“DC Circuit Spurns GOP Challenge to SEC Pay-to-Play Rule”

Brian Svoboda:

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today left standing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “pay-to-play” rule, which bars investment advisers from providing paid services to state and local governments when making certain political contributions to state and local officials.

The court rejected as time-barred a challenge to the rule that was brought by state Republican parties in New York and Tennessee. The court held that the state parties brought their suit in the wrong court and at the wrong time, saying that the Investment Advisers Act required the challenge to be brought at the circuit court level and within 60 days of promulgation. The SEC rule took effect in 2010; the state parties sued in federal district court in 2014.

Informed investment advisers maintain strict procedures to comply with the SEC rule, which affects some federal elections as well as many non-federal elections. Four incumbent governors currently seek the presidency: Chris Christie of New Jersey, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, John Kasich of Ohio, and Scott Walker of Wisconsin. The court’s ruling leaves in place a barrier to fundraising in direct support of their campaigns.

The opinion in New York Republican State Committee v. SEC is available here.

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