With federal proposals like the DISCLOSE Act sidelined by Republicans in Congress, some state governments officials, including state secretaries of state, have sought to place limitations on campaign speech through other methods. State legislators have proposed new state laws against “dark money” and advocated new disclosure regimes as well as increased restrictions on speech and political engagement by key public officials who coordinate on a national level. City lawmakers have proposed public financing regimes as well as matching funds, which are often far more restrictive than with state law. State Secretaries of State have proposed rules to implement failed campaign finance reform proposals and impose heightened donor disclosure regulations as well as requiring more detailed financial disclosures from non-profit organizations. Do these campaign speech proposals and increased pushes toward greater disclosure lead to more transparency and freer and fairer elections, or do these efforts infringe upon First Amendment rights?

Professor Richard L. Hasen, Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science, University of California, Irvine
Professor Brad Smith, Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law, Capital University Law School
Moderator: Hon. Carlos T. Bea, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Introduction: Joseph Rose, Gubson Dunn & Crutcher LLP