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In Response to NYCLU Request, Ethics Board Takes Steps to Protect Right to Support Controversial Organizations
In response to comments submitted by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics announced this week that it would propose a rule change that would ease the standards for allowing controversial organizations to conceal who their donors are.
In response to comments submitted by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics announced this week that it would propose a rule change that would ease the standards for allowing controversial organizations to conceal who their donors are.
The rule change would bring JCOPE in line with constitutional requirements. The Supreme Court has recognized that lobbying lawmakers is protected by the First Amendment right to petition government. While the public should have access to most information about the financing of lobbying activities, individuals who support controversial organizations also enjoy a right of expression that would be chilled if their names were public. Without this protection, donors to organizations engaged in advocacy on controversial issues – including reproductive health rights, racial justice, and LGBT and immigrants’ rights – may find themselves the target of harassment as a result of their support of contentious issues.
“The Supreme Court has specifically held that individuals have a right to associate with controversial organizations without fear of harassment and that, to protect this right, controversial organizations must, in some circumstances, be exempted from disclosure laws,” said NYCLU Legal Director Arthur Eisenberg. “JCOPE should be commended for recognizing this and taking steps to put its regulations in line with the Constitution.”