Nebraska governor's roundtables with business leaders double as campaign fundraisers

Since taking office, Gov. Jim Pillen has hosted a series of roundtable discussions with business and industry leaders, providing insight into policy debates at the Capitol, previews of upcoming elections and offering a chance for those individuals to provide feedback.

The Governor's Industry Roundtable program also includes invitations to special events, an annual meeting and cocktail receptions, giving business owners and captains of industry opportunities to network while also building relationships with Pillen and his team.

Participating in the smaller group discussions as well as the larger social gatherings comes with a financial cost, however.

Nebraska business leaders invited to join the Industry Roundtables are also asked to make a minimum contribution of $10,000 to Pillen's campaign committee.

The events, which have been held at the Governor's Mansion, do not violate state statutes or federal campaign finance laws, according to state and national government watchdogs.

But experts in government ethics and others said the roundtables give the appearance of a "pay-to-play" environment for Nebraska businesses and other individuals to access Pillen and his staff.

Gavin Geis, executive director of Common Cause Nebraska, said the roundtables are not illegal, but they illustrate the poisoning effect of money in government.

"For years, Common Cause has said that money gives donors access to elected officials and now we have the clear proof," Geis said. "Our elected officials should not be accessible to those with the biggest pockets."

And elected officials, both past and present, Republican and Democrat, also said they were unaware of any similar fundraisers like Pillen's roundtable program occurring in Nebraska in recent history.

Andie Gage, a spokeswoman for Jim Pillen for Governor, the campaign committee that organizes the roundtables, said the roundtables "have activated many business and agricultural leaders to help build a strong and prosperous Nebraska."

"Many of these leaders are engaging for the first time, and all share the governor's commitment to running state government like a business and helping to recruit and support conservative candidates for office across the state," Gage said.

Small groups meet two times a year

According to an informational flyer sent to prospective members of the roundtables, Pillen began the program following his inauguration in early January 2023, with a goal of enrolling 300 participants across 10 different industry groups, including agriculture, agribusiness, manufacturing, transportation and construction.

Members are invited to join Pillen at the Governor's Mansion, across the street from the state Capitol at 1425 H St., for two meetings a year, with each meeting including "no more than 30 individuals."

The agenda for the two-hour meetings, planned by campaign staff, includes "an update on policy and legislation, discussion on upcoming elections, and most importantly time to share feedback and ideas."

The meetings are followed by a cocktail hour "so participants can build relationships with the governor, his team, and other roundtable members."

According to Gage, employees in the governor's office are occasionally invited "to share updates on initiatives and developments in their portfolios" but do not do so while on the clock for the state.

"They do so at their discretion and on their own time, and sometimes join only for the social hour after the roundtable concludes at 5 p.m.," Gage said.

Earlier this year, Pillen recalled all state employees back to their offices , signaling to Nebraskans those workers were be expected to be available to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

"The governor places a high priority on integrity and compliance, and his team takes great care to ensure political activities are not undertaken by public servants on the public's time," Gage added.

Roundtable members also receive digital updates and calls from Pillen's office and campaign regarding legislation and campaign activities and can take part in "exclusive" Zoom meetings.

The roundtables also provide members access to other political candidates, the flyer states. On Friday, roundtable members were invited to a "complimentary" cocktail reception and forum at the Governor's Mansion "with select 2024 legislative candidates."

If members are unable to attend a meeting, they can opt to have someone else go in their place, or they can attend an alternate meeting for a different industry group, if they choose.

To join, members are asked to make a personal or business contribution of $10,000 or more to Pillen's campaign "for a one calendar year membership."

While the governor's office declined to provide a list of the members, the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission (NADC) has tracked more than 270 contributions of $10,000 or more in the nearly two years since Pillen became Nebraska's 41st governor.

Those donations – one check was processed by the NADC for $50,000, though it's not clear if that contribution was for the roundtable program – come from 138 different sources as of Sept. 20.

Two dozen Nebraska-based companies have given at least $10,000 twice to Pillen's campaign since he took office; 13 companies have given three donations of $10,000 or more; three have made four contributions.

Archer Daniels Midland, an ethanol producer that operates in Columbus, the home of both Pillen and his pork business, has made five donations over the last two years.

According to the records available from NADC, the agency charged with carrying out administration and enforcement of the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act, Pillen has raised more than $1.7 million since taking office.

Of that amount, $1.27 million has been in donations of $10,000 or greater since his inauguration, according to the NADC's database.

Dave Hunter, the interim executive director of the accountability and disclosure office, said the actual amount could be higher.

Pillen will be required to compile all of the money gathered and spent by his campaign into an end-of-year report by Jan. 1.

Rules allow for campaigning at mansion

A little more than a decade ago, following federal and state court decisions that removed restrictions on spending in political campaigns, Nebraska lawmakers followed suit.

In 2012, the Nebraska Supreme Court found the Campaign Finance Limitation Act, which for 30 years had sought to level the playing field when it came to spending by political candidates, unconstitutional.

Until the Legislature repealed the law the following year, candidates for governor were limited to spending less than $1.2 million for the primary election and $2.4 million for the general election.

Candidates seeking the state's top office were also limited to taking in $1.8 million from political action committees, political parties, businesses and others.

The change in the law, which has caused political spending to explode in Nebraska over the last decade, is reflected in the tiny font at the bottom of the information flyer sent to prospective members of the Governor's Industry Roundtables.

"Jim Pillen for Governor is allowed by Nebraska law to receive corporate, PAC, and individual contributions in any amount," the document states.

Nebraska lawmakers have also cleared the way for governors from both political parties to use their state-provided residences for campaign purposes.

In an April 1991 advisory opinion requested by then-Gov. Ben Nelson, the last Democrat to hold the office, the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission said the mansion was intended to be the home or dwelling of the governor in the Capital City.

"Certainly it is contemplated that individuals residing in a state-owned house will engage in some activity which does not necessarily have a governmental purpose," Advisory Opinion 131 states.

A family birthday party attended by the governor's friends and family serves no governmental purpose, the commission wrote in the opinion, but "is clearly a use to which one might put a residence."

"So it is with a political fundraising event at the Governor's Mansion," the opinion indicates.

While fundraising, canvassing and direct solicitation in individual offices is prohibited in the state Capitol and on Capitol grounds, according to state statute, there are no regulations for political fundraising in the mansion, which opened in 1958.

But, state statute does place restrictions on how that fundraising can occur. State funds cannot be used to pay the expenses of a campaign event, nor can state employees be used to prepare for or perform services during working hours.

"The manpower needed for such an event should either be volunteer help, or paid for by the sponsoring political committee," the advisory opinion states.

Gage said Pillen's campaign pays for the use of the facility "like any other outside organization," and without preferential pricing.

The opinion requested by Nelson also says the Nebraska State Patrol can "take whatever steps it deems necessary" to provide security at the mansion during political fundraisers, and the mansion director can provide "general oversight" of the event "consistent with his or her duties."

"In summary, it is our opinion that the Governor's Mansion and the mansion grounds may be used by the governor for a political fundraising event provided that state funds and state employees are not used in connection with the event," the opinion concludes.

With the lid on campaign fundraising and spending tossed aside, and with the state's blessing that elected officials can use a residence supported through state tax dollars to campaign, Pillen's fundraising activities through the roundtable program do not violate any state or federal laws.

But Kedric Payne, vice president, general counsel and senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C., said while the roundtables don't run afoul of campaign finance law, these situations raise ethical issues about conflicts of interest or the appearance of a conflict.

"It makes the public feel as though officials are serving their personal interest and not the public interest," Payne said. "It gives a pay-to-play feel to the interaction."

Payne said such activities also raise questions about whether or not state employees working for the governor's office are involved in a political event put on by the candidate's campaign, which he said can often give rise to a conflict of interest.

The governor's office did not answer a question about whether or not office staff were participating in the roundtable meetings.

Payne, the former deputy chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics, said events like Pillen's roundtables often rub lobbyists and businesses the wrong way, even if it was likely those entities would donate to a campaign anyway.

"They don't like being put in a position where they have to make a campaign contribution for access," he said. "The unspoken rule that industry leaders need to make a contribution is different than demanding a contribution for access."

Geis was more blunt in his assessment, calling the roundtables a "misuse of public office."

"Public office is too often used to advance personal, rather than public, interests," he said. "Nebraskans have every right to expect better from the people representing us."

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