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.

State and Federal Communications, and its predecessor State and Federal Associates, have been involved with lobbying compliance since 1976. You can imagine many others might try to duplicate our program but never have the resources or staff to implement the platinum type of service you currently receive from my highly trained in-house staff of 11 attorneys.

When I purchased my area of business from State and Federal Associates in 1993 and formed State and Federal Communications, Inc., we really were the only gig in town. As time goes on and as technology is easier, there are others—who have been clients or former employees—that feel a similar URL and a toll free number makes it easy to replicate. But don’t be fooled. There is only one true compliance company in Ohio and in this country and our reputation and our list of clients speak for themselves.

In government relations I have everyone down to two degrees of separation. In the case of competitors, it is only one because each has seen success and yearns for it. I don’t take it personally…it’s business. And, I assure you I take my business seriously and my relationship with my clients even more seriously. Your compliance needs have always been our absolute priority.

Thank you for the confidence you have in our services.  We look forward to many, many more years together.

The special session of the Maine Legislature adjourned on September 27, 2011.

Lawmakers reached an agreement redrawing the state’s two congressional districts.

The West Virginia Legislature adjourned the second special session on redistricting on August 21, 2011.

Here is the announcement on the West Virginia Legislature’s blog.

Photo of the West Virginia State Capitol by Garkeith on Wikipedia.

The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned the special session concerning redistricting on Thursday, July 28, 2011.

During the session, the redistricting process for the state was completed.

Further, five of Governor Beverly Perdue’s vetoes were overridden.

The Legislature is expected to convene another special session on Monday, September 12, 2011.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

The special session of the Utah Legislature adjourned after one day, as expected.

Several items were passed including a resolution calling for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Photo of the Utah State Capitol by BigBen212 on Wikipedia.