February 6, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – February 6, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Minor Senate Bill Transformed into Broad Reform Package
Records Show How Wealthy Shape Presidential Race
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Trial Delayed One Week; Crosby Friend Talks About His Death
Arizona
Arizona City Council Candidate Barred for English Deficit Vows Appeal
California
California Campaign Disclosure Bill Rejected by Assembly
California
Defense Buoys State Campaign of McKeon’s Wife
Colorado
Colorado GOP Lawmaker Bradford Says She Might Leave Party
Colorado
Gov. John Hickenlooper Signs Law Delaying Campaign Finance Reporting until May
Florida
Broward Heads to Court to Defend Code of Ethics
Kansas
Two Kansas Judges Contributed to Anti-Abortion PAC
Kentucky
Ethics Watchdog Richard Beliles Has Few Friends in Kentucky Capitol
Massachusetts
Boston Developer Arthur Winn Fined $100,000 for Making Illegal Campaign Contributions
Michigan
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson Paid $1,325 for Failing to File Campaign Finance Reports
New Jersey
Freeholders Nix ‘Pay-to-Play’ Rules
New York
Ethics Commission Quietly Names New Director
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.
February 3, 2012 •
Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting in the News
Friday News Roundup
Lobbying
“A record year for lobbying industry” by Michael Shaw in the Sacramento Business Journal.
“Lobbying Money Hits New Record” by Jenny O’Mara on KBPS.org.
Campaign finance
“Michigan Democrats are taking 1st shot at corporate funding with proposed ethics, campaign finance reform” by Rob South in Michigan Live.
Gov 2.0 and Social Media
“Consumers Turn to Social Media for Presidential Campaign Info” in yesterday’s eMarketer.
“New York City Readies for a Website Overhaul” by Sarah Rich in Government Technology.
Redistricting
Iowa – “5 Iowa legislators resign following redistricting” by The Associated Press in the Muscatine Journal.
Massachusetts – “In redistricting’s wake, Rep. Paul Adams opts to run for state Senate” by Matt Murphy in the Boston Herald.
Ohio – “Only 3 of 16 districts competitive in new map” by William Hershey in the Dayton Daily News.
Pennsylvania – “Targeted lawmakers stuck in ‘political limbo’” by Rachel Weaver in today’s Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
February 3, 2012 •
Puerto Rico Updates Campaign Finance Provisions
Puerto Rico has passed the Law for the Control of Financing of Political Campaigns in Puerto Rico. This law is a complete overhaul of all previous campaign finance regulations and includes changes to the PAC reporting requirements, campaign contribution limits, and pay-to-play restrictions.
The law created new PAC reporting requirements. PACs must file quarterly reports on the 15th day of the month following the end of a calendar quarter. From July 1st of an election year until December 31st of that year, PACs must file monthly reports by the 15th day of the month following the reporting period. From October 1st of an election year until November 30th, reports must be submitted on the 15th and 30th day of each month. A final report covering transactions after the January 1st following the election must be filed 90 days after the election.
Because 2012 is an election year in Puerto Rico, the law makes provisions regarding contribution limits. A contribution of up to $2,500 may be given by a PAC to a candidate between January 1, 2012 and March 18, 2012. An additional contribution of up to $2,500 may be given to each candidate between March 19, 2012 and November 6, 2012. PACs may not give more than $12,500 in the aggregate per election in 2012.
Puerto Rico has also joined the growing list of jurisdictions with pay-to-play laws. Puerto Rico prohibits contributions while a corporation is in the process of obtaining a permit, franchise, or government contract. Once the process of obtaining the permit, franchise, or government contract is completed, a corporation may make a contribution from their PAC. At the municipal level, contributions to local candidates are prohibited if the corporation is seeking a permit, franchise, or contract with the local jurisdiction.
January 31, 2012 •
First Law of 2012 Legislative Session Alters Colorado Campaign Finance Reporting Schedule
Governor’s Signature Settles Biweekly Reporting Dispute Between Secretary of State and Legislature
Governor John Hickenlooper signed the first bill to come out of the 2012 legislative session on Monday, January 30, 2012. The bill, Senate Bill 12-014, moves the date for candidates, committees, and political parties to begin filing biweekly campaign finance disclosure reports from the first Monday in July prior to the primary election to the first Monday in May prior to the primary election. This settles an ongoing dispute between lawmakers and Secretary of State Scott Gessler over filing biweekly reports prior to the state’s June 26, 2012 primary.
Lawmakers neglected to alter the beginning of biweekly reporting dates during the 2011 session when they chose to move the state’s primary date from August to June. In reaction to this, Gessler issued a rule declaring biweekly reporting would not begin until after the primary election so as to avoid requiring biweekly reporting for the 2012 election to begin in July, 2011.
After facing backlash from critics claiming he was trying to reduce transparency and following a vote by a legislative committee not to include the rule in the package of approved rules, Gessler issued a new rule declaring biweekly reports would begin for the June 2012 primary election on January 30, 2012, but future primary elections would require biweekly reporting to begin in July of the off-election year and continue until the last Monday of the biweekly schedule prior to the primary.
Unhappy with this decision by Gessler, lawmakers were able to pass SB 12-014 in time to avoid beginning biweekly reporting on Monday. The first biweekly report will now be due May 7, 2012.
January 30, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – January 30, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Study Finds Compliance Officers Are Highly Stressed
Federal:
Ex-Gingrich Adviser Now Trying to Close Lobbying Loopholes
Gabrielle Giffords Bids an Emotional Farewell to Congress
From the States and Municipalities:
California
Campaign Donation Limits Lifted
Georgia
Ethics Bill Gets Cool Reception in Georgia House
Hawaii
Think Hawaii’s Tough on Ethics? Try Iowa
Massachusetts
Scott Brown, Elizabeth Warren Pledge to Curb Outside Campaign Spending
New Mexico
Protesters Scuffle with [Lawmakers]
Ohio
Cleveland Television Station Covering High-Profile Ohio Bribery Trial with On-Air Puppet Help
Ohio
Lobbyists Sponsor Party for Kasich
Oklahoma
Ethics Proposal Would Allow Lobbyists to Skirt Spending Limit, Buy Meals for Oklahoma Lawmakers
Pennsylvania
Limits Raised on Philly Campaign Contributions
Utah
Gym Fees? Utah Politicians Find Loophole in Ethics Law
Washington
Appeals Court: Top 2 Primary OK, but not recall contribution limits
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.
January 27, 2012 •
Highlighted Site of the Week – The FEC’s 2012 Campaign Finance Maps
“Campaign finance information is now available via easy to use maps of the USA for both Presidential and House and Senate elections through the most recent reporting period.”
Our Highlighted Site of the Week is the Federal Election Commission’s 2012 Campaign Finance Maps page. You can play with interactive maps of the states for information about the 2012 Presidential Candidates, or the House and Senate elections.
With just a mouse-over you can view the amount of contributions by state, and with just a bit more work you can search the amount received by each candidate, and the amount given by a donor’s name.
For the presidential races, you can drill down in each state for data down to the zip code level. For the candidates in the congressional elections, you can view the campaign finance information by the congressional district of each state.
January 26, 2012 •
Thursday News Roundup
Lobbying after the State of the Union Address, more news about Super PACs, and lobbying spending was down in 2011:
“Days After SOTU Are Full of Lobbyist Feedback” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“Super PACs’ money could tip balance of power in Congress” by Martina Stewart in CNN Politics.
“Lobbying dips sharply in 2011” by Dan Eggen in the Washington Post.
“Lobbying spending falls for first time since 1999” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
January 25, 2012 •
Today’s News Snapshot: SOTU, Gingrich, Super PACs, and more
The day after the State of the Union Address brings a flurry of activity in campaign finance and lobbying news.
Campaign Finance
“Obama says Congress should stop campaign bundling by lobbyists” by Kevin Bogardus on The Hill.
“Super PACs set sights on 2012 congressional races” by Fredreka Schouten in USAToday.
“Super PACs drive a near-doubling in federal election spending” by Jim Galloway in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Wis. governor fights recall with out-of-state cash” by The Associated Press on CBS Money Watch.
Lobbying
“Gingrich says $1.65M contract wasn’t for lobbying” by The Associated Press.
“Ex-Gingrich Adviser Now Trying to Close Lobbying Loopholes” by Eliza Newlin Carney and Kate Ackley on Roll Call.
“Ethics bill gets cool reception in Ga. House” by Chris Joyner and Christopher Quinn in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Clerk reports on lobbyist activity in Cook County” by The Associated Press in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
January 23, 2012 •
Philadelphia Adjusts Contribution Limits
Increases Made to Reflect Changes in C.P.I.
The board of ethics has released new campaign contribution limits adjusted for changes in the cost of living.
The new limits for individual contributions have been raised from $2,600 to $2,900 and for political committees or businesses from $10,600 to $11,500.
When the campaign finance law was passed in 2008, a provision was included to increase the maximum contribution every four years based upon the board’s review of the consumer price index.
Photo of Philadelphia by Parent5446 on Wikipedia.
January 23, 2012 •
Oklahoma Ethics Commission to Amend Campaign Finance Rules
PAC and Super PAC Disclosure to be Increased
The Oklahoma State Ethics Commission has approved a series of changes to the campaign finance rules. The changes are intended to provide more disclosure from PACs and super PACs.
The new rules impose additional registration and reporting requirements on PACs that make any independent expenditure or electioneering communications in state level races. The changes require disclosure of the amount, date, a brief description or statement of each expenditure, the name of the candidate and office supported or opposed, and whether the expenditure is made to support or oppose the candidate.
The approved rule changes will now go before the state legislature which has until the end of the session to disapprove. If the legislature does not disapprove, the rule changes will go into effect January 1, 2013.
January 23, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – January 23, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Big Spending on Presidential Candidates Can Have Little Effect
Google Protest of Anti-Piracy Bills Upends Traditional Lobbying
New Super PAC Breed Pushed by Group
From the States and Municipalities:
California
Business Interests Add to Speaker’s Rubber Duck Flock
Connecticut
SEEC Postpones Action on Giuliano Appointment
District of Columbia
Ballot Initiative Would Ban Corporate Donations in D.C. Political Campaigns
Indiana
Indiana Proposal Would Ban Anthem Embellishments
Maryland
City Council President Says He’ll Pay Back Ray Lewis for Tickets to Private Skybox
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Niche Political Groups Aim for Clout
Montana
Commission Office Often the Center of Controversy
Ohio
Lawmakers Can’t Be in Lobbyists’ Ads, Panel Says
Oklahoma
No Action Taken on Oklahoma’s Campaign Disclosure Laws
Wisconsin
Governor Who Took On Unions May Face a Closely Watched Recall Election
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.
January 20, 2012 •
Bill Aims to Identify Robocall Sponsors in Michigan
Senate Bill 896
Michigan Senator Tonya Schuitmaker has introduced Senate Bill 896, which would require robocalls in the state to clearly identify their sponsor. The bill will also says if a robocall is not endorsed by a candidate, the automated phone message must state it.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports about the legislation in “State Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker introduces bill to force identification on campaign robo-calls” by Julie Mack.
January 20, 2012 •
Campaign Finance and Lobbying News
From Politico and Roll Call: The Occupy movement targets the Supreme Court in honor of the second anniversary of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, intense lobbying for a mention in the State of the Union Address, and K Street warms up to Romney with Perry’s departure.
“’Occupy Courts’ to hit Citizens United” by MJ Lee on Politico.
“Lobbying for just a nod, a mention” by Abby Phillip on Politico.
“Perry’s K Street Allies Jump to Romney, Not Gingrich” by Eliza Newlin Carney and Kate Ackley on Roll Call.
January 19, 2012 •
SuperPAC Spending and Disclosure in the News
Here is a chart revealing television ad spending in South Carolina by candidates versus spending by super Pacs, legislation in Arizona that would require disclosure of corporate spending on campaigns, and a run-down of super PAC disclosure in California:
“Candidate and Super Pac Spending” by Khang Nguyen in the Los Angeles Times.
“Bill would require disclosure of campaign spending” by Alia Beard Rau in the Arizona Republic.
“California could be model for ‘super PAC’ disclosure” by Josh Richman in the San Jose Mercury News.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
