November 21, 2011 •
News You Can Use – November 21, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Poll: Americans divided on companies that hire lobbyists
Federal:
Administration Officials Double as Obama Campaign Speakers
Corporate Lobbying Is a Very Exclusive Club
Gingrich Said to Be Paid By Freddie Mac to Court Republicans
Obama Administration Extends Review of Lobbyist Gift Ban
From the States and Municipalities:
Alaska
FEC Rejects Miller’s Senate Race Complaint
Arizona
Former Fiesta Bowl Employee Indicted
California
FPPC Sticks with $30,000 Fine for Lobbyist Frank Molina
California
New Gift Rules Would Benefit Legislators Dating Lobbyists
Colorado
Judge Says Gessler’s Campaign Finance Change Unconstitutional
Michigan
No Such Thing as Free Lunch? There Is for State Lawmakers in Lansing
Missouri
Missouri High Court Hears Challenge to 2010 Ethics Law
Nevada
No Vote on Transparency Bill Lets Lobbyists Keep Paying Tab
New Mexico
Gov. Martinez Says Officials and Lobbyists Are Too Cozy
New York
Appeals Court Allows New Trial for Bruno
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.
November 17, 2011 •
Charles County Passes Ethics Ordinance
Removed Key Amendment
CHARLES COUNTY, MARYLAND: Commissioners made the decision to pass an ethics ordinance required by the state after removing a key amendment Tuesday. The amendment would have included stricter campaign finance and reporting laws.
After debate, the commissioners elected to remove the amendment and take up campaign finance and reporting as a separate piece of legislation in the future. The ordinance, as passed, states that commissioners can only represent the county, prohibits gifts over $20, and requires lobbyist registrations to be filed by January 15th.
All counties, municipalities, and school districts are required by law to pass an ethics ordinance.
November 17, 2011 •
Thursday News Roundup
Campaign finance investigations, an arrest, missing emails, and government transparency in jeopardy.
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is under investigation for violations of campaign finance laws. The Associated Press covers the story in “Lawyers: Feds investigate Richardson fundraising,” by Barry Massey.
The New York Times reports that a fundraiser for New York City Comptroller John C. Liu was arrested for illegally funneling contributions. Read the full story at “Fund-Raiser for Liu Is Accused of Role in Illegal Donations” by William Rashbaum, David Chen, and Benjamin Weiser.
An Associated Press article reports that Mitt Romney’s emails from when he was governor of Massachusetts were removed at the end of his term. Read “Report: Romney-era emails wiped from Mass. Records” from today’s Boston Herald.
Budgets cuts are further threatening government transparency initiatives. Nextgov reports about it in “E-gov cuts could endanger digital transparency initiatives, groups say” by Joseph Marks.
November 15, 2011 •
Wayne County Commission Developing Comprehensive Ethics Ordinance
Ordinance to Address Conflicts of Interest and Improper Business Practices
WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Wayne County will have a comprehensive ethics ordinance in place within the next 90 days, according to Wayne County Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak.
Commission attorneys are currently working on a draft of a Wayne County ethics ordinance. Hearings are expected in January, with final approval targeted for February.
The ordinance seeks to set enhanced standards of conduct for officials and employees and rules for disclosure designed to avoid conflicts of interest and improper business practices.
November 15, 2011 •
Federal Lobbyists Gift Rules Comment Time Extended
O.G.E.
The Federal Office of Government Ethics (O.G.E.) is extending the comment period for its proposed regulations concerning gifts from lobbyists.
In September, the O.G.E. proposed rules which limit, for lobbyists, the exceptions of the ban on gifts for federal employees. The proposed rules arose because of a Presidential Executive Order which had called for the O.G.E. “to apply the lobbyist gift ban set forth [in the order] to all executive branch employees.”
The period for written comments ended yesterday, November 14. However, today the O.G.E. announced it is extending the comment period to December 14.
Today’s announcement may be found here. A copy of the of the original proposed rulemaking notice is available here.
This post follows an earlier LobbyComply post concerning this rule, O.G.E. Proposes New Rules on Lobbyist Gifts.
November 15, 2011 •
Lobbyist Compliance Changes in Allegany County, Maryland
ALLEGANY COUNTY, MARYLAND: A bill providing further regulation of public ethics became effective November 13, 2011.
Code Home Rule Bill 5-11 expands regulation regarding conflict of interest, lobbyist reporting, gift law, and enforcement of violations.
Changes include a lower registration threshold for lobbyists at $200 of food, entertainment, or gifts to public officials in a calendar year. The ethics commission will now be able to asses a late fee of $10 per day for failure to timely file lobbyist registrations and reports.
November 14, 2011 •
Lobbyist Compliance Changes in Howard County, Maryland
Revisions to ethics laws approved
HOWARD COUNTY, MARYLAND: County Council approved revisions to the county ethics laws, making Howard one of the first local governments to approve the new standards mandated by the General Assembly last year.
The changes provide more detail in the county ethics laws regarding gifts, financial disclosure statements and lobbying provisions. The bill also expands the role of the county’s ethics commission by requiring it to maintain an annual report of lobbying activity.
Former County Council members will be banned from lobbying on legislative issues for a year after leaving office, and former employees will be prohibited from bidding on a county contract for which they helped write specifications.
November 14, 2011 •
News You Can Use – November 14, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Special Sessions: A calculated risk
Federal:
Obama Administration Draft Memo Could Shed Light on ‘Lettermarking’
Sunlight Foundation Follows Lobbyist Tweets
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Alabama’s New Ethics Law Fails to Stop Exemption Requests from Lobbyists and Public Officials
California
California Legislators Head to Maui for Retreat Funded by Special Interests
California
Carrie Underwood Show Boosts Tribe’s Lobbying Expense
Colorado
Judge Warns Colorado Secretary of State Went Too Far in Raising Campaign Finance Threshold
Colorado
NBC News Can’t Pay for Colorado Governor’s Travel, Ethics Panel Says
Illinois
Clout, Corruption in Illinois to Take Other Forms
Kansas
Kansas’ Lobbyist Data Falls Far Short of Need, Watchdog Group Reports
Maryland
Maryland Sen. Currie Acquitted of Corruption Charges
Missouri
Missouri Lawmaking at Issue before High Court
North Carolina
N.C. Lobbyist Donations Ban Upheld By Federal Court
Wisconsin
First Recall Effort Launched against Walker, Triggering Unlimited Fundraising
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.
November 7, 2011 •
Did Missouri Lawmakers Act Illegally with Ethics Bill?
Missouri Supreme Court Will Hear Arguments
This week the Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether lawmakers acted illegally in a legislative attempt to increase ethics requirements. The case appeals a ruling by Circuit Judge Daniel Green finding Senate Bill 844 to be a violation of the constitution’s single subject requirement.
What began as a one-page bill allowing officials to use the Office of Administration for procurement decisions became a 69-page bill entitled “relating to ethics.” The bill changed campaign finance laws, gave greater authority to the Missouri Ethics Commission, created new crimes for ethics violations, and required Capitol dome keys be given to all lawmakers.
Judge Green’s ruling struck down all but the original procurement provision. The Attorney General believes the bill can be saved by striking only the provision regarding Capitol dome keys. Those challenging the bill argue the entire bill is unconstitutional.
Photo of the Missouri Supreme Court building by Americasroof on Wikipedia.
November 7, 2011 •
FPPC Issues Notice of Proposed Guidelines
Committee Designation to be Addressed
The Fair Political Practices Commission has issued notice of proposed amendments to the California Code of Regulations to be considered at a public hearing on December 8, 2011. The proposed regulations codify commission guidance instructing filers to treat an in-kind contribution of the services of salaried personnel to a committee and the expenditure by the person making the salary payment as a contribution made on the payroll date of the salaried personnel.
The commission will also consider regulations which differentiate a contribution from a donation. Under the proposed regulation, a contribution is a payment made for a political purpose and includes payments to a multi-purpose organization. By contrast, a payment to a multi-purpose organization that is not made or used for a political purpose is to be treated as a donation and not a contribution for the purposes of identifying reportable contributions.
Lastly, the commission will consider amendments to the provisions pertaining to primarily formed and general purpose committees to assist filers in determining which label fits the purpose and structure of their committee.
The regulations define a general purpose committee as an ongoing committee which supports multiple candidates and measures in successive elections. General purpose committees include associations, political action committees, political party committees, major donors, as well as entities and individuals making independent expenditures.
The regulation proposes a standard for determining whether a committee is a state, county, or city general purpose committee. A committee will be considered a city or county committee if more than 70 percent of their activity is at the city or county level. Classification as a state committee will be the default.
Pursuant to the proposed regulation, a primarily formed committee is a committee formed or existing to support a single candidate or measure in a specific election. A committee will be considered primarily formed if more than 70 percent of the committee’s contributions and expenditures are for specific candidates or measures during the 24 months preceding the date where the candidate or measure is on the ballot.
Image of the Seal of California by Zscout370 on Wikipedia.
November 7, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – November 7, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Largest U.S. Companies Increasingly Disclose Political Spending
Report Cites Growing Role of Interest Groups in State Judicial Elections
Federal:
Abramoff Divulges K Street Secrets
Cain Blames Perry as New Sexual Harassment Allegations Surface
FCC To Rule on On-line Political Advertisement Disclosure
Justice Amps Up Enforcement of Law on Foreign Advocacy
Lawmakers Demand FEC Documents, Threaten Subpoena
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
New Alabama Ethics Law Sweeps in Culture Shift for Capital Lobbyists
California
Passion, Politics Link Lobbyist Couples
California
State Lobby Spending on Pace to Set Records
Illinois
Illinois Powerbroker Convicted in Shakedown Trial
Maryland
County Ethics Bill Would Restrict Lobbying, Add Enforcement
Minnesota
Campaign Finance Board Temporarily Upholds Disclosure Requirements
Nebraska
Report: Nebraska OK at tracking lobbyists, could do better
New Hampshire
N.H. Official Sets Primary for Jan.10
Ohio
Amid Corruption Scandal, Local Races Framed by Honesty and Character Issues
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.
November 4, 2011 •
Abramoff Is Back in the News
Jack Abramoff has taken an interesting stance as he promotes a new autobiography.
He has appeared in a 60 Minutes interview, saying whatever ethics reform measures may be set in place to control the buying of influence, lobbyists will find new ways to get around it.
Here is the CBS interview, “Lobbyists can skirt ethics reform, says Abramoff.”
The Hill covers the story in “Abramoff divulges K Street secrets” by Kevin Bogardus.
November 3, 2011 •
Signs of Discontent
The FEC and the president take some heat over transparency.
The Boston Globe’s Political Intelligence just published this article, “Transparency groups lash out at FEC, Obama” by Donovan Slack.
Here are some of the questions the article raises: “… [C]an foreign companies with some US operations legally contribute to US elections? In the past, foreign citizens and companies have been barred from spending money in the American political system. Also unanswered: Should American organizations who spend money to influence elections have to disclose the source of the money?”
Bruce Watson offers an opinion piece called “Really Want to Influence Politicians? Stop Donating to Campaigns” on AOL’s Daily Finance page. Watson puts particular focus on the increase in fundraising by the members of the Super Committee. He references a recent study by the Project On Government Oversight. As we recall, Politico offered a bit of a different view with “Supercommittee panelists don’t cash in” by Abby Phillip.
November 2, 2011 •
Arizona Special Session Impeaches Independent Chairwoman
Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission
A one-day special session of the Arizona Legislature was called by Governor Jan Brewer yesterday to impeach the chairwoman of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.
The Senate vote to impeach Chairwoman Colleen Coyle Mathis passed with the required two thirds majority. The chairwoman, a registered independent, was ousted with a party line vote of 21 Republican senators in favor of the removal and 6 Democratic senators opposed.
Governor Brewer alleges gross misconduct by Chairwoman Mathis in her role in the independent commission, which also has two democratic members and two republican members.
Photo of the Arizona State Capitol building by 2candle on Wikipedia.
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.