The Federal Election Commission (FEC) held a hearing on how to implement a new requirement that all federal candidates, parties and political committees report any registered lobbyists or lobbying entities who engage in bundling of campaign contributions. The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act required the FEC to create a rule for the disclosure of bundled lobbyist contributions worth $15,000 or more.

The FEC heard from two panels at the public hearing. The FEC must decide some questions that will determine how much bundling activity will be disclosed. According to BNA Money and Politics ($$) those issues are;

• which contributions are properly credited to a fund-raising effort by a lobbyist;
• how to report money raised at a fund-raising event hosted by multiple lobbyists; and
• whether money raised by an agent of a lobbying organization, who is not a lobbyist, should be reported.

RollCall ($$) reported that "the discussion dealt with how campaigns credit lobbyists for campaign contributions and whether lobbyists and fundraisers would try to circumvent the law by increasing the number of lobbyists sponsoring an event — to ensure that the event would not trigger the $15,000 threshold." And "some advocated for the broadest possible definition of assigning credit for lobbyist bundling."

The new bundling rule will not likely be finished in time to effect the upcoming election. More information on the hearing and witness testimony is available here.

On September 12, 2008, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) v. Taylor. NAM is challenging a provision (Section 207) in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) that requires a lobbying coalition to disclose members that fund and actively participate in the coalition's lobbying efforts. NAM's argues that the HLOGA provision violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutionally vague. NAM is appealing a lower court decision that upheld the requirements.

According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), "the court gave little indication of whether the new law would be upheld as constitutional."

[Lawyers representing the Justice Department and the Secretary of the Senate] emphasized that HLOGA calls for penalties only for those who knowingly try to avoid disclosure--not those who make honest mistakes. DOJ attorney Nicholas Bagely said the Supreme Court has upheld laws designed to bring transparency to lobbying in order to increase public confidence in the government. He noted that the high Court has said disclosure can be avoided in cases where an organization's members might face retaliation for their political views, but NAM has offered no evidence that it faces such a risk. Thomas Caballero, the Senate legal counsel, said HLOGA made clear that it requires associations to disclose only those organizational members who plan and control their lobbying efforts.

A decision is not expected for several weeks. More information available from NAM .

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) will hold a public hearing Sept. 17 on proposed bundling rules for reporting contributions bundled by lobbyists, lobbying organizations, and the political action committees of lobbyists. The FEC will hear from some of those who commented in writing on the proposed rule issued Nov. 2007.

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act called on the FEC to write a rule on bundling, requiring for the first time disclosure of campaign funding that is collected by a lobbyist from other contributors and passed along to a candidate. An important component is whether the law will cover only registered lobbyists or all employees of organizations that lobby Congress, including senior officials. The commission was not able to follow through with the rulemaking process because of the controversy that ensued over confirming new FEC commissioners.

The new rule is not expected to be written in time for the public to see bundling activity for this election, but may provide increased disclosure in future elections. According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), Chairman Donald "McGahn said that simple math dictated that there were not enough days left in the 2008 campaign season for the bundling rule to be completed in time. Even if the FEC promptly finished the rulemaking process, the law that calls for bundling disclosure requires a three-month waiting period before a new rule could actually go into effect."