Q. My company is involved in an event where a meal and other gifts may be provided to public officials.  How do I know if this is permissible?

A. You must consider a number of issues any time you want to provide a gift to a public official.  In addition to consulting your company’s policies, you should answer the following questions:

• Is it a gift?  States often have exceptions to the definition of gift.  Arizona does not consider an expenditure for food, beverage, travel, or lodging to be a gift under state law.  A number of states do not consider things of value provided on the basis of a personal relationship or items of de minimis value to be gifts.
• Who is the giver?  Lobbyists are often subject to more stringent gift restrictions than non-lobbyists.  Florida prohibits any gifts from lobbyists to state officials and employees with very few exceptions.  However, if you are not registered as a lobbyist, you are permitted to give any gift if it is not given to influence any official action.  California imposes different gift limits; the limit is $10 or less per month for lobbyists and $440 or less per year for non-lobbyists.  Additional restrictions could apply if your company is a state contractor.  Connecticut does allow limited gifts from lobbyists and non-lobbyists.  However, state contractors must certify no gifts were made under certain circumstances.
• Who is the recipient?  The permissibility of a gift can depend on the branch of government or the seniority of the official or employee.  Maryland legislators may only accept food and beverage from lobbyists in very limited circumstances.  Executive branch officials may accept food and beverage if they are in the presence of the lobbyist. Delaware only restricts cabinet secretaries, division directors, and the governor’s professional staff from accepting gifts from lobbyists.

If you are anything less than 100% sure a gift is permissible, consult the state’s ethics agency.  Do not ask the official or employee involved!  He or she may not be familiar with the nuances of the state’s gift law.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

May 8-10, 2013   OSBA – Ohio State Bar Association Convention Booth 24, Cleveland, Ohio

May 16, 2013   WGR Spring Reception, Washington, D.C.

May 30-June 2, 2013   NCSL Executive Committee Spring Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts

June 2-5, 2013   Heartland Governmental Ethics Conference, Louisville, Kentucky

June 21-24, 2013   CSG Leadership Meeting, Washington, D.C.

On Thursday, April 25, Kent State University’s Washington Program in National Issues (WPNI) celebrated its 40th year in existence. Current students and alumni of both the university and the program gathered at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. to reminisce about their time living in Washington D.C. and their experiences in the program throughout the years. State and Federal Communications currently employs three proud alumni of WPNI, including President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz. Elizabeth, marketing manager Melissa Coultas and compliance assistant Jonathan Spontarelli were all in Washington D.C. to attend the anniversary celebration.

WPNI is a semester long academic, internship program that allows students the opportunity to witness the political process firsthand and engage in national and international policy discussions. Each year a group of juniors and seniors from Kent State University are selected to spend the spring semester living and working in Washington D.C. Per the website, the programs three primary objectives are:

1. Facilitate learning about the U.S. political system and its policy issues.
2. Develop an understanding of the interrelationship of public issues and structures of government.
3. Encourage individual initiative and provide for experiences in internship and research.

During the reception, participants from each of the four decades delivered remarks about their time in WPNI, their internship and briefings, and the ways the program has forever changed their lives. Pulitzer Prize winner, Connie Schultz, introduced by her husband U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, delivered a compelling keynote address about her experiences before, during and after the program. She spoke at length on the importance WPNI played in her own life and the opportunities it provided to a small-town girl from a working-class family from Ashtabula, Ohio.

State and Federal Communications would like to send a special thanks to the Kent State University National Capital Alumni Chapter and program Director Dr. Richard Robyn for organizing the celebration. We look forward to seeing you all 40 years from now.

The New York City Campaign Finance Board scored a huge win in the courts Friday. Republican mayoral candidate George McDonald had sued the city in hopes of eliminating the city’s strict contribution limits and attempt to bring them in line with the state’s limits. However, the Manhattan court said the city’s contribution limits are legal and reasonable to keep money from influencing elections.

Judge Kathryn Freed, who gave the decision for the court, held, “The court finds that the establishment of uniform limitations on both participating and non-participating candidates is reasonably related and calculated to achieve the goals of reducing the influence of ‘wealthy special interests’ over local elections, and increasing public participation and public confidence in those elections, is well within the powers granted to the City to protect the welfare and well being of its citizens.”

McDonald recently announced that he would join the voluntary public financing system and would conform to the current contribution limits, but promised to keep his fight up in court. McDonald still has the option of appealing this decision, but declined to say whether he would. He was disheartened in the entries process, saying “It’s disappointing that it took 147 days to ‘just say no’ in long form.”

McDonald is the underdog in a three-way battle for the Republican nomination with Joe Lhota and John Catsimatidis. The primary election for the mayor’s office, and all other city offices, is September 10.

Voters in the 53rd Assembly District will head to the polls June 11, 2013, to select a successor for Representative Bryan Hurlburt.

Rep. Hurlburt resigned his seat in mid-April to accept an appointment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It’s Friday, everyone, and time for another Highlighted Site of the Week. This week we will be visiting JFK, an exhibit opening today at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

In recognition of the 50^th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, the Newseum this year is featuring two exhibits and a film about his life and presidency.

You’ll find three different presentations – both at the Newseum and on their website. They are Creating Camelot: The Kennedy Photography of Jacques Lowe, Three Shots Were Fired, and A Thousand Days.

The JFK exhibit is an amazing and educational experience. Enjoy the Creating Camelot video:

You can take a virtual tour of the Newseum and find out about its other exhibits here.

Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time.

House Speaker William G. Batchelder and Representative Ron Amstutz introduced a substitute for House Bill 59, Governor Kasich’s budget bill.

Governor Kasich’s version of the bill would have overhauled the state sales tax by subjecting most services, including lobbying and consulting services, to the tax.

The substitute version of the bill eliminates those changes, leaving the current sales tax on services unchanged. If the substitute bill passes, lobbying and consulting services will remain untaxed in Ohio.

Voters in the Chicago area are heading to the polls this morning to choose a new representative to the United States Congress, as well as other local offices. Voters on the south side of the city must pick a successor to former Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. Jackson resigned from Congress earlier this year for personal reasons and has since pleaded guilty to illegally using campaign funds for personal expenses.

The Democratic nominee, Robin Kelly, is the favorite in the heavily Democratic district. Kelly is a former state lawmaker who hails from Matteson, a village in the south suburbs.

Her opponent is the Republican nominee, Paul McKinley. McKinley, who served almost 20 years in prison for armed robbery, burglary, and aggravated battery, is running on a promise to stop the Chicago political machine and put ex-offenders back to work to help turn their lives around.

In another high profile race, former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Steve McMichael will take on incumbent John Noak for Romeoville mayor. Romeoville is about 30 miles southwest of Chicago and has a population of almost 40,000.

Towns throughout the area will also be deciding whether to allow video poker machines and whether to approve multiple bond requests. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time and the weather looks promising for a good turnout.

April 14-16, 2013   NASPO Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana

April 22-25, 2013   BIO International Convention, Chicago, Illinois

April 25, 2013   Washington Program in National Issues 40th Anniversary, Washington, D.C.

May 8-10, 2013   OSBA Annual Convention, Booth 24, Cleveland, Ohio

May 16, 2013   Women in Government Relations Spring Reception, Washington D.C.

May 30-Jun 2, 2013   NCSL Executive Committee Spring Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts

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 the State and Federal Communications digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of the State and Federal Communications’ website.

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

Q. I am interested in making a political contribution in Puerto Rico. What are the current political contribution limits? Am I required to disclose my contribution?

A. In Puerto Rico, individuals and PACs may make contributions.  Direct corporate contributions are prohibited. Puerto Rico has recently raised the annual political contribution limits. In response to the Federal Election Commission raising the federal contributions limits in 2 U.S.C. §441a(a)(1)(A),  the Oficina del Contralor Electoral (OCE) issued Circulated Letter OCE-CC-2013-02. The circulated letter raises the individual and PAC contribution limits to $2,600 per candidate per year, with an aggregate contribution limit of $13,000.  In an election year, the limits are modified to $2,600 per candidate per election, and $13,000 in the aggregate per election. These contribution limits do not apply to independent expenditures.

There are no reporting requirements for individuals making contributions in Puerto Rico.  PACs, however, have a quarterly disclosure requirement for any quarter in which contributions were received or expenditures were made.  PACs established and registered in a jurisdiction other than Puerto Rico have separate reporting requirements under the campaign finance regulations issued by the OCE.

For specific guidance on making contributions in Puerto Rico, please contact Sarah Kovit.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

This week we bring you the new Rosa Parks statue that was unveiled at the National Statuary Hall. She is the first African American woman to be honored with a life size statue in the Capitol.

It was on December 1, 1955 that Rosa Parks exercised her right to sit where she wished on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.  In honor of that day and the celebration of the 100th anniversary of her birth, there was a ceremony for the unveiling of the Rosa Parks statue in the Capitol on February 27, 2013. Many of Ms. Parks’ relatives were at the unveiling ceremony. This wonderful picture of the statue comes from the Architect of the Capitol website.

According to a recent New York Times article, President Obama offered praise for Ms. Parks: “[The president] chronicled how Mrs. Parks, despite having held no elected office, lacking wealth and living far from the seat of power, touched off a movement that made it possible for him to become president.”

Other speakers said she united the country by choosing to be arrested, instead of giving up her seat.

Rosa Parks was given the highest civilian honors from the White House and Congress.  When she died in 2005, she was the first woman “to lie in state” in the Capitol Rotunda.

She will always be remembered for what she did for America.

Enjoy this video from PBS NewsHour:

Thanks for reading and we will see you next time.

In a Texas bill introduced predominantly dealing with the ethics of public servants, the requirement for registering as a lobbyist in the state would be expanded.

House Bill 2737 amends the state’s lobbying law to include goodwill lobbying.

Specifically, the following definition is added: “Communicates directly with a member of the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or administrative action” or any variation of the phrase includes establishing goodwill with the member for the purpose of later communicating with the member to influence legislation or administrative action.

A person would not be required to register if he or she spends 26 hours or less during the calendar quarter engaging in the communication. Additionally, the other current thresholds for determining whether registering as a lobbyist is required would remain.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Dennis Bonnen, also make changes concerning the regulations of political contributions and expenditures, political advertising, the conduct of public servants, and the reporting of personal financial information by public servants.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol courtesy of Kumar Appaiah on Wikipedia.

March 4-7, 2013   2013 National PAC Conference, Miami Beach, Florida

March 6, 2013   Ohio Birthday Party, Washington, D.C.

March 13-15, 2013   SGAC Annual Meeting, Savannah, Georgia

April 14-16, 2013   NASPO Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana

April 22-25, 2013   BIO International Convention, Chicago, Illinois