Amy Loprest, Executive Director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, testified last Friday before the City Council about the effects of the Citizens United decision on New York City’s campaign finance regulation.

According to their press release:

“Campaign Finance Board Executive Director Amy Loprest testified before the City Council Committee on Governmental Operations regarding the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision earlier today. The Council is considering a resolution that calls for a Constitutional amendment to reverse the decision and establish that corporations are not entitled to the same rights as natural persons.”

“Recognizing a First Amendment right where none had previously been found, Citizens United opened the floodgates to allow massive amounts of unlimited—and too often, undisclosed—independent spending by corporations, unions, and other groups,” Loprest said.

Here is a link to a pdf file of the entire testimony.

GoLocalProv.com published a snapshot of campaign fundraising in Rhode Island. They compiled a list of the candidates with the top figures in campaign funds as the state enters the race toward the 2o12 elections.

The list is topped by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and state General Treasurer Gina Raimondo. You will also  find Governor Lincoln Chaffee at the number 9 position, as well as a number of mayors, state senators, and state representatives in the list.

Read the full article at “Top 25 Richest Politicians in Rhode Island” by  Dan McGowan.

Federal:

FEC Dysfunction Not Just Politics, it’s Personal

Gingrich’s Book-Selling Efforts Test Law

From the States and Municipalities:

California

California Web Site’s Glitches Block On-line Tracking of Campaign Donations

California

Measure to Curb Union, Corporate Clout Qualifies

Georgia

Report: No evidence Deal worked to fire ethics officials

Indiana

Ex-Chief’s Indictment Is Latest Black Eye

Maryland

Bereano Settles Ethics Charges for $2,750

Maryland

Leslie Johnson Gets One-Year Sentence

Missouri

Kander Files Ethics Bill That Would Bar Lobbyist Gifts

Montana

State Wins First Round in Suit Testing Montana’s Campaign Disclosure Laws

New Mexico

New Mexico Judge’s Bribery Case Is One for the Books

New York

A Diverse Group of Watchdogs

North Carolina

Perdue Fundraiser Gets Probation, $25,000 Fine

Wisconsin

U.S. Appeals Court Strikes down Part of State Election Law

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.

A federal judge ruled in favor of the Alabama Democratic Conference in their challenge of the state prohibition on PAC-to-PAC transfers of funds.

The Alabama Democratic Conference alleged that the law prohibited their PAC from getting money from other PACs to use for voter communication and voter turnout initiatives.

California’s campaign finance online database, the Cal-Access system, has been out of service for two weeks leaving people unable to search the state’s political contribution and lobbying reports.

The Los Angeles Times reported about the situation in “Campaign database still down, prompting calls for investigation” by Patrick McGreevy.

According to the article, “State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) announced Wednesday that he is introducing legislation to double the registration fees paid by the state’s 1,000 lobbyists to finance proper maintenance of Cal-Access.”

The bill, HB1080, also includes strict limits on campaign contributions and a ban on legislators working as political consultants.

Kander believes the gifts, along with six-figure campaign donations, allow special interests to gain improper influence.

The bill would limit campaign contributions to $500 for House races, $1,000 for the Senate and $2,000 for statewide elections.

The 6 member Federal Election Commission, split equally along partisan lines, is often seen “hanging each other out to dry”.

In an article posted on Politico, Republican member of the FEC, Don McGahn states, “These public spats we have are very, very healthy. It’s a healthy ugly.” McGahn himself tore pages of regulations out of a book during a hearing, letting the scraps fall in order to prove a point to his Democratic colleagues whom he accused of disregarding their own rules.

With court decisions such as Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission, the FEC has had more trouble than ever making decisions regarding campaign finance, and leaving politicians and their benefactors unsure what regulations they have to follow.

During the upcoming election season, the members of the FEC will have to set aside their differences so that they may set concrete campaign finance guidelines for the United States.

To read more, read FEC dysfunction not just politics, it’s personal by Dave Levinthal and Robin Bravender.

The American League of Lobbyists recently posted two videos on their YouTube channel from an October event where they invited Tim Farnum and Peter Overby to speak about Citizens United and soft money in the 2012 elections. ALL President Howard Marlowe was the moderator.

According to the site, “On Friday, October 28th, 2011 the American League of Lobbyists hosted two award winning journalists, Tim Farnum of the Washington Post and Peter Overby of NPR, for a discussion about the role that ‘soft money’ will play in the 2012 elections.”

Part 1

Part 2

The Ohio House of Representatives has approved House Bill 326, a bill setting criminal penalties for using taxpayer money for political activity. While it is currently illegal in the state to use taxpayer funds for campaign finance purposes, there is no penalty associated with such an action.

The bill calls for a $1,000 penalty and up to six months in jail for violators. The measure now proceeds to the Ohio Senate.

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will hear arguments on January 9 regarding Congressional and State Legislature districts in Texas. This has put Texas campaigning and fundraising in a state of confusion.

You can find the news coverage here:

“Redistricting Orders Throw Texas Politics Into Disarray” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.

“Texas Elections Are in Limbo Over Redistricting Issue” by Manny Fernandez in the New York Times.

“Judges to offer guidance to party leaders after Supreme Court blocks maps” by Tim Eaton in the American-Statesman.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Wisconsin law that set limits on contributions to groups that independently spend on political speech and permanently enjoined enforcement of the law.

The appeal was brought by the political action committee of Wisconsin Right to Life, which previously won a temporary injunction against enforcing the law during recall elections earlier this year.

The court found that after Citizens United v. FEC, W.S. §§ 11.26(4) is unconstitutional to the extent that it limits contributions to committees engaged solely in independent spending for political speech.

Federal House and Senate resolutions meant to blunt the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision have recently been submitted to Congress.

Senate Joint Resolution 33, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, and House Joint Resolution 90, introduced by Representative Theodore E. Deutch, both expressly exclude for-profit corporations from “the rights given to natural persons” and prohibit corporation spending in all elections, including ballot issues.

Additionally, the resolutions allow the government “to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own spending, and to authorize the establishment of political committees to receive, spend, and publicly disclose the sources of those contributions and expenditures.’’

The amendment proposed reads as follows:

Section 1. The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons and do not extend to for-profit corporations, limited liability companies, or other private entities established for business purposes or to promote business interests under the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state.

Section 2. Such corporate and other private entities established under law are subject to regulation by the people through the legislative process so long as such regulations are consistent with the powers of Congress and the States and do not limit the freedom of the press.

Section 3. Such corporate and other private entities shall be prohibited from making contributions or expenditures in any election of any candidate for public office or the vote upon any ballot measure submitted to the people.

Section 4. Congress and the States shall have the power to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own spending, and to authorize the establishment of political committees to receive, spend, and publicly disclose the sources of those contributions and expenditures.

Other constitutional amendments introduced related to campaign finance can be found in our prior blog posts, including Constitutional Amendment to Control Campaign Financing and Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Citizens United.

Federal:

Gingrich, Romney Campaigns Count on Lobbyists to Pay the Bills

Occupy D.C. Protesters Shut Down K Street

Stephen Colbert Gets Love at FEC

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Alabama Ethics Law Limits What Students Can Give Teachers; Homemade Cookies OK, Hams Not Allowed

California

California Ethics Agency Relaxes Rules on Gifts to Politicians

California

Watchdog Agency Fines Former Pinole Councilman $111,500 for Ethics Violations

District of Columbia

D.C. Council Tentatively Approves Ethics Reform Bill

Georgia

Fines Levied on Georgia Politicians Reported Reduced Because of Notification Costs

Illinois

Blagojevich Hit with 14-Year Prison Sentence

Maryland

Jack Johnson, Former Prince George’s Executive, Sentenced to Seven Years in Corruption

Maryland

Rule Would Allow Campaign Donations by Text Message

Minnesota

Minnesota Ads Discussing Gay Marriage Approved For Less Financing Disclosure

Missouri

Missouri Politicians Enjoyed World Series Thanks to Lobbyists

Vermont

Vermont Court Imposes $10,000 Penalty in Campaign Finance Suit

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 Los Angeles City Council will vote today on a proposed resolution which calls on the U.S. Congress to pass a constitutional amendment declaring only living persons, not corporations, have constitutional rights and money is not the same as free speech.

The resolution, proposed in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, further declares the Citizens United decision supersedes state and local efforts to regulate corporate political activity.

If the resolution passes, Los Angeles will join other municipalities such as Missoula, Montana and Boulder, Colorado which have passed similar resolutions.

Seal of the City of Los Angeles by Mysid on Wikipedia.