December 21, 2011 •
Wednesday News Roundup
Here are some top items from today’s news:
Lobbying:
“Lobbying a bust in AT&T T-Mobile bid” by Tony Romm in Politico.
“Not all Missouri lawmakers accept gifts from lobbyists” by Jake Wagman in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Campaign Finance
“OUR VIEW: Fortunately, a judge’s ruling last week does not gut the state’s ban on money transfers between political action committees” by the Birmingham News editorial board.
Government Ethics:
“Blagojevich attorneys begin appeals process” by The Associated Press in NWI Times.
“Secrecy cloaks new [NY] ethics watchdog panel” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.
Redistricting:
“The Texas Redistricting Case Explained” by Karl Kurtz on NCSL’s blog The Thicket.
Gov 2.0:
“Agencies question value of social media” by Alice Lipowicz in Federal Computer Week.
December 21, 2011 •
D.C. Council Passes Ethics Bill
Bill Creates Ethics Panel and Impeachment Process
WASHINGTON, D.C.: By a 12-1 margin, the D.C. Council has passed an ethics bill that seeks to increase accountability for council members.
The bill includes provisions to establish a new three-member ethics panel, bar felons from serving on the council or as mayor, and grant powers to the D.C. attorney general to prosecute elected officials accused of ethical misconduct.
The legislation will be sent to Mayor Vincent Gray for his approval.
Photo of the John A. Wilson Building by Awiseman on Wikipedia.
December 21, 2011 •
N.Y. Senator Resigns and Pleads Guilty
The state senator collected at least $1 million in bribes.
New York Senator Carl Kruger pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Manhattan yesterday to federal corruption charges.
Prosecutors offered a complex tale of federal wiretaps, bribes in return for political favors, and Kruger living in a mansion built for the boss of a New York crime family.
Kruger could face a sentence of up to 50 years.
The New York Times covers the news in “After Resigning, Tearful Senator Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes” by William Rashbaum.
Photo of the Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in Manhattan by Americasroof on Wikipedia.
December 21, 2011 •
Abramoff to Teach Ethics to Kentucky Lawmakers
Part of the state’s required ethics training.
As a kick-off to their 2012 General Assembly, the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission will be hosting Jack Abramoff as a speaker during their training session on ethics.
Abramoff will be paid $5,000 plus expenses. He will be speaking on January 4, 2012.
You can read about it in “Ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff to speak at Kentucky legislative ethics session” by Tom Loftus in the Courier-Journal.
December 20, 2011 •
Baltimore County, MD Passes Ethics Bill
Original bill was scaled back.
The Baltimore County Council has passed a wide-ranging ethics bill after scaling back parts of the original bill proposed by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. A series of amendments sponsored by all seven council members weakened parts of the original bill dealing with when officials can accept gifts and what defines a conflict of interest for council members.
In an effort to exceed the requirements set by a 2010 state law, Kamenetz’s original bill said public officials could not accept gifts from someone they know does business “with the county.” The council narrowed the rule to say they could not accept gifts from anyone they know does business with the “public official’s office, agency, board or commission.”
The new bill also deleted an entire section defining conflicts of interest specifically for council members in favor of a broader definition that applies to all public officials. The new bill still requires elected officials’ financial disclosure forms to be posted online starting in May 2012.
December 19, 2011 •
New York A.G. Increasing Involvement in Local Ethics
Office to Review Local Gift and Conflict of Interest Regulations
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has requested the state’s 932 towns show his office their ethics regulations in an effort to bolster ethics in local government.
The Office of the Attorney General has begun reviewing local ethics measures addressing issues like gifts and conflicts of interest.
The goal is to gather the ethics information to make it public and provide the office with referral information for citizen calls and complaints.
The Attorney General has also has assigned public integrity prosecutors in all 13 regional offices to deal with investigations.
December 19, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – December 19, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
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
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.
December 15, 2011 •
California Campaign Transparency Website is Still Down
Secretary of State unable to give a date when the system will be back online.
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.”
December 14, 2011 •
Georgia Inspector General Finds No Evidence against Gov. Deal
A state investigation by the inspector general found no evidence to back up a claim that Governor Nathan Deal sought to fire the former head of the state ethics commission and her chief deputy because the agency was investigating Deal.
In June, Stacey Kalberman had raised questions about the timing of the commission’s plan to cut her salary and eliminate her chief deputy’s position. In the weeks before her resignation, Kalberman said the two prepared draft subpoenas for Deal and his aides to further their investigation.
The subpoenas were never executed because commissioners would not sign off. The commission did ask Deal’s campaign to voluntarily turn over records, but commissioners have refused to say whether that’s happened.
Some are concerned about how an inspector general appointed by the governor can fairly investigate the governor.
December 13, 2011 •
Appointees Named to New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics
DiFiore Named Chair of New Commission
NEW YORK: Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders announced the appointment of 14 members to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. Governor Cuomo chose Janet DiFiore, the District Attorney of Westchester County, to chair the commission.
The new agency replaces the Commission on Public Integrity, which was created in 2007 by the merger of the ethics and lobbying commissions. Under a law signed on August 15, the new commission came into existence yesterday.
The creation of the joint commission put operations of the prior agency on hold, except for collecting lobbying expenditure reports, financial disclosure reports by state employees, and conducting on-line ethical training courses. Any allegations of unethical conduct it has received will be transferred to the new commission.
Approximately 30 employees remain with the commission, about half the work force when the Commission on Public Integrity was formed in 2007.
December 13, 2011 •
Lobbyists and Members of Congress Ranked Low in Gallup Poll
They receive “low” and “very low” ratings alongside car salespeople.
Thanks to Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law Blog for bringing this news item to our attention.
Gallup.com just published a poll placing lobbyists and lawmakers at the bottom of their list in the areas of honesty and ethics. For the full story read “Record 64% Rate Honesty, Ethics of Members of Congress Low” by Jeffrey M. Jones.
According to the article: “Gallup has asked Americans to rate the honesty and ethics of numerous professions since 1976, including annually since 1990. Lobbyists also received a 64% low honesty and ethics rating in 2008.”
Photo of the Gallup Organization window by Kate Mereand on Wikipedia.
December 12, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – December 12, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
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.
December 9, 2011 •
Georgia Ethics Commission Member Resigning
Chan Caudell is accepting an appointment as a judge.
A member of Georgia’s Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission said he is stepping down from the panel after just three months to accept an appointment as a judge. Chan Caudell said he would submit his letter of resignation to Governor Nathan Deal. The Georgia constitution bans individuals from serving simultaneously in two branches of government.
Caudell’s sudden departure is the latest challenge for the five-member panel overseeing campaign finance and lobbying in the state.
The ethics panel has been hit hard with funding cuts that some say have undermined its ability to perform its duties. Earlier this week an open records request revealed that fines for late campaign finance reporting were reduced by millions of dollars because the panel could not afford to send out the required late notices.
December 8, 2011 •
Rahm Emanuel Creates Ethics Reform Task Force
City Ethics Ordinance to be Redrafted
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced the creation of an ethics reform task force charged with overhauling and strengthening the city’s ethics ordinance.
The task force will be given four months to rewrite the city’s ethics ordinance.
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.
