Compliance Notes - Vol. 7, Issue 20
RECENT LOBBYING, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE UPDATES
Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance
The Federal Election Commission sent three letters to Senator Eric Schmitt’s campaign between March and August 2026 after reviewing campaign finance reports, seeking clarification of possible reporting errors and contributions above federal limits. Thirteen out-of-state donors appeared nearly 5,700 times in Schmitt’s reports. The reports attributed $85,672 in contributions to those donors after deducting negative entries in amended filings, with individual totals ranging from amounts slightly exceeding the $3,500 per-election contribution limit to more than $10,500. Schmitt’s campaign treasurer attributed the discrepancies to a software error and said amended reports corrected donor information and addressed any excess contributions. The letters do not establish a violation, but they highlight broader questions about recurring online fundraising and the safeguards used to identify excessive contributions arising from recurring donation programs, particularly because federal law does not require clear donor consent for recurring contributions or post-contribution notifications. (Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent)
Arizona: In a September 30, 2026, decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld Arizona’s Voters Right to Know Act, rejecting a constitutional challenge brought by Americans for Prosperity. In a 2-1 ruling, the court held the law’s disclosure requirements for large political donations do not violate the First Amendment because they are narrowly tailored to serve the state’s interest in informing voters about the sources of major campaign spending. The law requires campaigns spending at least $50,000 in statewide races or $25,000 in other races to disclose donors who contributed more than $5,000. The majority found the measure imposes only a “modest burden” on speech and association rights and noted that donors may opt out of having their contributions used for campaign media spending. In dissent, Judge Patrick Bumatay argued the law could expose and associate donors with political activity they neither intended to support nor knew about. (Joe Duhownik, Courthouse News Service)
Government Ethics & Transparency
California: On September 30, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom approved AB 775, revising the reporting requirements for behested payments under the Political Reform Act. Effective January 1, 2027, the legislation replaces the previous event-based disclosure schedule with quarterly reporting, requiring elected officers and members of the Public Utilities Commission to report within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter in which payments from a single source reach $5,000 in a calendar year, and to file additional reports each time subsequent payments from that source reach $1,000 in the aggregate. AB 775 also codifies existing regulations requiring reports to describe any known decision-making, employment, founding-member or advisory-board ties between a nonprofit recipient and the official, their immediate family or their staff, as well as any matters involving the payer that were before the official’s agency during the 12 months preceding the payment. The legislation likewise codifies the use of good faith estimates of payment amounts and dates when exact information is unavailable despite reasonable efforts, provided the official files a corrected report. Reports must be filed directly through the Fair Political Practices Commission’s electronic filing system, although local elected officers may instead file with their local filing officer if reports are posted online within 10 days of receipt. (CalMatters Digital Democracy)
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.
