St. Louis Alderman Scott Ogilvie recently introduced legislation to limit campaign contributions to local candidates.

Board Bill No. 53 prohibits candidates from accepting contributions exceeding $10,000 per city election from any person, entity, or committee. The amount would increase in April in each odd numbered year to coincide with any increase in the consumer price index.

Ogilvie’s proposal also defines election periods for the purposes of contribution limits, creates a Municipal Officials and Officers Ethics Commission, makes contributions from minors age 16 or younger attributable to parents or guardians, and sets penalties for violations of the bill.

If passed, the ordinance would be effective April 6, 2017.

Photo of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis by Daniel Schwen in Wikimedia Commons.

On June 7, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed two bills changing the state’s lobbying laws.

Senate Bill 2361 and House Bill 7388 both repeal the current lobbying laws in Title 22 and Title 42 in the state’s statutes and enact the Rhode Island Lobbying Reform Act. Among the changes in the bills are the simplification of lobbyists’ reporting requirements, an increase in penalties for failing to comply with lobbying requirements, and the allowance for more investigative and administrative authority for enforcing the lobbying laws, including administrative subpoena power.

The bills now head to Gov. Gina Marie Raimondo, who has six days after transmittal (excluding Sunday) to sign or veto the bills or the legislation will become law without her signature. The effective date for the two bills is January 1, 2017.

Photo of the Rhode Island State Capitol by Garrett A. Wollman on Wikimedia Commons.

A special election will be held on November 8 to fill a vacancy in the state Senate.

Sen. Kenny Alexander left the seat after being elected mayor of Norfolk on May 3. Alexander’s election, however, occurred too late to hold a primary for his replacement on the regular June 14 date. The governor, therefore, has given parties until July 15 to name their candidates.

Democrats will hold an unassembled caucus in Chesapeake and Norfolk on July 9, while it is unclear if Republicans will nominate a candidate. Del. Joe Lindsey and Del. Lionell Spruill Sr. are running to replace Alexander.

We are welcoming eight interns for our summer internship program here at State and Federal Communications! The program is designed to help college students learn more about government relations compliance and leadership and to help hone and showcase some of the skills they are learning within their respective college programs. It is also a paid internship, where they will be able to make money while they widen their horizons.

This summer, we have Tony Didion, who is graduating after this internship from Kent State University with a degree in public relations and a minor in marketing; Brittany Anderson, who is graduating this December from Kent State University with a degree in public relations and a minor in marketing; Clémence Besnard, an exchange student from France studying at the University of Akron is working on her master of science in international marketing at the ESC Rennes School of Business; Chris Jackson is a part-time student at the University of Akron working on his communication systems degree; Olivia Snyder a part-time student at the University of Akron pursuing civil engineering; Elysabethe Anderson, who is studying art history and visual communications and design at Kent State University; Sophia Avouris, a sophomore at Kent State University studying political science with a minor in public relations; and Zack Koozer who is attending part-time at Kent State University.

In addition to the projects they will be working on here at the office, our interns will be attending professional development programs, luncheons, and events, such as those held by Akron PSRA, Akron Roundtable, Intern Edge, the United Way of Summit County, and more. Stay tuned for more updates about this summer, and most importantly, let’s welcome these eight interns into the State and Federal Communications family!

California’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) will consider a proposed regulation to further clarify the definition of “lobbyist” at a public hearing set for July 21, 2016.

The proposed regulation would create a rebuttable presumption that all compensation from a person for services that include direct communication with a qualifying official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action received within a calendar month is for the purpose of direct compensation.

The FPPC is accepting written comments on the proposal until July 18, 2016.

On June 7, Orange County voters approved Measure A to create a county ethics commission.

The measure amends the County’s charter and campaign finance ordinance to establish a five-member commission that will provide administrative oversight of county ethics and campaign ordinances.

Voters widely supported the measure, with 70 percent voting in favor of the proposal.

Gov. Sam Brownback announced a special session of the Legislature will take place to avoid closure of the state’s public schools.

The Kansas Supreme Court recently rejected the state’s school funding system and set a deadline of June 30 to fix the funding system’s shortcomings.

No official date has been set for the session, but Brownback indicated it will be next month.

The announcement comes after Democratic lawmakers began a petition to force a special session, as provided for in the Kansas Constitution. Republican lawmakers, however, have been staunchly against a special session; instead, they advocated fighting the ruling in federal court.

Several Honolulu departments and agencies will soon be moving into the recently renovated Kapalama Hale, a 55,000 square-foot building formerly known as the Sprint Building.

The first phase of relocation begins mid-June with the Department of Customer Service driver licensing and Satellite City Hall operations moving from City Square to the new facility. Other departments, including the Ethics Commission, are scheduled to move at a later date.

To minimize disruption of service to the public, the moves will occur on weekends with only one day of closure for each facility.

On June 2, the California Assembly passed AB 2002.

The bill requires consultants lobbying the California Coastal Commission to register as lobbyists. It also bans private communications between commissioners and lobbyists within 24 hours of a commission hearing.

The bill passed 54-23 and is being sent to the Senate.

On June 16, the New Hampshire Legislature will hold a special session to address state and local law enforcements’ efforts to combat the state’s rising heroin and opioid problem. Called by the legislative leadership, the special session is being applauded by Gov. Maggie Hassan. “I thank legislative leadership for working quickly to address this issue and committing to bring forward a clean bill … so that we can assist state and local law enforcement across the state in their efforts on the front lines to combat the heroin and opioid crisis,” Hassan said in a press release.

The 2016 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature adjourned sine die on June 6, 2016. Upon transmittal of a bill, Gov. John Bel Edwards will have 20 days to sign or veto legislation.

A special session was also convened on June 6 and must adjourn by midnight on June 23. Edwards called the special session in May for the Legislature to address the state’s budget shortfall for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.

Last month I was honored to be included in the 16th Annual National Entrepreneurship Summit hosted by DiversityBusiness.com in New York. The award was given for being in the top 500 privately-owned women-owned businesses in the United States.

DiversityBusiness.com chooses “America’s Top Business” award recipients based on annual gross revenue and a business profile. According to event organizers, State and Federal Communications was highlighted as one of the leading entrepreneur companies in the United States, and was presented several awards at the ceremony that included being named:

• #392 of the top 500 Women Owned Businesses in the United States
• #52 of the top 100 Privately-held Businesses in Ohio
• #37 of the top Diversity Owned Businesses in Ohio
• #17 of the top 50 Women Owned Businesses in Ohio, and the only one in Akron, Ohio.

More than 1.5 million businesses in the United States participated in the 16th annual business survey conducted by DiversityBusiness.com, a web-based business publisher. The organization’s “Top Business List” offers the most comprehensive look at the strongest segment of the United States economy – America’s privately held companies. According to DiversityBusiness.com, these companies differentiate themselves in their markets through dedication and hard work that stimulates economic growth in America.

The “America’s Top Business” program is sponsored by major brands that include U.S. Postal Service, Wal-Mart, Apple, Northrop Grumman, Time Warner, Hilton, Raytheon, and Colgate Palmolive, among others.

We have won an “America’s Top Business” award every year since 2008.

Being ranked highly with other leading companies across America is an achievement we are all proud of at State and Federal Communications. It shows our ongoing commitment to deliver quality government compliance information and consulting services to many Fortune 500 companies, associations, and corporate and contract lobbyists.

This truly is an honor because my time is always devoted to State and Federal Communications, the employees, clients, and the communities where we live and work.

For information on the event, visit: http://www.diversitybusiness.com/awardees/

In California, the Kern County Board of Supervisors approved a contract with NetFile Inc. to create a new electronic filing system for campaign finance reporting.

The new system is supposed to be more user friendly, which will increase transparency and allow the public to more easily access campaign finance data.

Electronic filing is not mandatory and the county will still accept paper filings.

The West Virginia Legislature passed a budget bill Thursday that is being sent to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s desk.

Upon the bill’s passage on the 13th day of a special session, the Legislature decided to recess the session until June 12.

The governor is expected to veto the bill. The state faces a potential government shutdown if a budget is not approved before July 1.