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Posts Tagged ‘SEC’
Monday, June 24th, 2013 by Geoffrey Lyons
AN EARLIER POST to this blog referenced a “preliminary probe” by the SEC that has renewed debate about the role of the “political intelligence” industry. Yesterday, the Washington Post wrote about how the probe is shaping ongoing efforts by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) to cast light on the industry by developing a regulatory apparatus through which it can be monitored.
The second most interesting aspect of this story – behind the fact that Sen. Grassley is the former boss of Mark Hayes, the lobbyist at the center of the SEC probe – is that the model for this regulatory apparatus is the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA):
Grassley’s amendment proposed subjecting political intelligence consultants to the same disclosure rules as lobbyists, who under the Lobbying Disclosure Act must register if they come in contact with a government official and spent teen pokies at least 20 percent of their time advocating on behalf of lobbying clients in a three-month period.
Yet when Grassley and Slaughter first proposed this idea as an amendment to the STOCK Act, the House Finance Committee struck it down. Why? Because the definition of “political intelligence activities” was too broad. Now a standalone bill is being drafted by the two legislators for a second try. One would think that any controversial definitions would be altered, or at least give the appearance of being altered, in order to bolster the bill’s prospects. One would be mistaken:
A spokesman for Slaughter said the upcoming bill is still being drafted, but the definition of political intelligence will be the same as that in the Grassley amendment, which was identical to what Slaughter proposed for inclusion in the original version of the STOCK Act.
Tags: Chuck Grassley, lobbying disclosure act, Louise Slaughter, SEC, STOCK Act
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on Regulating PI
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 by Vbhotla
Under new pay to play laws that go into effect today, the SEC will restrict investment advisers from directly or indirectly providing any advisory services to a state or local government entity for two years following a campaign contribution. The ban extends to “covered associates” who consist of any general partner, managing partner, or “executive officer,” or other individuals with a similar status or function; any employee who solicits government business or supervises someone who does; any PAC “controlled by” the investment adviser or one of its covered associates; all employees who solicit a government entity for the investment; and, in some cases, employees of a parent company, which could, in some cases, include employees of a parent company.
The title “executive officer” was clarified to exclude those with titles that may indicate significance, but who, in reality, do not impact policy. For the purposes of this exclusion, “executive officer” has been defined as the president and vice presidents fast bad credit payday loans in charge of principal business units. De minimis contributions (those of $350 or less per election per candidate if the contributor is eligible to vote for the candidate, $150 or less if outside of the contributor’s district) are exempt from the restriction.
Also included in the new law is a bundling prohibition. Investment advisers may not solicit or coordinate contributions for candidates or political parties in the states or localities in which they practice and may be looking to provide advisory services to the government. There is no outright ban on third party solicitors, but an investment adviser may not pay non-regulated persons to provide the services. Any third party solicitor must be subject to similarly stringent pay to play regulations.
The rules apply not only to registered investment advisers, but anyone who employs the private adviser exemption, and covers even indirect acts which, if done directly, would be in violation of the rule.
Tags: Bundling, campaign finance limits, investment advisers, Pay to Play, pay to play laws, SEC
Posted in Campaign Finance | Comments Off on New Pay to Play Laws Take Effect Today
Monday, December 6th, 2010 by Vbhotla
Don Reily, a retired Army Maj. Gen. has been named vice president and director of business development at Dawson & Associates.
Erik Hotmire, former senior adviser at Securities Exchange Commission and USA Freedom Corps spokesman, is joining the Brunswick Group as director.
Terry Dale has been named president of the U.S. Tour Operators Association.
Matthew Beck, communications director and policy adviser for the Ways and Means Committee since 2005, is joining the Glover Park Group as vice president in the public affairs and marketing divisions
Matt Salt was named executive director of the Specialized Publishers Association of Vienna.
Tags: industry moves, SEC
Posted in Government Relations Alert, Industry Moves & Changes | Comments Off on Industry Moves & Changes
Friday, July 16th, 2010 by Vbhotla
SEC’s new rule on Pay to Play becomes effective September 30. (60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.)
Wiley Rein’s Election Law News July 2010 (including detailed looks at the DISCLOSE Act, SEC’s Pay-to-Play restrictions, Honest Services Fraud Statute, and more).
But the real question is: will DISCLOSE pass the Senate? Proponents of the measure suffered a setback when moderate Republican Scott Brown (Mass.) announced his opposition to the House bill, and the Maine ladies (moderate Republican Sens. Susan Collins & Olympia Snowe) are still waffling.
U.S. PIRG opposed the House measure (due to the NRA exemption),but has now (grudgingly) backed final passage in the Senate. Lisa Gilbert says that “we have concluded that the greater danger is posed by an election in which voters are effectively forced to wear blindfolds as the special interests behind campaign spending are hidden from us.”
Roll Call reports on a slightly strange rash of filings by Josue Larose, apparently a one-man lobbying firm with 87 new clients. Former ALL president Paul Miller, Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies, “said the situation sounds unbelievable … ‘If you sign up 87 new clients — I don’t care if you are Patton Boggs or just one lobbyist — you are going to need a huge team.'” (Roll Call subscription required)
As listed in Lobbyists.info, Larose has one client as a sole proprietor, and as the lobbyist for American Federal Lobbying Firm, has several PACs clients. His organization’s website makes the claim that: “The American Federal Lobbying Firm is the most powerful lobbying firm of the world and has more clients than any other lobbying firm in the United States of America.”
Office of Congressional Ethics is getting investigatory again (which is their job), but this time, Capitol Hill denizens say, it’s a little different – they’re looking at donation/official actions correlations. The New York Times quotes Kenneth Gross (who is “fielding some of the document requests from ethics investigators”), “This is really a redefinition of the law … To pick eight members and say they voted on legislation and political contributions came in around this time is really going places that no regulatory authority has ever gone.”
Quote of the Week:
“Do I think these [de-registered lobbyists] went back to Arkansas and became farmers? No, they just weren’t doing it 20 percent anymore … I think the 20 percent rule needs to be clearly defined and also what the role of a lobbyist is.” – Dave Wenhold, president, American League of Lobbyists, Washington Post, 7/12/2010
Tags: Dave Wenhold, DISCLOSE Act, Josue Larose, Kenneth Gross, Lisa Gilbert, OCE, Paul Miller, SEC, US PIRG, Wiley Rein
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Monday, July 12th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued final rules on pay-to-play practices by investment advisors. The SEC’s commissioners voted unanimously to curtail such actions. SEC Chair Mary Schapiro, in a statement before the Commission, called the practice of pay-to-play actions “corrupt and corrupting.”
Essentially, public pension plan advisors are prohibited from steering campaign funds in a way that would affect municipal plans.
The decision is in three main parts, according to a press release from the SEC:
- It prohibits an investment adviser from providing advisory services for compensation — either directly or through a pooled investment vehicle — for two years, if the adviser or certain of its executives or employees make a political contribution to an elected official who is in a position to influence the selection of the adviser.
- It prohibits an advisory firm and certain executives and employees from soliciting or coordinating campaign contributions from others — a practice referred to as “bundling” — for an elected official who is in a position to influence the selection of the adviser. It also prohibits solicitation and coordination of payments to political parties in the state or locality where the adviser is seeking business.
- It prohibits an adviser from paying a third party, such as a solicitor or placement agent, to solicit a government client on behalf of the investment adviser, unless that third party is an SEC-registered investment adviser or broker-dealer subject to similar pay to play restrictions.
The SEC first proposed the rule last year; it is the first federal-level pay to play law in the nation. The rule come into effect 60 days after their publication in the Federal Register. State and locality pay-to-play laws are common.
Read the rule here at the SEC; watch Schapiro’s statement to the commission here.
Tags: kickbacks, Pay to Play, SEC
Posted in Lobbying News, Regulations | Comments Off on SEC’s Final Rule on Pay to Play Restrictions
Friday, July 2nd, 2010 by Vbhotla
Eric Brown at Political Activity Law reports on big pay to play news from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to a press release from the SEC – “The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to approve new rules to significantly curtail the corrupting influence of “pay to play” practices by investment advisers.”
The decision is in three main parts:
- It prohibits an investment adviser from providing advisory services for compensation — either directly or through a pooled investment vehicle — for two years, if the adviser or certain of its executives or employees make a political contribution to an elected official who is in a position to influence the selection of the adviser.
- It prohibits an advisory firm and certain executives and employees from soliciting or coordinating campaign contributions from others — a practice referred to as “bundling” — for an elected official who is in a position to influence the selection of the adviser. It also prohibits solicitation and coordination of payments to political parties in the state or locality where the adviser is seeking business.
- It prohibits an adviser from paying a third party, such as a solicitor or placement agent, to solicit a government client on behalf of the investment adviser, unless that third party is an SEC-registered investment adviser or broker-dealer subject to similar pay to play restrictions.
Watch SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro’s discussion of the new prohibition here.
The rules come into effect 60 days after their publication in the Federal Register.
Tags: financial reform, Pay to Play, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission
Posted in Ethics Tip, Lobbying News, Regulations | Comments Off on SEC rules on Pay to Play
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