What he has in cash is about $300 million. If he spent every dollar he had, he would get swamped anyway. (Even now, the frugal Trump is mostly loaning money to his campaign fund, not contributing to it.)
But, you say, Trump doesn’t play by your Washington rules! He doesn’t need money because he is the master of “free media.” He makes his own news and doesn’t need a lot of ads. He inspires voter turnout and doesn’t need a traditional get-out-the-vote operation.
That strategy has proved sufficient for the primaries. But you can win primaries by appealing to small niche of voters. They tend to be low turnout affairs that, in a crowded field, can be won with pluralities.
Washington Free Beacon: Hollywood Cash Continues to Flow to Hillary Clinton
Joe Schoffstall
The publication compiled donations using the Federal Election Commission database of campaign finance records to extract contributions coming out of Hollywood that totaled at least $2,500 and found that Clinton remains well ahead of other presidential candidates in donations from the notoriously liberal entertainment industry.
Here are the top donations coming out of Hollywood this election cycle:
The States
KPAX 8 Missoula: Ex- Montana Political Practices investigator calls commissioner biased
Mike Dennison
A former investigator for Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl testified Monday that Motl decided the outcome of cases before seeing all the evidence, and that she considered him biased.
“My impression of the the way (cases) were handled is that they were directed toward a specific goal,” Julie Steab told a state district judge. “And that was not how I learned to investigate.
“I learned that you gather all of the facts, and you consider the facts, and you move forward with your findings.”
Arizona Daily Sun: Senate approves campaign finance changes
Howard Fischer
Senate Republicans on Tuesday approved a series of changes in state campaign finance laws that foes say will enhance the flow of “dark money” and make it harder for voters to know who is trying to affect the outcome of elections…
Proponents of the change have argued that forcing groups to disclose their donors limits their ability to influence elections. That includes business groups like the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry whose president, Glenn Hamer, has said will “vigorously defend our right to participate in the process.”
