Lobbying

“Web Entrepreneur Tries to Bridge K Street and Grass-Roots Advocacy” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“K Street Files: Manufacturers, Citing Job Losses, Oppose Carbon Tax” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

“Lincoln actor joins museum leaders lobbying in DC” by The Associated Press in the Peoria Journal Star.

Campaign Finance

“Pay to play?” by Allison MacDonald on MSNBC.

Arizona: “Clean Elections consolidation bill advances” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Sun.

Montana: “Montana Senate endorses limit on corporate campaign spending” by The Associated Press in the Missoulian.

Ethics

“Feinstein asks court for campaign treasurer’s records” by John Myers in KXTV News 10.

Open Government

Minnesota: “Social media tests Minn. open meeting law” by Brian Bakst in Minnesota Public Radio.

South Carolina: “S.C. legislators wouldn’t be able to keep communication secret under altered House bill” by Stephen Largen in the Post and Courier.

Redistricting

North Carolina: “Attorneys wrap up arguments in NC redistricting” by Gary D. Robertson in the Winston-Salem Journal.

Elizabeth Bartz recently was one of the recipients of the Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award from Sales & Marketing Executives International (SMEI). Ms. Bartz was lauded not only for her tremendous achievements at State and Federal Communications, but also for her many efforts to support and promote the greater Akron community.

The event, which was held at The Tangier restaurant in Akron, honored Dr. Frank L. Douglas, President and CEO, Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron with the Executive of the Year Award.

Congratulations to Elizabeth and to all who were honored by SMEI!

Lobbying

“Lobbyists fear shakedown if Supreme Court lifts campaign contributions cap” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Ohio: “Top of the List: Biggest lobbying spenders” by Evan Weese in Business First Columbus.

Campaign Finance

“Money in politics?” by The Associated Press in the News Tribune.

Montana: “Montana House backs increasing contributions to political candidates” by Charles S. Johnson in the Missoulian.

Ethics

“State spends $34,000 so far defending Gessler in ethics probe” by Patrick Malone in The Coloradoan.

Open Government

“Sunlight on States” by Pam Greenberg on NCSL’s The Thicket.

Nebraska: “Bill to provide reasonable access to public records advances” by JoAnne Young in the Lincoln Journal Star.

New Mexico: “Transparency bills make progress in Legislature” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

South Dakota: “Legislature: Senate panel restores ‘crippled’ open-meetings bill” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.

The Compliance Dream Team is making their encore appearance at the PAC National Conference in Miami Beach, Florida! The extraordinary lineup is: Elizabeth Bartz of State and Federal Communications, Ken Gross from Skadden Arps, and Michael Toner from Wiley Rein. Their session will be held on Tuesday, March 5 at 3:15 p.m.

Bring your compliance concerns. This is your opportunity to unleash all those difficult questions regarding compliance issues.

The Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference will be held at the Eden Roc from March 4-7. Don’t miss what promises to be an exciting conference!

See you there!

Campaign Finance

“Justices reject campaign finance appeal over corporate contributions” by Bill Mears on CNN.

California: “California campaign-finance reporting ripe for abuse” by Steve Harmon in the San Jose Mercury News.

New York: “Tax loopholes cited in push for NY campaign reform” by The Associated Press in the Albany Times Union.

Lobbying

“Rules of the Game: Sequester Spells Bitter K Street Failure” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

Michigan: “Lobby spending increases in Michigan” by The Associated Press in Upper Michigan Source.

Rhode Island: “Former R.I. House speaker joins Twin River lobbying team” by Katherine Gregg in the Providence Journal.

Ethics

Georgia: “Week Ahead: Ga. lawmakers take up ethics, juvenile justice” by Walter C. Jones in the Augusta Chronicle.

Washington: “State Senate Democrats’ campaign chief accused of financial misconduct” by The Associated Press in the News Tribune.

Campaign Finance

“Watchdogs call for new campaign regulator to replace ‘woefully inept’ FEC” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“Campaign Finance Poll Finds Most Support Donation Limits” by Emily Swanson in the Huffington Post.

Arizona: “2 Arizona bills target campaign finances” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

Montana: “Campaign finance reforms bills pass Montana House vote” by Marnee Banks in KBZK News.

New York: “Conference to tackle lobbying and campaign finance” by Ilene Fleischmann in the UB Reporter.

Lobbying

Alaska: “Alaska: Who’s lobbying Alaska’s lawmakers? And for how much?” by Laurel Andrews in the Alaska Dispatch.

Florida: “Lobbying a lucrative cap for a legislator’s career” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Georgia: “Lobbying Restrictions Vote Scheduled” by The Associated Press in Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Ethics

Utah: “Ethics bill emerges in wake of probes of Utah Lt. Gov Bell, Swallow” by Robert Gehrke in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Good morning, everyone! We are excited to announce that we are launching a new LinkedIn group called Government Relations Compliance.

If you have a LinkedIn account, this is a great place to discover what your colleagues are talking about. Find out how they are solving the challenges in complying with government rules and regulations for lobbying, grassroots lobbying, political contributions, and procurement.

Join the conversation!

Lobbying

California: “Prosecutions of California lobbyists on the rise, FPPC reports” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.

Campaign Finance

“McCutcheon case could give Citizens United a run for its money in Supreme Court” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.

Ethics

Oklahoma: “Bribery case against Oklahoma ex-legislators to move forward” by Nolan Clay in the Oklahoman.

West Virginia: “Ethics commission taps new director” by Dave Boucher in the Daily Charleston Mail.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: A Business-Labor Brotherhood?” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Arizona: “Arizona senators look to revamp lobbying gift ban” by Bob Christie in Arizona Capitol Times.

Arkansas:  “Bill to delay ex-executive, judicial officials from lobbying advances” by Rob Moritz in the Arizona Times.

Campaign Finance

“David Axelrod blasts campaign finance system” by Tarini Parti in Politico.

“Citizens United Part II? Supreme Court takes up direct campaign donations” by Krissy Clark in American Public Media Marketplace.

Florida: “House Democrats to Oppose $10,000 Campaign Contribution Cap” by Jim Turner in Sunshine State News.

West Virginia: “Dozens protest Citizens United decision at state Capitol” by Paul J. Nyden in the Charleston Gazette.

Ethics

Florida: “Florida Senate Committee Weakens Ethics Bill” by Ashley Lopez in the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

Florida: “Ethics bill goes to full Florida Senate” by The Associated Press in the St. Augustine Record.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists Use Campaign-Style Opposition Research to Turn Tables on Rivals” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Data mining is new lobbying gold” by Byron Tau in Politico.

“First ladies, first lobbyists?” by Kristin Donnelly in MSNBC.

Arizona: “Arizona senators look to revamp lobbying gift ban” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Sun.

Colorado: “Colorado gun-control bills draw no big lobbying money — yet” by Karen E. Crummy in the Denver Post.

Florida: “Legislative lobbying hit $123 million last year” by Travis Pillow in the Tallahassee Democrat.

Georgia: “Vote possible on proposed Ga. lobbying rules” by The Associated Press in the Daily Citizen.

Kansas:  “Lobbyists vouch for bill to increase spending limits” by Andy Marso in the Topeka Capitol-Journal.

Nebraska: “Senators want to stop lobbyist contributions during session” by Kevin O’Hanlon in the Lincoln Journal Star.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: “Nutter asks Ethics Board for ruling on city lobbying regs” by Jan Ransom in the Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News.

Campaign Finance

“Watchdog groups warn of fundraising scandal in Obama second term” by Alexander Bolton in The Hill.

Alaska:  “Democratic proposal seeks campaign finance change” by The Associated Press in the Anchorage Daily News.

California: “Proposal would repeal limits on campaign contributions in California” by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

New York: “Public Forum Discusses Campaign Finance Reform” by Adam Littman in the Nanuet Patch.

New York:  “Republican candidate George McDonald tries an unusual path to New York’s mayoralty: the brazenly defiant fundraising scofflaw” by Jonathan Lemire in the Daily News.

Ethics

Colorado: “Ethics commission delays release of Gessler probe once again” by Tim Hoover in the Denver Post.

Florida: “Michelle Anchors appointed to Commission on Ethics” by Tom McLaughlin in the NWF Daily News.

North Carolina: “Lawmakers’ economic interests not easily tracked” by Mark Binker in WRAL.

Oklahoma:  “New Ethics Commission director eyes reforms” by James Coburn in the Edmund Sun.

Knox County, Tennessee:  “Panel to examine ethics commission makeup, scope of investigative powers” by Mike Donila in the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

The American League of Lobbyists has issued a statement in response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.

Monte Ward, the organization’s president, said on their site: “Lobbyists are the professional advocates who help educate lawmakers every day about how their action (or inaction) affects the nation.  Lobbyists will be critical components helping our federal lawmakers to understand the implications of their votes on the issues that they will tackle.”

The American League of Lobbyists statement provides a summary of the group’s self understanding and a reflection on the nature of the lobbying industry, with an eye to the future. You can find a pdf file of their “Recommendations for Improving the Regulation of Federal Lobbyists” at this link.

Lobbying

Kansas: “Legislature mulls changing official lobbying threshold” by Vikaas Shanker in the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Louisiana: “Study ties Jindal tax plan to ALEC” in the Baton Rouge Advocate.

Maryland:  “Bills seek to slow the revolving door of public officials into lobbying” by Becca Heller in the Maryland Reporter.

Campaign Finance

“ABA Supports Disclosure of Secret Political Spending” by Ian Vandewalker in the Brennan Center for Justice Blog.

Hawaii: “Mayor donor fund took in $360,000; Ethics digging deeper” by Gina Mangieri in KHON2 News.

New Jersey: “N.J. firms donated over $700,000 to Republican Governors Association” by John Reitmeyer and Melissa Hayes in the Bergen Record.

Rhode Island: “Local Politicians Owe $1.3M in Campaign Fines” by Stephen Beale in GoLocal Prov.

Ethics

Connecticut: “Conflict of interest bill gains traction” by Ken Dixon in the Connecticut Post.

Iowa: “Ethics committee won’t reprimand Iowa state senator” by Mike Wiser in the Quad-City Times.

Kentucky: “Metro ethics bill passes House panel” by Joseph Gerth in the Courier-Journal.

Maine: “Maine bill seeks to end cozy relations between state officials, private firms” by Naomi Schalit and John Christie in the Portland Press Herald.

Rhode Island: “Drive to reinstate R.I. Ethics Commission power over legislators resumes” by Katherine Gregg in the Providence Journal.

Lobbying

“The Dodd-Frank Cashout: Frank staffers launch lobbying firm” by Timothy P. Carney in the Washington Examiner.

“Al Jazeera signs a lobbying firm” by Anna Palmer in Politico.

“K Street Files: Ex-Frank Aides Open Lobbying Shop” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Teeth sought for campaign-finance law” by Howard Fischer in the Arizona Daily Star.

Utah: “Senate OKs $50 limit on anonymous campaign contributions” by David Montero in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Redistricting

“Redistricting board waiting on word from court” by The Associated Press in the Juneau Empire.

Open Government

“Mo. lawmakers endorse Sunshine Law measures” by The Associated Press in the News Tribune.

State of the Union

“Word cloud: Obama’s State of the Union speech” by Megan H. Chan in Politico.

“The State of the Union speech — in word clouds” by Aaron Blake in the Washington Post.

“State of the Union 2013: President Obama’s Speech is Just the Beginning” from The White House Blog.

“Check Out This Cool Thing the White House Is Testing For #SOTU” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.

“Upcoming State of the Union Will Be Interactive” by Joseph Marks in Mashable.

“Obama to Do a ‘Hangout’ After State of the Union” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.

“5 things to watch for in the State of the Union” by Carrie Budoff Brown and Reid J. Epstein on Politico.

“The 10 Most Historic State of the Union Moments in Modern History” by Mark Micheli in Government Executive.

“Memorable guests at the State of the Union” by Kourtney Geers in Politico.

“Lobbyists Vie for Mentions in State of the Union” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Obama to use State of the Union to make case against spending cuts” by Amie Parnes in The Hill.