Amy Loprest, Executive Director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, testified before the Maryland Commission to Study Campaign Finance Law about the campaign finance program in New York City and its progression.

According to the Campaign Finance Board’s press release, here is Loprest’s concluding statement:

“The New York City Campaign Finance Program amplifies the voice of the average, low-dollar contributor and reduces the influence of big-dollar contributors. The result has been less potential for corruption and a remarkable broadening of participation in the electoral process. At a time when voter turnout is low and voters everywhere are increasingly cynical about government, we’re very proud that people from around the country are looking at our Program as a model for reform.”

Here is the full text of her statement.

Be sure to read: “Md. state commission targets campaign-finance loophole” in the Baltimore Business Journal.

“U.S. Supreme Court meets Thursday to consider Montana’s ban on corporate political spending” by Charles S. Johnson in the Missoulian.

“No New Trial for John Edwards” by Kim Severson in The New York Times.

“Newswire : Romney tops Obama in fundraising for May” by Jim Kuhnhenn and Ken Thomas (Associated Press) in the Greene County Democrat.

“Campaign Aid Is Now Surging Into 8 Figures” by Nicholas Confessore in The New York Times.

“Beltway Bundlers Have Mitt Romney Sitting Pretty” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

Arizona: “Former Ariz. lawmaker who left office after campaign finance allegations being investigated” by The Associated Press in The Arizona Republic.

Maryland: “Maryland campaign donation loophole targeted” by David Hill in the Washington Times.

Ohio: “Ohio Elections Commission will reconsider allowing ex-Sheriff Gerald McFaul’s controversial spending” by Joe Guillen in the Plain Dealer.

State and Federal Communications wrapped up its first six-week Walking Challenge and each of the three teams has been wearing pedometers and walking like crazy. We congratulate Myra Cottrill’s team – Steve Quinn, Jeff Roberts, Becky Campbell, John Cozine, Myra Cottrill, Jen Zona, David Jones, George Ticoras, and Megan Huber – for walking the farthest. Their hard work paid off with a whopping total of 3,828,367 combined steps!

I took a look at our company total, which was 11,217,621 steps, and it was hard for me to comprehend such a number. So I thought I would see how far those steps would take us if we drew a straight line from Akron, Ohio. If my online distance calculator is to be trusted and if you assume we could walk over the ocean, our 11 million-plus steps would equal about 5600 miles, taking us to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Ankara, Turkey; or Omsk, Russia! (My own total of 435,500 steps would only take me to Toronto or Cincinnati.)

The individual team member (company wide) with the most steps was Jim Bartz, who reached 777,703. Just amazing…

The heels of our walking shoes will not cool off for long, since next week the company will once again divide into three new teams and start another six-week walking challenge! Good luck teams!

“Ethics Commission offers new campaign finance search tool” by Mike Lear in MissouriNet.

“2 Campaigns Chasing Funds at Frantic Pace” by Ashley Parker and Helene Cooper.

“Entrepreneurs, small lobby shops challenging K Street’s old guard” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Arkansas:  “Backers optimistic about ethics measure; GOP lawmaker questions proposal” by Jeff Arnold in the Arkansas News.

Connecticut: “Connecticut lawmakers return for special session” by Susan Haigh (Associated Press) in the Norwich Bulletin.

“Sunlight Foundation Unveils New Legislative Alert Service, Monitoring Action On Capitol Hill And All 50 States” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

“More on Legislative Turnover” by Karl Kurtz in NCSL’s The Thicket.

Arizona: “Fewer candidates vie for Arizona Legislature” by Mary Jo Pitzl in The Arizona Republic.

Maryland: “Maryland Becomes 40th State to Ratify 17th Amendment” by Karl Kurtz in The Thicket.

Redistricting

Alabama: “Inside the Statehouse: New district lines won’t change legislature” by Steve Flowers in the Jacksonville News.

Alaska: “Lawsuit claims redistricting procedure violates federal law” by Becky Bohrer in the Anchorage Daily News.

Illinois: “Ill. Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to state legislative remap” by Dave McKinney in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Kansas:  “In Kansas redistricting, new boundaries quickly bring new faces” by Dave Helling in the Kansas City Star.

Missouri: “Missouri senator will pursue redistricting changes” by The Associated Press in the Kansas City Star.

Photo of the Illinois State Capitol by Nikopoley in Wikipedia.

North Dakota: “Facebook advertisements for candidates pop up on election day” by Jenny Michael in the Bismarck Tribune.

“How Microsoft and Yahoo are selling politicians access to you” by Lois Beckett (ProPublica) on MNPolitics.net.

“US elections 2012: top 50 Twitter accounts to follow” by Richard Adams in The Guardian.

“LinkedIn: The Preferred Social Network of Government?” by Sarah Rich in Government Technology.

“How Political Donations by Text Message Might Work” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.

We send our congratulations to Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and Client Specialist Myra Cottrill, who recently completed the State Government Affairs Professional Certificate Program!

A formal graduation ceremony for those who have completed the certificate program will take place on August 8, 2012 at the SGAC luncheon in Chicago during NCSL’s Legislative Summit.

Campaign Finance

“FEC: Campaigns can raise money via text message” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“FEC sues ex-Sen. Craig over use of campaign cash” by The Associated Press on CBSNews.com.

“NJ considers changes to election finance rules” by The Associated Press in the Bergen Record.

Government Ethics

Georgia: “Squirrely Ethics in Georgia, Former Exec Says” by Iulia Filip in the Courthouse News Service.

New Mexico: “New Mexico agency compiled email list for governor’s PAC” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

“Washington’s Top Lobbying Groups Hire Mostly Men: BGOV Barometer” by Jonathan D. Salant and Jennifer Prince in Bloomberg News.

“Study: Lobbying bad for business?” by Tim Mak in Politico.

Here is the original study the above article references: “Corporate political giving doesn’t pay” by Amy Hodges in Rice University News & Media.

“K Street: ‘Let’s meet’; Hill staffers: ‘Text me’” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“The State of K Street: Work in the Shadows – Lobbying Rules That Were Meant to Regulate the Industry Have Spawned the Emergence of the Unlobbyist” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

New York:  “Lobbyists directed contributions” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

New York: “Lobbyists gave state pols $1.8M” by Erik Kriss in the New York Post.

“Are politicians too rich to understand us?” by Timothy Stanley on CNN.

“Hotel industry’s top lobbyist bringing it back to Main Street” by Elise Viebeck in The Hill.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, was recently the master of ceremonies for a parish banquet recognizing the achievements of the church’s recent graduates. The event was held on Sunday, June 10, 2012 at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Akron, Ohio.

The keynote speaker for the banquet was Dr. Lester Lefton, President of Kent State University.

Campaign Finance

California: “Txt 4 Ur Candidate” by By Ann Ravel, Jared DeMarinis and Hyla Wagner in The New York Times.

Louisiana: “La. lawmakers rework campaign finance enforcement” by The Associated Press in Real Clear Politics.

Lobbying

North Carolina: “State ethics panel to investigate lobbyists tied to Tillis aides” by J. Andrew Curliss and John Frank in the News & Observer.

Ethics

South Carolina: “House Ethics to refund former candidates’ fines” by the Associated Press in GoUpstate.com.

Gov 2.0

“New Website a One-Stop Shop for Colorado Data” by Sarah Rich in Govtech’s Public CIO.

Data.colorado.gov

Legislative Issues

“California voters OK changes to term limits for state legislators” by Phil Willon and Jean Merl in the Los Angeles Times.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists ask Congress for a mandate on ethics” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Campaign Finance

“Tammany businessman’s allegedly illegal campaign donations went to Gov. Jindal’s 2007 run” by Claire Galofaro in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Redistricting

Iowa: “Redistricting makes for tumultuous Iowa primary” by The Associated Press in the Quad-City Times.

New Hampshire: “Court to hear challenges to NH redistricting plan” by Holly Ramer (Associated Press) in the Boston Globe.

Social Media

“Political campaigns are in a constant technology arms race” by Scott Canon in the Kansas City Star.

A post-John Edwards case commentary: “‘Anything goes’ now in campaign financing?” by Jack Gillum (Associated Press) on CBSNews.com.

California: “Term limits ballot measure attracts big-money donors, little else” by Stephanie Snyder in California Watch.

California: “State’s top 100 political donors contribute $1.25 billion” by Coulter Jones and Elizabeth Titus in California Watch.

Montana: “Miller campaign donations deemed illegal in Montana” by John S. Adams in the Great Falls Tribune.

New Mexico:  “Coss files complaint alleging governor’s PAC violated election codes” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin recall is state’s ‘most expensive election’” by Sam Go on MSNBC.

With the leadership of President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz, State and Federal Communications, Inc. was selected as one of the top women-owned businesses in Ohio. This is the fourth year the company has received this honor.

The award from the web-based publisher and business site, DiversityBusiness.com selected the company for its overall leadership and economic achievements, ranking 49^th of 100 Women-owned businesses in Ohio in 2011.

Bartz and the company also won the award in 2007, 2009, and 2010.

“This is a testament to the hard work of our 30 employees and their willingness to adapt to change and meet the challenges of a competitive marketplace,” said Bartz. “I am very happy we are recognized by Diversity.Business.com.”

Congratulations to Elizabeth Bartz and to everyone at State and Federal Communications!