The passage of Citizens United by the Supreme Court in 2010 sparked a renewed debate about campaign spending by large political action committees, or Super PACs. Its ruling said that it is okay for corporations and labor unions to spend as much as they want in advertising and other methods to convince people to vote for or against a candidate. This book provides a wide range of opinions on the issue. Includes primary and secondary sources from a variety of perspectives; eyewitnesses, scientific journals, government officials, and many others.

Corporate Political Activities Deskbook provides a thorough grounding in the current state of the law on federal and state campaign finance, pay-to-play, lobbying, and gift compliance. It serves as a practical manual for in-house attorneys who advise corporations about involvement in the political process.After describing the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Citizens United--that began the expansion of permitted corporate speech in the political realm--and McCutcheon v. FEC--that expanded the exemption further, the book examines thoroughly the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) requirements, federal lobbying and gift rules, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and practice and appearances before the FEC. The Deskbook includes an overview of state lobbying, gift, placement agent rules and pay-to-play rules as well as the federal pay-to-play rules (MSRB Rule G-37, SEC Rule 206(4)-5 and FINRA's proposed pay-to-play rule).Appendices include model documents, such as sample PAC bylaws, a PAC contribution card, a resolution for establishing a PAC, as well as a summary chart of the corporate, PAC and individual contribution limits in each of the 50 states.Corporate Political Activities Deskbook provides practical examples of best practices and "dos and don'ts." In many cases, the suggestions go beyond the black letter requirements to incorporate advice that can help corporations utilize the available avenues of interacting with the government while avoiding negative press, and public as well as legal regulatory attention.