Lobbying

“The Art of Going Corporate at Political Conventions” by Diane Brady in Bloomberg Business Week.

“K Street preps for Hurricane Isaac” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“Lobbyists, businesses pamper New Jersey delegates with food, parties” by Melissa Hayes in The Record.

District of Columbia: “New D.C. Campaign Finance Reform Would Ban Lobbyist Bundling” in the Blog of the Legal Times.

New York: “Lawmaker-lobby guidelines emerge” by Rick Karlin in the Albany Times Union.

Ottawa, Canada: “New lobby registry looks easy as pie” by Joanne Chianello in the Ottawa Citizen.

Campaign Finance

California:  “Unleashing the Campaign Contributions of Corporations” by Eduardo Porter in The New York Times.

Pennsylvania:  “With money to burn, Fitzpatrick won’t limit spending” by Gary Weckselblatt in The Intelligencer.

Washington: “Churches can’t be intermediary for gay-marriage law donations, watchdog says” by Rachel La Corte (Associated Press) in The Olympian.

Ethics

Illinois:  “Emanuel appointees propose more oversight on ethics” by Hal Dardick in the Chicago Tribune.

New York: “NY ethics board hires another Cuomo aide” by The Associated Press in the Utica Observer Dispatch.

New York:  “Silver’s Sexual-Harassment Payout May Get New York Ethics Review” by Freeman Klopott in Bloomberg Business Week.

New York: “New York Can’t Escape Corruption as Senator Huntley Indicted” by Freeman Klopott and David McLaughlin (Bloomberg) in the San Francisco Chronicle.

North Carolina: “Dalton rolls out ethics package, term limits” by Travis Fain in the Greensboro News and Record.

Utah: “Utah cities, counties, guv preparing for new ethics commission law” by Cathy McKitrick in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Redistricting

Arizona:  “Ariz. GOP: Redistricting commission’s existence illegal” by Howard Fischer in East Valley Tribune.

Texas: “Texas redistricting plan ruled illegal” by Gary Martin and Gary Scharrer in the San Antonio Express-News.

Social Media

“Ann Romney Was Most-Searched, Most-Tweeted Tuesday Night Speaker” by Alex Fitzpatrick in Mashable.

Mayor Vincent Gray and Attorney General Irvin Nathan have introduced a proposal for an overhaul of the city’s campaign finance laws. The proposal includes pay-to-pay provisions that will limit when contractors may contribute to public officials. It will also make electronic disclosure mandatory and increase the disclosures already in place. The proposal would also ban lobbyists from bundling political contributions.

These proposed reforms come at a time when the district has been inflicted with a rash of campaign scandals, including one involving Mayor Gray’s campaign.

The proposal will now go through a public comment period until September 17th. At that point, the proposal will be formally sent to the district council.

Photo of the John A. Wilson Building by Awiseman on Wikipedia.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) issued an advisory opinion offering limited guidance on what type of solicitations for political contributions are permissible and what type of advertisements qualify as expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate.

In Advisory Opinion 2012-27, the FEC found two of four proposed donation requests permissible. The Commission also concluded three of seven proposed advertisements did not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified federal candidate.

The remaining advertising and donation requests were not decided by the FEC because it lacked the required four affirmative votes for agreement.

Campaign Finance

Tennessee:  “TN nears record for political donations” by Paul C. Barton in The Tennessean.

“Obama Outpaces Romney in Small-Dollar Donations” by Jonathan D. Salant in Bloomberg Business Week.

“Super PACs see GOP convention in Tampa as a fundraising opportunity” by Chris Moody in Yahoo News.

“Convention Contributions Down and More Discreet” by Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

“Romney ‘absolutely’ would return to public funding in ’16” by Darren Samuelsohn in Politico.

Lobbying

California: “20 California lawmakers accepted gifts despite ‘no-gift’ signs” by The Associated Press in the Mercury News.

New York:  “Opponent hints McDonald is lobbyist” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

“The 10 Lobbying Firms That Rake In The Most Money” by Abby Rogers in Business Insider.

“Convention is not siren call for K Street firms” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Ethics

“N.Y Can’t Escape Corruption as Senator Says She’ll Be Arrested” by Freeman Klopott and David McLaughlin in Bloomberg News.

Federal:

Skinny-Dipping in Israel Casts Unwanted Spotlight on Congressional Travel

Text ‘GIVE’ to Obama: President’s campaign launches cell phone donation drive

Twitter’s Role in the Upcoming Conventions

From the States and Municipalities:

California

Higher Lobbyist Fees Approved to Fix Campaign Finance Database

California

San Bernardino County: Contribution limits approved

Florida

Campaign Vendors Say Republican Congressman David Rivera Funded Democrat’s Failed Primary Bid

Illinois

Illinois House Expels Rep. Derrick Smith over Bribery Charge

Minnesota

Donor against Marriage Amendment Will Remain Unnamed

Missouri

Akin Says He’ll Stay in Senate Race, Heightening Tension within GOP

New Hampshire

Most Campaign Money Remains Hidden in New Hampshire

New York

Gifts End in $1.7 Million Deal

North Carolina

Despite Laws, NC Legislators Still Ask Lobbyists for Money

Oregon

Oregon Political Social Scene a Thing of the Past

Pennsylvania

Report Faults Ethics Board: Small staff and lack of authority cited

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.

“Text ‘GIVE’ to Obama: President’s campaign launches cellphone donation drive” by Dan Eggen in The Washington Post.

“Super PAC Contributions Top $300 Million, Most Goes To GOP Groups” by Paul Blumenthal in the Huffington Post.

California: “L.A. campaign finance overhaul scaled back by City Council members” in the Los Angeles Times.

New Jersey: “N.J. judge: Former Newark mayor violated campaign finance laws” by Phil Gregory in Newsworks New Jersey.

You now have two new tools for identifying who is behind a political ad that you see on TV.  The Sunlight Foundation has released Ad Hawk and Glassy Media has offered Super PAC App. Both tools can listen to an ad and tell you what group is responsible for it, and Super PAC App can even point you to Politifact and FactCheck to weigh the facts surrounding the claims of the ad.

The apps are available for iPhone and Android devices.

For full news coverage, be sure to read:

“New apps can instantly identify political ads” by Brendan Sasso in The Hill.

“’Super PAC App’ knows when political ads stretch the truth” by John D. Sutter in CNN.com.

“Who’s Behind That Political Ad? This App Tells You” by Alex Fitzpatrick in Mashable.

The Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved campaign contribution limits to take effect January 1, 2013. The ordinance subjects supervisors and countywide candidates to the same limits as state legislative candidates at $3,900 per election cycle from individuals and $7,800 from small contributor committees.

Contributions or expenditures of $10,000 or more to candidates and independent expenditure committees will now be disclosed electronically. Currently, state law requires disclosure for amounts greater than $50,000 for state and independent committees, but no requirements are in place for local races.

The ordinance goes before the board again Tuesday, August 28, 2012 for adoption.

Seal of San Bernardino County, California by Jetijones on Wikipedia.

Lobbying

California:  “Bill raises fees on lobbyists to fund disclosure” by The Associated Press in the Mercury News.

North Carolina:  “Despite laws, NC legislators still ask lobbyists for money” by Laura Leslie in WRAL.com.

South Carolina:  “SC: Top-paid State House lobbyist earns $673K” by Eric K. Ward in Watchdog.org.

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “State Sen. Gould: No improper campaign spending” by Rebekah L. Sanders in the Arizona Republic.

Ethics

Kansas: “Kansas lawmakers unwittingly broke open meetings law” by Brad Cooper in the Kansas City Star.

North Dakota:  “Legislators to create code of conduct after North Dakota named ‘most corrupt state’” by Wendy Reuer in InForum.

South Carolina:  “Haley, Wilson unveiling ethics reform package” by The Associated Press in the Greenville News.

Redistricting

“2012 Pre-election Turnover is Typical for a Redistricting Year” by Karl Kurtz in NCSL’s The Thicket blog.

Montana: “Commission wraps up proposal for new Montana House districts” by Mike Dennison in the Missoulian.

California: “Bill would let voters impose greater disclosure requirements on political campaign spending” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Hawaii: “Cashing In: Hawaii’s Top Ten Campaign Donors” by Lindsey Txakeeyang in the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Louisiana: “Lee Zurik Investigation: Politicians owe the state thousands in fines” by Lee Zurik on WVUE Fox 8 News.

Nebraska: “Campaign finance donation removed from state tax return” in the Lincoln Journal Star.

“Romney’s campaign coffers have $60 million more than Obama’s” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.

“Ask Kim Barker Anything About Campaign Finance (a Reddit Chat)” by Amanda Zamora in ProPublica.

Lobbying

“Lawmakers Rack Up Hefty Bills Wining and Dining Donors” by Emily Cahn in Roll Call.

“Here’s How Wall Street Finds Out Exactly What’s Going On In Congress All The Time” by Linette Lopez in Business Insider.

Campaign Finance

“Can the super-rich buy American elections?” by Mark Colvin on ABC News.

“From Citizens United to Super PACs: A Campaign Finance Reading Guide” by Amanda Zamora in ProPublica.

“Non-profits outspending Super PACs” by Alicia Budich, Robert Hendin in CBS News’ Face the Nation.

Ethics

Pennsylvania: “Report faults ethics board: Small staff and lack of authority cited” by Melissa Daniels in the Tribune-Democrat.

Campaign Finance

“Text Message Donations Good for Democracy, Risky for Privacy” by Rachel Levinson-Waldman in Wired.

“In Win for Wireless Industry, FEC Clarifies Rules for Texting Campaign Contributions” by Jenna Greene in The Blog of Legal Times.

Louisiana: “Ethics board reviewing campaign finance rules” by The Associated Press in the Daily Comet.

Tennessee:  “TN election finance board investigates donor, PAC contributions” by The Associated Press in the Tennessean.

Lobbying

“Wall Street Lobbying Efforts Reach $4.2 Billion Since 2006, Or $1,331 A Minute, Report States” by Nick Wing in the Huffington Post.

Florida: “In session or out, lobbying remains a big business” by Bill Cotterrell in the Florida Current.

New York: “Lobby ban snags offer of free work” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

Pennsylvania:  “State spends less on federal lobbying but still leads the nation” by Melissa Daniels in the Daily Local News.

Ethics

California: “Bill to limit gifts to California lawmakers dies a quiet death” by Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee.

Georgia: “Sen. Balfour to pay $5,000 to settle ethics case” by Ray Henry (Associated Press) in the San Francisco Chronicle.

National:

Nonpartisan Groups Defend Neutrality in Harsh Climate

Tea Party Evolves, Achieves State Policy Victories

Federal:

Ethics Watchdogs Planning to Crash Convention Parties

Rentals Mean Quick Cash during Conventions

U.S. Regulators Clear Hurdle for Political Text Message Donations

From the States and Municipalities:

California

Bill to Limit Gifts to California Lawmakers Dies a Quiet Death

Colorado

Judge Rejects Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s Changes

Delaware

Delaware Governor Signs Campaign Finance Reform, Transparency Bills

Georgia

Ralston to Propose Total Lobbyist Gift Ban

Georgia

Sen. Balfour Agrees to Fine, Will Make Restitution

Minnesota

Top State Court Rules Campaign Finance Laws Apply to Schools

Ohio

Statehouse Office Served Conservative Group in Linking Ohio Legislators, Corporate Lobbyists

Pennsylvania

Pa. Voter ID Law Gets Approval of State Judge

Texas

Capitol Visitors Have New Speedy Option

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.

Governor Jack Markell signed three bills into law in an attempt to shine more light onto the state’s lobbyist and campaign finance reports.

Senate Bill 185 requires lobbyists to report any direct communication with a public official concerning a bill, resolution, or regulation pending before the general assembly or a state agency. The report will be due within five days of the first direct communication by the lobbyist. The bill also makes electronic registration and reporting mandatory for lobbyists. The new law will go into effect on January 1, 2013.

House Bill 300 requires a political committee to register within 24 hours after it receives any contribution or makes any expenditure that would cause the aggregate contributions or expenditures to exceed $500 during an election period. It will also increase disclosure and reporting requirements for campaign and third-party advertisements. These new requirements will go into effect June 30, 2013.

House Bill 310 increases the penalties and the number of people who can be penalized for late, incomplete, or missing campaign finance reports. These new penalties will go into effect immediately.