The National Bureau of Economic Research published a new study about lobbying called “The Dynamics of Firm Lobbying.”

For a good summary of the results of this study, read the Washington Post’s article “Corporate lobbying is a very exclusive club” by Brad Plumer. The article says the report shows a small percentage of firms are lobbying and the companies that are lobbying are big, with large budgets. They describe the challenges facing companies and organizations that wish to promote their issues in Washington.

According to the article: “Washington is teeming with lobbyists. In 2009, there were 13,700 of them. So you’d think it would be easy for any company to stride into town and start pressing its issues on members of Congress. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Only a relatively small number of firms lobby each year. What’s more, the turnover is quite low. Lobbying, it seems, is not a game that just anyone can play.”

Photo of the United States Capitol by Florian Hirzinger on Wikipedia.

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.

The first reporting period will be the first quarter of 2012, and the first expense report is due April 30, 2012.

Regulation No. 9, regarding lobbying, will become effective January 3, 2012. The Board of Ethics intends to recommend amendments to Regulation No. 9 to bring it into conformity with amendments made to Philadelphia City Code Chapter 20-1200 by Bill No. 110556.

In the event an online filing system is not available by January 3, 2012, an interim registration method will be provided by the Board of Ethics.

National Journal reported on a recent Public Affairs Council survey about the public’s opinion of businesses and lobbying. Depending on how the questions about lobbying were posed, public opinion ranged from unfavorable to acceptable.

Here is the National Journal article “Poll: Americans Divided on Companies That Hire Lobbyists” by Andrew Joseph.

You can read the Public Affairs Council’s full report of the survey, “What Americans Think About Business,” as well as their press release and Executive Summary.

The survey was conducted by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International.

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.

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.

According to the article: “Now, with Congress gridlocked over the debt ceiling and an election year on the horizon — historically slower on the lobbying front until the last quarter — some firms are increasingly chasing work that doesn’t fall under the traditional definition of lobbying in order to boost their bottom line.”

Here is the full the article, “Firms look beyond lobbying,” by Catherine Ho.

The Sacramento Bee reported last week that California’s Fair Political Practices Commission has opted for a $30,000 fine against lobbyist Frank Molina, instead of the higher $5o,000 fine it had considered.

You can read the whole story here: “FPPC sticks with $30,000 fine for lobbyist Frank Molina,” by Laurel Rosenhall and Torey Van Oot.

Seal of the State of California by Zscout370 on Wikipedia.

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.

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.

For a detailed look at the type of exemptions being submitted, take a look at “Alabama’s new ethics law fails to stop exemption requests from lobbyists and public officials” by Kim Chandler.

According to the article: “The Alabama Ethics Commis­sion has received nearly 200 requests to certify din­ners, trips and conferences as allowable exemptions since Alabama 10 months ago adopted a new ethics law, which caps how much a lobbyist can spend on a public official.”

A three judge panel of the 4^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to uphold North Carolina’s ban on registered lobbyists making campaign contributions to candidates for the Legislature and the Council of State.

A lobbyist with the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the ban on contributions, saying it violated her right to freedom of speech and association.

The appeals court upheld a district court ruling by stating the ban was a “valid exercise of North Carolina’s legislative prerogative” to address potential corruption and the appearance of corruption.

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.

Persons lobbying within any of Palm Beach County’s 38 cities and towns may soon have to register as lobbyists as part of a proposed countywide lobbyist registry and standardized set of rules.

If approved, the new rules would apply to all persons lobbying municipal personnel. Some concerns have been raised as to the definition of lobbyists and the potential inclusion in that definition of unpaid lobbyists.

If approved, a $25 registration fee per principal represented would be instituted and expenditures exceeding $25 in specified categories would be required to be reported.