Lobbying

Louisiana: “Lobbyists Spent Nearly Half a Million Dollars to Woo Louisiana Legislators in 2016” by Elizabeth Crisp for New Orleans Advocate

Campaign Finance

“Offer of Access to Trump and Family at Fundraiser Is Pulled Back, But Ties Remain” by Matea Gold and David Fahrenthold for The Washington Post

“DeVos Heads into Confirmation with a Megadonor’s Advantage” by Michael Stratford for Politico

Ethics

“Suspected of Corruption at Home, Powerful Foreigners Find Refuge in U.S.” by Kyra Gurney, Anjali Tsui, David Iaconangelo, and Selina Cheng for Miami Herald

“There’s Already a Big Problem with Trump’s ‘No New Deals’ Pledge” by Drew Harwell for The Washington Post

Massachusetts: “Appeals Court Overturns Convictions in Probation Department Scandal” by Milton Valencia for Boston Globe

New Jersey: “Lawmakers’ Revolt Sinks Book Deal, Newspaper Bill” by Salvador Rizzo for Bergen Record

New York: “Grand Juries Said to Hear Testimony on Inquiries into de Blasio Fund-Raising” by William Rashbaum for The New York Times

South Carolina: “Rep. Jim Merrill Indicted in S.C. Statehouse Probe; Suspended from Office” by Schuyler Kropf and Glenn Smith for Charleston Post & Courier

Virginia: “Residents Push to Change Law That Lets Norfolk Treasurer Anthony Burfoot Stay in Office” by Eric Hartley for The Virginian-Pilot

Elections

“Electoral College Settles Donald Trump’s Victory, but Little Else” by Jonathan Martin and Michael Wines for The New York Times

Campaign Finance

“Activists Brace for Fight Over Campaign Finance Law” by Alex Roarty for Roll Call

Arkansas: “Old Advice on State Judicial Donors Cut, Not Revised” by Lisa Hammersly for Northwest Arkansas News

Oregon: “Portland to Revive Public Campaign Financing in 2019” by Jessica Floum for Portland Oregonian

Ethics

Pennsylvania: “Former Philadelphia Congressman Chaka Fattah Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison” by Jeremy Roebuck for Philadelphia Inquirer

Illinois: “Ald. Willie Cochran Indicted on Thefts from Ward Charity” by Jason Meisner, Jeremy Gorner, and Hal Dardick for Chicago Tribune

Indiana: “Former Lawmaker Lands Job with Vaping Group That Benefited from His Vote” by Tony Cook for Indianapolis Star

Kentucky: “Tim Longmeyer Pleads Guilty to State Felony” by Tom Loftus for Louisville Courier-Journal

New York: “Reform Group Sues Over New Disclosure Law” by Casey Seiler for Albany Times Union

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Ethics Commissioner Resigns in Disgust” by Jason Stein for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Elections

“Electoral College Settles Donald Trump’s Victory, but Little Else” by Jonathan Martin and Michael Wines for New York Times

“All This Talk of Voter Fraud? Across U.S., Officials Found Next to None” by Michael Wines for New York Times

Lobbying

“Longtime Business Lobbyist Laments Loss of ‘Smoke-Filled Rooms’ in Washington” by Carl Hulse for New York Times

Campaign Finance

Alaska: “New Alaska House leaders embrace loophole to raise campaign cash from lobbyists” by Nathaniel Herz for Alaska Dipatch News

Arizona: “Arizona Supreme Court to review Tom Horne’s campaign-finance case” by Bob Christie (Associated Press) for Arizona Republic

Massachusetts: “Campaign finance among bills passed” by Bob Katzen for Sentinel & Enterprise

New York: “De Blasio Is Fined $48,000 for Campaign Finance Violations” by J. David Goodman for New York Times

Ethics

“Trump’s billionaire-loaded cabinet will face a government ethics test after confirmation” by Kevin Hall for The Charlotte Observer

Illinois: “Lawmakers push package of ethics reform bills intended to mesh with Greitens’ goals” by Will Schmitt for Springfield News-Leader

South Carolina: “Companies say they weren’t trying to buy SC legislator’s influence” by Avery Wilks for SCNow

Elections

“North Carolina Governor Signs Bill Limiting His Successor’s Power” by Craig Jarvis for Governing

See what’s happening in government relations this week in our News You Can Use Video Digest. Enjoy!

Several bills related to campaign finance were recently passed by the New York City Council.

Int. No. 1345-A will prohibit donations above $400 per year from people who are lobbyists, have city contracts, do business with the city, or non-governmental entities controlled by a local elected official or their agents. Int. No. 1352 will require a notice regarding the contribution limits for persons doing business with the city be provided to contributors. Additionally, Int. No. 1361-A will require contributions in a special election be counted towards the threshold for eligibility and matching for public funds candidates.

Some of the more technical bills will require public funds candidates to deposit contributions by a certain date (Int. No. 1351-A), mandate the Campaign Finance Board to prepare electronic disclosure reports to meet state disclosure requirements (Int. No. 1349-A), allow candidates to return campaign contributions to protect their reputational interest (Int. No. 1353-A), and require the doing business database to display the date a person is considered doing business with the city (Int. No. 1361).

The bills are awaiting the mayor’s signature and are effective as listed in the respective bills.

On Monday, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and retired State Senator and Judge Quentin L. Kopp filed a lawsuit in the Sacramento Superior Court seeking to invalidate Senate Bill 1107. SB 1107 was passed this fall and allows any municipality the option to create systems for publicly funded campaigns.

Prior to SB 1107, only six charter cities were allowed to offer limited public funds to match small campaign donations. The suit requests an injunction to stop the new provisions from taking effect on January 1, 2017. The plaintiffs are also requesting SB 1107 be ruled invalid and sent to voters on a statewide ballot.

On December 14, Portland City Council voted 3-2 to pass the Open and Accountable Elections package to create a public campaign finance matching system.

The publicly funded election system is modeled on New York City’s public campaign financing program. The city will provide matching funds to eligible candidates for mayor, city commissioner and auditor, with funding starting in 2019 for the 2020 election.

Oral arguments were heard last week in a 2015 lawsuit filed in Massachusetts Suffolk County Superior Court challenging state laws allowing unions to make political contributions while barring corporations from doing the same.

The lawsuit is being brought by the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation at the Goldwater Institute on behalf of two state business corporations against Michael Sullivan, the director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), which enforces the law. In 1A AUTO, INC. v Sullivan, the plaintiffs allege, “There is no legitimate justification for allowing unions to contribute thousands of dollars to candidates, parties, and political committees, while completely banning any contributions from businesses.” The plaintiffs argue the law violates “equal protection, free speech, and free association protected by the Massachusetts and United States constitutions” and are seeking a permanent injunction preventing the OCPF from enforcing the law banning corporate contributions.

Both parties made their arguments on December 7 in front of Judge Paul Wilson, who will decide the previously filed motions for summary judgement.

Elections

“Stein Spent Nearly $1 Million of Recount Funds on Consultants, Staff, Admin Expenses” by Joe Schoffstall for The Washington Free Beacon

New Mexico: “Political Action Committees Spent Big in Closing Days of Election” by Morgan Lee (Associated Press) for Albuquerque Journal

Ethics

“Former Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah Sentenced to Decade in Prison” by Deena Zaru for CNN

Connecticut: “Bilda, Hinchey to Face Ethics Hearings Over Derbygate” by Ryan Blessing for The Bulletin

New Hampshire: “Portsmouth Resident Tries Again With Ethics Complaint” by Jeff McMenemy for Seacoast Online

South Dakota: “Attorney General’s Office Pushes to Save Parts of Ethics Law” by The Associated Press for The Washington Times

Campaign Finance

Missouri: “KCMO Police Commissioner May Have Broken Missouri Law” by Andy Alcock for KHSB

New York: “Hearing Delayed in Staver-Sauer Case” by Andrew Setterholm for Post Bulletin

Wisconsin: “Report: PAC Spending on Wisconsin Legislative Races Soars in Wake of Campaign Finance Change” by Katelyn Ferral for The Capital Times

Legislative Issues

Missouri: “Missouri Democrats Push Anti-Corruption Agenda as Legislative Session Approaches” by Kurt Erickson for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lobbying

“Lobbying Muscle May Help Tech Titans Trump Trump” by Allan Holmes and Jared Bennett for Center for Public Integrity

Campaign Finance

“Activists Brace for Fight Over Campaign Finance Law” by Alex Roarty for Roll Call

Elections

“Completed Wisconsin Recount Widens Donald Trump’s Lead by 131 Votes” by Matthew DeFour for Wisconsin State Journal

Ethics

“Aaron Schock Pleads Not Guilty To Slew of Federal Charges” by Aryn Braun for Roll Call

Wisconsin: “State Ethics Commissioner Resigns, Citing Dysfunction in New Watchdog Agency” by Mark Sommerhauser and Molly Beck for Wisconsin State Journal

Legislative Issues

“Budget Shortfalls Expected in the Most States Since Recession” by Liz Farmer for Governing

Lobbying

“K Street Eyes Outgoing Lawmakers for Jobs” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

“Exxon-Mobil: No Stranger to Lobbying the ‘Swamp’” by Lesley Clark (McClatchy) for The News & Observer

“Trump Transition Trade Staffer Defended NAFTA, was Chamber of Commerce Lobbyist” by Andrew Kaczynski and Chris Massie for CNN

Missouri: “Opinion: The Christmas Spirit of Lobbyists” by Phill Brooks for The Springfield Business Journal

Procurement

New York: “DiNapoli Proposes Procurement Reforms” by Matthew Hamilton for Times Union

Campaign Finance

Florida: “Dozens of Florida Political Committees Being Fueled by Millions in ‘Dark Money’” by Tia Mitchell for The Florida Times-Union

Massachusetts: “Campaign Finance Law Shields Violators” by Stephanie Ebbert for The Boston Globe

Elections

“Senate and House Leaders Call for Inquiry of Russian Hacking in Election” by Jennifer Steinhauer for The New York Times

Ethics

“Trump Invites Trouble if He Keeps Businesses: Ethics Experts” BY Bernard Condon and Julie Bykowicz (Associated Press) for McClatchy DC

“Why All Billionaire Politicians Are Not Created Equal” by Ruairi Arriet-Kenna for Politico

Lobbying

“Insurers Step Up Lobbying With an Eye to Health-Law Changes” by Anna Wilde Mathews and Louise Radnofsky for The Wall Street Journal

“Big Law Lobbying Efforts Fail to Kill 9/11 Litigation Against Saudi Arabia” by Michael D. Goldhaber for The American Lawyer

Missouri: “Lobbyist Gifts to Missouri Legislators Have Dropped Significantly” by Walker Moskop for St. Louis Dispatch

Texas: “Edinburg Hires DC Lobbying Firm” by Naxiely Lopez for The Monitor

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “What Ever Happened to The Investigations into Tom Horne?” by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez for Arizona Republic

California: “Contra Costa: Turmoil in DA’s office after agency head admits to violating California law” by Nate Gartrell by East Bay Times

Maine: “Ethics Commission Favors Shedding Light on ‘Dark Money’ in Maine Campaigns” by Kevin Miller for Portland Press Herald

Oregon: “Portland City Council Set to Revive Publicly Funded Campaigns – in 2019” by Jessica Floum for The Oregonian

Ethics

“Trump Could Keep D.C. Hotel Despite Conflict of Interest” by Isaac Arnsdorf for Politico

“Suspected of Corruption at Home, Powerful Foreigners Find Refuge in U.S.” by Kyra Gurney, Anjali Tsui, David Iaconangelo, and Selena Cheng for Miami Herald

Kentucky: “Tim Longmeyer Pleads Guilty to State Felony” by Tom Loftus for Louisville Courier-Journal

Massachusetts: “Antiboycott Groups Pay for State Officials’ Israel Trips” by Frank Phillips for Boston Globe

South Dakota: “South Dakota Judge Puts Government Ethics Overhaul on Hold” by James Nord (Associated Press) for Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Lobbying

“Trump Victory Sets Off a Tsunami of Lobbying Activity by Companies” by Steven Mufson and Ylan Mui for The Washington Post

Florida: “PBC School Board Imposes New Rules for Lobbyists” by Andrew Marra for Palm Beach Post

Elections

“Obama Orders Intelligence Report on Russian Election Hacking” by David Sanger and Scott Shane for The New York Times

See what’s happening in government relations this week in our News You Can Use Video Digest. Enjoy!

A South Dakota judge has issued a preliminary injunction on Initiated Measure 22. Initiated Measure 22 was approved by the majority of South Dakota voters last month as an act to revise campaign finance and lobbying laws.

The injunction will give the courts and the Legislature time to consider the measure, which has been widely criticized as being poorly drafted and possibly unconstitutional. Supporters of Initiated Measure 22 are expected to ask the judge to re-instate portions of the law not challenged by the plaintiffs, such as the provisions dealing with lower caps on campaign contributions.