2010 PAAT Ethics Compliance Institute

The 6th Annual PAAT Institute will be held on Friday, October 15, 2010 at Barton Creek Resort. Stay tuned for more information about this year's session topics and presenters. Contact Allison Small at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have any questions or would like to sign up for Institute updates. Link to Institute Facebook page.

Members-only Roundtable Discussion on Citizens United Opinion
March 29, 2010
In Citizens United vs. the Federal Elections Commission, the Supreme Court determined that unlimited independent expenditures made by corporations in favor of or in opposition to federal candidates were protected free speech and could not be prohibited by law. (Note: In Texas, the federal term “independent expenditures” is referred to by the Texas law term of “direct campaign expenditures”, and the term “corporations” includes unions.) In the past, corporations had been limited to expenditures for “issue ads” that did not cross over into “electioneering” (remember the “magic words” test?). While not directly addressing any state statute, and in particular any Texas Election Code provision, the ruling will almost certainly guide any interpretation of Title 15 that prohibits such direct campaign expenditures for state or local candidates in Texas.