Seattle's New Campaign Finance Law Could Be a Sign of Things to Come
As new political alliances emerge and populism continues to push political parties to make faster adjustments, companies need to take a fresh look at how they engage with the political system in order to convey priorities and goals. Political trends happen in small doses before they spread quickly, which is what St. Petersburg, Florida and now Seattle, Washington may be demonstrating.
This week, the city of Seattle via the Seattle City Council passed a ban on “most political spending by “foreign-influenced” corporations and increased election transparency...voting in unanimous support of President M. Lorena González’s Clean Campaigns Act during its Full Council meeting.”
According to the Council; the highlights of the Clean Campaigns Act include the following:
a ban on foreign-influenced corporations from making any contribution to independent expenditure committees;
a cap on all political contributions to independent expenditures of $5,000 (with the exception of limited contributor committees); and,
new reporting requirements to increase transparency.
As more corporations become involved in the political process, it is apparent that messaging and compliance with campaign finance laws are becoming essential to corporate strategy. At Lanton law we help organizations within the healthcare/life sciences, technology and finance sectors with legal and government affairs to advance an organization’s priorities. If you are planning on either starting or increasing your advocacy to state or federal officials, contact us so that we can not only ensure that your methods comply but we can also help craft your messaging and follow-ups to help attain the results you are seeking.