As more PACs begin to think “outside Washington” in terms of their donor strategies, understanding how the campaign laws work in various states and local jurisdictions can be perplexing. Here are just a couple of examples. Last July, the City of Glendale, California, adopted a $1000 limit on local campaign contributions, but went on to tie procurement activity to campaign support. The result is a TOTAL BAN on contributions to Glendale political candidates from individuals, companies and their PACs if they are involved in City contract work amounting to $25,000 or more annually. In Florida, Orange County has adopted “black-out” periods for companies seeking county contracts, meaning they are precluded from making campaign contribution to local officials during the period from RFP to selection. 

What’s the answer? Like the headline suggests, getting the right information in order to be compliant does require you to ask questions and understand the application of the campaign law or local ordinance and MORE.   Particularly in the case of corporate PACs, knowing what your local facilities are doing in the way of state and local government procurement is becoming increasingly more important.