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Apr 28, 2006 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: April 28, 2006
On April 24, 2006, a three-judge court heard oral argument on plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction in the case Christian Civic League of Maine, Inc. v. FEC . This case challenges the "electioneering communication" provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act which prohibits corporate and union treasury funds from being used to influence campaigns right before an election through broadcast advertisements. The CCL is hoping to run an ad starting in the middle of May which refers to Senator Olympia Snowe, who is unopposed in the June 13 primary. The CCL argues the electioneering communications provisions of BCRA are unconstitutional as applied here because the ad in question is a grassroots lobbying ad and, therefore, should be exempted from the definition of "electioneering communication."
The Campaign Legal Center represents defendant-intervenors in the case Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI), Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT), Representative Marty Meehan (D-MA), and Representative Tom Allen (D-ME). The Legal Center is serving as co-counsel along with Democracy 21. University of Virginia law professor Dan Ortiz is also serving as legal counsel in the case, along with attorneys at the law firms Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; Heller Ehrman; and Munger Tolles and Olson.
To view the case documents for Christian Civic League of Maine v. FEC, click here.
To view the Legal Center's press release, click here.
This week, the Campaign Legal Center, along with Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voter, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG sent several letters to the House regarding H.R. 4975 the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act. The Reform Coalition supported a series of amendments offered by Representatives Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) to strengthen the bill; however these amendments were not included in the Rules Committee rule on the bill. Yesterday, in a narrow 216-207 vote, the House passed the rule. In a statement released yesterday, Meredith McGehee, Policy Director at the Legal Center, stated the "vote to move forward to consider H.R. 4975, the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act, under a restrictive rule demonstrates that the House Republican leadership believes the majority of the American people can be fooled by this cheap window dressing." In light of this development, the Legal Center has sent a letter to the House urging Members to vote against H.R. 4975 which will go to the floor on Wednesday, May 3.
To read the Legal Center's letter on the Shays-Meehan amendment package, click here.
To read the Reform Coalition's letter opposing the Rule on H.R. 4975, click here.
On April 27, 2006, the Campaign Legal Center launched its new blog site. The site will be used to post comments on issues of campaign finance reform, ethics and lobbying reform, media law and policy, redistricting reform and the Voting Rights Act. Contributors will include staff members of the Campaign Legal Center, members of the Legal Center's Board of Trustees, and the Center's Advisory Board.
You can receive these postings by email when you sign up for the blog at www.clcblog.org.
Legal Center President Speaks at Washington , D.C. Conference
On Friday April 28, 2006, Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center spoke at the University of California Washington Center on a panel discussing lobbying and campaign finance reform. The panel was a part of a conference titled, "Influencing Congress: Scandals, Rules, Ethics, and Politics." Other panelists included Rick Hasen of Loyola University and Michael Malbin of the Campaign Finance Institute.
Week in the News
To read a variety of this week's editorials and articles on campaign finance , please click here. |
