January 26, 2012 •
Thursday News Roundup
Lobbying after the State of the Union Address, more news about Super PACs, and lobbying spending was down in 2011:
“Days After SOTU Are Full of Lobbyist Feedback” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“Super PACs’ money could tip balance of power in Congress” by Martina Stewart in CNN Politics.
“Lobbying dips sharply in 2011” by Dan Eggen in the Washington Post.
“Lobbying spending falls for first time since 1999” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
January 25, 2012 •
Today’s News Snapshot: SOTU, Gingrich, Super PACs, and more
The day after the State of the Union Address brings a flurry of activity in campaign finance and lobbying news.
Campaign Finance
“Obama says Congress should stop campaign bundling by lobbyists” by Kevin Bogardus on The Hill.
“Super PACs set sights on 2012 congressional races” by Fredreka Schouten in USAToday.
“Super PACs drive a near-doubling in federal election spending” by Jim Galloway in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Wis. governor fights recall with out-of-state cash” by The Associated Press on CBS Money Watch.
Lobbying
“Gingrich says $1.65M contract wasn’t for lobbying” by The Associated Press.
“Ex-Gingrich Adviser Now Trying to Close Lobbying Loopholes” by Eliza Newlin Carney and Kate Ackley on Roll Call.
“Ethics bill gets cool reception in Ga. House” by Chris Joyner and Christopher Quinn in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Clerk reports on lobbyist activity in Cook County” by The Associated Press in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
January 24, 2012 •
San Francisco Now Has Searchable Lobbyist Database
Started on January 19, 2012.
Lobbyist disclosure statements are now accessible by the public on the San Francisco Ethics Commission website. You can search lobbyists, lobbyist clients, lobbying firms, reported public officials, and lobbying subjects of concern.
According to the site:
This site contains information about lobbying activities for all lobbyist who are registered with the Commission. The Commission requires these lobbyists to submit monthly statements of their lobbying activities including: Activity Expenses, Political Contributions, Contacts of Public Officials, and Payments Promised by Clients.
The Ethics Commission is also offering an API (Application Programming Interface) for programmers to take the raw data from lobbyist reports and create mashups and aggregate reports of their own.
For news coverage, read “San Francisco Publishes New Tool To Interpret Local Lobbying Information” by Sarah Lai Stirland on techPresident.
January 23, 2012 •
A Look at Lobbying in 2011
As the lobbying reports are analyzed from 2011, news articles have been appearing in the last few days talking about what kind of year it was for the lobbying industry. Here are a few significant contributions:
“On K Street, 2011 was year to forget” by Kevin Bogardus and Rachel Leven in The Hill.
“K Street’s boom goes bust” by Anna Palmer on Politico.
“K Street’s Largest Firms Saw Some Dips in 2011 Business” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“Many lobbying firms saw dropoff in revenue in 2011” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.
“Lobbying outlays bounce back in 4th quarter” by Dave Levinthal on Politico.
“Chamber cuts lobbying spending in half for 2011” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
“Chamber’s lobbying spend fell sharply in 2011” by David Ingram on Reuters.
In the States:
“Lobbyists’ largesse at Capitol: $87,248” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (This article discusses spending in the first two weeks of 2012.)
“Business lobby outspends all others, nears all-time record” by Adam Sichko in the Albany Business Review.
“Top 35 Biggest Spenders on Smith Hill” by Dan McGowan on GoLocalProv.com.
January 20, 2012 •
Redistricting News across the Nation
The U.S. Supreme Court threw out the Texas redistricting plans created by a federal court and calls for new plans, plus more redistricting news from the states:
Idaho
“Attorney General: Redistricting Commissioners can’t be fired” in the Spokesman-Review.
Kentucky
“Beshear Signs Redistricting Bill, Decries Process” by Phillip M. Bailey from the WFPL News.
Here is opinion piece by Kentucky Rep. Kelly Flood: “Senate redistricting ‘a display of arrogance, bullying‘” from the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Texas
“Justices’ Texas Redistricting Ruling Likely to Help G.O.P.” by Adam Liptak in the New York Times.
“Supreme Court throws out Texas election maps” by James Vicini on Reuters.
“Supreme Court sides with Texas on redistricting plan” by Robert Barnes in the Washington Post.
Virginia
“Virginia Senate narrowly passes GOP-backed congressional redistricting bill” by The Associated Press in the Washington Post.
“Senate approves GOP congressional redistricting plan” by Jim Nolan in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
January 20, 2012 •
Bill Aims to Identify Robocall Sponsors in Michigan
Senate Bill 896
Michigan Senator Tonya Schuitmaker has introduced Senate Bill 896, which would require robocalls in the state to clearly identify their sponsor. The bill will also says if a robocall is not endorsed by a candidate, the automated phone message must state it.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports about the legislation in “State Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker introduces bill to force identification on campaign robo-calls” by Julie Mack.
January 20, 2012 •
Campaign Finance and Lobbying News
From Politico and Roll Call: The Occupy movement targets the Supreme Court in honor of the second anniversary of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, intense lobbying for a mention in the State of the Union Address, and K Street warms up to Romney with Perry’s departure.
“’Occupy Courts’ to hit Citizens United” by MJ Lee on Politico.
“Lobbying for just a nod, a mention” by Abby Phillip on Politico.
“Perry’s K Street Allies Jump to Romney, Not Gingrich” by Eliza Newlin Carney and Kate Ackley on Roll Call.
January 20, 2012 •
Highlighted Site of the Week – PBS NewsHour 2012 Political Calendar
How can we keep track of the many speaking engagements and campaign events held the by 2012 presidential candidates? It’s easy – PBS NewsHour has done all of the work for us!
Our Highlighted Site of the Week this week is PBS NewsHour’s 2012 Political Calendar. Did you know that today Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich addresses the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Charleston, South Carolina? Former Massachusets Gov. Mitt Romney is visiting his campaign headquarters in Greenville, South Carolina, too. Also, Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is holding a town hall in Lexington, South Carlina at 11 AM. And certainly not to be forgotten, Texas Rep. Ron Paul is making a campaign stop at the Charleston International Airportat 11:15.
According to the site: “Our politics calendar tracks the whereabouts of all the 2012 presidential candidates as well as other key events. Check back early and often for updates. All events are listed in Eastern Time. Please credit PBS NewsHour and link to this page if you are using events from this calendar.”
Have fun with this page and have a terrific weekend everyone!
January 19, 2012 •
Thursday News Roundup
Lobbying, Procurement, and Gov 2.0
Lobbying
“K Street headhunters enamored with upcoming class of retiring lawmakers” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
“Lobbyists get face time with House GOP at retreat” by Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer on Politico.
Procurement
“Cuomo Limits State Money for Salaries of Contractors” by John Eligon in The New York Times.
Government 2.0
“State Legislatures’ Mobile Websites” on the NCSL website.
January 19, 2012 •
Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Resigns
Steps down after staff accusations.
Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Dave Gallik has resigned his job after his staff accused him of using state resources for private law practice.
For the full story read:
“Staff says ethics commissioner not ethical” by The Associated Press in the Billings Gazette.
“Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices resigns” by John S. Adams in the Great Falls Tribune.
“Top Montana Ethics Leader Resigns Amid Allegations” by Caroline Cournoyer on Governing.com.
Photo of Dave Gallik courtesy of the Montana Legislature website.
January 19, 2012 •
SuperPAC Spending and Disclosure in the News
Here is a chart revealing television ad spending in South Carolina by candidates versus spending by super Pacs, legislation in Arizona that would require disclosure of corporate spending on campaigns, and a run-down of super PAC disclosure in California:
“Candidate and Super Pac Spending” by Khang Nguyen in the Los Angeles Times.
“Bill would require disclosure of campaign spending” by Alia Beard Rau in the Arizona Republic.
“California could be model for ‘super PAC’ disclosure” by Josh Richman in the San Jose Mercury News.
January 19, 2012 •
Internet Companies Flex Muscles, Challenge to Traditional Lobbying?
However you may feel about SOPA and PIPA, one thing became clear in the last day or so – something new has happened in the realm of lobbying. Here are three articles that take a look at the implications of the internet blackout from a government relations perspective:
“Google Protest of Anti-Piracy Bills Upends Traditional Lobbying” by Eric Engleman in Bloomberg News.
“One early winner in SOPA protest: Wikipedia” by Charles Cooper on CBS News.
“Silicon Valley learns fast in game of lobbying” by April Dembosky in Financial Times.
January 18, 2012 •
Nevada Now Has Online Campaign Finance Database
Secretary of State says new searchable system will “bring a whole level of transparency” to those seeking campaign finance data.
Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller has announced the launch of a new searchable online database for the state’s campaign finance data. Named Aurora, the system began at midnight last night.
For more information read “Nevada Secretary Of State Launches Aurora, A Searchable Database For Campaign Finance Information” from the Nevada News Bureau.
According to the news release on the the Secretary of State’s web site:
The Contribution Search and Expenditure Search functions will allow users to search results by the following criteria:
– Individual Candidates
– Political Races
– Groups
– Contributions, including by amount, date range and similar addresses
– Contributors
– Expenditure Recipients
January 17, 2012 •
Political Campaigns Vie for Social Media Attention
Whether claiming this to be the “year of Facebook” or the “year of Twitter” for political campaigns, news items are covering how political campaigns are using social media to advertise in new ways. Here are a few pieces that appeared today:
“Social media sites in race for lucrative political ads” by Kim Hart (Politico) in the Virginian-Pilot.
“The New Political Battleground: Your Social Network” by David Binetti on TechCrunch.
Mashable talks about new advertising service called Socialitical that helps political campaigns craft ads and find their best audience on Facebook in “New Tool Helps Politicians Advertise on Facebook” by Alex Fitzpatrick.
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.
