Senate Bill 69 would prohibit any lobbyist, principal of a lobbyist, client of a lobbyist, agent of a lobbyist, or political action committee on which a lobbyist sits from making political campaign contributions to the governor, lieutenant governor, or a member of the legislature.

This prohibition would be in effect during any time in which the legislature is in regular or special session.

The measure also defines terms pertinent to the language of the bill, including ‘contribution,’ ‘political action committee,’ and ‘principal of a lobbyist.’

The bill aims to reduce situations where actual or perceived conflicts of interest may be raised.

Satellite photo of Hawaii by NASA, posted on Wikipedia.

The House and Senate have passed identical bills, House Bill 1284 and Senate Bill 194, aimed at delaying a legislator’s ability to become a lobbyist upon leaving the legislature.

The measures, often referred to as “revolving door legislation,” prohibit any former member of the legislature from registering as a lobbyist until one year after the expiration of the term the legislator was elected to serve.

Each chamber will now review the other’s bill. Governor Mike Beebe is expected to sign the legislation once passed.

Photo of the Arkansas State Capitol Building by Stuart Seeger on Wikipedia.

These bills would alter reporting and disclosure requirements to mandate reports be filed each month during the period from January through May of each year, as well as during any other month in which the legislature is in session. Further, an additional report would be filed on January 15 of each year to cover the period of June 1 to December 31.

Additionally, the bills would require lobbyists and their clients to make new disclosures, including campaign contributions made, the existence of any contractual relationships with legislators, and events attended wherein members of the legislature were in attendance and an average cost of $25 or more per person or total of $500 including gifts was expended. The bills also provide for definitions to pertinent terms, including ‘candidate,’ ‘candidate committee,’ ‘committee,’ and ‘contractual relationship.’

House Bill 44, a bill regarding ‘revolving door’ legislation, has been introduced in the Mississippi legislature. According to the bill, a member of the legislature would not be permitted to engage in or perform any function which would require registration as a lobbyist for a period of four years following the expiration of his or her legislative term. If passed, the bill would take effect July 1, 2011.

Photo of the Mississippi State Capitol by Charlie Brenner on Wikipedia.

All of the legislatures, even those that do not meet every year, are in session in 2011.  Thus, it is important to know the registration obligations for your lobbyists in all of the jurisdictions in which they will be active.  The most important pieces of information you need to know are whether they will need to register and when the registration will need to be filed.  Many jurisdictions have a threshold, based on expenditures, salary, or time spent lobbying, that needs to be crossed before registration is required.  Depending on your situation, you may not need to register if your lobbying activities will be minimal.  Many other jurisdictions, however, have no threshold and will require registration before or within a certain amount of time of your lobbyist engaging in lobbying.

This brings up an important point:  it is crucial that you understand what activities comprise lobbying in the jurisdiction.  A lobbyist may meet the definition of “lobbyist” before contact is even made with an official.  And do not forget that once registered, you will have ongoing reporting requirements.  Illinois and Georgia, in particular, will have more frequent reporting than in past years. (more…)

State and Federal currently offers coverage for 187 municipalities, in addition to the 50 U.S. states, other U.S. jurisdictions, and Canada.

We have added six new jurisdictions for which our online clients will find comprehensive, timely, and accurate information that includes: complete calendar of reporting deadlines; critical statutory citations; extensive directories of contact information; summaries of each state law; detailed reference charts on goods and services contributions; highlights of every statute; copies of all required forms; and much more.

The new jurisdictions are:

• Bridgeport, CT
• Huntsville, AL
• Provo, UT
• Rockford, IL
• West Valley City, UT
• Winston-Salem, NC

The image of North America by Bosonic dressing on Wikipedia.

On December 15, State and Federal Communications celebrated the season with an office holiday extravaganza! It began with an eclectic array of sushi, pulled pork, and brisket, and beverages and desserts to please any palate. Before long, though, the time for camaraderie was over and claws came out during the fast-paced treasure hunt and controversial Ethics Jeopardy, both of which pitted departments against each other in a quest for prizes.

All participants in the cubicle decorating contest received prizes for their efforts, and the winner was awarded first possession of what will become our traveling trophy—an authentic leg lamp, straight from “A Christmas Story” (which was filmed in our neighbor to the north, Cleveland, back in the ‘80’s). The day ended with the finals of our second annual Cornhole Tournament.

While we took the time to celebrate another successful year, State and Federal remained true to our philosophy of giving back and remembering it’s never all about us. For the second year in a row, our aforementioned activities were “pay-to-play,” with all non-perishable items collected going to the Greater Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

All of us at State and Federal Communications wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday season!

Although the provisions of the bill were enacted as a new and separate chapter in the Louisiana Revised Statutes, they largely mirror the requirements of the lobbying laws already applicable to legislative and executive branch lobbying on the state level.  For example, as it is on the state level, registrations expire on December 31^st of each year and registration renewals are due on January 31^st at the latest.  Reports of local lobbying activity are due on the 25^th day of each month, as they are at the state level.  And the information required to be disclosed is largely the same.

The bill contains a provision found in the state executive branch lobbying law, but not in the legislative branch lobbying law, which allows an employer to file reports on behalf of all the lobbyists representing that employer’s interests.  An employer wishing to exercise that option must notify the board of ethics by January 31^st.

Unlike the state-level lobbying laws, the bill does not specify a registration fee for local lobbyists.

The Louisiana Board of Ethics is responsible under the bill for administering and enforcing the provisions of the bill.  This includes educational activities and seminars related to the bill, as well as the assessment of late filing fees.

State and Federal Communications will continue to monitor developments with regard to local lobbying laws in Louisiana as the bill goes into effect and is implemented by the board of ethics.

Photo of the Louisiana State Capitol by Bluepoint951 on Wikipedia.

The governor of Guam has signed legislation replacing its existing lobbying law with new provisions requiring registration for legislative lobbyists and reporting on the 10th day of the month following the end of a quarter.

The legislation also contains a revolving door provision and penalties for violations of the act.

The Office of the Governor of Guam and the 30th Guam Legislature.

An English proverb states, “A man is known by the company he keeps.” On Monday, September 13, State and Federal Communications, Inc. thanked News You Can Use Editor Jim Sedor for keeping company with us for ten years.

Almost the entire company walked or drove to Downtown Akron’s Bricco restaurant for a celebratory lunch.  Also in attendance were Jim’s sister, Mary Ann LoBue, and her husband, Joe, who drove in from Mars, Pennsylvania for the occasion.

The meal was followed by a tribute to Jim by President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz, along with the presentation of a recognition book with photos and warm wishes from our staff. Everyone returned to the office to enjoy a beautiful and wonderfully chocolate cake.

In 2000, Elizabeth determined there was a need for governmental movers and shakers to know what was going on in the worlds of campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics, but there was no vehicle for that information to be provided in a timely manner. Then Jim Sedor walked through State and Federal’s doors. Since that day, Jim has taken the idea from a small, in-house proposition to what it is now, a piece that has virtually taken on a life of its own. For ten years, Jim Sedor has kept our clients—and our staff—on top of the accolades and escapades of elected officials throughout our country, and for a few hours, we took time to let him know how much we appreciate him.

As for the fact Jim is a great guy and deserving of the praise?

Well, that’s just icing on the cake.

Beginning September 7th, independent expenditures exceeding $250 must be reported within 48 hours of the expenditure. Starting on October 20th, independent expenditures exceeding $100 must be reported within 24 hours. Other reports of independent expenditures will be required on September 7th, October 12th, and October 19th.

Here is the Notice on Reporting Independent Expenditures on the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices Web site.

Photo by AlbanyNY on Wikipedia.

North Carolina, which has a notoriously strict gift ban, permits lobbyists to provide meals and beverages at events held in conjunction with legislative conferences, provided certain conditions are met. In order for the gift exception to apply, either all members of the senate, house, recognized legislative caucus, or the entire general assembly must be invited, and at least 10 individuals associated with the lobbyist or the lobbyist’s organization must attend.

Kentucky does not have a strict ban against lobbyists providing meals to legislators, but there is a $100 annual limit. However, if there is an event where all members of the house or senate, or approved caucus are invited, the amount spent on food and beverages is not counted against the $100 limit.

Not only do many states have exceptions to their gift laws in relative to national legislative conferences, but some also have different reporting requirements. States like Missouri and Georgia allow for group reporting, rather than naming each legislator that attended. In South Dakota, lobbyists are not required to report their expenditures at national conferences at all, provided that the legislature is not in session at the time.

The Act was introduced as a response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.  It passed the House, but failed in the Senate before the August recess.  It is headed back to the floor for a vote next month when the Senate returns.

The Act would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act as follows:

• Prohibit foreign-controlled domestic corporations from making contributions and expenditures;
• Require that prior to making any contribution or expenditure, the highest ranking official of a corporation must file a certification with the FEC that they are not prohibited from making the contribution or expenditure;
• Declare that a domestic corporation is permitted to create and solicit contributions for a separate segregated fund, as long as a foreign national does not contribute to or have any power or control over the fund;
• Require that any person or corporation that makes an independent expenditures of more than $10,000:
  • File a disclosure report within 24 hours of the expenditure; and
  • File a new report each time they make or contract to make another expenditures of $10,000 or more;
  • Require that certain radio or television ads include a statement identifying the name of the committee responsible for it; and
  • Require corporations, labor organization, non-profits, and political organizations to report additional information on their independent expenditure reports, including certain transfers of money.

  Photo by Diliff on Wikipedia.

When you think of macaroni, what comes to mind? Macaroni and cheese, comfort food, good times in the kitchen, childhood memories …

After serving at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, a team of State and Federal Communications employees will never look at macaroni – or hunger – in quite the same way.

Our team was privileged to serve at the Foodbank as a part of the United Way Day of Action on June 18, 2010. Day of Action serves as a catalyst to advance the common good by joining thousands of corporate volunteers with area non-profit organizations to improve opportunities for education, income, and health in their communities.

Our assignment was to assist the Foodbank by repacking bulk food items into smaller quantities for distribution to clients. We understood the concept, but after a quick tour of the Foodbank’s amazing facility, we were surprised to see 3 huge tubs (imagine the size of a small above ground pool) each filled with 800 pounds of macaroni. Forget the club store’s definition of bulk – when the Foodbank says bulk – they mean BULK.

Throughout the day, fourteen of us worked to repack almost 6,000 pounds of macaroni into smaller containers for distribution to non-profit organizations, and from them, to the people in our community needing food. By the end of the day, we worked through over 7 tubs, packed over 2,400 individual containers of pasta, and had a blast working with each other to serve our community.

All around it was a win-win situation. The Foodbank benefited from our service to move the macaroni along, and with the help of many other volunteers, set a new record for the amount of food repacked in a week – 76,825 pounds! Our company benefited from the team building fostered by volunteering together and the understanding gained about what can be – and what is being – done to feed people and fight hunger in our community.

As we finished our work, I thought of all those little pieces of macaroni, each one individually so small, and almost, insignificant. However, there is nothing insignificant or small about thousands of pounds of macaroni able to nourish individuals and families in need. And how do you get thousands of pieces of pasta – one by one. When you think your contribution is too small to make a difference, think again. If you contribute, and I contribute, and we all contribute, our impact grows exponentially and our communities, our nation, and our world are nourished.

Now, where’s that blue box? I think I need some mac and cheese, please.