Summary of the Contents of the SWAMP Act

Let me first emphasize that I strongly encourage you to read the SWAMP Act in its entirety. There are many nuances in the law that I simply cannot encapsulate in a brief summary. However, if you are unable or unwilling to do so, I have prepared this limited summary to capture as many of its main points as I can. Part One details the definitional basis for the terminology utilized throughout the other five parts of the Act. The majority of the definitions deal with describing exactly who is captured under the substantive provisions of the Act. For example, the term lobbyist may trigger a roughly accurate colloquial definition in a persons head of what is meant by it, but a legal document requires high precision and specificity in such terms for Due Process purposes. The remainder of Part One contains standard rules of statutory construction often included in legislation and is not uniquely-tailored to this Act. Parts Two through Four are the main substantive provisions of the Act. They address areas of corruption in a theoretically chronological order over the career of an elected or appointed official: Part Two addresses the campaigning/pre-election stage, Part Three deals with the behavior of elected and appointed officials during their terms in office and Part Four concerns restrictions on elected and appointed officials after their term in office is completed. Below, in bullet form, I have detailed the main highlights of Parts Two through Four: Part Two The Problem of Campaign Finance/Transparency Criminalizes the acceptance of contributions intended to support a candidate by nonindividual legal entities other than the candidates campaign itself, e.g. PACs, Super PACs. Equalizes all maximum contributions from all legal persons to a campaign to the maximum set for individuals. Requires the public disclosure of major contributors to a campaign. Criminalizes campaign contributions from recent lobbyists.

Part Three The Problem of Improper Lobbyist Conduct Criminalizes any offer or acceptance of anything of value between a lobbyist and an elected or appointed official. Creates a system of rivals among lobbyists to monitor each others conduct. Criminalizes any unilateral meeting between a lobbyist and an elected or appointed official. Creates a national database of lobbyists who have been found to be in breach of the provisions of the Act for reference by states and municipalities. Creates a special tax rate for realized gains on stock, bond and other securities trades by elected and appointed officials. Part Four The Problem of the Revolving Door Bans elected and appointed officials from becoming employed in their regulated industry for a term of four years after the end of their term. Bans elected and appointed officials and staff from becoming lobbyists for their lifetimes.

Part Five contains the enforcement mechanisms for the Act. There are two tiers of enforcement: a criminal prosecution and a civil action. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is the applicable agency to bring criminal prosecutions on this level. If the DOJ, for whatever reason, chooses to not bring a prosecution within a certain time frame, a civil cause of action for improper political competition arises, and the party who has been set at a disadvantage from the infraction may sue for monetary compensation. This part also includes anti-retaliation protection for any staff who reports suspected violations. Part Six addresses the penalties for being in breach of the Acts provisions. Nearly all crimes created in the Act are referred to as a corrupt practice in the first degree, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Only a staffs failure to report a perceived crime under this Act is considered a corrupt practice in the second degree, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of one year imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In terms of monetary penalties, a convicted individual is disgorged of his salary earned as a public official according to a formula, and any whistleblowers who have

aided the prosecution/conviction are entitled to that disgorged money, also according to a formula. These are the main operations of the SWAMP Act. The Act itself consists of 30 pages. If you do read the legislation itself, please realize that the official comments that I have included after each section are not substantive law; they are meant to explain my thinking and reasoning for the inclusion of each provision. They are, roughly speaking, the spirit of the law. So, while I request that you read the entirety of the legislation, I would certainly prefer that you read only the substantive law provisions and simply ignore my official comments as opposed to not reading it at all.

Always,

Christopher Krzeminski