Well the weather outside is frightful…

That is how this column started but the weather has been unusually fabulous. So I re-wrote my column and am not going to discuss the weather…but something we all know more about.

Registrations and reports you have due in January could be frightening so we encourage you to find a delightful fire this month along with some corn for popping. Turn the lights way down low…And, let State and Federal Communications take care of your compliance needs.

The State and Federal Communications website—www.stateandfed.com—is complete with the important 2016 dates you need to know. Our offices are open and staffed in December, with the exception of being closed on December 24th, December 25th, December 31st, and January 1st.

You just cannot miss when State and Federal Communications is on your side.

On behalf of this great team, we wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy New Year.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

Lobbying

California: “Stricter Rules Proposed For Reporting ‘Payments To Influence’” by Ben Bradford on Capital Public Radio

Campaign Finance

“Campaign Finance Reform Explained With Cartoons” by Rio Tazewell in The Huffington Post

“Romney super PAC fined” by Theodoric Meyer in Politico.

Oregon: “Campaign finance reform still unresolved” by Gordon Friedman in the Statesman Journal

Ethics

New York: “Governor Cuomo Promises More Ethics Reforms” on WNYC

New York: “Cuomo previews ethics reform plans and closing LLC loophole” by Matthew Hamilton in the Albany Times Union

New York: “Facing Criticism, Assemblyman Says He Is Declining Consulting Job” by MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM in The New York Times

Elections

Iowa: “Terry Branstad Breaks Record for Longest-Serving U.S. Governor” by Alan Greenblatt in Governing

Texas: “In Close Race, Houston Elects Democratic Mayor Sylvester Turner” by Mike Morris and Rebecca Elliott in Governing

Lobbying

“Under Contract” in The Hill

“Lobbying World” in The Hill

“Top McCarthy aide heading to K Street” by Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer in Politico

Campaign Finance

“Poll: Americans not fans of public campaign financing” by The Associated Press in the Columbia Daily Tribune

“Super-PACs set to influence Senate primaries” by Ben Kamisar in The Hill

Michigan: “Senate votes to write super PACs into state campaign finance law” by Emily Lawler in MLive

Utah: “SLC Council slashes campaign contribution limits” by Christopher Smart in the Salt Lake Tribune

Ethics

District of Columbia: “Long-running probe ends without charges against former D.C. mayor Vincent Gray” by Ann E. Marimow, Spencer S. Hsu and Keith L. Alexander in The Washington Post

Legislative Issues

“Why State Legislatures Are Still Pretty White” by Teresa Wiltz in Governing

Redistricting

“Supreme Court Mulls One-Person, One-Vote Redistricting Case” by Todd Ruger in Roll Call

“Republican Redistricting Rows Rock SCOTUS” by Kimberly Robinson in Bloomberg BNA

Texas: “Analysis: In Redistricting, Somebody Will Be Slighted” by Ross Ramsey in The Texas Tribune

Lobbying

“Penalty against lobbying firm sends message to an industry unfamiliar with prosecution” by Marcus Howard in the Los Angeles Times

New York: “Corruption trial: Adam Skelos laid out lobbyists’ views of upstate, downstate” by Chris Bragg in the Albany Times Union

Campaign Finance

“GOP rider would boost party spending” by Kenneth Vogel and Seung Min Kim in Politico

“Campaign Spending’s Gray Areas Are Getting Politicians Into Trouble” by Alan Greenblatt in Governing

California: “California campaign law’s loopholes allow donors to skirt limits” by The Associated Press in the San Jose Mercury News

Hawaii: “High Court Rejects Challenge to Hawaii Campaign Finance Laws” by The Associated Press on ABC News

New Mexico: “New Mexico lawmakers to discuss campaign finance reform” by The Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle

Ethics

“Funding for lawmakers’ portraits under fire” by Megan Wilson in The Hill

New Mexico: “Will 2016 be the year for ethics reform in New Mexico?” by Steve Terrell in The New Mexican

Elections

“5 takes on 2016 as the campaign kicks into high gear” by Glenn Thrush in Politico

“The 2016 ballot wars begin” by Shane Goldmacher in Politico

Congress

“Congress Has a List of Deadlines, Is Checking It Twice” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call

“Dems go digital with whip operation” by Scott Wong in The Hill

Lobbying

“Twilio, TaskRabbit hire first lobbyists” by Mario Trujillo in The Hill

Campaign Finance

“Ben Carson’s Book Tour Draws Campaign Finance Complaint” by Trip Gabriel in The New York Times

Montana: “Political Practices boss adopts new campaign finance rules” by The Associated Press in the Independent Record

New Mexico: “House Democrats push campaign finance reform, ethics board” by Susan Montoya Bryan (Associated Press) in the Sun Herald

Ethics

California: “S.F. Ethics Commission hires director with long experience in L.A.” by Lizzie Johnson and Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle

New York: “Thomas Libous, Ex-New York State Senator, Gets Probation and Home Confinement in Corruption Case” by Vivan Yee in The New York Times

Elections

“Forget the 2016 Polls: Nobody Knows Anything Yet” by S.V. Dáte (National Journal) in Government Executive

Government Transparency

Missouri: “Auditor finds Sunshine Law violations in closed meetings” by Summer Ballentine (Associated Press) in the Columbia Daily Tribune

Social Media and Tech

“Top Ten Presidential Campaign Facebook Posts (11/13 to 11/19/2015)” by Colin Delany in Epolitics.com

Lobbying

Arizona: “In Arizona, lobbyist disclose spending; you just don’t know on whom” by Justin Price in The Arizona Republic

Canada: “Lobbying: important amendments to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct” by Gregory Kane, V. Peter Harder and Danylo Korbabicz in Lexology

Campaign Finance

Kansas: “House-Senate panel votes to double campaign donation limits” by Tim Carpenter in The Topeka Capital-Journal

State Legislatures

Florida: “State Lawmakers Pushing To Extend Legislative Terms” by Nick Evans in WFSU.org

Vermont: “Off-session legislative activity causes concern” by Neal Goswami in the Times Argus

Washington: “Liias, Ryu selected for leadership posts in State Legislature” in My Edmonds News

Elections

“What to Know About the Presidential Race Today” in The New York Times

Redistricting

Florida: “Redistricting challengers amend filed maps, withdraw plan to cross Tampa Bay” by Mary Ellen Klas in Tampa Bay Times

Lobbying

“Start-Up Leaders Embrace Lobbying as Part of the Job” by Cecilia Kang in The New York Times

Campaign Finance

Kansas: “Wichita City Council considers changes to campaign finance, salaries” by Kelsey Ryan in The Wichita Eagle

Washington: “Seattle provides cash for average political players” by Gene Johnson (Associated Press) in The Detroit News

Ethics

“Ethics Committee Defers to DOJ on Pittenger Probe” by Bridget Bowman in Roll Call

Oregon: “Online financial disclosure system to launch Jan. 1” by Hillary Borrud in The Daily Astorian

Elections

Maine: “Maine May Be 1st State to Eliminate ‘Winner Take All’ Elections” by Christopher Cousins (Tribune News Service) in Governing

Legislative Sessions

Indiana: “Four things to expect from the Indiana legislature” by Brian Slodysko (Associated Press) in the Courier-Journal

Kansas: “Kansas black leaders agree on legislative, election agenda” by The Associated Press in The Topeka Capital-Journal

Massachusetts: “State legislative session sputters to an end” by Frank Phillips in the Boston Globe

Government Transparency

Alaska: “Alaska’s Open Data Portal Still Dark” by Nathaniel Herz (Alaska Dispatch News) in Government Technology

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has proposed rules amending reporting requirements for “other payments to influence legislative or administrative action”, as provided in California Government Code section 86116. The proposed regulations require such payments to be itemized on periodic disclosure reports.

According to the FPPC, these payments encompass a range of expenditures and lump sum reporting does not provide the type of transparency imagined by the drafters of the statute. The amended regulations affect lobbyist employers and persons spending $5,000 or more to influence legislative or administrative action.

The FPPC will hold an interested persons meeting on December 3, 2015 at 10 a.m. to solicit public comment regarding the proposed rules. The rules will be considered for adoption at the FPPC’s January 21, 2016, meeting.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be a sponsor of the Professional Women in Advocacy Conference on November 16-17, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

We are also excited to announce Elizabeth Bartz will be moderating the Tuesday lunch discussion panel Been There, Done That: Words of Wisdom and Experience.

The amazing panel lineup includes Gloria Dittus, chairman of Story Partners; Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP; and Ambassador Connie Morella.

State Republicans are celebrating a victory today following a successful gubernatorial election. Matt Bevin, a Louisville businessman and favorite among Tea Party members, was elected governor, defeating Democrat and current Attorney General Jack Conway. This is an unusual change in a state where Democrats have held the governor’s office for all but four of the last 44 years.

Additionally, by capitalizing on the overwhelming unpopularity of President Obama within the state, Republicans will go from holding just one statewide office to four.

Kentucky is the last southern state where Democrats hold a chamber of the legislature, but without the support of the governor, the state’s House is likely to fall as well.

Enjoy these fun photos from recent events:

Ohio Gov. John Kasich set a special election for June 7, 2016, to fill the seat of former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner. A primary will be held March 15, the same day as the state’s presidential primary.

Interested individuals have until Dec. 16 to file candidacy petitions with the Butler County Board of Elections.