March 26, 2012 •
How Many Public Corruption Convictions in Your State?
Governing took a look at data from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section.
In the wake of the State Integrity Investigation corruption risk report, Governing posted this article revealing how many public corruption convictions have occurred in each state from 2001 to 2010, as well as calculating a per capita conviction index.
According to the article: “In terms of raw totals, the more populous states racked up the most prosecutions over the decade, led by Texas (697), California (679), Florida (674) and New York (589).”
The per capita ranking was a bit different, with Louisiana leading the list.
Be sure to read “Which States Have the Highest Public Corruption Convictions?” by Mike Maciag in Governing.
March 26, 2012 •
Today’s Campaign Finance Top Stories
Keep up with the latest news about campaign finance reform and super PACs with these items from around the country:
National and Federal
“Can 46 rich dudes buy an election?” by Charles Riley in CNN Money.
“Obama ‘Super’ PAC Donors Among White House Guests” by Jack Gillum (Associated Press) in The San Francisco Chronicle.
“Planners for Democratic convention in Charlotte scramble to raise funds” by David Nakamura in The Washington Post.
In the States
Indiana: “Super PACs start battle in Senate race” by The Associated Press in the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Iowa: “Group wants to close campaign finance loophole” by Rod Boshart in the Sioux City Journal.
Montana: “New arguments filed in campaign finance case” by Matt Gouras in the Great Falls Tribune.
March 26, 2012 •
Lobbying News Roundup
Gen X on K Street, the Obama staff revolving door, the latest news in Illinois lobbying reform, spending in Massachusetts and Minnesota, and more:
Federal
“Generation X joining K Street” by Jonathan Allen and Jennifer Martinez in Politico.
“Administration Staffers Head Out the Revolving Door” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
In the States
Illinois: “Illinois Senate panel blocks lobbyist ethics legislation” by Shannon McFarland (Associated Press) in the Jacksonville Journal Courier.
Illinois: “Lobbying reforms buried in subcommittee” by Rick Miller in Capitol Fax.
Iowa: “Iowa’s lobbying free-for-all” by Jason Clayworth and Jeffrey Kummer in the Des Moines Register.
Massachusetts: “AP: Mass. health care 5-year lobbying topped $51M” by Steve LeBlanc (Associated Press) in Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Minnesota: “$61M spent on lobbying in 2011” by Matt Herbert in Minnesota Daily.
March 23, 2012 •
U.S. Senate Passes STOCK Act
The Senate passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act yesterday, banning insider trading by members of Congress.
For full news coverage, be sure to read:
“STOCK Act passes: Insider trading ban heads to Obama” by Scott Wong in Politico.
“Lawmakers hit bipartisan note following STOCK Act passage” by Peter Schroeder in The Hill.
March 23, 2012 •
Summit County Holds 2012 State of the County Address
Akron Press Club is sponsoring the luncheon.
State and Federal Communications will be attending the State of the County Address for Summit County, Ohio.
Summit County Executive Russel M. Pry will be delivering his fifth address today at 11:30 in the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio.
A new, more user-friendly site for federal campaign finance disclosure data.
Our Highlighted Site of the Week is the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) new Campaign Finance Disclosure Portal. The site was announced just yesterday and offers powerful resources allowing the visitor to access campaign finance data sets and perform advanced segmentation. The types of information included are independent expenditures; bundled contributions; candidate and committee summaries; receipts, disbursements, and a cash summary for PACs and National Party committees; leadership PAC and sponsor data; and much more.
According to the FEC’s news release: “The Commission announced the release of a new campaign finance disclosure portal that will simplify access to the wide range of data available on the agency’s website. The disclosure portal provides a single point of entry to federal campaign finance data.”
Information can be accessed through interactive maps, easily readable charts, or by searching with a name or keyword. Data sets can also be downloaded as XSD, XML, or CSV files in order to perform your own analysis or data mashup.
The FEC promises the Campaign Finance Disclosure Portal will be regularly updated throughout the election cycle. With both the site and its Disclosure Data Blog, you can subscribe to its feed via RSS so that you can keep up with any updates.
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
March 22, 2012 •
Stay on Top of Redistricting News
Here is a roundup of the latest articles from four states:
Arizona: “Arizona lawmakers OK money for redistricting panel” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Sun.
Arizona: “Arizona redistrict panel to get more cash” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.
Florida: “Down to the wire, Senators propose last-minute changes to new Senate map” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.
Florida: “Florida Senate panel approves redistricting plan” by The Associated Press in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Florida: “Fla. Senate panel approves redistricting plan” by Bill Kaczor in the Deseret News.
Kansas: “Kan. Senate delays vote on redistricting bill” by The Associated Press in the Salina Journal.
Kansas: “Kansas House votes down latest redistricting bill” by Fred Mann in the Wichita Eagle.
New York: “Between the Lines: Map Complete, Time to Sort Out Who’s Running” by Joshua Miller in Roll Call.
Derrick Smith, an Illinois lawmaker who has been arrested on federal bribery charges, has won the Democratic primary for the state House race in the fall.
For full news coverage, read:
“Indicted Illinois House member wins Dem nomination” by John O’Connor (Associated Press) in The State Journal-Register.
“Chicago lawmaker charged in bribe case wins primary” by Andrew Stern (Reuters) in the Chicago Tribune.
ᔥ Thanks go to Jim Sedor, Editor of News You Can Use, for finding this article.
ᔥPhoto courtesy of the Illinois General Assembly website.
March 21, 2012 •
STOCK Act is Back
Will be voted on without amendments.
The U.S. Senate will proceed with the House version of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. The bill would bar lawmakers and staff from engaging in insider trading and has been stalled since February. The provision requiring the registration and reporting of “political intelligence consultants” has been removed, but U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) are working to have it restored.
According to Politico, “Reid filed a cloture petition on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act on Tuesday, setting up a Thursday vote to move forward on the bill.”
“Harry Reid to force vote on insider trading bill” by John Bresnahan and Anna Palmer in Politico.
Also: “Senate to vote on STOCK Act” by Paul Kane in The Washington Post.
March 21, 2012 •
SGAC Holds Its Annual Meeting
The conference for government affairs professionals promises to provide new tools, techniques, and best practices to help build skills and stay on top of the latest trends.
Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending the State Government Affairs Council’s (SGAC) Annual Meeting. Bartz is the president of the Board of Directors of SGAC, the national association for multi-state government affairs professionals.
The event runs from March 21-23 and is being held in Boston, Massachusetts.
You can follow the Twitter conversations from the conference with the hashtag #SGACAnnualMtg12.
March 21, 2012 •
Today’s Lobbying News Roundup
Revolving doors, spending on lobbying in Minnesota, and a new ethics bill in Missouri in the news:
“Revolving Door: Hill Staffers with Retiring Bosses Hit K Street” by Andrew Joseph in National Journal’s Influence Alley.
“Minnesota Capitol the recipient of $59 million lobbying effort” by Megan Boldt in the Grand Forks Herald.
“Business groups spent $14 million lobbying Minn. Legislators” by Rachel E. Stassen-Berger in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
“Democrats propose new Missouri ethics bill” by Elizabeth Crisp in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. According to the article, “the bill would restrict the amount lawmakers and their immediate family members could accept from lobbyists, prohibit lawmakers from working as paid political consultants while in office and limit the investment of campaign contributions to interest-bearing checking or savings accounts.”
“Utah’s revolving door keeps spinning out lobbyists” by Britny Mortensen in The Salt Lake Tribune.
March 21, 2012 •
Government Tech and Social Media News
A new Facebook app for tracking legislation, government social media skeptics, and California gets a new Director of the Office of Technology Services:
Federal: “New Facebook Open Graph App Makes Lawmaking Social, Brings House Bills To The Crowds” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident. Here is the link to the new Citizen Cosponsor app.
Federal: “Social media challenges federal oversight of agency communications” by Alice Lipowicz in Federal Computer Week.
State and Local: “Social Media Still Has Skeptics in Government” by Matt Williams in Government Technology.
California: “Y2K Expert to Lead California’s Technology Services” by Ashley Nelson in Government Technology.
New Jersey: “Morris County named a best case example of e-government” by The Independent Press on NJ.com.
March 20, 2012 •
Campaign Finance, Redistricting, and Ethics in the News
Today we have stories about campaign finance reform in North Carolina, clean elections in Connecticut, campaign finance violations, redistricting, and more:
Campaign Finance
Connecticut: “Watchdogs worried clean elections fund could run dry in next race for governor” by Keith M. Phaneuf in CTMirror.org.
District of Columbia: “Campaign finance inquiry takes close look at money-order donations in District” by Mike DeBonis and Nikita Stewart in The Washington Post.
Michigan: “Michigan group delays corporate disclosure measure” by The Associated Press on Michigan Live.
Missouri: “Kansas City lawmaker faces $30,585 in ethics fees” by Chris Blank in The Kansas City Star.
North Carolina: “Dome: Board of Elections will discuss campaign finance law” by John Frank and Tim Funk in The News & Observer.
Wisconsin: “GAB fined 110 people for campaign finance and ethics violations in last 3 years” by Kate Golden in The Wisconsin State Journal.
Campaigns and Elections
“Rogue political robocalls on the rise in Ohio” by Sabrina Eaton in The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Redistricting
Florida: “New Senate district map ticks off both parties” by Mary Ellen Klas and Darla Cameron in The Miami Herald.
New York: “Incumbents at risk in final N.Y. map” by Alex Isenstadt in Politico.
Ethics
“Federal prosecutor under fire for anonymously commenting on news website” by Andrew Lapin in Government Executive.
March 19, 2012 •
States Get Their Ethics Report Cards
No state received an “A” grade.
State Integrity Investigation has just published a study on government transparency and accountability in the states. The partners in the project are The Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity, and Public Radio International.
The bad news is that most states suffer from a lack of transparency and other ethical issues. The State Integrity Investigation website describes the following:
“Open records laws with hundreds of exemptions. Crucial budgeting decisions made behind closed doors by a handful of power brokers. ‘Citizen’ lawmakers voting on bills that would benefit them directly. Scores of legislators turning into lobbyists seemingly overnight. Disclosure laws without much disclosure. Ethics panels that haven’t met in years.”
For a summary of the report, take a look at: “Grading the nation: How accountable is your state?” by Caitlin Ginley on The Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News.
Also, be sure to read: “Study: State governments at high risk for corruption” by The Associated Press on Fox News.
Here are some of the news stories about the report from various states:
Alabama: “Alabama gets C- in report on most corruptible states” on WAFF.com.
Arizona: “Arizona gets D+ on corruption risk report card” by Maureen West in the Tucson Sentinel.
Arkansas: “Arkansas gets ‘D’ grade in public integrity” by Max Brantley in the Arkansas Times.
Florida: “When it comes to lobbying, Florida’s Sunshine law is dark” by Toluse Olorunnipa in the Miami Herald.
Florida: “Integrity index gives Florida politics a C-” by Kenny Malone in the Miami Herald.
Georgia: “Georgia last in public corruption laws” by Chris Joyner and Aaron Gould Sheinin in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Illinois: “Illinois rates a C and ranks 10th in the U.S.” by Amanda Vinicky in the Quad-City Times.
Maine: “Watchdogs fault state for lax ethical oversight” by Naomi Schalit, Lance Tapley, and John Christie in the Kennebec Journal.
Michigan: “Michigan’s Corruptibility Rated An ‘F’ In New Report — And It Isn’t Just A Detroit Problem” by Matt Sledge in the Huffington Post.
New Jersey: “New Jersey leads in national survey of sleaze-busting” by Dave Davies in NewsWorks.
New Jersey: “Report: N.J. has lowest corruption risk of any state” by Mary-Ann Spoto in the Star-Ledger.
Ohio: “Ohio rated as lax on ethics” by Paul Kostyu on Cincinnati.com.
Oregon: “Report: Oregon’s ethics rules occasionally undermined by ‘loopholes’” by Ryan Kost in The Oregonian.
Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania has right-to-know law, but austerity hinders transparency” by Peter Durantine on NewsWorks.
Tennessee: “Tennessee Near Top of Nation for Anti-corruption Measures” by Nina Cardona on Nashville Public Radio.
Virginia: “Va. Gets F in Corruption-Risk Assessment” by The Associated Press on WHSV.com.
Washington: “Washington Scores Well On Transparency, But Up To Citizens To Verify” by Amy Radil on KUOW.org.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
