Lobbying

“K Street Files: On a Mission, Lobbying Power to the People” by Janie Lorber and Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Lobbying is stepped up on ‘fiscal cliff’ talks” by Maria Recio and David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee.

“Influence game: Election over, campaign continues” by Stephen Ohlemacher (Associated Press) in the Abilene Reporter News.

“With second term assured, Obama aides eye jobs as lobbyists on K Street” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Florida:  “House Speaker Dean Cannon jumps from legislating to lobbying” by Jason Garcia in the Orlando Sentinel.

Missouri: “Freebies from lobbyists becoming harder to track in Missouri” by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Campaign Finance

“Bevy of Fixes Might Complicate Efforts To Reshape Campaign Finance System” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“States crack down on campaigning nonprofits” by Matea Gold and Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times.

“Democratic super PACs get jump on 2014, 2016” by Kenneth P. Vogel in Politico.

California:  “2 lawmakers accused of money laundering” by Lance Williams in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ethics

“Ex-state official loses job in ethics flap” by Laura A. Bischoff and Meagan Pant in the Dayton Daily News.

Wisconsin:  “Campaign, county work intertwined under Walker, prosecutor says” by Steve Schultze and Daniel Bice in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

National:

States Challenge ‘Secret’ Campaign Money

Unions Flexed Muscles in State Campaigns

Federal:

David Petraeus Affair Scandal Tests Washington Code

Forget Creativity: Can lobbying be taught?

From the States and Municipalities:

California

Go Lorrie’s Executives Plead Guilty to Money Laundering in 2011 Mayor’s Race

Florida

Homestead Mayor’s Wife Bought Developer’s Mercedes

Georgia

Governor Denied in Bid to Recover Legal Fees from Watchdog

Illinois

15 Members of Joe Berrios’ Family on County, State Payrolls

Ohio

Fix Redistricting? Sure, But How?

Rhode Island

RI Ethics Board to Require Officials to Disclose Out-of-State Travel Expenses Paid by Others

Rhode Island

Struggling RI City’s Ex-Mayor Pleads Guilty to Federal Corruption Charge over Gifts

Washington

Tea Partiers Fight Disclosure Law in the Ninth

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

“Targeting the ‘Lobbyist’ Next Door” by Jeanette M. Petersen in The Wall Street Journal.

“K Street Files: The British Are Coming to Venn” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Campaign Finance

“Watchdog group files FEC complaint against Crossroads GPS” by T.W. Farnam in The Washington Post.

“Technology Leaders Endorse Effort to Overhaul Campaign Finance” by Thomas Kaplan in The New York Times.

“California’s political watchdog agency will probe $11 million political donation” by Steven Harmon in the Mercury News.

Michigan: “Campaign finance software updates designed to make filing easier; Candidate committees to experience simpler data entry” in Equities.com.

New York: “NYC Campaign Finance Board Throws The Book At Ex-Brooklyn Councilman Kendall Stewart” by Celeste Katz in New York Daily News.

Ethics

New York: “Annapolis to rewrite ethics rules for elected officials” by Erin Cox in the Baltimore Sun.

“Longtime Oklahoma Ethics Commission workers are honored” by Michael McNutt in the Oklahoman.

National:

If Your Side Lost The Election, Time to Secede from The Union?

Super-Sized Majorities Shift Legislative Power

Federal:

Campaign Finance Reformers Get Back to Work after Record Election Spending

Is Part of Voting Rights Act Outdated, Unfair? High Court to Decide

From the States and Municipalities:

Arizona

Tougher Campaign Finance Disclosure Laws Sought

California

After Election, State Lawmakers and Interest Groups Travel in Tandem

Georgia

Georgia Lawmakers Get Luxury-Box Tickets to Dome

Maryland

Ethics Oversight Board Hasn’t Met in Years

Ohio

Ohio Elections Panel Again Clears Gerald McFaul in Controversial Campaign Finance Case

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ethics Commission Narrows Field of Applicants

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.

The New York State Board of Elections has approved and adopted rules concerning independent expenditures, but many feel the rules won’t do a thing to slow down the campaign money train. According to the rules, people making independent expenditures will have to register and report as if they were a political committee.

Independent expenditures are defined by the state as expenditures that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate that the candidate did not authorize in any way. Expressly advocated is defined as containing express words calling for the election or defeat of a candidate. Therefore, committees can run advertisements that avoid using certain words and can escape registration and reporting requirements.

Bill Mahoney, a research coordinator for a New York good government group said the new rules “will make it even easier for independent expenditure committees, Super PACs, to hide who’s paying for them, and because of that it will lead to language that is much more harsh than what we’ve heard before.”

Campaign Finance

“Campaign Finance Reformers Get Back To Work After Record Election Spending” by Paul Blumenthal in the Huffington Post.

“Abramoff, Occupy Wall Street join forces on campaign finance reform” by Megan M. Wilson in The Hill.

“U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown calls for campaign finance reform” by Stephanie Warsmith in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists Woo New Lawmakers in D.C. Mating Dance” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Incoming freshman lawmakers already have bundlers on K St.” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Tax fight sneaks up on K Street” by Bernie Becker and Peter Schroeder in The Hill.

“Rove Super PAC will try lobbying” by Rachel Weiner in The Washington Post.

Florida:  “Cretul, Cannon are lobbyists; former speakers start new firm” by Bill Thompson in the Gainesville Sun.

Ethics

“Secretary of state accused of moving too slow on PAC ethics complaint” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

“Montreal Hackathon Aims to Combat Government Corruption” by Elisabeth Fraser in TechPresident.

Redistricting

“Ohio State Bar Association urges commission to take up redistricting reform” by Kate Irby in the Plain Dealer.

Campaign Finance

“Result Won’t Limit Campaign Money Any More Than Ruling Did” by Nicholas Confessore in The New York Times.

“It’s hard to follow the money” by Ruth Marcus in the Columbia Daily Tribune.

“Campaign finance reform on Klobuchar’s to-do list” by John Croman in KARE11 News.

“Super-PACs already planning for 2014” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“Colbert shuts down super PAC” by Kevin Robillard in Politico.

California: “Secret donation hindered campaigns, GOP advisors say” by Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times.

Illinois:  “Illinois congressional races belie fears that outside, anonymous money can buy elections” by John O’Connor in The Republic.

Kentucky:  “Three Kentucky Agencies Probe Requests for Political Contributions” by The Associated Press in WKU Public Radio.

Montana: “Montana Voters Overwhelmingly Said That Corporations Aren’t People” by Erin Fuchs in Business Insider.

Oklahoma: “Oklahoma political action committee fails to file campaign financial reports” by Michael McNutt in the Oklahoman.

Texas: “County moving toward digitizing campaign finance reports” by Nolan Hicks in the San Antonio Express-News.

Lobbying

“Super PACs Make Move to Lobbying” by Elizan Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Street Talk: Plum K St. Jobs Scarce in Post-Election Market” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Good news for lobbyists: Cyber dollars” by James Ball in The Washington Post.

“Majority of K Street Lobbyists’ Former Capitol Hill Staff” by David K. Rehr in the Huffington Post.

California: “Tim Howe, longtime political consultant and lobbyist, dies” by Robert D. Davila in the Sacramento Bee.

Ethics

District of Columbia: “Former DC Council chairman to be sentenced for bank fraud, campaign finance violation” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.

Illinois: “Blago gets ‘booked’” by Mackenzie Weinger in Politico.

Maryland:  “Annapolis To Revise City Ethics Code” by Anna Staver in the Annapolis Patch.

Campaigns and Elections

“Obama’s Victory Is a Win for Big Data” by Steve Towns in Government Technology.

Federal:

Spending by Independent Groups Had Little Election Impact, Analysis Finds

From the States and Municipalities:

Arkansas

State Senator’s Campaign Money Went to Girlfriend, Records Show

California

California’s $11 Million Campaign Donation Source Tied to Koch Brothers, Research Reveals

California

Labor Defeats Anti-Union Initiative in California

Colorado

Denver DA Launches Criminal Probe of Secretary of State Scott Gessler

Georgia

50 State Lawmakers Back Ethics Pledge

Illinois

Indicted Former Lawmaker [Wins] State House race

Massachusetts

Trial Starts; Jury to Decide if Cahill Broke Ethics Law during Campaign

Montana

Secretive Conservative Group’s Records Released

Ohio

Issues 1, 2 Overwhelmingly Defeated

Texas

HISD Trustee Got Cut of Contracts Awarded to Associate, Records Show

Washington

Ethics Fines May Follow Gifts of Liquor to City Light Trainer

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.

Voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 65, a ballot measure that instructs the Colorado congressional delegation to propose, and the state legislature to ratify, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United.

While the results are heralded by watchdog groups like Colorado Common Cause as a clear sign that Colorado voters want action on the issue of corporate political spending, the measure has no legal significance as it cannot force the state’s congressional delegation or legislature to take any action.

Voters defeated Proposition 32 and the effort to prohibit corporations and unions from collecting money for state political activities through paycheck deductions. The initiative would have impacted unions the most since corporations rarely deduct money from employee pay for political activities.

If Proposition 32 had passed, unions and corporations would have been prohibited from making donations directly to state candidates. It would not have stopped corporations, individuals, or unions from spending unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns through independent expenditure committees.

Initiative 166 passed yesterday, charging Montana’s officials to implement a policy that corporations are not human beings with constitutional rights.

The initiative is a reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Additionally, Montana’s congressional delegation is now charged with offering an amendment to the United States constitution which would overturn the Citizens United decision, establish that corporations are not human beings with constitutional rights, establish that campaign contributions and expenditures by corporations be prohibited at any level of government, and achieve “a level playing field in election spending.”

The initiative also directs the state’s elected and appointed officials to regard “money as property, not speech.”

Campaign Finance

“Outside Spending Defines Elections” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

California: “California’s 11th-hour, $11 million campaign finance uproar” by Alexander Burns in Politico.

California: “California watchdog only half-way to bottom of Arizona donation” by Peter Henderson (Reuters) in the Chicago Tribune.

Maine:  “Ethics Commission Rules a Republican Candidate Violated State Election Law” by The Associated Press in WABI News.

Lobbying

“2 firms unite in Capitol lobbying” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

Ethics

“Campaigns use secretive ethics process as weapon against opponents” by Jordy Yager in The Hill.

Campaigns and Elections

“One Final Preview of the Election” by Meagan Dorsch in NCSL’s The Thicket.

“5 Unforgettable Social Media Election Moments” by Juliet Barbara in Forbes.

“How to cut through social media noise on Election Night” by Jenna Sakwa on CBS News.

Lobbying

“Start-ups aim for a more democratic lobbying system” by Jeffrey MacMillan in the Washington Post.

“More banks raise efforts on lobbying” by Carter Dougherty (Bloomberg) in NorthJersey.com.

Campaign Finance

“Former lawmakers sit on piles of cash” by Molly K. Hooper in The Hill.

Arizona: “Updated: Arizona group ordered to turn over campaign donation records” by The Associated Press in the East Valley Tribune.

Arkansas: “State senator’s campaign money went to girlfriend, records show” by John Lyon in the Arkansas News.

California: “Fight over campaign donation audit goes to California top court” by Tim Gaynor in Reuters.

Michigan: “Campaign spending in Michigan hits $175M” by Chad Livengood in the Detroit News.

Nevada: “Dollars in the Desert: Nevada State Senate Contest Rakes in Big Money” by Ben Wieder in Stateline.

Oklahoma:  “Super PACs altering Oklahoma’s political landscape” by Randy Krehbiel and Curtis Killman in the Tulsa World.

Washington: “Big names and big money define Washington state election” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.

Ethics

“2 top Texas judges on ballot fighting ethics fines” by Jim Vertuno in the Austin American-Statesman.

Campaigns and Elections

“New Jersey to allow voting by e-mail and fax” by Ginger Gibson in Politico.

“In Legislative Elections, Majorities and Supermajorities at Stake” by Josh Goodman in Stateline.

Republican Assemblyman Jim Tedisco is ready to play hard ball with campaign finance violators. Tedisco and two other lawmakers are hoping to introduce a “three strikes and you’re out” type of a bill for people who fail to file campaign financing reports with the state.

The possible legislation would send those who fail to file reports on three separate occasions to prison. This comes in the wake of serious scandals sweeping the state, including former state Senator Pedro Espada who was convicted of tax fraud and is awaiting sentencing. Espada owes around $30,000 in fines to the state, which the state is highly unlikely to ever see.

Tedisco says New York needs laws on the books that have teeth, so politicians are not willing to circumvent the rules. It does not seem likely for a bill of this nature to pass both houses of the general assembly, especially when the sponsor of the bill is coming from the minority party. However, Governor Andrew Cuomo is making a big push for campaign finance reforms, so an increase in penalties and enforcement is not impossible.

As Tedisco said, “Sunshine is truly the greatest disinfectant. That’s why we need to strengthen the laws to allow for full disclosure and transparency.”

Photo of Jim Tedisco courtesy of UpstateNYer on Wikipedia.