On September 8, 2011 New York City’s Campaign Finance Board proposed new rules requiring the reporting of certain independent expenditures.

The proposed reporting rules would cover expenditures that are for the design, production, or distribution of public communications, that are either express advocacy made at any time in an election cycle or an electioneering communication made within 90 days of an election, and that, when combined with all other expenditures made by the independent spender in support of or in opposition to that candidate or proposal, exceed $1,000.

Generally, in non-election years reports would be due semi-annually and in election years eight reports would be required, with expenditures required to be reported within 24 hours during the two weeks before the election.

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission has issued recommendations to reform the state code of ethics.

The Commission has recommended repealing the provision allowing lobbyists to spend $100 annually on food and beverages for each legislative official and their respective families.

Further, the Commission has recommended that candidates for the state legislature be subjected to the same gift restrictions as legislative officials.

This would include a prohibition on the receipt of anything of value from lobbyists.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy is set to name David L. Guay as the head of Connecticut’s newly created Office of Governmental Accountability.

Guay was one of three finalists for the position of executive administrator recommended to the governor in July by the heads of the nine agencies comprising the new Office of Governmental Accountability, including the Office of State Ethics and the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

Guay has served as the executive director of the Board of Accountancy since 1989, and has also held the position of director of election campaign finance services.

Guay’s new position calls for assisting each of the nine agencies in meeting their needs, while also promoting autonomy over the watchdog function each agency provides.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for:

Tempe, Arizona

Evansville, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

Flint, Michigan

North Las Vegas, Nevada

Reno, Nevada

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

The Georgia General Assembly, in special session since August 15, 2011, adjourned on August 31, 2011.

The adjournment comes after reaching agreements concerning legislative redistricting.

The Mississippi State Legislature will convene in special session at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 2, 2011.

Governor Haley Barbour called the special session on Monday in order to consider a state bond issue. Other projects may be undertaken as well, but details about these projects have not yet been released.

The session is expected to last one day.

Photo of the Mississippi State Capitol by Shawn Lea (Szlea) on Wikipedia.

The Fair Political Practices Commission will hold an interested persons’ meeting on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. to discuss the proposed text message contribution regulation.  The commission has also issued a notice to adopt the text message regulation at a public hearing to be held on or after October 13, 2011.

The proposed regulation permits candidates and committees to raise funds through low-dollar text message contributions. For the purposes of the regulation, contributions are deemed to be received on the date that a mobile fundraising vendor, acting as an agent of the candidate or committee, obtains possession and control of the funds. Once received by the mobile fundraising vendor, contributions must be promptly reported to the candidate or committee’s treasurer or a designated agent thereof no later than the closing date of any campaign statement the candidate or committee is required to file.

For text message contributions of less than $25, candidates and committees will be required to maintain the dates and daily totals of contributions. For contributions exceeding $25 but less than $100, the proposed regulation requires that candidates and committees record the full name and street address of the contributor, the cumulative amount received from each contribution, and any information regarding an intermediary where applicable. When a contribution exceeding $100 is received, the regulation requires that the candidate or committee maintain a record of the contributor’s name and address, occupation, employer, the cumulative amount received from the contributor, and any information regarding an intermediary where applicable.

Under the proposed regulation, a contribution made by text message will be attributed to the person who is subscribed to the cell phone number from which the contribution is received.

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission has named Holly LaBerge as its new Executive Secretary.

LaBerge, a former Budget Analyst for the House Budget Office and Director of Government Relations for the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, beat out Jerry R. Presley, a former lobbyist, government official, and private consultant, for the position.

The commission interviewed each candidate at its meeting Friday before meeting in private to make a decision.

LaBerge takes over for Stacey Kalberman, who left the commission over disputes concerning the agency’s budget and her request for subpoenas to investigate Governor Nathan Deal’s campaign.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for:

Sterling Heights, Michigan

Lafayette, Louisiana

Governor Nathan Deal has appointed B. Chan Caudell to replace Josh Belinfante as a member of the State Ethics Commission.

Caudell is an attorney and former commissioner of Habersham County, Georgia. He also serves on the board of directors for North Georgia Technical College and is vice chair of Common Cause Georgia as well as the State Bar of Georgia advisory committee that reviews legislation.

Belinfante resigned last week, stating he was looking into running for state senate.

Josh Belinfante, Vice Chairman of the State Ethics Commission, has announced he is resigning his position in order to consider a run for state senate. While he has yet to commit to running for the position, Belinfante has indicated an interest in the seat for senate district 6 following the release of the proposed maps for redistricting.

Belinfante’s resignation comes on the heels of the recent announcement by Chairman Patrick Millsaps that he will be stepping down from his position due to what he has determined to be his illegal appointment by Governor Nathan Deal.

The State Ethics Commission is also currently engaged in the process of finding a person to fill the role of Executive Secretary for the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission following the departure of Stacey Kalberman.

Kalberman’s departure and the termination of the Deputy Executive Secretary position, once held by Sherilyn Streicker, were the result of cost-cutting maneuvers implemented by members of the Commission this past June.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for:

Chandler, Arizona

Fort Collins, Colorado

New Haven, Connecticut

Stamford, Connecticut

Chesapeake, Virginia

Voters in Boulder, Colorado will have the opportunity to vote whether they support corporate personhood on the November 1, 2011 ballot.

By a 6 – 3 decision, the Boulder City Council approved placing a resolution on the ballot calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution declaring only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights and money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.

The ballot measure is in response to the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United decision, where the ability of the government to limit corporate and labor union independent expenditures was ruled unconstitutional.

“I think it’s a real threat to our government,” said councilman Ken Williams, “and whatever we can do to change that, I think we should.”

If approved by voters, Boulder would join a growing list of localities that have passed similar resolutions.

Photo of the Flatirons by Aza Toth on Wikipedia.

Implementation of Measure H, a campaign finance reform approved by voters earlier this year, has been delayed by the Los Angeles City Council.

Measure H bans campaign contributions from contractors to elected officials responsible for reviewing proposals for city work valued at $100,000 or more.

Photo of the Los Angeles by BRION Vibber on Wikipedia and the Seal of Los Angeles by Mysid on Wikipedia.