January 9, 2012 •
North Carolina Lobbyist Fine Overturned
Portions of Lobbying Law Found Ambiguous As Applied
NORTH CAROLINA: Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway has cleared former lobbyist Don Beason of misconduct, finding parts of North Carolina’s lobbying reform law are ambiguous as applied and the secretary of state overreached in fining Beason.
The court held that Beason does not have to pay the $30,000 fine imposed on him. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall fined Beason a record-setting $111,000 in 2010, an amount that was later reduced, for failing to make required disclosures about companies he was representing.
Judge Ridgeway stated North Carolina law defines a lobbyist as someone who communicates directly with legislators or their employees, but there was no evidence Beason directly contacted anyone on behalf of the companies he represented. Additionally, because the law gave the state ethics commission the authority to interpret the act and the secretary of state the power to administer it, Marshall overstepped her authority in interpreting the act and fining Beason.
January 6, 2012 •
Illinois Modifies Lobbyist Affirmation Due Date
Due February 4, 2012
The Illinois Secretary of State has announced that the lobbyist affirmation statement for the period of July 1 to December 31, 2011 has been modified.
The lobbyist affirmation is now due on February 4, 2012.
January 6, 2012 •
Assorted Friday Reading
Here are a few items that came up in my daily news scan:
“Ethics watchdog alleges that Gingrich might have violated lobbying laws” by Rachel Leven in The Hill.
“Super PACs: The WMDs of Campaign Finance” by Ben Heineman, Jr. in The Atlantic.
“Rick Santorum, ‘Stealth Lobbyist’” by Matthew Mosk and Brian Ross on ABCNews.com.
“More women seeking, achieving greater political clout in Wisconsin” by Michael Louis Vinson in the Appleton Post-Crescent.
“SCOTUS expected to weigh Montana campaign finance appeal” by Robin Bravender in Politico.
“State GOP accused of campaign finance violations” by Brad Schrade in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
January 6, 2012 •
NPR Story Discusses Return on Lobbying Investment
“Corporations don’t lobby Congress for fun.”
Thank you to Political Activity Law blog for bringing this to our attention. As part of its series about lobbying and U.S. politics on Morning Edition, NPR broadcast a story about how a study calculated what money corporations saved through a tax break from the American Jobs Creation Act versus what they spent lobbying on the legislation.
You can listen to the podcast and read the summary of the story at “Forget Stocks or Bonds, Invest in a Lobbyist” by Alex Blumberg on NPR. Here is the link to the previous podcast “Inside Washington’s Money Machine” from November 1, 2011.
Here is the original study conducted by Raquel Alexander, Stephen Mazza, and Susan Scholz.
January 5, 2012 •
Henderson, Nev. Enacts New Lobbying Law
Revolving Door and Increased Disclosure Addressed
HENDERSON, NEVADA: The Henderson City Council has passed lobbyist and revolving door regulations. Lobbyists must now file a disclosure form after each communication with a city official or employee.
Additionally, elected officials and employees must wait one year after leaving office or employment before they can lobby on behalf of a private person or business.
The new provisions go into effect on Friday January 6, 2012.
January 4, 2012 •
Lobbying in the News
New York lobbyist Richard Lipsky to plead guilty, a pep talk for lobbyists to use social media, and a phone app to log lobbying activity.
“Lobbyist Is Expected to Plead Guilty in Corruption Case” by Benjamin Weiser in The New York Times .
“Why Would a Lobbyist Need Social Media?” by John Hall on Social Media Today.
“Too many lobbyists? There’s an app for that” by Anthony Man and Larry Barszewski in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. (Thank you George Ticoras for seeing this one!)
January 4, 2012 •
2012 Guidebooks Are Here!
The State and Federal Communications, Inc. research staff has updated this Executive Source Guidebook and we are pleased to provide it to our valued clients.
This quick desk reference combines information from our online resources and lists the information by state:
– The Executive Source Guide on Lobbying Laws™;
– The Executive Source Guide on Political Contributions™; and
– The Executive Source Guide on Procurement Lobbying™.
This guidebook is filled with valuable information. However, we also caution it has two limitations:
The online resources, which you receive either through your subscription or as part of your lobbying compliance service, are comprehensive. This guidebook summarizes information in the online resources, and is meant only as a quick-reference guide.
While this guidebook is accurate and timely when we print it, please understand our online resources are updated continually. We provide this guidebook to you as a convenience, but your ultimate source of information should always be the online resource(s) to which you subscribe.
We consider this guidebook another value-added benefit of your partnership with State and Federal Communications. You also receive, via e-mail, monthly updates of important compliance legislation on the federal and state levels; News You Can Use™, our weekly summary of current news and events regarding compliance; and the Compliance Now newsletter with even more information.
Please call us at (330)761-9960 or email marketing@stateandfed.com if you would like to learn more about State and Federal Communications’ compliance services. Be sure to contact us if you are already a client and need to have your subscription username or password forwarded.
We are privileged to have you as clients, and are pleased to be your trusted adviser for government affairs compliance.
January 4, 2012 •
Title 15 and the Maryland Mandate
Last year, Maryland’s legislature passed a public ethics law, Title 15, after finding an erosion of public confidence in government decisions due to improper influence.
Title 15 requires government officials and employees to disclose their financial affairs and sets minimum ethical standards for the conduct of state and local business. The law also requires all counties, municipalities, and school boards adopt ethics standards at least equal to the state’s ethics law with regard to conflicts of interest, financial disclosure, and lobbying. Each local ethics commission is required to certify its compliance with the Maryland Ethics Commission on or before October 1st of each year, beginning in 2011.
Some local officials are still working toward agreement and passage of the required bills. Although officials may follow the state’s guidelines, many are choosing their own paths. For instance, the registration thresholds for lobbyists in Title 15 include an expenditure clause and a gift clause: $500 in expenditures towards influencing legislative or executive action; or $100 in gifts for the purpose of influencing executive action. The recently passed Charles County bill has a $100 gift threshold, while Alleghany County’s gift threshold is $200. Neither bill includes an expenditure clause. However, in Howard County, there is a $100 expenditure threshold for any lobbying activity, but no gift threshold.
Conflict of interest rules have also been the subject of debate. Title 15 forbids former public officials (other than legislators) and employees from assisting or representing a party in a contract or other specific matter for compensation if the former official or employee participated significantly in the matter as an official or employee. Frederick County attempted to limit this prohibition to one year for former commissioners with an exemption for former employees. This modification was rejected by the state. The Frederick County delegation now plans to propose changes to Title 15 before the general assembly to allow the one year limitations.
Counties such as Baltimore and Montgomery continue to debate and, as of December 1, 2011, had yet to approve a final version of the required ethics bill.
In the latest development, the State Ethics Commission met to respond to exemption requests. According to the Maryland Municipal League web site:
“The Maryland State Ethics Commission met on December 8 to consider a number of exemption requests from various municipalities around the state. Several jurisdictions were requesting an extension of an existing exemption, while some cities and towns were requesting new exemptions from the recently enacted financial disclosure reporting requirement. The results were varied, although it seemed as though population and budget size were the criteria most often cited by the members of the Ethics Commission when exemptions were being considered. For more information, please contact Tom Reynolds or Candace Donoho on the MML staff.”
January 3, 2012 •
Entirety of Palm Beach County, Florida Soon to Require Lobbyist Registration
Board of County Commissioners Votes to Extend Registry to County’s 38 Cities
Lobbyists wishing to lobby in any of Palm Beach County, Florida’s 38 cities will soon be subject to a countywide lobbyist registry, as approved by the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners at their most recent meeting.
Lobbyists will be required to pay $25 to register the names of their clients, while also being required to submit annual expense reports. There will also be limits on gifts from lobbyists.
A city may opt out of the countywide registry, but then must create its own registry.
Photo of Palm Beach by Michael Kagdis on Wikipedia.
January 3, 2012 •
Maryland Lobbyist Is Back as the Top Earner
According to the Maryland State Ethics Commission, Gerard Evans – who was convicted of fraud and spent time in prison – is back in the top earning position in the state for the past year.
Read the full story in “Evans regains top lobbying spot in Annapolis” by John Wagner in the Washington Post.
Here is a list of the top 135 lobbyists in compensation in Maryland by the State Ethics Commission.
January 3, 2012 •
Philadelphia Lobbyist Registration Begins
Board of Ethics Creates Interim Paper Filing System
The City of Philadelphia Board of Ethics has provided interim paper registration forms and instructions for lobbyists, lobbying firms, and principals to be used until an online registration and reporting system is completed. The registration forms allow filers to fill-in information before printing.
The board reminds filers that registration is not complete until a form is printed, signed, and mailed or delivered to the board of ethics with the registration fee.
Registration must occur within ten days after both the commencement of lobbying and the exceeding of thresholds. However, no event occurring prior to January 3, 2012 is relevant to determining the thresholds, registration date, or expense reporting.
January 3, 2012 •
Experts React to Abramoff 2.0
Elizabeth Bartz quoted in Bloomberg article.
Bloomberg Business Week has gathered a variety of opinions about the emerging Jack Abramoff redux-as-ethics-teacher phenomenon. The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission hired Jack Abramoff to be a speaker on the subject of ethics at their upcoming legislative training and people are reacting.
Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and Howard Marlowe, President of the American League of Lobbyists offered their thoughts. You also can find opinions from Craig Holman of Public Citizen in Washington, Melanie Sloan, the director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and even Jack Abramoff himself.
Bartz was quoted saying: “Certainly you want to give people a chance to rehabilitate themselves. But is Jack Abramoff rehabilitated? I don’t think so.”
You can read the coverage in “Abramoff as Ethics Guru Latest Chapter in Political Second Acts” by Julie Bykowicz.
Don’t miss Scott Suttell’s “Even Those in the lobbying business aren’t Jack Abramoff fans” where he says Bartz’s comment is a contender for “quote of the year.”
January 2, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – January 2, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Fundraisers Take a Gamble on Lotteries
Romney Charity Used for Conservative Donations
Ron Paul’s House Record Marked by Bold Strokes, and Futility
From the States and Municipalities:
California
Business Interests Were Top Bill-Killers in California’s Capitol This Year
California
State Senator Aims to Double Lobby Fee in California – to 14 Cents a Day
Colorado
Gessler Issues 2012 Campaign Finance Rules
Florida
Palm Beach County Approves Countywide Lobbyist Registry
Ohio
Jimmy Dimora Faces Trial as Convictions in Federal Court Soar
South Carolina
Colbert Offering $500,000 to Pay for S.C. GOP Primary
Tennessee
Tennessee Lawmakers Still Haven’t Filled Ethics Commission Seat That Expired in ’09
Washington
Court Invalidates Washington State Cap on PAC Donations
West Virginia
Ethics Agency’s Informal Advice Kept Secret
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 30, 2011 •
Pembroke Pines City Commission Approves Lobbyist Registration Ordinance
Lobbyists to Begin Registering January 2, 2012
The city of Pembroke Pines, Florida passed a lobbyist registration ordinance at the most recent city commission meeting. The ordinance requires lobbyists to register with the city clerk prior to engaging in lobbying activities.
Registration will be required annually and lobbyists must pay a registration fee of $50. Lobbyists will also be required to complete a contact log to document meetings with members of the city commission or members of other decision-making bodies under the jurisdiction of the city commission.
The ordinance was passed in response to Broward County’s new code of ethics, which extends the county’s code of ethics to all municipalities within the county. Lobbyists will be required to begin registering on January 2, 2012.
Map of Florida by Bastique 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.