Ognibene v. Parkes: NYC Lobbyists' Challenge Revived in the Wake of Citizens United

Yesterday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order reactivating the appeal in Ognibene v. Parkes, which challenges NYC's  doing business contribution limits and the extension of the City's corporate contributions ban to LLCs and partnerships.  We've previously described the case here. The order allows Appellants to file a supplemental brief specifically addressing the "importance" of Citizens United and gives the City the opportunity to respond. The NYC Campaign Finance Board made its position clear in a press release issued on the day that Citizens United was decided. In light of the Supreme Court's rationale in Citizens United that "restrictions distinguishing among different speakers, allowing speech by some but not others" are prohibited, this case may test whether Citizens United has any applicability to speaker-based contribution limits.