Lobbying

“Lobby shop strikes gold with Wyden hire” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“Comcast now a $19 million lobbying powerhouse” by Todd Shields, Stephanie Green and Laura Litvan (Bloomberg News) in the Chicago Tribune.

“David L. Cohen quite influential without being a ʹlobbyistʹ” by Jonathan Tamari in The Inquirer.

“Shadow lobbying spends three times more than traditional lobbying” in the AG Beat.

Massachusetts: “Lobbying Spending Increases Dramatically” by The Associated Press in WGBH.

Massachusetts: “Review: Mass. health lobby spent $100M since 2007” by Steve LeBlanc (Associated Press) in the Boston Globe.

New Mexico: “New Mexico Debates New Lobbyist Rules” by Liz Farmer in Governing.

Campaign Finance

“Supreme Court disrupted by protest over campaign finance ruling” by Al Kamen in The Washington Post.

“Hidden camera footage surfaces of Supreme Court debate” by Mario Trujillo in The Hill.

“Coming Soon from SCOTUS: Campaign Finance and Affirmative Action” by Damon root in Reason.

“Facing 140,000 Comments, Treasury Braces for IRS Hearing, Legal Fight” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

California: “Identity of Campaign Finance Scandal Informant Revealed” by Wendy fry on NBC 7 San Diego News.

Florida: “Why this Florida congressional race is one of the most expensive ever” by Amber Phillips in The Denver Post.

Florida: “Political campaign fundraisers lose the frills” by James L. Rosica in The Tampa Tribune.

Missouri: “Former St. Louis alderman fined for using campaign funds for personal use” by Nicholas J.C. Pistor in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Pennsylvania: “D.C.-based PAC sues, saying Pa. can’t ban campaign contributions” by Kate Giammarise in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Texas: “Interactive: Campaign Finance Viewer for March Primaries” by Ryan Murphy and Travis Swicegood in The Texas Tribune.

The Feds

“Washington-Area Federal Offices Are Closed Monday” by Kellie Lunney in Government Executive.

Ethics

Colorado: “Critics see proposed ethics commission cure as bad medicine” by John Tomasic and Tessa Cheek in the Colorado Independent.

Colorado: “Director Jane Feldman leaves Colorado Ethics Commission” by Lynn Bartels in The Denver Post.

South Carolina: “Ethics reform bill heads back to SC House without changes to legislative oversight of members” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Lobbying

“Tax plan sends shockwaves down K Street” by Vicki Needham in The Hill.

“Movie Industry, In a Switch, Is Courting the GOP” by Brody Mullins and Ben Fritz in The Wall Street Journal.

“Former software lobbyist tapped for trade post” by Julian Hattem in The Hill.

“Patton Boggs begins new merger talks” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“‘Card check’ victors reap little reward” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Buying alpha: Here’s the easiest way to stock gains” by Jeff Cox on CNBC.

Missouri: “Who bought lawmakers’ lunch? Lobbyist splits hairs” by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

New Mexico: “N.M. lobbyists spent $200K on dinners, golf, skiing” by The Associated Press on KFDA News.

New York: “Mayor Accepted Lobbyist Money, Amid Improper Payments” by Jeff Preval on WGRZ.

Campaign Finance

Connecticut: “New campaign finance law sparks debate” by Isabelle Taft in the Yale Daily News.

West Virginia: “Campaign finance bill dies in the House” in the West Virginia Metro News.

Ethics

Alabama: “‘Clean’ ethics legislation passes in Senate” by Kala Kachmar in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Virginia: “House passes ethics bill with ‘turkey dinner amendment’” by Markus Schmidt in the Times Dispatch.

Campaigns, Conventions, and Elections

“And the finalists for the GOP convention are ….” by Rebecca Shabad in The Hill.

“Practitioner’s Toolbox: One Political Startup’s Efforts To Engage Potential Supporters Online” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

Arkansas: “Ark. House committee approves lt. gov. bill” by The Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle.

From the State Legislatures

Tennessee: “Bill would give Tennessee Legislature power over attorney general” by Todd South in the Times Free Press.

West Virginia: “Lawmakers push dozens of bills before deadline” by Jonathan Mattise (Associated Press) in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Lobbying

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

“Lobbying is booming under Obama. Here’s why.” by Jeremy Slevin on MSNBC.

“Who Says There Are No Second Acts in Politics?” by Jordan Michael Smith in Politico.

“Lobbyist drafts bill to ban gays from NFL” by Rebecca Shabad in The Hill.

“Firm disowns lobbyist selling anti-gay bill” by Mike Lillis and Rebecca Shabad in The Hill.

“More downsizing at Patton Boggs” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

Virginia: “Report: Va commerce secretary broke lobbying rule” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.

Campaign Finance

“Worse Than it Looks? How to Depict Big Money in Politics.” by Ciara Torres-Spelliscy in the Brennan Center for Justice Blog.

Louisiana: “Louisiana politicians who owe $908,000 in fines for campaign finance violations: List” in The Times-Picayune.

Pennsylvania: “New Website Design Aims to Make Campaign Finance Reports Easier to Find” by Deanna Garcia in WESA/NPR News.

Utah: “Bill would impose fine for late campaign finance reporting” by Dennis Romboy in Deseret News.

Political Advertising

Rhode Island: “R.I. panel proposes repealing law banning anonymous, negative campaign literature” by Philip Marcelo in the Providence Journal.

Ethics

Missouri: “Missouri lawmakers divided on ethics law process” by Jordan Shapiro (Associated Press) in the Connecticut Post.

Missouri: “Ethics bills draw little praise from Missouri lawmakers they would regulate” by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

ORESTAR, Oregon’s online campaign finance filing system, is back up and running after a security breach disabled the system for almost three weeks.

All saved passwords have been deleted. Users must create a new password when logging in to ORESTAR.

Deadlines for PAC filings have been extended due to the security breach. The new deadline for all transactions formerly due between February 4 and February 26 will now be March 7 at 11:59 p.m.

Regular deadlines will apply to all transactions due on February 27 or later.

Lobbying

“Lobbying Goes Underground: Influence spending now largely off-the-books” by Lee Fang in Politico.

“Largest Lobbying Organization Spends $312K for U.S. Senate Leader” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.

“Soros group triples its lobbying spending” by Holly Yeager in The Washington Post.

“K Street rumor mill in overdrive” by Bernie Becker and Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Lobbying shop McBee Strategic represents the changing business of influence” by Holly Yeager in The Washington Post.

California: “State lobbying efforts extend to local, regional agencies” by John Howard in the Press Democrat.

Illinois: “Mid-size Illinois cities to form lobbying alliance” by The Associated Press in The State Journal-Register.

New York: “Buffalo Benefited Little From Lobbyists That Were Improperly Paid” by Jeff Preval on WGRZ News.

Campaign Finance

“How ‘the next Citizens United’ could bring more corruption — but less gridlock” by Richard L. Hasen in The Washington Post.

“Dems learn to love super-PACs” by Alexander Bolton in The Hill.

“At last! Sleeker super PACs give rich more options to boost clout” by Zachary Roth on MSNBC.

California: “Bills strengthen campaign finance reporting laws, will require more disclosure from nonprofit” by Fenit Nirappil (Associated Press) in The Republic.

California: “California campaign finance reporting bills on verge of governor’s desk” by Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee.

Hawaii: “Hawaii election campaign fund needs boost” by The Associated Press in the Sun Herald.

Kansas: “Kan. Senate panel OKs campaign finance changes” by The Associated Press on KFDA News.

New York: “Push for public financing of NY campaigns resumes” by Michael Gormley in Newsday.

Rhode Island: “National Rifle Association pays off $63,000 R.I. campaign finance fine” by Philip Marcelo in the Providence Journal.

Ethics

California: “Fraud, bribery cases won’t affect state elections much, analysts say” by Chris Megerian and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times.

South Carolina: “SC Senate ethics bill wouldn’t change oversight” by Seanna Adcox in the Houston Chronicle.

South Carolina: “State House: A look at the proposed compromise on ethics reform” by Adam Beam in The State.

Vermont: “Vt. bills spur conflict-of-interest questions” by Dave Gram (Associated Press) in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Congress

“The Top 10 Legislative Issues to Watch in 2014” by Liz Farmer, Chris Kardish, J.B. Wogan, Mike Maciag, Ryan Holeywell in Governing.

Government Tech and Social Media

New York City: “Digital Engagement Starting to Be New Normal in New York City Council and City Hall” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.

Lobbying

“Americans for Prosperity registers to lobby” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“Institutions target lobbying disclosure, raising Trayvon Martin case” by Barry B. Burr in Pensions & Investments.

Campaign Finance

“Firewalls Crumble at Federal Election Commission” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political MoneyLine.

Minnesota: “Trevor Potter of ‘Colbert Report’ explains campaign finance laws at U of M event” by Eric Black in MinnPost.

Oregon: “State refuses comment on ORESTAR security breach” by Hannah Hoffman in the Statesman Journal.

Oregon: “Tigard ballot measure: With ORESTAR still offline, concerns raised about campaign finance” by Luke Hammill in The Oregonian.

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker under fire in campaign finance probe” by The Associated Press on CBS News.

Ethics

Arkansas: “Backers of ballot proposal to tighten Ark. campaign finance, lobbying rules told to try again” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Hawaii: “Hawaii Ethics Commission Examines How Lawmakers Spend Their Allowances” by Nathan Eagle in the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Vermont: “Stowe representative pushes ethics bill” by Anne Galloway in the Waterbury Record.

Open Government

Mississippi: “3 ‘transparency’ bills head to Senate for consideration” by Tyler Cleveland in the Madison County Journal.

Government Tech and Social Media

“U.S. ranks sixth in use of digital government” by Frank Konkel in FCW.

Lobbying

“Bottom Line” in The Hill.

“Could ʹThe Lobbyʹ Bring Crowdfunding To US Lobbying Efforts?” by Charles Luzar in Crowdfund Insider.

Missouri: “Missouri Senate panel weighs revolving door policy on lobbying” by The Associated Press in KDSK News.

Oregon: “Oregon interest groups spent $33 million lobbying on state legislation last year” by Jeff Mapes in The Oregonian.

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Lawmakers seek to shine light on anonymous campaign contributions” by Howard Fischer in the Arizona Daily Star.

California: “ʹWar roomʹ alleged for illicit campaign funds” by Kristina Davis in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

New York: “Campaign finance reformers take a hard line” by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist in the Albany Times Union.

Political Campaigns

New York: “NY ethics panel proposes 90-day broadcast blackout” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.

We are tracking more than 600 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

“A wave of Capitol Hill retirements may force some lobbyists to rebrand themselves” by Holly Yeager in The Washington Post.

California: “California bill would ban lobbyists from hosting fundraisers” by Laurel Rosenhall in The Sacramento Bee.

Florida: “Florida lobbying haul for 2013? $226 million” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida: “Should David Beckham have registered as Miami-Dade lobbyist? Ethics commission is investigating” by Patricia Mazzei in the Miami Herald.

New Mexico: “ʹCooling-offʹ period for lobbying clears House” by Dan Boyd in the Albuquerque Journal.

Oklahoma: “Oklahoma state House defeats bill limiting lobbyists” by Randy Ellis in The Oklahoman.

Washington: “Washington House passes bill for better access to lobbyist reports” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.

Campaign Finance

“Citizens United rolls, SEC rule drifts” by Michael Kirkland in United Press International.

“Supremes Could Decide Sky’s the Limit for Campaign Donations” by Melinda Tuhus in the Public News Service.

Arizona: “Most local legislators don’t deduct travel expenses from campaign funds” by Mara Knaub in the Yuma Sun.

California (San Bernardino County): “Campaign finance reform adopted by County” by S. E. Williams in The Alpenhorn News.

California: “Ex-Detective Linked To San Diego Campaign Finance Scandal Pleads Not Guilty” by Tarryn Mento in KPBS.

New York: “New York Lawmakers Push For Public Financing Of Elections” by Dave Lucas in WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New York City: “NYC Campaign Finance Board Approves 2017 Spending Limits For Top Elections” by Celeste Katz in the New York Daily News.

Oregon: “State website remains closed” by Diane Dietz in The Register-Guard.

Texas: “Ethics Commission tackles campaign finance duplicates” by David Saleh Rauf in the Houston Chronicle.

Texas: “Texas Ethics Commission Considering ʹDark Moneyʹ Disclosure Proposal” by Ryan Poppe on Texas Public Radio.

Vermont: “Campaign Finance Revisions Fail” by Pat Bradley in WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Ethics

“May Staffers Write for Money? | A Question of Ethics” by C. Simon Davidson in Roll Call.

Hawaii: “Applicants Sought for State Ethics Commission” by Chad Blair in the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Louisiana: “Ray Nagin completes his fall from fresh, reform-talking leader to convicted corrupt politician” by Mark Waller in the Times-Picayune.

Texas: “Dewhurst taps prominent ex-lawmaker for ethics post” by David Saleh Rauf in the San Antonio Express-News.

Vermont: “Ethics legislation gains steam, support” by Neal Goswami in the Times Argus.

Vermont: “Vt. Rep. Wants Ethics Rules for Lawmakers” by Anne Galloway in the Valley News.

Lobbying

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

“ʹSoft lobbyingʹ war between sugar, corn syrup shows new tactics in Washington influence” by Tom Hamburger in The Washington Post.

Wisconsin: “$32 Million Spent Lobbying State Legislators in 2013” by Bill Lueders in Urban Milwaukee.

Campaign Finance

Kentucky: “House Speaker Greg Stumbo Files Campaign Finance Legislation” in SurfKY.com.

Massachusetts: “Campaign-finance watchdog wants more disclosures” by the State House News Service in the Sentinel & Enterprise.

Minnesota: “Minnesota campaign finance regulators reinforce firewall” by Brian Bakst (Associated Press) in the Pioneer Press.

Vermont: “VTDigger launches Campaign Finance Database” by Alexei Rubenstein in WCAX TV News.

Ethics

Mississippi: “Mississippi Ethics Commission could be assigned to resolve disputes over public records” by The Associated Press in the Daily Journal.

New Jersey: “ELEC approves Christie campaign request to use funds to pay for subpoena response” by Dustin Racioppi in MyCentralJersey.com.

Virginia: “House passes its ethics reform bill” by Markus Schmidt in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Elections

Arkansas: “Proposal to avoid special election for lieutenant governor advances” by John Lyon and Rob Moritz in Arkansas News.

Colorado: “Colorado elections update nearly complete” by The Associated Press in the Pueblo Chieftain.

Tennessee: “Bill to lower standards for third-party candidates moves to Senate” by Max Smith in The Tennessean.

Congress

“Election mode hits the Capitol” by Alexander Bolton in The Hill.

From the State Legislatures

Colorado: “In 2015, nearly half of Colorado lawmakers will be in new offices” by Lynn Batels in The Denver Post.

Lobbying

“K Street’s holdouts are partisan, proud” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

California: “Lobbying firm fined $133K for gifts to lawmakers” by Fenit Nirappil (Associated Press) in the San Jose Mercury News.

Florida: “Senate considers lobbying rules for tax districts” by Steve Bousquet in the Miami Herald.

Indiana: “Watchdog group raises concerns over missing lobbyist info” by Kara Kenney on RTV6 ABC News.

Utah: “Bill would shed light on ‘dark consulting’ by Utah lobbyists” by Antone Clark in the Standard-Examiner.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign finance groups want ʹdark moneyʹ rules to stay” by Bernie Becker in The Hill.

“How Candidates Share Without Coordinating With Outside Groups” by Nathan L. Gonzales in Roll Call.

Arizona: “Bill Targets ʹDark Moneyʹ In Campaign Finance” by Dennis Lambert on KJZZ.org.

California: “Donor who broke campaign finance law in 2010 faces $45,000 penalty” by David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times.

Florida: “Florida could be more transparent on campaign finance, study shows” in the Sunshine State News.

Minnesota: “Minn. campaign regulators assess wall of coordination between Minn. candidates, outside groups” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Vermont: “Lawmakers will try to fix campaign finance law” by The Associated Press in the Burlington Free Press.

Ethics

California: “California Senate panel to come up with new ethics, campaign laws” by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

South Carolina: “Haley appoints 8 ethics commissioners” by Adam Beam in the Rock Hill Herald.

Virginia: “Ethics, mental health bills advance in Virginia General Assembly” by Rachel Weiner in The Washington Post.

From the State Legislatures

Virginia: “Va. legislators push flurry of bills at session’s halfway point” by Laura Vozzella, Rachel Weiner and Michael Laris in The Washington Post.

Lobbying

“Coffee shop known for hosting White House meetings with lobbyists closing” by Kevin Liptak in CNN’s Political Ticker.

“Top Dollars Go To Health Care Lobbying” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political MoneyLine.

“New job for long-time Wall Street lobbyist” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

California: “Sacramento lobbying firm fined for lavish fundraisers with lawmakers” by Laurel Rosenhall and David Siders in the Sacramento Bee.

Illinois: “At 90, lobbyist still busy in Springfield” by Charcour Koop (Associated Press) in The Pantagraph.

Louisiana: “Director named for business lobbying group” by The Associated Press in the Miami Herald.

Nebraska: “Mailings raise question: What crosses lobbying line?” by Paul Hammel in The Norfolk Daily News.

New Mexico: “HB 82 would put lobbyist role on hold” in the Albuquerque Journal News.

Wyoming: “Wyoming politics have their own brand of influence peddling” by Kyle Roerink in the Star Tribune.

Campaign Finance

“Major Democratic donors press Congress for campaign finance reform” in United Press International.

“Look who’s benefiting from Citizens United: Unions wrote more big checks than corporations in 2013” by Jacob Fenton (Sunlight Foundation) in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Tip Sheets on Money in 2014 Hot Senate and House Races” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political MoneyLine.

Arizona:  “AG Horne’s campaign finance case heads to trial” by Bob Christie in the Arizona Daily Star.

District of Columbia: “Ex-DC lawmaker who already pleaded guilty faces new campaign violations as part of new plea” by Eric Tucker (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Florida: “Fixes Proposed for Campaign Finance Website” by Mary Ellen Klas in The Ledger.

Nevada:  “Law’s vague wording on expenses leaves room for interpretation in how campaign money is spent” by Andrew Doughman in the Las Vegas Sun.

“Vt. lawmakers to try to fix campaign finance bill, but some may push for bigger changes” by The Associated Press in The Tribune.

Ethics

“U.S. Rep. Tom Petri buys stock in company lobbying for bill in his committee” by Donovan Slack in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune.

California: “Lawmakers warned, lobbyist faces fines over unreported fundraising” by Patrick McGreevy and Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times.

Florida: “Ethics Commission balks at more state-suggested changes” by Andy Reid in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Georgia: “For Deal, ties to ethics commission problems run deep” by Aaron Gould Sheinin and Shannon McCaffrey in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

South Carolina: “Ethics reform moves slowly in S.C. Legislature” by Jeremy Borden in The Post and Courier.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Are Governors Talking Tech? GovTech’s Take on 2014 State of the State Addresses” in Government Technology.

“Ready to Launch, A New Platform to Ask Elected Officials Anything” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.

“Key considerations for using social media in government” by Seleha Riaz in Digital by Default.

Pennsylvania: “Pa. lawmakers’ social media site usage raises ethical questions” by Jan Murphy in The Patriot-News.

State and Federal Communications is excited to be attending the 2014 National Grassroots Conference this week. Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of the company, and a team of four of the staff, have headed to Miami Beach to participate in the program.

We  believe in the great value of this gathering and so we are proud to be the sponsor of the Conference Wi-Fi.

You can follow the conversations from the conference on Twitter @PACouncil #GRC14.

Lobbying

“Obama should praise lobbyists more, lobbyists say” by Zachary Roth in MSNBC.

“Lobbying falls for third year in a row” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Arizona: “Senator tries again to ban tickets from lobbyists” by Hank Stephenson and Ben Giles in the Arizona Capitol Times.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign finance: Parties gear up for 2014” by Byron Tau in Politico.

“Convention wipeout coming?” by Molly K. Hooper in The Hill.

Arkansas: “Report: Ark. Lt. Gov. cited ‘carelessness’ in campaign, office spending to ethics staff” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Arkansas: “Panel favors allowing fundraising for federal office during session” by John Lyon in the Arkansas News.

Ethics

New Jersey: “Lawyer with ties to Christie named to top spot on state Ethics Commission” by The Associated Press in the Press of Atlantic City.

Elections

Arkansas: “Beebe supports proposal to avoid special election for lieutenant governor” by John Lyon in the Arkansas News.

Government Tech and Social Media

“How the 2014 State of the Union Took Over Social Media” by Billy Mitchell in In the Capital.