Iowa Legislature Adjourns

Iowa legislators have finally decided to call it quits for 2012. More than 22 days after the schedule adjournment date, the Iowa Legislature adjourned sine die on Wednesday night.

Since the Legislature stayed in session beyond the adjournment date, they have not received any stipends for the past three weeks.

On the session’s final day, the Senate and House finalized the state budget and a major mental health system reform, but failed to come to an agreement on property tax relief. Since the property tax relief package was not agreed upon, both sides conceded there could be a special session called, but only if they can get closer to an agreement.

Photo of the Iowa State Capitol building by Ashton B. Crew on Wikipedia.

“Twitter, Facebook now tools for Big Brother” by David Saleh Rauf in Politico.

“Blending Governance and Twitter” by Chrystia Freeland in The New York Times.

“Social media as election predictor? Not so fast” by Puja Murgai on Politico.

“A Road Map Emerges for State Digital Preservation” by Noelle Knell in Government Technology.

“Louisville government rated among top 10 social media cities” by Thomas McAdam in the Louisville City Hall Examiner.

This articles talks about the trend toward tagging objects in the physical world in order to track it all with the internet and mobile devices: “Internet of Things Comes to Government” from Government Technology.

How does your state measure up in providing high speed internet access? “States Race to Improve Broadband Speeds” by Mike Maciag in Government Technology.

The State Department held a social media contest where the participants were given the task of finding fake jewel thieves. MIT’s Team Crowdscanner was the winner: “MIT team thinks outside the box to snag social media prize” by Andrew Lapin in Nextgov.

Here is a Govloop discussion “What Are Your Tech Needs for Teleworking?” posted by Pat Fiorenza.

Citizens in 53 communities approved a measure on Vermont’s Town Meeting Day, coinciding with Super Tuesday, calling on the United States Congress to begin the process of amending the Constitution in order to clarify that corporations do not share the same rights as natural persons possess.

The push for such a measure is a result of the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Citizen’s United case.

Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont, introduced such an amendment in December and appreciated support by his constituents for his efforts, noting “Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, Town Meeting Day voters understood that corporations are not people.”

State and Federal Communications is proud to be one of the sponsors of the Ohio Birthday Reception in Washington D.C.! The grand event will take place tonight at the Library of Congress.

Elizabeth Bartz, the company’s President and CEO, will be in attendance.

The Nebraska Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments concerning the state’s “fair fight” campaign finance law on Wednesday, March 7, 2012.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission voted unanimously in August to stop enforcement of the 1992 law aimed at leveling the playing field in state political races following a United States Supreme Court decision concerning the state of Arizona where a similar law was deemed unconstitutional.

Under the law, candidates could qualify for “fair fight” money from the state if they adhered to voluntary spending limits and their opponent had exceeded such limits.

Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced on Wednesday the adoption of a recodified set of rules concerning Colorado campaign financing aimed at simplifying the state’s campaign finance process. Among the most notable changes to be made, total fines for late or incomplete campaign finance reports are now to be limited to $50 per day for up to 180 days for a maximum fine of $9,000.

Additionally, Gessler’s office will continue to utilize the $5,000 threshold at which issue committees must register and report, created by Gessler’s adoption of Campaign and Political Finance Rule 4.27, despite a state district court ruling Gessler did not have the authority to increase the threshold from the constitutionally-mandated figure of $200 after a finding by the court determining the threshold to be too burdensome.

Also, in accordance with the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision released the day prior to Gessler’s release of the recodified campaign finance rules, a 527 political group is limited to accepting up to $550 from any person every two years if the 527 group is engaging in express advocacy for a particular candidate by use of certain “magic words” such as “vote for” or “elect.”

Critics of Gessler have claimed the changes made are outside his authority and a legal challenge is expected. The rules are scheduled to temporarily take effect on March 7, 2012, with the rules being permanently effective on March 30, 2012.

Lobbying:

“Lobbying a bust in AT&T T-Mobile bid” by Tony Romm in Politico.

“Not all Missouri lawmakers accept gifts from lobbyists” by Jake Wagman in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Campaign Finance

“OUR VIEW: Fortunately, a judge’s ruling last week does not gut the state’s ban on money transfers between political action committees” by the Birmingham News editorial board.

Government Ethics:

“Blagojevich attorneys begin appeals process” by The Associated Press in NWI Times.

“Secrecy cloaks new [NY] ethics watchdog panel” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

Redistricting:

“The Texas Redistricting Case Explained”  by Karl Kurtz on NCSL’s blog The Thicket.

Gov 2.0:

“Agencies question value of social media” by Alice Lipowicz in Federal Computer Week.

The West Virginia Legislature convened a special session on Sunday, December 11, 2011.

The session has been called to discuss the regulation of oil and gas wells.

State and Federal Communications  is proud to work in Akron and we recognize that we have a responsibility to reach out to the community around us. This holiday season we decided to participate in a Giving Tree project.

Our tree is in the lobby with tags requesting gifts for someone in need. The tags are nearly all claimed by employees who will be a Santa for someone. There are just a few unclaimed items left.

The tree is benefitting the Summit and Medina County Battered Women’s Shelter, and the items we’re providing range from anything like clothing (boots, scarves, coats for children and women) to Christmas toys and supplies for the shelter itself.

Instead of adopting one specific family, these items will go toward the shelter and the families that come in during the weekend of Christmas and often can bring nothing with them for the holidays.

This “campaign” will go through December 21st which is final drop off time at the shelter.

Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is under investigation for violations of campaign finance laws. The Associated Press covers the story in “Lawyers: Feds investigate Richardson fundraising,” by Barry Massey.

The New York Times reports that a fundraiser for New York City Comptroller John C. Liu was arrested for illegally funneling contributions.  Read the full story at “Fund-Raiser for Liu Is Accused of Role in Illegal Donations” by William Rashbaum, David Chen, and Benjamin Weiser.

An Associated Press article reports that Mitt Romney’s emails from when he was governor of Massachusetts were removed at the end of his term. Read “Report: Romney-era emails wiped from Mass. Records” from today’s Boston Herald.

Budgets cuts are further threatening government transparency initiatives. Nextgov reports about it in “E-gov cuts could endanger digital transparency initiatives, groups say” by Joseph Marks.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has called a special session to be held on November 13, 2011.

The purpose of the session will be to certify and declare the results of the October 4, 2011 special election.

Map of West Virginia by Jim Irwin on Wikipedia.

My #1 conference of choice is State Government Affairs Council Leaders Policy Conference. I first attended this in 2001 at the Wigwam in Scottsdale and I was hooked. I first met CSG’s Executive Director, David Adkins there and Stan Tretiak, then with Coors, was the conference chairperson and had the CEO of Coors address the group.

You could say I loved it so much, I not only joined the association; I ran for the board, and am now the president!

This year, David Christman, from the National Beer Wholesalers Association, is the conference chairperson. The program is outstanding. Speakers include:

1. Craig Karges—Nationally recognized speaker and author;
2. Margaret Anderson Kelliher—President and CEO of Minnesota High Tech Association;
3. Kevin McCarty—Florida Insurance Commissioner;
4. William Symonds—Director, Pathways to Prosperity Project,
   Harvard Graduate School;
5. Michael Sargeant—Executive Director of the DLCC;
6. Matt Walter—Political Director of RSLC;
7. Dana Perino—Political Commentator, and Former White House Press Secretary; and
8. Cincinnati’s own Johnny Bench—Baseball Legend.

In addition to this great cast of speakers are the exceptional legislators in the audience. SGAC invites the top six (6) legislators from every state. This gives everyone the opportunity to speak with state leaders and develop the important working relationships you will need in 2012. I don’t know where to start, but some of them include:

1. Kansas Senate President Stephen Morris;
2. Maryland Senate President Mike Miller;
3. Georgia Senator Don Balfour;
4. Ohio Representative Ted Celeste;
5. Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus; and
6. Massachusetts Senator Richard Moore.

There is still space available for you at SGAC’s LPC. You can obtain all the needed information at www.sgac.org.

Until next month, take the time to hone your skills, sharpen the saw, and awaken the giant within—okay, too much Covey and Robbins! The point is to stay on top of your game and be the best for your organization.

Anonymous and unsolicited text messages are being sent against democratic candidates in Virginia. Here is the Washington Post article “Anti-Democratic text messages in Northern Va. prompt lawsuit, complaints” by Anita Kumar.

Government Technology discusses the tension between the demands of government transparency and the realities of state bugdet constraints in “Transparency Demands Cost Governments Money” by Sarah Rich.

NCSL has updated their 2012 Legislative Session Calendar.

Judicial races are getting expensive. PoliticsPA.com posted “Pa. Rated as Second Costliest Judicial Elections; Candidates Weigh in” by Sari Heidenreich. Here is the recent study by the Brennan Center For Justice, “The New Politics of Judicial Elections: 2009-10” that ranks judicial elections in the states.

Photo of texting by Alton on Wikipedia.