It was very nice to see Laura Brelin from United Way of Summit County last week. Laura dropped by to present a framed “Excellence Award” to State and Federal Communications.

Excellence Awards are presented to those organizations whose employees demonstrate outstanding excellence with at least 75% participation and either $100 per capita or a 35% increase over last year’s campaign. We are proud to say that in 2012 we had 100% participation and $835 per capita giving!

State and Federal Communications is a proud supporter of United Way of Summit County. Aside from working hard each year on our annual campaign, we have had staff participation in the Day of Action, the Corporate Challenge Soap Box Derby, the Corporate Volunteer Council, and the Account Executive program.

Thank you, United Way! We look forward to a long partnership.

The Legislature adjourned sine die early Saturday, May 4, 2013. During this longest-ever legislative session, Governor Jack Dalrymple signed two campaign finance bills to establish registration and reporting requirements for independent expenditures.

Senate Bill 2255 and Senate Bill 2299 expand definitions and reporting requirements for campaign entities making independent expenditures in North Dakota elections. Federal PACs making independent expenditures in excess of $200 in state races will be required to file a copy of the federal report detailing the expenditures.

The bills become effective August 1, 2013.

Photo of the North Dakota State Capitol by Bobak Ha’Eri in Wikipedia.

The Washington State Legislature adjourned Sunday night, but state lawmakers are not done meeting this year. For the fourth consecutive year, the Legislature has been unable to complete the state budget and will have to go into special session.

The Legislature was statutorily mandated to adjourn on Sunday, but it is allowed a 30-day special session to come to an agreement on the budget. Governor Jay Inslee said budget negotiators will remain in Olympia to continue work on the budget, while all other legislators will report back on May 13 for the special session.

While in special session, the Legislature may take up other issues and Governor Inslee would like the lawmakers to handle issues involving abortion, gun control, and immigration. However, with the budget being the major issue, these secondary issues may not be discussed.

In regards to the budget, Governor Inslee said, “The parties are not miles apart at the moment, they are light-years apart.”

Photo of the Interior of the Legislative Building by Cacophony on Wikipedia.

The Montana Senate and the House both adjourned sine die on April 24, 2013, three days ahead of the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment date.

Governor Steve Bullock, who does not have a pocket veto, has 10 days upon delivery to sign, veto, or recommend amendments to bills.

The Legislature, which meets in regular session for 90 working days in every odd-numbered year, will have its next regular session in 2015.

Photo of the Montana State Capitol courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Idaho Legislature adjourned its regular session sine die on April 4, 2013.

Before adjourning at 11:30 a.m., the Legislature finalized the $1.3 billion public education budget. It failed to pass by one vote at the end of March, with some lawmakers arguing that it codified the Students Come First laws rejected by voters last November.

The House also debated and passed a bill aimed at allowing school districts flexibility in adjusting teacher pay and contracts.

Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Assembly District 80 to fill a vacancy following the resignation of Assembly Member Ben Hueso.

The primary will be held May 21, 2013.

If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a special general election will be held on July 30, 2013.

The Utah Legislature adjourned its 2013 session sine die on March 14, 2013.

Governor Gary Herbert has until April 3 to veto or sign legislation. The Governor does not possess a pocket veto.

The normal effective date for bills passed this year is May 14.

Photo of Utah’s Capitol by Scott Catron on Wikipedia.

The General Assembly adjourned sine die on February 23, 2013.

A reconvened session is scheduled to begin April 3, 2013.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL) for a great conference in Columbus. Eleven of our staff from State and Federal Communications attended, and we had a terrific experience. There were so many information-packed sessions and it was nice to see old friends and make some new ones.

Here is a little video montage we made about our COGEL 2012 experience.  Enjoy!

Governor Bryant has set the date of a special election to fill Senate District 16.

The election is scheduled for January 15, 2013.

The seat was held by Senator Bennie Turner, who passed away November 27.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign Finance Reformers Get Back To Work After Record Election Spending” by Paul Blumenthal in the Huffington Post.

“Abramoff, Occupy Wall Street join forces on campaign finance reform” by Megan M. Wilson in The Hill.

“U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown calls for campaign finance reform” by Stephanie Warsmith in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists Woo New Lawmakers in D.C. Mating Dance” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Incoming freshman lawmakers already have bundlers on K St.” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Tax fight sneaks up on K Street” by Bernie Becker and Peter Schroeder in The Hill.

“Rove Super PAC will try lobbying” by Rachel Weiner in The Washington Post.

Florida:  “Cretul, Cannon are lobbyists; former speakers start new firm” by Bill Thompson in the Gainesville Sun.

Ethics

“Secretary of state accused of moving too slow on PAC ethics complaint” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

“Montreal Hackathon Aims to Combat Government Corruption” by Elisabeth Fraser in TechPresident.

Redistricting

“Ohio State Bar Association urges commission to take up redistricting reform” by Kate Irby in the Plain Dealer.