May 30, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Here are some great articles for today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
Washington: “Olympia lobbyists pamper lawmakers with free meals” by Mike Baker (Associated Press) in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Campaign Finance
“How The IRS Scandal Could Help Drain The Dark Money Out Of Politics” by Steve Almond in Cognoscenti in WBUR/NPR News.
“John Thune Doesn’t Like Super PACs” by Meredith Shiner in Roll Call.
Florida: “Critics fret over doubling of campaign-cash cap” by David Damron in Orlando Sentinel.
New York: “Hundreds rally for stalled public campaign finance bill” by Karen DeWitt in North Country Public Radio.
Ethics
Iowa: “Trial date set in Iowa court case against Michele Bachmann” by Jeff Ekhoff in the Des Moines Register.
Nevada: “Harvey Whittemore, former Nevada powerbroker, guilty in contribution case” by The Associated Press in Politico.
From the States
“Popular Governors, and Prospects for 2016” by Micah Cohen in The New York Times.
Texas: “Senate holds first hearing on redistricting” by Chris Tomlinson in the Houston Chronicle.
Open Government
Pennsylvania: “PAC records request angers more than 1,000 state employees” by The Associated Press in the Patriot News.
May 29, 2013 •
Wednesday Government Relations News
Here is our roundup of the latest articles on lobbying, campaign finance, ethics, and more!
Lobbying
“Lobbying World” in The Hill.
Nebraska: “Special interests spent $13 million last year to influence state government” by Kevin O’Hanlon in the Lincoln Journal Star.
Campaign Finance
New Jersey: “State campaign finance agency lifts political contribution caps for independent groups” by Matt Friedman in the Star-Ledger.
Ethics
Alabama: “State officials disagree over alleged threats, conflict of interest” by Sebastian Kitchen in the Montgomery Advertiser.
Texas: “Texas passes ethics bill, but many proposed reforms are left on the cutting room floor” by Nicholas Kusnetz in The Center for Public Integrity.
Texas: “Texas Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Have Expanded Political Reporting” by Kurt Hyde in the New American.
Texas: “Searchable database of CY 2012 Texas officials’ financial statements” by David Rauf in the Houston Chronicle.
From the State Legislatures
Nevada: “Amended annual sessions bill clears Nevada Assembly panel” by Sean Whaley in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Texas: “House begins work on redistricting” by Tim Eaton and Jonathan Tilove in the Austin American-Statesman.
Government Tech and Social Media
California: “Top 5 California Agencies Advancing Transparency on Twitter” by Jane Susskind in The Independent Voter Network.
May 28, 2013 •
Tuesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Keep up with the latest government relations news with these articles:
Lobbying
“How Does Lobbying Buy Votes” by Karl Smith in Forbes.
Nebraska: “Is $27 million enough to buy influence in Nebraska?” by Paul Hammel in the Omaha World Herald.
Campaign Finance
“Campaign Finance Reform by a ‘Stroke-of-the-Pen’” by Paul Abrams in the Huffington Post.
Connecticut: “Despite corruption, campaign reform in jeopardy” by Brian Lockhart in the Connecticut Post.
Nevada: “Campaign transparency bill passes, albeit a watered-down version” by Conor Shine in the Las Vegas Sun.
New York: “Campaign Finance Reform Unlikely to Proceed in Albany” by Karen DeWitt in WNYC News.
Wisconsin: “Wisconsin GOP proposes far-ranging election, campaign finance reforms” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
Ethics
Texas: “Tougher ethics bill passes Texas House” by Marty Schladen in the El Paso Times.
Government Tech and Social Media
Rhode Island: “Assembly website now allows bill updates via email, live-streaming of sessions” by Randal Edgar in the Providence Journal.
May 24, 2013 •
News You Can Use Digest – May 24, 2013
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
NRA Tactics: Take no prisoners
Federal:
IRS Mess Adds to Campaign Finance Free-for-All
IRS Official Lois Lerner Placed on Leave amid Scandal
From the States and Municipalities:
Arkansas – Arkansas Treasurer Steps Down amid Calls to Resign after Charges She Took Payments from Broker
California – California to Post Raw Campaign Filings Online Daily
Connecticut – Jury Convicts Aide to Former Connecticut House Speaker
Kansas – Kansas Lawmakers Pass Bill on Gun Lobbying
Kentucky – Richie Farmer’s Sister Resigns Post at Kentucky Registry of Election Finance
Montana – Bullock Picks New Political Practices Chief
North Carolina – Shanahan to Stop Practicing Law While He’s in Office
North Dakota – Feds Argue Coal Industry Can Legally Give to ND Regulators’ Campaigns
Texas – An Expensive Celebration, Courtesy of the Lobby
Texas – Texas House Adds Some Teeth to Political Disclosure 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.
May 23, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Here are some great articles for today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
“K Street looking forward to BRAC fights” by Byron Tau in Politico.
“When Can Federal Employees Legally Lobby Congress?” by John Mahoney on GovLoop.
North Carolina: “Democrats try to send message about moonlighting, lobbying” by Craig Jarvis in the News Observer.
Texas: “An Expensive Celebration, Courtesy of the Lobby” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.
Vermont: “Vermont Senate May Probe Publicly Funded Lobbying Organizations” by Anne Galloway in the Valley News.
Campaign Finance
New York: “Donors Urge Cuomo to Press for Public Financing of State Campaigns” by Thomas Kaplan in The New York Times.
Ethics
“Congressional Campaign Finance Director Guilty of Role in Illegal Contribution Scheme” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political Moneyline.
“Senate Personal Wealth Reports Disclosed to Public” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political Moneyline.
Government Tech and Social Media
“There’s an App for That State Service” by Melissa Maynard in Stateline.
May 22, 2013 •
Wednesday Government Relations News
Here is our roundup of the latest articles on lobbying, campaign finance, ethics, and more!
Lobbying
“K Street lobbyists say their near-term priorities are scandal-proof” by Erik Wasson and Russell Berman in The Hill.
“Immigration push is bonanza for lobbyists” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
“There is a lobbying organization for Superyachts” by Timothy P. Carney in the Washington Examiner.
Missouri: “Missouri’s lobbying system isn’t as open as you’d think” by Chris McDaniel in KBIA.org.
Texas: “House OKs disclosure, lobbying rules for lawmakers” by The Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Campaign Finance
Alabama: “State debuts new electronic, searchable campaign finance filing system” by Kim Chandler in the Birmingham News.
“Calif. to post raw campaign filings online daily” by Judy Lin (Associated Press) in the San Jose Mercury News.
“Common Cause decries ‘soft money’ housekeeping ‘slush funds’” by Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential.
New Hampshire: “State’s political-spending rules fail to make the grade — again” by Brian Wallstin in NPR’s State Impact.
Ethics
“IRS hearing: Lois Lerner pleads the Fifth” by Lauren French and Kelsey Snell in Politico.
“Alaska: Lawmaker plans bill on conflict of interest rules” by The Associated Press in the Anchorage Daily News.
South Carolina: “Haley urges SC Senate to pass ethics reform” by Adam Beam in the Rock Hill Herald.
From the State Legislatures
“Minnesota Capitol scorecard — what did lawmakers do and leave undone in the 2013 session?” in the Star Tribune.
May 21, 2013 •
New Commissioner of Political Practices Named in Montana
Jonathan Motl
Montana Governor Steve Bullock has named a new commissioner of political practices, according to the Independent Record.
Jonathan Motl will begin service as the commissioner by June 10 to complete the final three years of a six-year term left vacant by prior unconfirmed appointees. A Senate confirmation hearing for the position will not be held until early 2015.
May 20, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“Former Senator to Run Wall St. Lobby Group” by Ben Protess in The New York Times.
“After Controversy, Ex-Congressman Registers to Lobby” by Andrew Ramonas in the Blog of Legal Times.
West Virginia: “Lobbyist spending down in 2013” by Dave Boucher in the Charleston Daily Mail.
Campaign Finance
“The impossibly complex world of campaign finance — in 1 chart” by Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post.
“Time to shed light on disclosure bill” opinion piece by David Keating and Eric Wang in Politico.
Alabama: “Key senator says lawmakers will scrap limits on corporate political contributions” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
Minnesota: “Elections and campaign finance bills draw bipartisan support” by Tom Scheck on Minnesota Public Radio News.
Nevada: “Miller under attack as he pursues campaign finance reform” by Andrew Doughman in the Las Vegas Sun.
New York: “DiNapoli calls for campaign finance reform” by Mike Desmond in WBFO News.
New York: “Skelos is wrong; public campaign funding will help N.Y.” commentary by Ian Vandewalker in the Albany Times Union.
Tennessee: “Candidates failed to report 181 PAC, corporate contributions” by Tom Humphrey in the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Vermont: “Statehouse Sitdown: Campaign Finance Reform” on WCAX News.
Ethics
“Ensigns Pay $54,000 Civil Penalty for Campaign Finance Violations” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
“FBI interested in Bachmann campaign finance case” by Rachel Weiner in the Washington Post.
Connecticut: “Latest scandal again tarnishes state politicians” by Brian Lockhart in the Connecticut Post.
Connecticut: “Corruption no stranger to state politics” by Steve Miller (Associated Press) in the Connecticut Post.
Nevada: “Harvey Whittemore campaign finance trial set to continue today in Reno” by Martha Bellisle in the Reno Gazette-Journal.
South Carolina: “SC Legislature: 3 final weeks, 2 key issues, 1 race in ’14” by Adam Beam in The State.
Texas: “For Lawmakers, Ethics Reform is Complicated” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.
Political Advertising
“Lax state rules provide cover for sponsors of attack ads” by Alan Suderman in The Center for Public Integrity.
Government Tech and Social Media
Florida: “Florida Serves Up Legislative App” by Kimberly Horg in Government Technology.
May 20, 2013 •
OK Ethics Commission to Pursue Late Filers
PACs and Candidates
PACs and candidates behind in filing their scheduled reports with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission may be facing thousands of dollars in fines, according to NewsOK.com.
Executive Director Lee Slater will be focusing efforts this summer on clearing up the backlog of PACs and candidates not keeping up with reporting requirements. More than two dozen PACs have not filed their latest quarterly reports due April 30.
The commission can charge each committee or candidate $100 per day for each day it is late filing, with a total maximum penalty of $1,000. NewsOK.com reports the commission will be hiring a hearing officer before it starts to mail out its penalty assessments, anticipating candidates’ guaranteed right to protest.
May 20, 2013 •
Cuomo Will Not Call a Special Election
Lopez will not be able to influence the selection of his successor
Governor Andrew Cuomo has another opening in the State Assembly, but he is in no rush to call an election to fill it. Assemblyman Vito Lopez announced he will resign his seat in the State Assembly Monday afternoon, and Cuomo has decided not to call a special election to replace the disgraced politician.
Lopez is resigning amidst allegations of sexual harassing his former staffers during his tenure. He had already lost all committee assignments and legislative perks due to the scandal.
Cuomo is refusing to call a special election because, in a special election, the political parties get to choose their respective candidates.
With Lopez’s district being heavily Democratic, the Democratic Party would be able to choose the replacement. And with Lopez being the former head of the Democrats in Brooklyn and with his pals still in charge, Lopez would be able to handpick his successor. Cuomo would prefer to avoid that situation, so he’ll hold the election with the regular primary in September and general election in November. This will allow any Democrat to have the opportunity to get on the primary ballot.
As far as Lopez is concerned, he does not plan on riding into the political night. Even with the recent scandal, Lopez is still heavily considering running for a seat on the New York City Council this November.
Photo of the New York State House by Matt H. Wade on Wikipedia.
May 17, 2013 •
News You Can Use Digest – May 17, 2013
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Lax State Rules Provide Cover for Sponsors of Attack Ads
Federal:
IG Report: ‘Inappropriate criteria’ stalled IRS approvals of conservative groups
SEC Pressed to Abandon Corporate Political Spending Disclosures Petition
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama – GOP Considers Campaign Changes While Raising Money
Alabama – The Alabama Democratic Party: “We’re broke, broke, broke”
California – Cap on Political Party Contributions Moves Forward
Hawaii – Campaign Spending and Ethics Get Tech Upgrades
Missouri – Missouri Ethics Panel Fines Ex-Sen. Wright-Jones $270,000
New Jersey – Pay-to-Play Rollback Will Get One More Volley in Bergen, Pitting County Executive vs. Freeholders
New York – Ethics Panel Criticizes Assembly’s Response to Allegations against Lopez
Tennessee – Ethics Commission to Hold Hearing on Ingram Group ‘Oversight’
Tennessee – Lobbying Still Thriving Business in Nashville
Texas – House Sends Donor Disclosure Bill to Gov. Perry
Vermont – Campaign Finance Reform Failure Means Caps on Donations Unlikely to Occur until 2016 Campaign Cycle
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.
May 16, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Here are some great articles for today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
“Washington Female CEOs Earn $600,000 Less Than Male Lobby Peers” by Danielle Ivory in Bloomberg Law.
Maine: “Business leaders lobby legislators at the State House” by Dan Carrigan in WCSH News Portland.
South Carolina: “SC Senate version of ethics-reform bill fails to regulate local government lobbying” by Curt Olson in Watchdog.org.
Campaign Finance
“Pelosi: IRS scandal illustrates need to reverse Citizens United” by Mike Lillis in The Hill.
Hawaii: “Hawaii Monitor: Campaign Spending And Ethics Get Tech Upgrades” by Ian Lind in the Honolulu Civil Beat.
Indiana: “Indiana is a zero in study of states’ campaign finance disclosure law for outside groups” by Mary Beth Schneider in the Desert Sun.
Minnesota: “Legislature moves to raise campaign limits” by Rachel E. Stassen-Berger in the Star Tribune.
New Mexico: “New Mexico gets failing grade in campaign finance disclosure study” by Matthew Reichbach in the New Mexico Telegram.
New York: “N.Y. ethics disclosures due” by Joseph Spector in the Journal News.
New York: “Cuomo Threatens Subpoenas in Bid for Public Campaign Financing” by Freeman Klopott in Bloomberg.
Vermont: “Campaign finance reform failure means caps on donations unlikely to occur until 2016 campaign cycle” by Nat Rudarakanchana in Vermont Business Magazine.
Ethics
“House Ethics Committee Approves Waiver for Gifts From Member’s Partner” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s MoneyLine.
“Edwards to Speak at Retreat a Year After His Trial” by The Associated Press on ABC News.
Connecticut: “A fixer’s tale of attempted bribes” by Mark Pazniokas in the Connecticut Mirror.
Missouri: “Mo. ethics panel fines ex-Sen. Wright-Jones $270K” by The Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Missouri: “KC Council committee endorses more stringent ethics rules” by Lynn Horsley in the Kansas City Star.
Nebraska: “Email Trips Up Nebraska Attorney General, Agrees to $19,000 Penalty” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
Nevada: “Whittemore trial for illegal campaign contributions questions if strings attached to money” by Scott Sonner (Associated Press) in The Republic.
New Jersey: “N.J. accuses ex-candidate from Paterson of failing to report $700,000 in campaign spending” by Anthony Campisi in the Bergen Record.
New York: “John Liu Refunds Tainted Campaign Contributions” by Jill Colvin in Politicker.
New York: “Report Finds Lawmaker Was Shielded by Leaders” by Danny Hakim in The New York Times.
Texas: “Questions of Contradiction in Ethics Bills” by Emily Ramshaw and Aman Batheja in the Texas Tribune.
State Governments
Texas: “Texas House defeats term limits referendum” by Will Weissert (Associated Press) in the Houston Chronicle.
Washington: “Wash. lawmakers look to make recall process easier” by Mike Baker (Associated Press) in the Olympian.
Government Tech and Social Media
“State App Collection Published by NASCIO” in Government Technology.
May 14, 2013 •
Tuesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Keep up with the latest government relations news with these articles:
Lobbying
“Lobbying and Contributions by High Frequency Traders” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
“K Street worries over spread of IRS scandal amid push for tax reform” by Erik Wasson and Peter Schroeder in The Hill.
New York: “When Campaign Aides Are Lobbyists, Questions Mount” by Ross Barkan in City Limits.
Tennessee: “Tennessee Ethics Commission to meet on Ingram lobbying case” by Andy Sher in the Times Free Press.
Campaign Finance
“SEC nears decision on requiring businesses to disclose donations” by Ben Goad in The Hill.
“States’ Seek to Limit Undisclosed Political Donations” by Matea Gold, Chris Megerian and Mark Z. Barabak in Governing.
“IRS mess adds to campaign finance free-for-all” by Byron Tau, Tarini Parti and Kelsey Snell in Politico.
“Pelosi Injects Campaign Finance Debate Into IRS Scandal” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.
Nebraska: “Nebraska Attorney General fined $19,000 by FEC” by The Associated Press in the Beatrice Daily Sun.
Texas: “House set to send disclosure bill to Gov. Perry” by Will Weissert (Associated Press) in the Houston Chronicle.
Vermont: “Vt. lawmakers drop campaign finance reform” by The Associated Press in New England Cable News.
From the State Legislatures
Arizona: “Lawmakers to see cut in daily pay this week” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Capitol Times.
Utah: “Utah Lawmakers Back to Capitol to Prep for Next Year” by The Associated Press in KUTV News.
Washington: “Washington lawmakers return to Capitol for special session” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.
Washington: “Washington Gov. Inslee narrows priorities for legislative special session” by The Associated in The Oregonian.
Elections
“Which States Saw Voter Turnout Jump, Decline Most Last Year?” by Mike Maciag in Governing.
Social Media
“Social Advocacy & Politics: A Virtual Political Debate Via Twitter” by Alan Rosenblatt in Social Media Today.
May 13, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“Lobbying registrations for April return to numbers not seen since 2011” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.
“Taxpayers footing $3 million lobbying bill for local governments” by Andrew Doughman in the Las Vegas Sun.
“Do lobbyist spending reports measure influence?” by Andrew Doughman in the Las Vegas Sun.
New York: “Lobbying group donations fall off with new NY rule” by The Associated Press in Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Tennessee: “Lobbying still thriving business in Nashville” by Tom Humphrey in the Knoxville News.
Campaign Finance
Alabama: “Legislators’ to-do list for final day includes bills on guns, campaign finance, drug testing welfare applicants” by Mike Cason in the Birmingham News.
Arizona: “Director of Arizona campaign finance agency leaving” by The Associated Press in KTAR.
Vermont: “Galbraith angers Vt. Senate colleagues” by The Associated Press in the Boston Globe.
Ethics
“FEC revolving door spins ever so slowly” by Byron Tau in Politico.
New York: “N.Y. court upholds ethics commission subpoena power” by The Associated Press in the Albany Times Union.
Political Advertising
“Shedding light on anonymous ads” editorial by Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Politico.
Form the State Legislatures
Minnesota: “Minn. lawmakers enter homestretch of 2013 session” by The Associated Press in the Brainerd Dispatch.
North Carolina: “Dome: Jam-packed action expected in legislature for Crossover Week” by Mary Cornatzer and Lynn Bonner in the News & Observer.
North Carolina: “NC House wants many closed sessions recorded” by The Associated Press in the Winston-Salem Journal.
Redistricting
Florida: “Florida Supreme Court hears redistricting case” by Steve Bousquet in the Miami Herald.
Government Tech and Social Media
“What’s Your City Watching on YouTube?” by Eric Jaffe in Nextgov.
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.
