Federal:

Are Hashtags a Political #Wasteoftime?

Pro-Obama Group Reverses Stance on Corporate Cash

From the States and Municipalities:

California – LA Mayor’s Race Heads to Runoff between Democratic Rivals Who Share Much Common Ground

California – Oakland City Council Approves Campaign Sunlight Ordinance

Colorado – Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge to Colorado Campaign Finance Law

Florida – Florida Legislators Work to Regain Voter Trust

Massachusetts – Cahill to Pay $100,000 to Settle Case

New Mexico – House Approves Bill for State Ethics Commission

Tennessee – Rep. Curry Todd Lived Rent-Free in Lobbyist’s Home

Texas – Watchdogs: Ethics loopholes obscure lobby perks

Vermont – New Twist on Campaign Finance Debate

Wyoming – Wyoming Legislative Leaders Decry Lobbying Tactics

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 80 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

News You Can Use is a news service provided at no charge only to clients of our online Executive Source Guides, or ALERTS™ consulting clients.

Lobbying

“K St. ready for cybersercurity cash grab” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Under Contract” in The Hill.

Illinois: “Lobbying push at Capitol as gun issue looms” by Rafael Guerrero in the Chicago Tribune.

Pennsylvania: “Gov. Tom Corbett may be open to a gift ban, spokeswoman suggests” by Jan Murphy in the Patriot-News.

Texas: “Watchdogs: Ethics Loopholes Obscure Lobby Perks” by Jay Root in the Texas Tribune.

Campaign Finance

Colorado: “David Sirota Moderates Discussion On Campaign Finance Reform, Democracy In Colorado” by Matt Ferner in the Huffington Post.

Ethics

California: “STATE LEGISLATURE: Area lawmakers given gifts, trips in 2012” by Jim Miller in the Press-Enterprise.

Florida: “Florida House bridles at Senate’s proposed ethics reforms” by Dara Kam in the Palm Beach Post.

Florida: “Matt Reed: Something to cheer, for a change, as Legislature opens” by Matt Reed in Florida Today.

Hawaii: “Hawaii Legislators Exempt Themselves from State Ethics Code” by Barbara Polk in the Hawaii Reporter.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: Both Sides Rev Up for Wage War” by Elizabeth Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“K Street’s gravy train runs dry as Georgian leaders move past election” by Kevin Bogardus and Julian Pecquet in The Hill.

“Former Sen. Jon Kyl joins lobby shop at Covington” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.

New York: “Best-paid lobbyists, spenders unveiled” by Chris Bragg in Crain’s New York.

Pennsylvania: “Pa.’s Corbett and wife disclose gifts from lobbyists and businesses” by The Associated Press in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pennsylvania: “Corbett’s acceptance of gifts give rise to calls for laws on gift bans” by Jan Murphy in the Patriot-News.

Campaign Finance

“Study shows Super PACs made mockery of campaign law” by Taylor Lincoln in The Hill.

Arizona: “Arizona senate approves contribution limits to recall campaigns” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Kentucky: “Ky. House passes bill to publicly finance state SC races” by Jessica M. Karmasek in Legal Newsline.

Ethics

Florida: “Florida lawmakers vote for ethics and early voting changes” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Tampa Bay Times.

Legislative Issues

Missouri: “Mo. House endorses change to term limits” by The Associated Press in the News Tribune.

South Dakota: “SD Senate approves boost in expenses for lawmakers” in the Rapid City Journal.

Open Government

“Sen. Del Marsh says GOP committee members did not violate Open Meetings Act” by Mike Cason in the Birmingham News.

Redistricting

Kentucky: “House redistricting plan would create new Lexington district” by Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists predict rebound in 2013” by Kevin Bogardus and Ben Goad in The Hill.

Minnesota: “Minnesota lobbyists spent $65.2M in 2011, report says” by Bill Salisbury in the Pioneer Press.

Campaign Finance

California: “New Campaign Finance Tracker Helps You Follow the Money in L.A. Elections” on Community Television of Southern California.

Texas: “Bill Would Double Campaign Finance Disclosures” by Ryan Murphy in the Texas Tribune.

Ethics

“Ethics commission agrees to seek outside investigator in Gessler case” by Tim Hoover in the Denver Post.

Florida: “Will lawmakers pass campaign reform or just face-lift?” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida: “Ethics legislation could be passed on opening day” by The Associated Press in the Miami Herald.

Social Media

“Are hashtags a political #wasteoftime?” by Steve Friess in Politico.

Lobbying

“Home Sweet K Street” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Campaign Finance

“Political campaign finance reform advocates to hold ‘K Street 5K’ in DC, Apr 13” by Karen Ruben in The Examiner.

Arizona: “Arizona House legislation would allow for campaign finance changes” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Georgia: “Florida’s ethics reforms offer glimpse of Georgia’s future” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

New York: “NYC public advocate: State, local governments must lead efforts to regulate dark money” by Michael Beckel in the Center for Public Integrity.

Vermont: “New twist on campaign finance debate” by Peter Hirschfeld in the Times Argus.

West Virginia: “Senate President supports public campaign finance bill” on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Ethics

“Suit Over How Larry Craig Paid Legal Bills Heads To Court” by Jessica Robinson in Boise State Public Radio.

Florida: “Bill would strengthen Florida Commission on Ethics enforcement” by Jeff Marcu in First Coast News.

Tennessee: “Rep. Curry Todd lived rent-free in lobbyist’s home” by Nate Rau in The Tennessean.

Utah: “Senate panel advances bill for executive branch ethics commission” by Dennis Romboy in the Deseret News.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in the State and Federal Communications digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of the State and Federal Communications’ website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly e-mail updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regards to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Federal:

Conservative Justices Voice Skepticism on Voting Law

Lobbyists Fear Shakedown If Supreme Court Lifts Campaign Contributions Cap

From the States and Municipalities:

California – California Campaign Finance Reporting Ripe for Abuse

Florida – In David Rivera Investigation, Suspected Ringer Charged in Federal Court in $81,486Scheme

Florida – Universal Rolls out Red Carpet for GOP Lawmakers, Lobbyists, State-Party Donors

Georgia – Lobbyist Spending Down 1 Month after New Georgia Rule

Georgia – State House Backs Banning Some Lobbyist Spending

Illinois – Michael Bloomberg’s Super PAC Declares Victory in Illinois Special Election

New York – NY Comptroller Drops Suit as Qualcomm Agrees to Disclose More about Political Spending

Ohio – Ohio Campaign Contribution Limits Continue to Rise

West Virginia – Gainer, State Agency Officials Appear in Online Visa ‘P-card’ Marketing Campaign; State Ethics Act Limits Such Endorsements

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 80 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

News You Can Use is a news service provided at no charge only to clients of our online Executive Source Guides, or ALERTS™ consulting clients.

Lobbying

“GOP’s Gomez pushing term limits, lobbying ban” by The Associated Press in the Boston Globe.

“Barry Jackson’s next move” by Anna Palmer in Politico.

“K Street Files: Hey, Is That Jack Abramoff Dressed as a $100 Bill?” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Campaign Finance

Hawaii: “Bill to Boost Disclosure of Campaign Spending Advances” by Nathan Eagle in the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Kansas: “House closer to passing campaign reform bill” by Tim Carpenter in the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Maine: “LePage budget would gut clean election fund for 2014 campaign” by Christopher Cousins in the Bangor Daily News.

Nevada: “Bill would force ex-candidates to dispose of unspent campaign funds” by Sean Whaley in the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Lobbying

“Web Entrepreneur Tries to Bridge K Street and Grass-Roots Advocacy” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“K Street Files: Manufacturers, Citing Job Losses, Oppose Carbon Tax” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

“Lincoln actor joins museum leaders lobbying in DC” by The Associated Press in the Peoria Journal Star.

Campaign Finance

“Pay to play?” by Allison MacDonald on MSNBC.

Arizona: “Clean Elections consolidation bill advances” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Sun.

Montana: “Montana Senate endorses limit on corporate campaign spending” by The Associated Press in the Missoulian.

Ethics

“Feinstein asks court for campaign treasurer’s records” by John Myers in KXTV News 10.

Open Government

Minnesota: “Social media tests Minn. open meeting law” by Brian Bakst in Minnesota Public Radio.

South Carolina: “S.C. legislators wouldn’t be able to keep communication secret under altered House bill” by Stephen Largen in the Post and Courier.

Redistricting

North Carolina: “Attorneys wrap up arguments in NC redistricting” by Gary D. Robertson in the Winston-Salem Journal.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists fear shakedown if Supreme Court lifts campaign contributions cap” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Ohio: “Top of the List: Biggest lobbying spenders” by Evan Weese in Business First Columbus.

Campaign Finance

“Money in politics?” by The Associated Press in the News Tribune.

Montana: “Montana House backs increasing contributions to political candidates” by Charles S. Johnson in the Missoulian.

Ethics

“State spends $34,000 so far defending Gessler in ethics probe” by Patrick Malone in The Coloradoan.

Open Government

“Sunlight on States” by Pam Greenberg on NCSL’s The Thicket.

Nebraska: “Bill to provide reasonable access to public records advances” by JoAnne Young in the Lincoln Journal Star.

New Mexico: “Transparency bills make progress in Legislature” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

South Dakota: “Legislature: Senate panel restores ‘crippled’ open-meetings bill” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.

Ohio has increased its campaign contribution limits. Individuals, political action committees (PACs), and political contributing entities (PCEs) may now contribute up to $12,155.52 to any one statewide, senate, or house campaign committee during a primary or general election period, or to a PAC or PCE during a calendar year. An individual may contribute this same amount to the state candidate fund of a county political party in the individual’s county of residence. The previous limit was $11,543.70.

Additionally, the limit individuals, PACs, and PCEs may contribute per calendar year to any one state candidate fund of a state political party increased to $36,466.56 from $34,631.11, and to any one legislative campaign fund, $18,233.28, up from $17,315.55.

These limits are effective beginning February 25, 2013 until February 24, 2015.

Today the United States Supreme Court decided not to grant a review of the case of United States v. Danielczyk.

Danielczyk is a criminal case in which one of the defense arguments was the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 prohibiting direct corporate contributions to federal candidates was unconstitutional.

The U.S. District Court Judge presiding over the case had agreed with the defense and, based on Citizens United v. FEC, found corporations have an equal right to make political contributions under federal law as do human beings. The judge’s decision was reversed on appeal. The reversal on this issue of law now stands.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed a campaign finance bill aimed at decreasing campaign finance disclosure, even though City Council overwhelmingly passed the bill by a 47-1 margin in January. The bill would have allowed labor or other membership organizations, as well as corporations, to send communications to its members, executive and administrative personnel, and stockholders without having to disclose that information to the Campaign Finance Board.

Bloomberg was noncommittal at the time about whether he would veto the bill, even though he was adamantly opposed to its passage. However, now with his decision to veto it, the ball will bounce back into the City Council’s court.

The council has 30 days to override the veto, with a two-thirds majority required, or allow the bill to die. The council had enough votes to override the veto originally, but there has been no word on whether every council member will stick with his or her original vote.

Photo of Mayor Michael Bloomberg by Rubenstein on Wikipedia.

Campaign Finance

“Justices reject campaign finance appeal over corporate contributions” by Bill Mears on CNN.

California: “California campaign-finance reporting ripe for abuse” by Steve Harmon in the San Jose Mercury News.

New York: “Tax loopholes cited in push for NY campaign reform” by The Associated Press in the Albany Times Union.

Lobbying

“Rules of the Game: Sequester Spells Bitter K Street Failure” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

Michigan: “Lobby spending increases in Michigan” by The Associated Press in Upper Michigan Source.

Rhode Island: “Former R.I. House speaker joins Twin River lobbying team” by Katherine Gregg in the Providence Journal.

Ethics

Georgia: “Week Ahead: Ga. lawmakers take up ethics, juvenile justice” by Walter C. Jones in the Augusta Chronicle.

Washington: “State Senate Democrats’ campaign chief accused of financial misconduct” by The Associated Press in the News Tribune.