The lieutenant governor’s office could be vacant if Glenn McConnell is selected as the College of Charleston’s next president on July 1. Senate President Pro Tempore John Courson is next in line to become lieutenant governor, but said he would not take the office if school trustees choose McConnell.

South Carolina would not have a lieutenant governor until January, 2015 when the winner of the November general election takes the oath of office. A constitutional amendment passed in 2012 will end the separate ticket for lieutenant governor beginning with the 2018 election.

A federal lobbyist who allegedly failed to file numerous disclosure reports could face up to $5.2 million in fines. According to the Washington Post, Alan Mauk and his lobbying firm did not file 26 or more quarterly and semi-annual lobbyist reports due between 2009 and 2013. Failing to comply with reporting requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act can subject an individual to a civil fine in an amount up to $200,000 for each violation. The civil complaint against Mauk was filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia last week, according to The Hill.

The State Ethics Commission has called a public hearing to introduce new rules regarding lobbying complaints. The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. on May 9, 2014, at the Capehart Crocker House, Commission Meeting Room, 424 North Blount Street, Raleigh, North Carolina. Oral comments about the new rules will be accepted at this meeting.

Written comments should be directed to Pam Cashwell via U.S. mail at 1324 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699; via fax at (919) 716-1644; or via email at pam.cashwell@doa.nc.gov. The written comment period began March 17, 2014, and will end May 5, 2014.

On March 13, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives requiring increased disclosure from lobbyists and public officials. U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley introduced the Transparency in Government Act.

The act, House Resolution 4245, makes several changes to the current Lobbyist Disclosure Act (LDA), including:

• Establishing the Lobbyist Disclosure Enhancement Act;
• Removing references to the IRS definition of lobbying, leaving only the LDA definition of lobbying;
• Changing the requirement for lobbyist registration by removing the current 20 percent work time threshold; and
• Requiring:
  • Lobbyists to report political contributions quarterly rather than semiannually;
  • Lobbyists to complete ethics training within six months of being hired and once every five years thereafter;
  • Lobbyists to register within 10 days, rather than 45 days, of making a lobbying contact;
  • Organizations that hire a lobbyist intending to make more than one lobbying contact to register; and
  • The clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate to develop a system that assigns an identification number to each lobbyist.

The bill also amends the Freedom of Information Act and makes other changes regarding disclosure and transparency in federal contracting and the three branches of federal government.

In his press release, Quigley states, “The Transparency in Government Act shines a light on every branch of the federal government, strengthening our democracy and promoting an efficient, effective and open government.”

Photo of U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley courtesy of the U.S. House of Representatives website on Wikimedia Commons.

Along with their stunning new website, the Association of Government Relations Professionals has launched a member spotlight series. We are proud to say Elizabeth Bartz is the first member to be featured.

Take a look at “4 Questions with a Member: Elizabeth Bartz” and find out how she started in government relations, her professional philosophy, and her involvement in the community!

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

The Utah Legislature adjourned its 2014 session sine die on March 13, 2014.

Governor Gary Herbert has until April 2 to veto or sign legislation. The Governor does not possess a pocket veto. May 12 is the last day a veto-override session may begin.

The normal effective date for bills passed this year is May 13.

Photo of the Utah State Capitol by Scott Catron on Wikimedia Commons.

The Service Employees International Union has agreed to pay a $199,000 fine in a settlement agreement arising out of allegations of campaign finance violations. This fine is the second-largest in the history of the state.

The violations were a result of a 2012 ballot question to amend the state Constitution regarding home health care. They included commingling of funds, late filings, not identifying all accounts used, and not providing complete or accurate campaign statements.

Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said of the settlement agreement, “This agreement reflects our commitment to transparency and accountability in the campaign finance process, especially in an election year.”

The Senate passed a bill to widen the ability of lobbyists to provide campaign contributions. Senate Bill 655 allows a lobbyist to deliver or personally make political contributions as early as April 15 of a general election year. Currently, lobbyists must wait till June 1 to personally make contributions.

A proposal to allow lobbyists to deliver campaign contributions during a floorperiod did not pass. The bill now goes to the Assembly.

Georgia lawmakers and lobbyists are adapting new gift limits to old reporting methods while the ethics commission attempts to draft rules. House Bill 142 established the first-ever limit on lobbyist spending by capping the value of a gift a lobbyist could give a lawmaker at $75.

The bill, effective January 1, 2014, has several exceptions including one to remove the $75 cap for any caucus approved by the House or Senate ethics committees.

Once approved as a caucus, the members can accept a gift greater than $75 without everyone in a caucus attending a dinner, so long as the entire group is invited. Even before committee approval, delegations and more traditional caucuses began accepting expensive meals from lobbyists, leaving lobbyists to figure out how to disclose the spending.

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission is still months away from unveiling rules governing the new ethics law.

A new Texas Ethics Commission Rule regarding contributions to direct campaign expenditure-only committees became effective today.

Texas Ethics Commission Rule §22.5 requires a political committee intending to act exclusively as a direct campaign expenditure-only committee to file an affidavit with the Texas Ethics Commission stating the committee intends to act exclusively as a direct campaign expenditure-only committee and will not use its contributions made to it to make political contributions to any candidate for elective office, any officeholder, or any political committee making a political contribution to a candidate or officeholder.

The new rule requires the committee file the statement before it can accept a political contribution from corporations or labor organizations.

The Virginia State Board of Elections is seeking public comment on a proposed change to its campaign finance filing deadline. The Board is proposing moving the deadline for electronic filing from 5:00 p.m. on the due date to 11:59 p.m. on the due date.

The change was proposed by Board Chairman Charles Judd, who said backup in online traffic shortly before the deadline could result in late filings, and the 5:00 p.m. deadline was based on a close-of-business mindset prior to the existence of electronic filing.

The Board will accept public comments through March 26, 2014, and may be submitted at http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/.

Amber Fish Linke, Director of Client and Product Operations at State and Federal Communications, will be a presenter at the Public Affairs Council’s “March in the Midwest: A State Government Relations Workshop” on March 13, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois.

Amber will team up with political activity lawyer Chris Ashby in the final session, “Overcoming State-Level Compliance Concerns.”

Here is a description of their talk, according to the Public Affairs Council website:

Even the best strategies mean nothing if they’re not carried out ethically. Make sure you’re staying in compliance, meeting your reporting deadlines and protecting your organization’s reputation by learning:

• Regional compliance trends and issues
• Lobbying laws at the state level
• How to comply with gift and pay-to-play rules
• How to build sound compliance procedures that minimize risk

Contributions limits will likely remain in place for the entire 2014 election cycle as Illinois Liberty PAC v. Madigan carries on. In July 2012, the Liberty Justice Center filed suit against Attorney General Lisa Madigan, challenging the Illinois Disclosure and Regulation of Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Act on constitutional grounds.

Specifically, Plaintiffs claim the Act violates the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause by exempting political parties from the contribution limits applicable to PACs and individuals, by lifting contribution limits in races where a self-funding candidate or independent expenditure committee spends more than a particular threshold, and by imposing lower contribution limits on PACs than are imposed on corporations, labor unions, and other organizations.

The complaint also challenges the Act’s constitutionality because it classifies legislative caucus committees as political party committees and thereby treats them more favorable than PACs, corporations, and individuals, without valid reasoning.

On March 3, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss with respect to the treatment of legislative caucus committees but granted the motion with respect to all other challenges.

Although the court suspects legislative caucus committees are sufficiently similar to political party committees for purposes of constitutional analysis, the case remains open to give both sides a fair opportunity to address the issue.

Lawmakers sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill designed to strengthen campaign finance laws in response to a recent case prompting the largest campaign reporting fine in state history. Assembly Bill 800 gives the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) the authority to audit campaign funds and seek court injunctions to force compliance with its investigations before elections.

The bill is a response to $15 million in anonymous donations given through an Arizona-based nonprofit that funneled the cash to California political action committees through intermediary groups. The FPPC issued a $1 million fine against two of the groups involved.