“Tired of ‘Tainted’ Image, Lobbyists Try Makeover” by Eric Lichtblau in The New York Times.

“State lobbyists spend record amounts: report” by Nannette Miranda on KABC-TV Los Angeles.

“Del. Senate Approves Bill on Lobbyist Disclosures” by The Associated Press on WBOC.com.

Arizona: The Arizona Legislature adjourned its session sine die on May 3. Governor Jan Brewer has 10 days to sign or veto legislation transmitted to her, or the legislation becomes law automatically.

Hawaii: The Hawaii Legislature adjourned sine die yesterday, May 3, 2012.

Mississippi: The Mississippi Legislature adjourned ahead of schedule on May 3, 2012.

Thank you to Research Associates George Ticoras, Shamus Williams, and Jen Zona for providing us with this legislative session information.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, IT Executive Director Ren Koozer, and Social Media Coordinator Joe May attended Campaigns and Elections’ CampaignTech Conference 2012 on April 19-20 in Washington, D.C.

On the very next morning Elizabeth Bartz, Compliance Associate Jim Warner, and Joe May participated in Kent State’s Fourth Annual National Alumni Day of Service. We were put to the task of washing dishes at Akron’s Haven of Rest rescue mission. Let’s hear it for the Kent State Alumni!

It was a happy time at our staff meeting yesterday as we celebrated the anniversaries of five employees! We recognized Nola Werren for 15 years of service, Nicolette Koozer for 11 years, Jeff Roberts for nine years, Steve Quinn for two years, and Sarah Kovit for one year. Our warmest congratulations to each of you.

As a special token of appreciation, Elizabeth Bartz presented Nola Werren with an American flag that has been flown over the U.S. Capitol. The flag was received through the office of U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton.

Campaign Finance

New York: “Senate Democrats call for campaign finance reform” by Bill Lambdin on WNYT.com.

Vermont: “Campaign finance bill sent to Judiciary Committee” by Terri Hallenbeck in the Burlington Free Press.

Lobbying

North Carolina: “Second Tillis staffer admits to inappropriate relationship with a lobbyist” by Dan Kane and John Frank in the Charlotte Observer.

Texas:  “Texas legislator fined for failure to disclose gifts” in the  Fort Worth Star Telegram.

Ethics

District of Columbia: “D.C. Council Backs Off Pressuring Mayor to Select Ethics Panel” by Tom Sherwood on NBCWashington.com.

South Carolina: “SC House votes to open investigations into its own if ethics committee finds probable cause” by Seanna Adcox (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Alaska: “Redistricting map solutions elusive as court battle looms” by Richard Mauer in the Anchorage Daily News.

Kansas: “Kansas Senate OKs redistricting plan” by Brad Cooper in the Kansas City Star.

Kentucky: “Kentucky Supreme Court cites redistricting law as unconstitutional” by Franklin Clark in the Cadiz Record.

Mississippi: “Mississippi Senate unveils its redistricting map” by The Associated Press in the Clarion Ledger.

New Hampshire: “House redistricting plan faces more legal challenges” by Garry Rayno in the Union Leader.

Pennsylvania: “Redistricting panel to receive input on new Pa. maps” by Ali Lanyon (Associated Press) on WHTM.

South Carolina: “Supreme Court considering fate of primary candidates” by Gina Smith in The State.

South Carolina: “SC justices consider fate of dozens of candidates” by Jeffrey Collins (Associated Press) in the Spartanburg Herald Journal.

Vermont: “Vt. lawmakers finish redistricting” on NECN.com.

The state of Oklahoma has just announced the debut of its new web portal, OK.gov. The site sports a new look and promises to offer a wealth of searchable  datasets on Data.OK.gov. For instance, you can view state expenditures and vendor payments by quarter.

According to their site: “Data.OK.gov strives to make Oklahoma government more transparent through an unprecedented level of openness in Oklahoma government. By publishing raw datasets in different formats, you can look up statistics, build applications, conduct analysis and perform research. Data.OK.gov allows for a simple way to gather Oklahoma government data about the economy, public health, transportation, environment, and more on one website. Centralized access to this data saves you from having to visit multiple websites.”

Perhaps you don’t find the information you need on OK.gov? The state invites you to send your feedback and let them know what data you would like to see included.

Here is the press release for the new site.

Certainly you have heard about the recommendation that each of us should be taking 10,000 steps every day for our health. As part of its wellness program, State and Federal Communications is taking up the challenge and today we kick off our “We’re Walking” program.

We have divided into three teams and for six weeks we will walk in the morning, at lunchtime, and after work – whenever we can. At the end of the six weeks, we will see which team has walked the most steps. The winners will receive bragging rights, of course, and a few prizes.

Good luck to all of the participants!

Campaign Finance

“FCC’s political ad rule disappoints supporters and foes alike” by Andrew Feinberg in The Hill.

“The FCC Makes Campaign Finance (a Bit) More Transparent” by Kirsten Salyer in Bloomberg.

“FCC Approves Political Ad Rule” by Amy Schatz in The Wall Street Journal.

Ethics

“Former State Senator Is Sentenced to 7 Years in Vast Bribery Case” by Benjamin Weiser in The New York Times.

“Illinois Gov. Ryan’s Corruption Appeal Sent Back to Lower Court” by The Associated Press in Governing.

“Aaron Schock hit with FEC complaint” by John Bresnahan in Politico.

Campaign and Government Tech

“With the 2012 Election Looming, NRCC Names a New Digital Director” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.

“Philadelphia Embraces The World Of Open Data” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

The United Way of Summit County held their 2012 Annual Meeting at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio on Wednesday, April 25. After a very successful 2011 campaign, State and Federal Communications received two awards in recognition of its efforts.

Along with nine other organizations, the company was given the Campaign Chair Award. According to the United Way, this award was “presented to organizations for extraordinary achievement, outstanding increases and successful first-time campaigns.”

State and Federal Communications also received the “Highest Per Employee Corporate Giving Award” in the category of a company with 49 or fewer employees.

Thank you United Way of Summit County. We are thrilled to be a part of the amazing work you do each year. And thank you to everyone here at State and Federal Communications for their generous effort to make our campaign a success!

“1,000 Independent Agents Lobbying Lawmakers in Washington” by Young Ha in Insurance Journal.

Alabama: “Lawmakers recommend reprimand for lobbyist” by Sebastian Kitchen in the Montgomery Advertiser.

California: The San Francisco Ethics Commission announced that their Lobbyist Electronic Filing System will experience down time for maintenance. For the schedule, see the Ethics Commission news update.

Delaware: “Bill would expand lobbyist disclosures” by Randall Chase (Associated Press) on WDEL.com.

“States Aim to Launch More Mobile Apps” by Hilton Collins on Government Technology.

“Twitter Chat Experiment Under Way in the Silicon Valley” by Brian Heaton on Government Technology.

“Salesforce Getting Social in New Government Cloud” by Matt Williams in Government Technology.

“Social Media Directors Increasing in Government” by Elaine Pittman in Governing.

During a Rules Committee hearing, the U.S. Senate considered a bill requiring senators to file electronically with the Federal Election Commission, just as members of the House of Representatives and presidential candidates do. The bill, called the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act, was sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and received support from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

For full news coverage, be sure to read:

“Senate considers entering digital age for campaign filings” by Susan Davis in USA Today.

“Schumer: Senators should file campaign reports electronically” by Tom Brune in Newsday.

Image of the Seal of the United States Senate by Ipankonin on Wikipedia.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and John Cozine, Research Manager for the company, contributed to a publication by the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO). The white paper, “Effective Communication between State Procurement and Industry,” was presented at NAPSO’s recent national meeting.

The How to Market to State Governments Meeting was held April 15-17 in Orlando, Florida.

State and Federal Communications’ contribution can be found in the “Vendor Reporting and Disclosure” section, which covers compliance issues regarding lobbying, vendor disclosure, and pay-to-play.

“We felt it was important that we participate to make sure the paper included information about compliance,” said Bartz.