A federal appeals court on Tuesday unanimously rejected a challenge to a law that requires trade groups to disclose their members that contribute to lobbying efforts.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) had claimed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, passed by Congress in 2007, violated privacy and freedom of association rights.
{mosads}Part of a broader effort to update lobbying rules in response to the Jack Abramoff scandal, the law requires that the organization release the names of members who contribute more than $5,000 in a quarterly period for lobbying activities.
The Court of Appeals in Washington rejected NAM’s contention. The appeals court said that the U.S. Supreme Court “has upheld numerous statutes requiring disclosures by those endeavoring to influence the political system.”
“Today’s decision is a huge victory for sunlight on our political process,” said Tara Malloy, associate legal counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, which filed a brief in defense of the law.
An NAM spokesman said the group may try to get the Supreme Court to review the case.
“Obviously we are very disappointed by that ruling,” said Hank Cox, a spokesman for NAM. “Our big issue was that the requirement was so vague you don’t really know what it means.”