State and Federal Communications held its 5th Annual Halloween Donut and Cider Sale today in the lobby of our office. It was all for the good cause of helping our friends at United Way of Summit County.

We knew we couldn’t host a Halloween sale without a few wacky costumes, so our office party was “pay-to-play,” with a $5 entry to star in our costumes-of-choice.

Take a look at some of the office revelry:

Election Day is Tuesday, November 4th! State and Federal Communications will be offering a new 2014 Election Coverage—Midterm Mania Dashboard!

Be sure to check in with State and Federal Communications for all your government affairs related election coverage. Midterm Mania election results will be updated live at our Election 2014 Dashboard.

Lobbying

“Aereo registers lobbyist as it seeks new classification” by Mario Trujillo in The Hill.

Arizona: “Arizona attorney general candidate faces lobbying complaint” by Phil Villarreal on KGUN ABC News.

New Jersey: “N.J. lawmakers considering restricting lobbyists working for state” by John Reitmeyer in The Record.

Campaign Finance

“Senate Races: Where Outside Groups Spend Their Money” by Derek Willis in The New York Times.

“Anti-big money super PAC reels in big money” by Kenneth P. Vogel in Politico.

“Is Buying Influence a Right?” by David Earley in the Brennan Center for Justice Blog.

“Courting Corruption: The Auctioning of the Judicial System” by Norm Ornstein in The Atlantic.

“New Koch brothers PAC the biggest fundraiser of Q3” by Kathy Kiely, Peter Olsen-Phillips and Jacob Fenton on the Sunlight Foundation Blog.

Arizona: “Clean Elections boss says it appears schools chief John Huppenthal broke campaign finance laws” by Bob Christie (Associated Press) in The Republic.

California: “CalPERS board member stripped of leadership posts for campaign finance infractions” by Dale Kasler in The Sacramento Bee.

Illinois: “Governor race shattering campaign finance records” by Sara Burnett (Associated Press) in the Sun Herald.

Minnesota: “Fundraising-palooza: The latest on MN campaign money” by Brett Neely in Minnesota Public Radio’s Capitol View.

Missouri: “Ex-Missouri Gov. Blunt ends campaign committee” by The Associated Press in The Telegraph.

Oregon: “Michael Bloomberg gives $1.25M to Oregon’s ‘top two’ primary campaign” by The Associated Press on KATU.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: “Phila. Ethics Board tightens campaign-finance rules” by Chris Hepp in The Inquirer.

Ethics

Georgia: “Ga. auditor slams state ethics commission” by The Associated Press in The Telegraph.

State Legislatures

“Two lawmakers involved in shoot-out with robbers near Capitol” by Amy Worden and Allison Steele in The Inquirer.

Elections

“Supreme Court leaves its mark on the midterms” by Josh Gerstein in Politico.

“Courts Are Ruling on Voting Laws – Here’s Where They Stand” by Phil Mattingly in Bloomberg Politics.

“Battle of wits over Senate 2014 map” by James Hohmann in Politico.

Arkansas: “Arkansas’ Voter ID Law Struck Down Amid Confusion in Texas” by Lauren Raab in Governing.

Ohio: “Jerry Springer hits the road for Ohio candidate” by Ann Sanner (Associated Press) on Cincinnati.com.

Texas: “Meet Sam Houston, the Democrat Running a Lonely Campaign for Texas Attorney General” by Jay Root in Governing.

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Democrats Try Moderation to Fight Gov. Scott Walker” by David Lauter in Governing.

Tech and Social Media

“Nonprofit Long Distance Voter Helped Provide Data for Google Voting Search Feature” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.

“Digital.NYC Launches to Spur Innovation and Economic Growth” by Hilton Collins in Government Technology.

“Accela Extends Platform with Government Outreach Acquisition” in Government Technology.

Tennessee: “Tennessee Releases App in Time for the Start of Early Voting” by Richard Locker in Government Technology.

Lobbying

“Congressman presses Holder for review of think tank funding” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“Burger King hires former members of Congress to work on inversion deal” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

Pennsylvania: “Threatened with Pa. fee increase, lobbyists go to work” by Mary Wilson in NewsWorks.

Rhode Island: “R.I. Supreme Court denies request by 38 Studios defendant Wells Fargo” by Paul Grimaldi in the Providence Journal.

Campaign Finance

“FEC votes suggest gridlock is easing” by Byron Tau and Kyle Cheney in Politico.

“In the Senate, campaign finance is the new flag burning” by Gayle Trotter in The Hill.

“Midterm Voters Drown in Dark Money” by Albert R. Hunt in Bloomberg.

“Ads Paid for by Secret Money Flood the Midterm Elections” by Nicholas Confessore in The New York Times.

“Dark money threatens democracy” by Robert Maguire in The Hill’s Congress Blog.

Arkansas: “Some Arkansas candidates talk of limiting outside groups” by John Lyon in Arkansas News.

Ethics

Ohio: “Kasich appoints retired judge to state commission” on WKBN.

Oklahoma: “Financial interests of state officers will not be put online, Ethics Commission says” by Barbara Hoberock in Tulsa World.

Elections

“2014 Ballot Measures That Matter Most for States and Localities” in Governing.

“11 questions that will decide the Senate” by James Hohmann in Politico.

“Dems: Don’t trust the polls” by Niall Stanage in The Hill.

“Courts Strike Down Voter ID Laws in Wisconsin and Texas” by Adam Liptak in The New York Times.

Colorado: “Centrism Hurting Once-Popular Gov. Hickenlooper’s Re-Election Hopes” by Alan Greenblatt in Governing.

Georgia: “Georgia Uses Big Data to Get Out the Vote” by Daniel Malloy and Kristina Torres in Governing.

Michigan: “As election nears, big names stump for state candidates” by Chris Gautz in Crain’s Detroit Business.

Redistricting

“Things to know about political mapmaking in Ohio” by Ann Sanner (Associated Press) in the Daily Journal.

Political Advertising

“Campaigns Find Ad Space Finite, Even on the Web” by Ashley Parker in The New York Times.

Here is our October-November calendar. If you are attending any of these events, please stop by and say hello!

October 8-10   PAC Fall Board Meeting, Santa Barbara, California

October 13   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, D.C.

October 21   WASRG Summit — Keynote Sponsor, Washington, D.C.

November 13-15   Women in Government Fifth Annual Healthcare Summit, Washington, D.C.

November 19-21   2014 Professional Women in Advocacy Conference, Washington, D.C.

November 22   SGAC Foundation’s Leaders’ Policy Conference, Scottsdale, Arizona

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics has developed online ethics training, as required by the New York Legislative Law. Enrollment in the online training is available here.

All registered lobbyists, including principals, must complete the online training.

All lobbyists registered for both the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 biennia must complete the online training by December 31, 2014. Beginning in 2015, all registered lobbyists will be required to complete the training once every three years.

A federal judge rejected Citizens United’s request to air a documentary critical of Colorado Democrats without disclosing its donors in accordance with state law.

The conservative group argues its free speech rights are violated when the law requires it to disclose donors while effectively exempting traditional print media and broadcasters from the same requirement.

Although its motion for a preliminary injunction was denied, Citizens United President David Bossie claims the organization will appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

The executive director of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance is stepping down. Sarah Jackson, who has held the position since 1999, announced her retirement effective November 1.

During her tenure, Jackson expanded the state’s electronic campaign finance reporting program and established an online searchable database.

Rebecca Feland, a budget analyst with the Registry, has been named the interim director.

As a part of our unrivaled commitment to government relations compliance expertise, we are attending the Practising Law Institute’s seminar, Corporate Political Activities 2014: Complying With Campaign Finance, Lobbying and Ethics Laws.

The full schedule includes coverage of issues such as federal and state lobbying laws, gift laws, and corporate political contributions. PLI has gathered first-rate presenters such as Lee Goodman and Ann Ravel of the Federal Election Commission, as well as many others from state ethics agencies and corporate compliance.

Why are we taking the time to attend PLI’s Corporate Political Activities 2014?

As their website states: “Lobbying, campaign finance and ethics rules in Washington, and in every state, are changing, and new court cases are affecting lobbyists, corporations, associations, and unions. Compliance with federal, state and local laws is more complex than ever.”

Compliance is more complex than ever – and we are making sure we have it covered.

Lobbying

“Under Contract” in The Hill.

Illinois: “Lobbyists banned from doing business at county board meetings” by Brian Slodysko in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign-Finance Amendment Drives Wedge Between ACLU, Public Citizen” by Daniel Fisher in Forbes.

“Campaign Money Debate Won’t Help Hill’s Reputation” by David Hawkins in Roll Call.

“Too strong for McConnell to resist” by Robert Weissman in The Hill.

“State of political consulting: Rapid growth, long hours, new approaches” by Tarini Parti in Politico.

“How campaigns are losing the mobile war” by Daniel Lippman and Darren Samuelsohn in Politico.

“Former Connecticut governor secretly paid to advise congressional campaign, staff testify” by Richard Weizel in Reuters.

New Jersey: “NJEA Spent Nearly $60M on Campaigns and Lobbying in Past 15 Years” in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

South Carolina: “S.C. House Speaker Indicted on Campaign Finance Violations” by Valerie Bauerlein in The Wall Street Journal.

Ethics

Arkansas: “Why Some Say Arkansas’ Ethics Reform Is a Trojan Horse” by J.B. Wogan in Governing.

Elections

Massachusetts: “Baker, Coakley to square off for control of Corner Office” by Matt Stout in the Boston Herald.

New Hampshire: “Tech-Funded Mayday PAC’s Candidate Loses Big in New Hampshire” by Amy Schatz in Re/code.

New York: “Cuomo survives revolt” by Matthew Hamilton in the Times Union.

Ohio: “Early voting hours should be set by counties, Democrats say” by Jackie Borchardt in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

State Legislatures

Nevada: “Tesla-related bills argued in Nevada Legislature” by Charles Fleming in the Los Angeles Times.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in State and Federal Communications’ digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying and can be found in the client portion of our website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly email updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regard to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Lobbying

Canada: “A fond farewell to former staffer and lobbyist Devon Jacobs” by Rachel Aiello in Hill Times.

Massachusetts: “AG hit on settlement with lobbyist” by Chris Cassidy in the Boston Herald.

Miami-Dade County, Florida: “Ethics Backs Lobbying Ban” on Miami Today.

Campaign Finance

“Planes, trains and campaign finance reports — the bane of every Senate candidate” by Jaime Fuller in The Washington Post.

Ethics

“I-Team: North Carolina Ethics Commission’s website problems could be a sign of a bigger issue” by Jon Camp on WTVD ABC News.

Georgia: “Ethics Commission: We’re back on track” by Aaron Gould Sheinin in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

North Carolina: “Carteret County man named chairman of State Ethics Commission” by Brad Christian on WNCT News.

Oklahoma: “Ethics Commission To Consider Fees For Training” on KGOU.

Washington: “Ethics Board Settles On 12 Lobbyist-Paid Meals Per Year” by Austin Jenkins on Northwest Public Radio.

Elections

“The 65 people who may run for president in 2016” by Bob Cusack in The Hill.

Lobbying

“White House vs. K Street” by Byron Tau in Politico.

“Antonia Ferrier Settles Into New Role at Forbes-Tate | Downtown Moves” by Bridget Bowman in Roll Call.

Wisconsin: “Taxpayers group is top-spending lobbyist again” by Bill Leuders in the Post-Crescent.

Campaign Finance

California: “California campaign finance measure booted off ballot” by Christopher Cadelago and Jim Miller in the Sacramento Bee.

Florida: “Watchdogs want data on campaign spending” by James L. Rosica in The Tampa Tribune.

Ethics

Alaska: “APOC approves opinion saying lawmakers can use to state resources to stake referendum position” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Georgia: “State Ethics Commission Hires 2 New Staff Lawyers” by Kathleen Baydala Joyner in the Daily Report.

New York: “Poll: Shrugs at Andrew Cuomo ethics woes” by Jonathan Topaz in Politico.

Redistricting

Florida: “Florida Legislature Approves New Congressional Map” by Bridget Bowman in Politico.

Florida: “Arguing Florida Failed Again, Dems Want Court-Drawn Map” by Mary Ellen Klas and Michael Van Sickler in Governing.

The state of Mississippi is challenging a lower court ruling affecting its campaign finance laws. In September, 2013, U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock ruled the state’s campaign finance registration and reporting requirements unconstitutional for people or groups spending money to support or oppose a ballot initiative.

Under Mississippi law, groups seeking to support or oppose statewide ballot issues must register as political committees if receiving or making expenditures in excess of $200 during a calendar year. Moreover, campaign finance reports must include the name and address of any person donating more than $200 to a ballot issue committee.

The state argues the disclosure requirement provides transparency and is, therefore, substantially related to a sufficiently important government interest. Others claim the extensive and confusing regulations regarding political committees impose an undue burden and chill First Amendment speech.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit will hear the case September 3.