In the face of sagging public perception of lobbyists, Van Scoyoc Associates will be employing an advertising campaign with the hope of improving the industry’s image. More than just a series of plain ads, the firm will be using questionnaires seeking honest opinions and a “two-way discussion.”

In Politico’s  “Ad: ‘Lobbyist’ is no 4-letter word,” Dave Levinthal speaks with the firm, and with Patton Boggs and The American League of Lobbyists about how the public views lobbying and what the industry can do.

What is needed? They say clearer definition of lobbying activity is needed, as well as greater disclosure. Educating people about the role of lobbying would also be helpful. They speak about how the needs of local governments can better be met by lobbying, and the need for lobbying for the less advantaged.

What do you think?

In T.W Farnam’s aticle, “Revolving door of employment between Congress, lobbying firms, study shows,” the Washington Post reports that LegiStorm has published a new study revealing how many U.S. lawmakers and their staffers have left to become lobbyists.

The published totals are 400 lawmakers and 5,400 staffers in the last ten years. LegiStorm also reveals the reverse process: 605 lobbyists have moved into positions as congressional staffers.

You can find LegiStorm’s announcement on their blog here.

Roll Call reported last night about a new website that will be offering a way for people to have access to lobbying services. By helping people establish an advocacy campaign and start raising funds, YouLobby.com is meant to remove a common barrier people face when seeking lobbying services.

Could this become a game-changer in grassroots and other forms of lobbying?

Find out more about the story in Roll Call’s article, “Website Seeks to  Help Public Hire Lobbyists” by Ambreen Ali.

YouLobby.com has nothing on its website yet, but you can find out about the project on their Facebook and through their Twitter account, @YouLobby.

As The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction holds its first public hearing today, a new bi-partisan bill introduced last week is circulating which would require its 12 members to disclose meetings with lobbyists and special interests between committee members and staff 48 hours after the meeting on the committee website.

The bill also requires the same disclosure before any meetings occur within 48 hours of the November 23 vote and the submission of legislative text on December 2, and disclosure of lobbyist and special interest contributions to committee member campaigns or leadership PACs, and any contributions over $500, all within 48 hours after the donation occurs.

The committee is streaming today’s meeting live, but the bill would also require committee hearings to be streamed live on its website and be televised.

Additionally, the committee’s report and proposed legislative language would have to be published online 72 hours before the vote occurs.

The bill is sponsored by House Representatives Jim Renacci, Dave Loebsack, and Mike Quigley. Representative Renacci’s press release can be found here.

 Federal:

Bipartisan Bill Would Require Transparency of Super Committee

Facing Voter Discontent, Lawmakers Skip Town Halls

Lobbying Groups Take a Stand

Members of Debt Panel Have Ties to Lobbyists

From the States and Municipalities:

California

Campaign Accountant Held in Theft of Funds

Connecticut

Watchdog Agencies Spared as Malloy Nails Down Budget Cuts

Georgia

Ethics Chief Arrives Amid Makeover

Rhode Island

R.I. Rep. Leo Medina Is Charged with a Felony

Washington

Seattle City Employee to Be Fined for Driving City Car to Casino

Wisconsin

Attorney: New Wisconsin ad rules too broad

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.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for:

Tempe, Arizona

Evansville, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

Flint, Michigan

North Las Vegas, Nevada

Reno, Nevada

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law blog pointed to a press release today, in which Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that information connecting lobbyists’ activities, their compensation, and expenses with each of their clients would now be provided on the city’s lobbyist disclosure database.

Regarding the new data that is now going to be released, Mayor Emanuel said,

“Today I am delivering on a promise to make more lobbyist data available as part of my administration’s commitment to transparency. For the first time ever, we are making city lobbyist data available online that isn’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. This new data ties information together in a way that shows the connection between client, lobbyist and city hall.”

This information is available through the City of Chicago Data Portal. The lobbyist databases include the Lobbyist Agency Report, Lobbyist Gift Report, Lobbyist Categorized Expenditures Report, Lobbyist Major Expenditures Report, and Lobbyist Registry.

National:

National Organization for Marriage Repeatedly Rebuked For Disclosure Violations

Federal:

Super Committee and K St. Creativity

From the States and Municipalities:

California

California Lawmakers-Turned-Lobbyists Cultivate Relationships under the Dome

Florida

Firefighters’ Fundraiser Gets Ethics OK, with Difficult Restrictions

Georgia

State Utility Commissioner’s Pursuit of Masters Tickets Improper, Critics Say

Nebraska

In-Session Fundraisers Questioned

Nevada

Fake Twitter Accounts Force Their Way onto Political Landscape

New Jersey

How an Irate Response to a Carl Lewis E-Mail Cost an N.J. Assemblyman His Job

New Jersey

Union Sidestep Donation Limits

Pennsylvania

Experts Question Use of $400,000 in Private, Anonymous Funds to Buy out Philadelphia Superintendent

Texas

Perry’s Fundraising for Governors Group Draws Scrutiny

Washington

Longtime Government Worker Now PDC Director

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.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for:

Chandler, Arizona

Fort Collins, Colorado

New Haven, Connecticut

Stamford, Connecticut

Chesapeake, Virginia

The New York City Lobbying Commission has released its recommendations to update and enhance the city’s lobbying laws.

In its preliminary report, the commission recommends expanding the definition of lobbying to include efforts to influence legislation prior to a bill’s introduction, efforts to keep a bill from being introduced, or efforts to shape or stop executive orders by the mayor.  The commission also recommends raising the threshold for lobbyist registration from $2,000 to $5,000.  The commission rejected suggestions to move regulation of lobbying from the city clerk’s office to another office.

The commission’s final report will be submitted to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council who, if they agree with the recommendations, can introduce legislation incorporating the changes.

Photo of the Manhattan Municipal Building by Momos on Wikipedia.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for:

Hampton, Virginia

Hollywood, Florida

Q. Are there prohibitions on registered lobbyists hand-delivering a political contribution check [personal, corporate, or PAC] to a candidate at the candidate’s fundraiser?

A. Forty-six states do not regulate the personal delivery of campaign contributions by contributions.  Of course, this assumes all other things being legal, such as session bans, a ban on corporate contributions, a ban on personal contributions by lobbyists, or personally delivering contributions while at the state capitol.

Alaska law provides that lobbyists may not host a fundraising event, directly or indirectly collect contributions, deliver contributions to a candidate, or participate in fund-raising activities.

Kentucky law prohibits a legislative agent from exercising control over a campaign contribution from a PAC and directing it to a specific state legislator, candidate, or committee.  This prohibition includes hand-delivering a contribution.

In Maryland, a lobbyist may not, for the benefit of the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, or comptroller, member of the general assembly, or candidate for election to these offices solicit or transmit a political contribution from any person or political committee.

South Carolina has very strict rules governing a lobbyist’s involvement when it comes to political contributions.  Not only are lobbyists prohibited from making personal political contributions —  even as a constituent — they are prohibited from hand-delivering a corporate or PAC check to a candidate at the candidate’s fundraiser.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for:

Elizabeth, New Jersey

Eugene, Oregon

Lakewood, Colorado

On July 28, 2011 the Chicago City Council passed a new ethics reform ordinance. The ordinance is part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s efforts to provide more government transparency.

The new ordinance includes five key provisions. First, it creates a searchable online system for lobbyist registration and reporting. Second, it adds the term “lobbyist” to the group of people subject to the $50 gift restriction per single non-cash gift and $100 aggregated gift limit per each calendar year. Third, the new ordinance prohibits city employees, officials, or their businesses from applying for or receiving loans from lobbyists.

Fourth, the ordinance amends the semi-annual lobbyist activity report form to require lobbyists to disclose all campaign contributions to city elected officials and city employees running for office. Lastly, the ordinance codifies the revolving door provision created by Mayor Emanuel’s May 16, 2011 executive order.

Photo of the Chicago River by Robert S. Donovan on Wikipedia.