Here is our August – September calendar. If you are attending any of the coming events, please stop by and say hello!

August 9-13, 2014 CSG National & CSG West Annual Conference, Anchorage, Alaska

August 19-22, 2014   NCSL Legislative Summit, Minneapolis, Minnesota

September 8, 2014  WGR Toastmasters, Washington, D.C.

September 11-12, 2014   PLI: Corporate Political Activities Seminar, Washington, D.C.

September 22, 2014  WGR Toastmasters, Washington, D.C.

September 29 – October 1, 2014   PAC State and Local Government Affairs Conference, Alexandria, Virginia

Lobbying

“New king of K Street” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“Business Bottom Line” in The Hill.

“How to Disclose Your Lobbying While Keeping the Public In the Dark” by Ben Geman in National Journal.

Texas: “Activist fined $10,000 for not registering as lobbyist” by David Saleh Rauf in the Houston Chronicle.

Campaign Finance

“Want to reduce polarization? Give parties more money.” by Ray LaRaja and Brian Schaffner in The Washington Post.

“Politicos souring on FEC advice?” by Dave Levinthal in The Center for Public Integrity.

“Money gap: Why don’t women give?” by Anna Palmer and Tarini Parti in Politico.

Massachusetts: “Mass. Senate To Debate PAC Disclosure Bill” by The Associated Press on WBUR.

Ethics

“Stars may be aligning for transparency legislation” by Josh Gerstein in Politico.

Pennsylvania: “State Ethics Commission confirms investigation of Pennsylvania’s legislative sting case” by Charles Thompson in The Patriot-News.

Congress

“… And Congress punts” by Burgess Everett in Politico.

“Issues pile up in Congress” by Jake Sherman in Politico.

“One chart that shows Congress can actually get things done” by Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post.

“Members of Congress Plan to Live on Minimum Wage for a Week” by Scott Wilson on ABC News.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Washington D.C. Launches Open Data Policy, FOIA Portal” in Government Technology.

Lobbying

Canada: “Foreign lobbying transparency bill another attack on environmental groups: critics” by Mark Burgess in The Hill Times.

Iowa: “Lobbyists of All Kinds Flock to Farm Bill” by Peggy Lowe on Iowa Public Radio.

Kansas: “Hearing held on 38 Studios lobbying questions” by The Associated Press in The Wichita Eagle.

Campaign Finance

“Lawrence Lessig’s Public Q&A on How His $12 million Super PAC Will Fix Campaign Finance” by Rebecca Chao in TechPresident.

California: “San Diego Ethics Commission Votes To Rein In Independent Committees” by Joe Yerardi in KPBS.

Connecticut: “Banned Donors Skirt Law Designed To Prevent Pay-To-Play” by Dave Altimari and Matthew Kauffman in the Hartford Courant.

Maine: “Analysis: One candidate’s unfair campaign finance law is another’s protection” by Mario Moretto in the Maine Daily Journal.

Maryland: “Excuses abound for Md. campaign report failings” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.

Massachusetts: “Union fights to strip reporting provision from campaign finance reform bill” by Frank Phillips in The Boston Globe.

Missouri: “Money, Money, Money: Five Things To Look For In Tuesday’s Campaign Finance Reports” by Jason Rosenbaum on KBIA.

Ethics

Indiana: “Bennett accepts $5,000 fine in ethics settlement” by Tom LoBianco (Associated Press) in the Naples Daily News.

Nevada: “What a difference a word could make” by Steve Sebelius in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Pennsylvania: “Pa. lawmakers left town with plenty of unfinished business” by Andrew Staub in the Daily Local News.

Redistricting

Florida: “House Democrats Have Mixed Reaction to Florida Redistricting Ruling” by Abby Livingston in Roll Call.

State Sen. Chris McDaniel is questioning the integrity of Mississippi’s GOP Senate primary runoff. McDaniel refuses to concede the election to U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran and claims some election activity was unfair, unethical, and illegal.

Evidence suggests hundreds, if not thousands, of voters crossed party lines between primary and runoff elections. Mississippians who voted in the Democratic primary illegally cast votes in the Republican primary runoff.

State election law experts speculate the election results will stand because it is impossible to assume all the irregular votes went to Cochran. Additionally, a strong public policy interest exists in accepting the finality of the runoff election; questioning the integrity of or redoing elections is a slippery slope.

Nevertheless, a conservative group known as True the Vote filed suit in federal court on Tuesday, July 1, against the Mississippi secretary of state and the Republican Party of Mississippi to challenge the results of the runoff.

Lobbying

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

“Under Contract” in The Hill.

Campaign Finance

“Karl Rove and the Modern Money Machine” by Kenneth Vogel in Politico.

Louisiana: “Gov. Jindal signs campaign finance reforms into law” by Tom Wright on WVUE Fox News.

Massachusetts: “House supports super PAC disclosure bill, boosts donation limits” by Colleen Quinn on MassLive.com.

Ohio: “Prosecutor: Ohio man knew donations were illegal” by The Associated Press on WSYX ABC News.

Ethics

“Ethics panel defers Michael Grimm probe” by John Bresnahan in Politico.

Alabama: “Ethics Commission to search for new leader; AL senator expresses interest” by Max Reiss on WSFA News.

Georgia: “Former State Ethics Commission Secretary: The System Is Broken” by Ellen Reinhardt on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Congress

“With 28 Days Left, What Can Congress Do?” by Molly O’Toole in Defense One.

National Conventions

“Cleveland, Dallas make cut for GOP convention” by James Hohmann in Politico.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Jason Chaffetz: Tech’s pace ‘scares a lot of members of Congress’” by Alex Byers and Jody Serrano in Politico.

Montana: “State notifies 1.3 million people whose data were in hacked computer” by Mike Dennison in the Independent Record.

Rep. Charlie Rangel has likely defeated challenger state Sen. Adriano Espaillat in a hotly contested Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District. The district covers parts of New York City, including Harlem and the Bronx.

While some news sources report the race is too close to call, with 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Rangel leads by 1,828 votes. Espaillat has not yet conceded the race because absentee and provisional ballots still remain uncounted. There are 980 valid absentee ballots and an unknown number of provisional ballots, all of which will be counted on July 2, 2014.

There is no Republican challenger for the 13th District seat so a win in the primary guarantees the victor a seat in Congress.

Rangel has served 22 terms in Congress and was once the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. The veteran congressman has defeated Espaillat once before in the 2012 Democratic primary, winning by less than 1,000 votes.

Here is our July – August calendar. If you are attending any of the coming events, please stop by and say hello!

June 25, 2014  WGR Toastmasters, Washington, D.C.

July 10-13, 2014   National Governors Association Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee

July 13-16, 2014   CSG Midwestern Legislative Conference, Omaha, Nebraska

July 14, 2014   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, D.C.

July 23, 2014   IACREOT Conference, Bonita Springs, Florida

July 23-25, 2014   NCSL Legislative Leadership, Washington, D.C.

July 28, 2014   WGR Toastmasters, Washington, D.C.

August 3-6, 2014   CSG/Eastern Regional Conference Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland

August 9-13, 2014 CSG National & CSG West Annual Conference, Anchorage, Alaska

August 19-22, 2014   NCSL Legislative Summit, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Lobbying

“Which federal agencies do lobbyists target most?” by Elizabeth Shell in PBS Newshour.

“Unemployment Extension Cause Has Invisible Lobby | K Street Files” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Former Rep. Dan Lungren returns to lobbying” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

Canada: “Number of federal lobbyists up 24 per cent” by Jason Fekete in The Star Phoenix.

Florida: “Lobbyists, lawyers jostle for pot business” by Dara Kam in The News Herald.

Kentucky: “Lobbyist hosts RPK fundraiser with top GOP senators” by Tom Loftus in the Courier-Journal.

Oklahoma: “Wind energy felt at the state Capitol” by Kurtis Killman in the Tulsa World.

Pennsylvania: “Improvements seen in Phila. lobbying Web site” by Alisha Green (Sunlight Foundation) in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Campaign Finance

“What if your cell phone buzzed every time someone gave your congressman a ton of money?” by Emily Badger in The Washington Post.

“What America Can Learn From Norway’s Success in Regulating Campaign Finance” by Emmett Rensin in PolicyMic.

Ethics

Georgia: “Georgia settles with 3 former ethics commission employees for more than $1.8 million” by Christina A. Cassidy (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Ohio: “Lawmaker might face charges over gifts” by Randy Ludlow in The Columbus Dispatch.

Rhode Island: “Issues to watch at end of General Assembly session” by Erika Niedowski (Associated Press) in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rhode Island: “R.I. Senate OKs bill for Ethics Commission jurisdiction over state lawmakers” by Mike McKinney in the Providence Journal.

West Virginia: “Ethics Commission to hire interim director” by Phil Kabler in The Charleston Gazette.

Congress

“What Happens in the Senate When No One’s Looking? A Lot” by Humberto Sanchez in Roll Call.

State Legislatures

California: “California Legislature passes $156.4-billion 2014-15 budget” by Chris Megerian and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times.

Minnesota: “Minnesota legislators swap Capitol careers for lucrative county paychecks” by Patrick Condon in the Star Tribune.

New York: “Albany lawmakers leaving unfinished business” by Michael Randall in Times Herald-Record.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Pols have a #fakefollower problem” by Darren Samuelsohn in Politico.

Lobbying

“Caterpillar hires Ray LaHood as a consultant” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

Campaign Finance

“Stephen Colbert exults in Colbert-crowning study” by Erik Wemple in The Washington Post.

California: “The Election’s Over, Where Does The Money Go?” by Grant Scott-Goforth in The North Coast Journal.

Missouri: “Kansas City Council panel supports campaign contribution limits” by Lynn Horsley in The Kansas City Star.

Ohio: “Daughter testifies against Benjamin Suarez in campaign finance scheme trial” by Ed Meyer in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Texas: “Texas Ethics Commission fines state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown $5,000 for obscuring campaign loans” by Gromer Jeffersd, Jr. in The Dallas Morning News.

Ethics

South Carolina: “SC lawmakers agree on ethics reform but ‘most important part … not getting done’” by Jamie Self in The State.

West Virginia: “West Virginia Ethics Commission fires executive director, gives no reason for her termination” by Jonathan Mattise (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Elections

Alabama: “Alabama voter turnout lower than 2010” by The Associated Press in the Montgomery Advertiser.

California: “Top-two primary imperils some legislative comebacks as Democrats seek to hold supermajorities” by Don Thompson (Associated Press) in the Daily Journal.

Missouri: “Missouri moving presidential primary to March” by David E. Lieb (Associated Press) in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Virginia: “Glance of candidates in Va. congressional race” by The Associated Press in the Miami Herald.

Redistricting

Florida: “Redistricting trial wraps up with no decision for weeks” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Lobbying

“Patton Boggs, Squire Sanders to merge” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“Bitcoin gets a lobbyist” by Julian Hattem in The Hill.

Illinois: “Retired congressman cashes in as transit lobbyist, consultant” by Chuck Neubauer and Sandy Bergo in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Campaign Finance

“GOP Sues to End Fundraising Limits on Political Parties” by Brody Mullins in The Wall Street Journal.

“Shrinking Line Separates Campaign Donations From Bribes” by Albert R. Hunt in Bloomberg.

Arkansas: “Arkansas Ethics Panel Issues Opinion On Electronic Campaign Contributions” in the Times Record.

New Jersey: “Special interest money in Newark election fuels debate over campaign finance reform” by Ted Sherman in The Star-Ledger.

New York: “NY won’t enforce $150G contribution limit on individual donors” by Michael Gormley in Newsday.

New York: “Poll finds New Yorkers support campaign finance” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.

Virginia: “McAuliffe vetoes bill that would ban donations from companies seeking economic grants” by Jenna Portnoy in The Washington Post.

Wisconsin: “Will Wisconsin follow FEC’s lead on bitcoin approval?” by Steven Elbow in The Capital Times.

Ethics

New York: “NY lawmaker’s campaign manager quits” by Cameron Joseph in The Hill.

Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania has one of nation’s most lax ethics laws for politicians” by Karen Shuey in Lancaster Online.

Rhode Island: “Candidates for governor discuss R.I.’s reputation for secrecy, cronyism / Video” by C. Eugene Emery, Jr. in the Providence Journal.

South Carolina: “SC ethics reform likely will not include independent oversight of legislators” by Andrew Shain in The State.

The day before scheduled adjournment, New Brunswick’s Legislative Assembly approved the Lobbyists’ Registration Act, establishing a lobbyist registry for the province.

The Act establishes a registrar of lobbyists and outlines requirements for registration by consultant and in-house lobbyists.

The province attempted to create a registry a number of times over the last several years, but failed because of financial concerns and technical complications.

Lobbying

“Telecom merger mania hits K Street” by Anna Palmer in Politico.

Illinois: “Quinn wants limits on lobbying by former aides” by Kurt Erickson in the Pantagraph.

Kentucky: “More than $8.25 mil spent lobbying in Frankfort” by Tim Loftus in The Courier-Journal.

Wisconsin: “State panel to decide rules for some lobbyist donations” by Patrick Marley in the Journal Sentinel.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign Bitcoins Proliferate, but FEC Rules Unclear” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“The new campaign contribution: I’ll get my employees to vote for you” by Philip Bump in The Washington Post.

California: “California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom Among First Politicians Opening Coffers to Bitcoin” by Joe Garolfoli in Government Technology.

Oklahoma: “Electoral dysfunction” by Ben Felder in the Oklahoma Gazette.

Ethics

Virginia: “Bob McDonnell, wife to be tried together” by The Associated Press in Politico.

Elections

“Payback time: GOP incumbents learn how to win” by Alexander Burns in Politico.

“GOP Sees Primaries Taming the Tea Party” by Janet Hook and Patrick O’Connor in The Wall Street Journal.

Arkansas: “Ross, Hutchinson win primaries” by Andrew DeMillo (Associated Press) in The Baxter Bulletin.

Georgia: “Georgia Senate runoff: Nasty, brutish — and long” by Manu Raju in Politico.

Idaho: “Idaho Gov. Otter holding off challengers” by Betsy Z. Russell in The Spokesman-Review.

Pennsylvania: “Wolf leaves the pack behind” by Chris Brennan in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pennsylvania: “Philly Politicians Must Keep Resigning to Run for Office” by Claudia Vargas in Governing.

State Legislatures

Connecticut: “The Chocolate Milk Ban And Other Legislative Goofs” by Gregory B. Hladky in The Courant.

A provision in Minnesota’s campaign finance law known as the “special sources limit” will no longer be enforced as applied to individual large donors. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the law with respect to individual large donors in response to a challenge by the Institute for Justice on First Amendment grounds.

Under section 10A.27(11) of the Minnesota Statutes, the special sources limit prohibits a campaign from raising more than 20 percent of its total contributions from lobbyists, political committees, and large donors contributing more than one half of the individual contribution limit.

Donovan issued the injunction in light of the precedent set by McCutcheon v. FEC.

The defendants have the opportunity to appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If they choose not to appeal, the case will proceed to a final ruling at the district court level later this year.

The Minnesota Legislature adjourned sine die on Friday, May 16, 2014.

The Legislature passed a $1 billion public works construction package in addition to voting to legalize medical marijuana in a session described by some as one of the most productive sessions in years.