Lobbying

“Lobbyist for lobbyists steps away” by Dave Levinthal in The Center for Public Integrity.

Florida: “Wilton Manors mayor takes on lobbying ban in county ethics code” by Brittany Wallman in the Sun Sentinel.

Idaho: “Dueling petitions: Signers have some fun at lobbyist’s expense” in the Idaho Statesman.

Campaign Finance

“Obama’s Flip-Flops on Money in Politics: A Brief History” by Justin Elliott (ProPublica) in the Huffington Post.

“Justice to SCOTUS: Don’t allow direct corporate campaign spending” by Alison Frankel in Thomson Reuters.

Florida: “House proposes closing slush funds, raising contribution limits” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.

Indiana: “Some familiar names make campaign-finance violation list” by Kevin Leininger in the News-Sentinel.

Rhode Island: “RI Rep: ban lobbyist contributions during session” by The Associated Press in NECN.

Ethics

Colorado: “Gessler sues ethics commission to stop investigation of his spending” by Tim Hoover in the Denver Post.

Oklahoma: “Oklahoma Ethics Commission hires general counsel” by Michael McNutt in the Oklahoman.

South Carolina: “Disgraced Former Gov. Mark Sanford Is Ready To Make Another Move” by Alan Greenblatt on NPR.

Open Government

South Dakota: “South Dakota lawmakers reject plan to record closed meetings” in the Sioux City Journal.

House Speaker David Ralston has unveiled an ethics reform bill aimed at expanding the definition of a lobbyist and restricting gifts from a lobbyist. House Bill 142 would define a lobbyist to include an individual who advocates for the purpose of influencing a public officer whether the individual is compensated or working pro bono.

The new definition does away with both the $1,000 expenditure and 10 percent time spent thresholds for lobbyist registration. The bill, as originally filed, would ban even the smallest expenditure of a lobbyist if for the benefit of a single member of the General Assembly.

Lobbyists would still be permitted to spend on committees, caucuses, and expenses to public officers for trips to conferences and meetings.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: Defense, Tax Aides Join McBee” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

California: “Former assemblyman registers as a lobbyist” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.

Georgia: “Georgia speaker unveils sweeping ethics legislation” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Missouri: “Lawmaker: Legislators should never become lobbyists” by Bob Watson in the News Tribune.

Campaign Finance

“FEC Increases Contribution Limits for 2014” by Kyle Trygstad in Roll Call.

Montana: “Montana legislators, groups at odds on campaign donation limits” by Mike Dennison in the Missoulian.

New York: “On Campaign Finance Reform, Senate Republicans Stand in Gov. Cuomo’s Way” opinion piece by John Petro in the Huffington Post.

Ethics

“Ethics Office Opened 32 Cases During 112th Congress” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

Hawaii: “Honolulu Ethics Commission Wants to Double Its Resources to Fight Public Corruption” in the Hawaii Reporter.

Illinois: “Former state ethics commissioner hit with $2,500 ethics violation” by Rafael Guerrero in the Chicago Tribune.

Maine: “Bill would bar state officials from quitting to immediately work for industries they regulated” by Naomi Schalit and John Christie in the Bangor Daily News.

New York: “NY ethics board talks conflicts in secret session” by The Associated Press in the Albany Times Union.

New York: “Ex-aide to City Controller John Liu snared in campaign finance fraud probe is granted immunity to testify in former treasurer’s trial” by Robert Gearty in the New York Daily News.

South Carolina: “SC Supreme Court to hear Nikki Haley ethics case” by Andrew Shain in The State.

Elections

Michigan: “Snyder nixes plan to split Michigan electoral votes” by Alexander Burns in Politico.

Ohio: “State Sen. Turner proposes election reform package” by Joe Hallett in the Columbus Dispatch.

Ohio: “Secretary of State Jon Husted and other Republicans say Electoral College changes not in store for Ohio” by Henry J. Gomez in the Plain Dealer.

Open Government

Mississippi: “Mississippi gets low grades for transparency on state, local websites” by Donna Harris in the Sun Herald.

South Dakota: “Legislature: Public records plan falls short” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: New Faces at Harlow Foundation, Thorn Run” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Abramoff lists 8 tips to overhaul lobbying laws” by Keith Matheny in USA Today.

“10 Strange Lobbying Groups That We Swear Are Real” by Elizabeth Flock in U.S. News & World Report.

Kentucky:  “Kentucky sets lobbying record in 2012” by Phil Impellizzeri in the Bluegrass Institute.

Nevada: “Former Nevada legislative director joins high profile public relations, lobbying firm” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Campaign Finance

Missouri: “Nixon makes pitch for Medicaid, campaign donation limits” by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Utah:  “Some ethics bills advance, while calls arise for more” by Lee Davidson in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Vermont: “Ben and Jerry push campaign finance ‘petition on steroids’” Dan D’Ambrosio in the Burlington Free Press.

Ethics

Arizona: “Arizona Democrats introduce trio of ethics bills” by AJ Vicens in Cronkite News.

Arizona: “Arizona Democrats introduce trio of ethics bills” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

New Jersey: “Christie make case for taking over independent agencies” by Matt Katz in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

South Carolina: “Gov.’s commission suggests ‘clean, honest’ ethics plan” by Andrew Shain in The State.

Texas: “Ethics Commission to Debate Fundraising Opinion” by Emily Ramshaw in the Texas Tribune.

Virginia: “Va. lawmakers’ gifts last year were padded with travel” by Bill Sizemore in the Virginian-Pilot.

Redistricting

North Carolina: “Judges to hear N.C. redistricting challenge” by Dale Gibson in the Triangle Business Journal.

Virginia: “Va. Senate OK’s constitutional amendments” by Laura Vozzella in the Washington Post.

Wisconsin: “Rep. Vos subpoenaed in Wisconsin redistricting case” by The Associated Press in the Post Crescent.

The Commission on Ethics Reform, formed by Governor Nikki Haley in October, 2012, has released 23 recommendations following a series of public meetings. Recommendation 12 would revise lobbying definitions to cover individuals who lobby any political subdivision of the state, including counties, city councils, municipalities, school districts, and special purpose or public service districts.

The commission hopes to offset the additional cost associated with expanding lobbying registration and reporting by increasing the registration fee for lobbyists and lobbyist principals. Whether or not the reform recommendations will produce new legislation is up to state lawmakers.

Lobbying

“D.C. Circuit Upholds Conviction of Former Abramoff Lobbying Associate” by Tom Ruger in the Blog of the Legal Times.

Arizona: “Inquiry of Fiesta Bowl lobbyist drags on” by Craig Harris in the Arizona Republic.

Georgia:  “Lobbyist gifts decline amid citizen outcry” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hawaii: “Hawaii legislators push reforming ethics rules for lobbyists and public officials” by Anita Hofschneider (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Kentucky:  “Some notes on 2012 lobbying spending” by Tom Loftus in the Courier-Journal.

New Mexico: “Lobbyists haven’t reported all event expenses” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

North Carolina:  “N.C. budget chairs change seats, start lobbying careers” by Rob Christensen in the Charlotte Observer.

Washington: “Spin Control: Lobbying season kicks off in Olympia” by Jim Camden in the Spokesman Review.

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Campaign finance violations targeted” by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez in the Arizona Republic.

Montana:  “Montana bill seeks cash to fight ‘dark money‘” by Matt Gouras (Associated Press) in the Great Falls Tribune.

Ethics

South Dakota: “Sunshine laws draw support, resistance” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.

Government Tech and Social Media

“6 Ways to Optimize Gov-to-Citizen Communication” by Colin Wood in Government Technology.

Legislative Issues

Arizona: “Arizona’s new Legislature not demographically representative of population” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

Federal:

Citizens United Third Anniversary Marked By Reformers with Push for Constitutional Amendment

From the States and Municipalities:

Arizona – Former Arizona Lawmaker Ben Arredondo Avoids Prison Time

Florida – Florida Group Wants to End Caps on Campaign Donations

Hawaii – Lobbying Reform Is a Tough Sell in Hawaii’s Legislature

Kansas – Business, Labor Clash over Bill Aimed at Restricting Union Politicking

Kentucky – Lobbyists Spend Record Amount in Kentucky

Nevada – Lawmakers Anxious in Wake of Alleged Threats to Assembly Speaker

North Dakota – North Dakota to Move Forward on Ethics Reform

Ohio – Ex-Legislator Sent to Prison for Corruption

Utah – New Utah Congressman Has Ties That Bind: Family

Washington – Bill Imposing a Lobbyist Fee Gets Mixed Reactions Lobbying

West Virginia – U.S. Appeals Court OKs Some W.Va. Election Ad Rules

Wisconsin – Contract Lobbying Still Under the Radar

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.

Lobbying

“K Street says goodbye, good riddance to 2012, expects upturn this year” by Kevin Bogardus and Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“K Street Files: At Start of Second Term, Lobbyists Get Over Obama’s Cold Shoulder” by Kate Ackley and Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

“Interests’ Presence Felt In 2012, Filings Show” by Janie Lorber and Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“K Street sings the blues” by Byron Tau and Tarini Parti in Politico.

Campaign Finance

“Florida GOP donor Jay Odom indicted on campaign finance fraud charges” by Lucy Morgan in the Miami Herald.

Maine: “Maine lawmakers join effort to amend Constitution to allow campaign funding limits” by Robert Long in the Bangor Daily News.

Ethics

Colorado: “Ethics bill clears Senate committee hurdle” by Arek Sarkissian II in the Tallahassee Democrat.

Ohio: “Ex-legislator sent to prison for corruption” by Jim Siegel in the Columbus Dispatch.

Redistricting

“In quirk, some California residents have two state senators, others none” by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

“Va. Republicans’ redistricting maneuver draws criticism” by Laura Vozzella and Errin Haines in the Washington Post.

From the State Legislatures

“Top 10 legislative issues facing lawmakers in 2013” by Mark Wolfe from NCSL.

“In Michigan and Wisconsin, Some Lawmakers Want to Go Part-Time” by Jim Malewitz in Stateline.

Lobbying

“Washington Parties, K Street Pays” by Chris Frates in National Journal.

“Ben Nelson among ex-lawmakers to K Street” by Tarini Parti in Politico.

“Lobbyists of all stripes swarm President Obama’s gun-control proposals” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Virginia:  “Uranium backers gave gifts, donations to lawmakers” by Bob Lewis in the Winston-Salem Journal.

Wisconsin: “Former Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald lobbying” by The Associated Press in the News Times.

Campaign Finance

New Jersey: “Corporations face new rules on disclosing political donations” by Juliet Fletcher in the Bergen Record.

New York:  “Lawmakers scrambling to raise funds ahead of Cuomo’s promised campaign reform” by Carl Campanile in the New York Post.

Ethics

New Mexico: “Democrat wants bill to ban use of state resources for political reasons” by Steve Terrell in the New Mexican.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Obama’s Inauguration Live-Tweeted by the White House” in Government Technology.

“Facebook Graph Search Announcement Inspires IT Leaders” by Colin Wood in Government Technology.

“Obama calls for new ideas and technology to ‘remake’ government” by Eric Katz and Kedar Pavgi in Government Executive.

Lobbying

“Obama Expected to Ease Lobby Posture” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“K Street Files: Lieberman Aide to Artemis Strategies” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Canada: “Canada finance minister apologizes after reprimand for lobbying” by David Ljunggren in Reuters.

Texas:  “Lobbying groups maintain presence in state capitol during legislative session” by Enrique Rangel in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

Campaign Finance

“10 biggest beneficiaries of Citizens United” by Laura Gottesdiener in Salon.

Colorado:  “Denver rally calls for campaign finance changes” on ABC 7 News.

Colorado:  “Who is and isn’t obeying Colo. voters on campaign finance?” by Brandon Rittiman in NBC 9 News.

Indiana:  “Hoosiers Protest Citizens United In Indianapolis” by Brandon Smith in Indiana Public Media.

Ethics

“Obama’s Ethics Agenda Backfires” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

Florida:  “Major ethics bill unveiled in Tallahassee” in the St. Augustine Record.

Idaho: “House takes up push to revamp ethics commission” by The Associated Press in the Idaho Statesman.

Kentucky: “Metro Council to ask legislature to approve subpoena power for Ethics Commission” by Sheldon S. Shafer in the Courier-Journal.

Texas:  “The Texas Tribune launches interactive Lawmaker Explorer tool” by Ryan Lakich in CultureMap Austin.

Ethics

“Lawmakers in Southeast call for ethics reform” by Nicholas Kusnetz in The Center for Public Integrity.

Louisiana: “Former New Orleans mayor indicted on federal corruption charges” by Michael Martinez in CNN News.

Oregon:  “Oregon ethics board: Gov. John Kitzhaber can be paid speaker fees” by Christian Gaston in the Oregonian.

Citizens United

“Overturning Citizens United” by Tim Redmond in the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Maryland: “Rally in Annapolis protests Citizens United decision” by Hannah Anderson in the Daily Record.

New Jersey: “N.J. coalition calls for overturn of ‘Citizens United’ campaign contribution decision” by Phil Gregory in Newsworks New Jersey.

Washington: “Sen. Kline wants a state response to Citizens United” by Brad Shannon in The Olympian.

Legislative Issues

“Poll: 75 percent want Hill term limits” by Katie Glueck in Politico.

Arkansas:  “Lawmakers complete first week of session” by Rob Moritz in Arkansas News

Government Social Media

“CIO Council to agency IT shops: Get smart on social media and open government” in NextGov.

Open Government

Florida: “Senate starts over in quest to build a transparency website” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.

National:

Revolving Door Swings Freely in America’s Statehouses

Federal:

Sandy Lobbying Hinged on Governors

From the States and Municipalities:

California – California’s Lobby Laws Keep Many Influence-Peddling Details Secret

Florida – Sweeping Ethics Bill Would Curtail Lobbying by Lawmakers

Georgia – Senate Passes Ethics Rule, Maintains Restriction on Public Complaints

Kansas – Ethics Commission Recommends Fee Increase

Missouri – Kander Puts an End to Accepting Gifts from Lobbyists

Nevada – Lobbyists Ready Themselves for Legislative Session

Ohio – Cuyahoga County Corruption Investigation Winds Down to the Finish as Bulk of Case Completed

Oklahoma – Oklahoma Ethics Commission Hires New Director

Oregon – Commission Says Kitzhaber Can Accept Payment for Health-Policy Speeches

South Carolina – Sanford Checked with Ex-Wife before Entering Race for SC House Seat

Texas – For Ethics Commission, Big Hurdles to Reform

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 Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission is seeking changes to the fees it charges for lobbyist and political action committee registrations. The commission’s executive director Carol Williams said the commission has not determined the amount of the increase it plans to propose, but that it will likely be a modest amount.

The fees for lobbyists and PACs have not increased in 12 years and the commission receives about a third of its funding through fees. The commission is also recommending an increase in the threshold amount at which a person must register as a lobbyist, from the current $100 in expenditures for lobbying to $500. The current threshold has not increased in 25 years, and the commission believes the proposed amount is a reasonable inflation factor.

The Florida Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections is working on a proposed bill to revise the state’s ethics law.

The draft language relating to lobbying and gift law in the bill establishes a fine for executive branch lobbyists for failure to provide required information or knowingly providing false information in a report, and prohibits vendors from providing gifts to reporting individuals or procurement employees. Other changes the committee is considering include:

• Restrictions on former legislators’ employment as a lobbyist, such as ban on executive branch lobbying and a prohibition on becoming a partner, principal, or employee of a firm whose primary business is lobbying the state legislature within the two years after a legislator leaves office; and
• A prohibition on or reduced gift limit for gifts to covered individuals from committees of continuous existence, or CCEs. House Speaker Will Weatherford has called for elimination of CCEs, which are often used by legislators to pay for meals, travel, and gifts.

The committee plans to have final draft language available on January 18, and plans to consider the proposed bill at its January 22 meeting.