Q: I am a registered lobbyist who would like to host a state legislator at a college football game.  Are there specific restrictions to this type of gift?

A: The most common gift restrictions are those relating to food and beverage.  Providing tickets or admission to a football game is a different type of gift, referred to as entertainment or hospitality.

Some jurisdictions do not restrict providing entertainment at all.  Pennsylvania does not restrict a lobbyist providing hospitality to an official.  However, Pennsylvania does require the lobbyist’s principal to report the gift of hospitality, even itemizing it if the aggregate of all gifts to the official is more than $650 in a calendar year.

Other jurisdictions allow a lobbyist to provide entertainment up to a certain amount.  In Texas, a lobbyist may provide expenditures for entertainment of $500 or less in a calendar year.  Ohio permits a lesser amount.  Lobbyists may provide Ohio officials gifts worth an aggregate annual value of $75 or less.  Like Pennsylvania, both Texas and Ohio require the gift to be reported.

Louisiana specifically prohibits providing tickets to sporting events except for a very narrow exception.  Other jurisdictions do not specifically mention entertainment or hospitality, but generally restrict these gifts to officials.  Though a big football state, Wisconsin generally prohibits all gifts to officials.

The question reinforces the idea that a lobbyist must understand all of a jurisdiction’s gift restrictions, not just those that pertain to food and beverage.  When considering any dollar value limitation on entertainment or hospitality, be sure to consider the proper method to value the gift in that jurisdiction.  For example, the cost of a football ticket for ethics purposes could be its face value or its fair market value.

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.

The New Mexico Republican Party, represented by attorney James Bopp, Jr., has filed a lawsuit challenging New Mexico’s campaign finance law. The suit asks the federal district court in Albuquerque to declare unconstitutional part of a state law which sets a contribution limit of $5,000 to or by political parties. The law was passed in 2009, but did not become effective until after the 2010 election.

The lawsuit also contends that federal election law precludes New Mexico from restricting how much money a national political party can give to a state party organization for election work, such as registering voters and encouraging voter turnout.

Retired Major General David W. Gay has been selected to serve as the chairman of the nine-member Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board. Gay was initially appointed to his position on the board by then-Governor M. Jodi Rell on October 1, 2009.

Prior to his appointment, Gay served as the Adjutant General of the Connecticut National Guard from 1992 to 1999, when he retired after forty-three years of distinguished military service. His military career began in 1953 when he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He enlisted in the Guard in 1960 as a PFC and served in several different positions and disciplines at all levels.

Further, Charles F. Chiusano has been selected to serve as vice-chairman of the board. Chiusano was appointed in 2010 by Senate Minority Leader John McKinney after he had retired from his position as vice president of Avant Business Services Corporation. Each member’s one year term fulfilling the position is effective as of October 1, 2011.

Q. I’m registered as a legislative lobbyist in Indiana.  How should I keep track of reportable expenditures for my upcoming report due in November?

A. The Indiana Lobby Registration Commission (ILRC) is currently in the process of reviewing the reporting guidelines for lobbyist expenditures and gifts.  As fall kicks off and the November reporting deadline will soon be upon us, it is important to review key reporting changes.

Specifically, the ILRC does not consider a meal expenditure on behalf of a legislator to be a gift, but instead, an entertainment expenditure, as long as the lobbyist is present when the meal is consumed.  Per the ILRC’s reporting guidelines, please make sure you save an itemized receipt outlining the exact cost of the meals associated with reportable legislators.  Here are some important things to remember regarding entertainment expenditures, including meals:

•  When determining how much to attribute to a particular legislator, only direct costs must be associated with the legislator.   Unlike most states, determining a pro-rata cost of an official’s meal by dividing the bill by the number of people present is not permissible.  Instead, you must save an itemized receipt, and attribute only the amount of the specific items ordered for that particular legislator.  Tax and tip must be appropriately allocated as well.

• If you are not present when making an expenditure, this qualifies as a gift, and is subject to special reporting guidelines.  Starting with this reporting period (form was not developed until late April), a gift report must be submitted if a gift is given to a legislator equaling $50.00 per day, or $250.00 in the aggregate.   This report is due 15 business days after the gift is given.  A copy must be sent to the legislator who is named in the report.  Moreover, informed prior consent must be obtained from the legislator before the gift is given.

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.

Where were you on 9/11 ten years ago? As we approach the ten year anniversary of the terrorist attacks of  September 11, this question pops up more and more.

The New York Times has a website called The Reckoning that commemorates the attacks of 9/11, and includes a crowd sourced interactive map that allows you to share your experience, location, and feelings from that fateful day.

You can browse through submitted entries on the map,  people from around the world who said they felt either fearful, hopeful, secure, angry, or unmoved by the incident and see their recollections.

This website from the NYT also includes a slideshow documenting the rise and fall of the towers, as well as many other moving features that you can look through.

September 11th was a terrible day in history, and as the tenth anniversary approaches it’s good to reflect on what happened.

Everyone have a good weekend!

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, as well as Compliance Associates Myra Cottrill, Steve Quinn, Rebecca South, and George Ticoras will be attending the Practising Law Institute’s Live Seminar, Corporate Political Activities 2011: Complying with Campaign Finance, Lobbying & Ethics Laws, that is to be held in Washington D.C. September 8 and 9.

This seminar will provide information covering topics such as the aftermath of Citizens United, state and federal pay-to-play laws, state lobbying, gift and campaign finance laws and enforcement, FEC rulemakings and litigation, FEC hot topics, and, among other things, recent civil and criminal enforcement cases, policies and sentencing guidelines.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission has voted to approve the creation of the proposed First Spouse’s Fund to benefit the spouse of the state’s governor.

The Commission voted 7-1 to approve an advisory opinion concerning the legality of collecting private donations to cover expenses of the governor’s spouse.

The fund is designed to reimburse the spouse of the governor for expenses incurred as a result of his or her position as first spouse, while also ensuring there is no conflict with Nebraska gift and contribution laws.

This week’s Highlighted Site Of The Week is the U.S. Department of Labor website which features information about the history of Labor Day and the first, nearly disastrous celebration of the holiday.

Although it was not declared a national holiday until 1894, Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City on September 5, 1882. Preceding the first official demonstration in 1882, there was a tradition of celebrations in support of labor issues.

September 5, 1882 was in the midst of the labor movement, with many unions in New York entering into on Central Labor Union. The parade marched through lower Manhattan while being watched by columns of police and club-wielding officers on horseback who were prepared to squash any attempts to create a riot. The parade which began with a couple hundred marchers ended at Resovoir Park with somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 marchers.

After the parade, nearly 25,000 union members celebrated at Wendel’s Elm Park to listen to speeches, eat, smoke cigars, and take part in drinking the “Lager beer kegs… mounted in every conceivable place.”

Now the holiday is celebrated by all laborers, not just those who are union members. Although, Labor Day has become more commercialized and family oriented, it’s good to see that 129 years later the general spirit of Labor Day is still alive in the millions of people who celebrate it.

Everyone have a great holiday weekend!

A report by state Auditor Thomas Schweich found that the Missouri Ethics Commission is underfunded and understaffed.

The ethics commission was given new responsibilities in 2010, including additional abilities to initiate investigations and enforce new campaign finance laws.

The commission had been seeking seven new employees to address the new responsibilities, but budgetary constraints led to only two new hires.

The auditor’s report suggests raising lobbyist registration fees to increase revenue.

The report notes, “According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Missouri’s current lobbyist registration fee of $10 per year is one of the five lowest registration fees in the nation.”

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission voted unanimously Friday to stop enforcement of a 1992 law aimed at leveling the playing field in state political races. This decision stems from the recent United States Supreme Court decision concerning the state of Arizona where a similar law was deemed unconstitutional.

Under Nebraska’s law, candidates could qualify for “fair fight” money from the state if they adhered to voluntary spending limits and their opponent had exceeded such limits.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, who had recently opined the law would be found unconstitutional if challenged in court, will have 10 days to file suit once the Commission officially notifies his office of the refusal to enforce the law, as is required in Nebraska any time a state agency refuses to enforce a law.

Photo of the Nebraska State Capitol by Decumanus on Wikipedia.

Join the multitudes of people today who are taking part in the 4th Annual Power IT Down Day. Just shut down your computer at the end of the work day today, and over the course of the weekend, the energy saved by the these thousands of computers will save thousands of costly kilowatt hours.

This week’s Highlighted Site Of The Week is supporting the cause of Power IT Down. It is a time of increasing frugality, where everyone is looking at cutting costs and saving money. To show that huge benefits  can be received by this minimal effort, Power IT Down’s sponsors (Citrix, HP, Intel, and GTSI) will donate the sum of money saved–which last year amounted to $60,000–to Wounded Warrior Project. It would be one of the easiest contributions you ever made!

As I’m writing this blog post, 10,000 people have already signed up to Power IT Down and 43,000 kilowatt hours have already been saved.

While turning off one computer doesn’t seem like much, by joining together, much can be accomplished.

To learn more about Power IT Down, you can like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and read this article from GovLoop.

Everyone have a great weekend!

Most innovative ideas that have changed the world as we know it had just as many doubters as supporters. With hindsight it is easy to say the opposition of such innovations such as the telephone and computer must have been short-sighted and unimaginative. While this could be true, there may have been good reasons for their doubt, but without knowing what their reasons were, it is very entertaining to look at the doubtlessly inaccurate predictions people have made in the past.

Today’s Highlighted Site Of The Week is a Timeline of Failed Predictions that is posted on FastCompany.com. The author compiled a chronological list of over 80 predictions that contradict what actually happened beginning in the 1700s all the way up to the 21st century.

These predictions include failed predictions for nearly every topic including politics, technology, “fads” such as the car and radio, and music.

Some of my favorites were:

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” – Western Union, 1878.”

“Four or five frigates will do the business without any military force.” – British Prime Minister Lord North, on dealing with the rebellious American colonies, 1774.”

“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy.” -Associates of Edwin L. Drake on his suggestion to drill for oil in 1859.”

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Ken Olson, president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corp, 1977.”

“The truth is no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works” – Clifford Stoll, 1995.”

It’s amazing to think of what would have happened if some of these predictions would have been right.

Have a great weekend!

Have you ever found yourself sifting through the intricate world of finances and economics hoping to find a simple solution to your problem, but more often than not only getting lost in the confusing and seemingly infinite information, guidelines, and tips?

This week’s Highlighted Site Of The Week is Visual Economics, which provides a wide selection of infographics on a variety of topics related to finance and economics.

Even if you consider yourself a finance guru, there are representations on VisualEconomics that contain information ranging from How Low Budget Films Get Financed to How Busy Americans Are that you may not have been aware.

To get started, here’s VisualEconomic’s best infographics of 2010.

Have a great weekend!

The U.S. Population has been increasing since the establishment of our nation. Regional populations across the United States have grown and have shrunk for a variety of different reasons ranging from the 1849 gold rush to urbanization that began in the U.S. in the 1900’s.

This week’s Highlighted Site Of The Week is Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census from The New York Times. This site contains 12 interactive maps which use demographic information collected by the 2010 Census.

These maps are divided up by county and show demographics of population, ethnic distribution, and vacant housing units. For their respective topic, each map shows the percent change in 2010 from statistics gathered from the 2000 census.

It’s very interesting and informative to browse through the United States and see the different population and ethnic distributions  compared to what existed in 2000.

Everyone have a great weekend!