July 25, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – July 25, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Edwards Campaign Owes $2 Million
Pakistan’s Military Plotted to Tilt U.S. Policy, FBI Says
Washington’s Long Debt-Ceiling Debate Hits K Street in the Wallet
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Country Stars Push Senator to Vote
California
Jerry Brown Assumes Uncommon Influence over FPPC
Georgia
Ethics Panelists Gave to Campaigns
Hawaii
Hawaii Ethics Director: Lawmakers ‘Pushed’ the Line on Gifts
Maine
Judge Strikes Down Maine’s Matching Funds Law
Massachusetts
Massachusetts House Democrats Block Debate on Republicans’ Ethics Rules Changes
North Carolina
North Carolina Election Will Go On, Even if No One Is Running
Pennsylvania
Chairman: Ethics board ‘being strangled’ by budget cuts
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Official Fired for Accepting Meals, Gifts from City Contractors
Tennessee
Tennessee GOP Finds Loophole in Campaign Law
Washington
Judge Blocks Washington Limit on Recall Contributions
West Virginia
Some W.Va. Election Ad Rules Again Struck Down
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.
Jim Sedor is editor of News You Can Use.
July 15, 2011 •
Lobbyists to be Audited by Office of State Ethics
Ten Lobbyists to be Audited in Connecticut
Thomas H. Dooley, Chairman of the Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board, will be selecting at random 10 lobbyists to be audited by the Office of State Ethics during an audit selection ceremony on Thursday, July 21, 2011.
The ceremony will be a part of the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting, scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
Lobbyists to be audited will be selected from a pool of all registered client lobbyists.
During audits of these selected client lobbyists, the Office of State Ethics will audit all associated communicator lobbyists.
A list of those selected to be audited will be made available on the website of the Office of State Ethics following the ceremony.
Commission Meetings Must Adhere to New Limitations
The Palm Beach County Ethics Commission has voted to limit the public’s ability to speak on items during final hearings prior to a vote or comment at closed-door sessions where decisions on the pursuit of ethics complaints are made.
The limits are intended to limit decisions being made by members of the commission to the guidance of the ethics code and avoid allowing influence from outside the code to be taken into consideration at a final vote.
Public comment will still be allowed concerning commission policies and on other issues being considered.
July 11, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – July 11, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
IRS Drops Audits of Political Donors
New Breed of ‘Super PACs,’ Other Independent Groups Could Define 2012 Campaign
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Alabama Democratic Conference Files Lawsuit to Stop New Alabama Law Banning Political Fund Transfers
Arizona
Arizona Conservatives Scramble after Campaign Finance Law’s Defeat
California
Marijuana Lobbyist’s Fundraiser for DA Raises Questions
Veil Drawn on Donors to Latino Caucus-Controlled California Nonprofit
Connecticut
Agent Who Arrested Politicians Now Seeks House Seat
Georgia
Illinois
Mayor Rahm Emanuel Proposing New Round of Ethics Reforms
Iowa
Judge Upholds New Iowa Campaign Disclosure Rules
Massachusetts
House Leader Apologizes for Holocaust Remarks
Michigan
Justices Stop Political Gifts Taken at Work
Minnesota
Campaign Board Rejects NOM’s Efforts to Shield Donors in Marriage Battle
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Lt. Gov. Ard Paying $48,000 Fine
Washington
Ex-Prisons Chief Eldon Vail Says He Resigned Because of an Affair with Subordinate
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.
Jim Sedor is editor of News You Can Use.
July 6, 2011 •
Chicago Mayor is Set to Introduce New Ethics Ordinance
New Chicago Lobbyist Regulations
On Wednesday July 6, 2011, Mayor Rahm Emanuel will introduce a new ethics ordinance containing “the most comprehensive lobbyist disclosure database in the nation.”
Key components of the proposed ordinance include the creation of a searchable real-time database, a $50 gift limit per single non-cash gift given by a lobbyist, a $100 aggregate gift limit per calendar year on gifts from lobbyists, a prohibition on city employees, officials, or their businesses receiving loans from lobbyists, an amendment to the semi-annual lobbyist report form requiring lobbyists to disclose campaign contributions, and a codification of an executive order issued by Mayor Emanuel in May which bars employees from lobbying the city after leaving city employment.
The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission announced they are postponing until further notice the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 12, 2011.
Information concerning a new meeting date will be provided on the Commission website once the date is determined.
Questions concerning the postponement of the meeting may be directed to Lisa M. Dentler, Confidential Secretary, by calling (404) 463-1980.
The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust has named Joseph Centorino as its finalist for the position of executive director.
Centorino has served as chief of the Public Corruption Division of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office since 1995 and was a prosecutor within the organization an additional nine years. Centorino will succeed Robert Meyers, who has held the post since the Ethics Commission was established.
Meyers announced his resignation earlier this year, but will assist in the transition over the next several weeks.
June 22, 2011 •
Ethics Reform Bills to Be Introduced
Bills Address Campaign Finance Reporting and Official Vehicle Use
District of Columbia Councilman Tommy Wells has announced that he will introduce three ethics reform bills to address recent ethical issues raised in the district council.
The Campaign Finance Accountability and Reform Amendment Act of 2011 establishes reporting requirements to the Office of Campaign Finance for contributions and expenditures related to transitions and inaugurations and prohibits the bundling of corporate contributions.
The Campaign Finance Reporting Amendment Act of 2011 alters the financial disclosure reporting schedule to coincide with the new primary election date of the first Tuesday of April in an election year.
The Government Vehicles and Fleet Management Rationalization Amendment Act of 2011 prohibits the procurement of “luxury-class” vehicles and freezes the current fleet size.
June 16, 2011 •
Obama and Google
Did the Obama re-election campaign get a special deal from Google?
Politico reported today that questions are being raised over whether Google has given President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign a special advertising deal using a new online advertising program scheduled to debut this fall.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee said it contacted Google when it saw an Obama ad and inquired about creating their own ad with the company. They claim a Google representative told them the Obama campaign received a “special deal” and that they would have to wait for the beta version to participate. Google denies the ad in question was using their new advertising system and said the Obama campaign received no such special deal.
Here is the Politico article: “Google denies special deal for Barack Obama” by Byron Tau and Ben Smith.
June 15, 2011 •
Oregon Bill Caps Filing Penalties
Political Contribution Reporting
A bill which establishes a cap of $5,000 per calendar month on civil penalties for failure to file statements or include required information has passed the Oregon House Committee on Rules.
Senate Bill 270 removes “unfulfilled pledge, subscription, agreement or promise to make contribution” from the definition of contribution.
Additionally, the bill, which passed the Senate in March, also changes the period for assessing civil penalties for violations of campaign finance reporting requirements.
The bill leaves the committee for a full house vote.
June 6, 2011 •
“Clean Up Albany Act of 2011” Announced
Governor Cuomo and Legislative Leaders Reach Agreement on Comprehensive Ethics Reform Package
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and General Assembly leaders have reached an agreement regarding comprehensive ethics reform. The agreement titled the “Clean Up Albany Act of 2011,” creates a joint commission on public ethics to investigate violations of law by members of both the executive and legislative branches, oversee their financial disclosure requirements, and oversee lobbyists with newly expanded disclosure rules and definition of lobbying.
The act expands lobbying disclosure requirements, including the disclosure by lobbyists of reportable business relationships of more than $1,000 with public officials. It also expands the definition of lobbying to include advocacy to affect the introduction of legislation or resolutions. Additionally, the act calls for the state board of elections to issue new regulations clarifying disclosure requirements for independent expenditures.
Photo of Governor Cuomo by Pat Arnow on Wikipedia.
Introduced in Both Houses
A proposed executive order requiring vendors submitting offers for federal contracts to disclose political contributions and expenditures has sparked a legislative response.
An amendment was added to HR1540, a fiscal national defense authorization bill, which passed last week, precluding an executive agency from requiring a vendor to disclose political contributions as a condition of contract participation.
Additionally, two companion bills opposing the proposed executive order were also introduced into the house and senate. SB1100 and HR2008, titled “Keeping Politics Out of Federal Contracting Act of 2011”, explicitly prohibit an executive agency from requiring submission of political information, and prohibit an agency from using political information as a factor in consideration of whether to award a contract. The bills’ definition of political information means information relating to political spending, including contributions, independent expenditures and electioneering communications.
Previously, a congressional hearing was also held concerning the proposed executive order.
Photo of the United States Capitol with the flag by Florian Hirzinger on Wikipedia.
May 25, 2011 •
Governor Appoints New Commissioner of Political Practices
The appointment requires Senate confirmation.
Governor Brian Schweitzer has appointed Dave Gallik to serve as Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices.
Gallik previously worked as Staff Attorney for the Montana State Insurance Commissioner and served for several years in the Montana House of Representatives.
The Commissioner of Political Practices is appointed to serve one six-year term and requires Senate confirmation.
Photo of the Montana State Capitol courtesy of Galaksiafervojo on Wikipedia.
May 24, 2011 •
Alabama Ethics Commission Gains Funding Guarantee
Governor signs bill providing $1.8 million.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has signed a bill that guarantees future funding for the Alabama Ethics Commission.
The new law appropriates one tenth of one percent of the state’s general fund budget to the ethics commission. Under the current proposed budget, this appropriation represents approximately $1.8 million dollars.
The appropriation provision in the new law can only be modified by a two-thirds vote of the Alabama House and Senate.
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