November 8, 2011 •
Appellate Court Upholds North Carolina’s Ban on Lobbyist Campaign Contributions
Affirms Lower Court Ruling
A three judge panel of the 4th 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.
November 4, 2011 •
Abramoff Is Back in the News
Jack Abramoff has taken an interesting stance as he promotes a new autobiography.
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.
November 2, 2011 •
New Rules Affecting Lobbyists Considered in Palm Beach County
Countywide Lobbyist Registration and Rules Sought
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.
November 1, 2011 •
Mayor Signs Revision to Philadelphia Lobbying Law
Law Narrows Definition of Lobbying and Covers More Government Agencies
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Mayor Michael Nutter has approved a bill which alters restrictions on lobbyists to correct problems with the lobbying law approved last year. The original law was viewed as overly broad by many, including the Philadelphia Bar Association, which had threatened to fight it in court. This version more narrowly defines lobbying activity.
The new bill also expands the number of agencies covered under the law to include the Philadelphia School District, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation.
October 31, 2011 •
Detroit Voters to Consider City Charter
Charter Proposes Ethics and Lobbying Reforms
On November 8, Detroit voters will consider a city charter proposed to reform the city government by bolstering ethics and reducing corruption. The proposed charter creates a board of ethics and the office of inspector general to investigate alleged ethical or criminal violations.
The charter seeks to improve transparency by requiring lobbyists and contractors to reveal financial connections with elected officials. Additionally, public servants are prohibited from accepting a gift, honoraria, or anything of value from individuals or companies seeking to do business with the city and a company can be barred from doing business with the city if found to be involved in contractual bribery or corruption.
Photo of the Detroit skyline by Shawn Wilson on Wikipedia.
October 31, 2011 •
Alabama, Lobbying, and the Changes
Alabama ethics reform 10 months later …
Today’s Birmingham News offers an article by Kim Chandler, “New Alabama ethics law sweeps in culture shift for capital lobbyists,” which describes how lobbying techniques in the state have changed since the ethics law was passed. Chandler also considers the views of those whose businesses have suffered in the capitol as a result of those changes.
“Ten months after the Alabama Legislature approved the new ethics law capping lobbyists’ spending, the culture is different in Montgomery, said several legislators. There are no more free tickets, golf outings, social trips or nightly one-on-one dinners with lobbyists.”
Photo of the Alabama State Capitol building by Jim Bowen on Wikipedia.
October 31, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – October 31, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Ex-Abramoff Associate Ring Sentenced to 20 Months in One of Scandal’s Harshest Punishments
Influence Industry Officially in a Funk
Lobbyist Stint Led to Cain’s Political Forays
Lobbyists Claim Victory against Tax Rule
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Ex-Alabama Rep. Terry Spicer Enters Agreement to Plead Guilty to Bribery
Alaska
Guilty Pleas Mark End of Alaska Corruption Investigation
Arizona
Judge Rejects Arizona Campaign Finance Measure
Illinois
Ex-Teachers Union Boss Gets $242,000 State Pension
Kentucky
David Williams’ In-Law is Restoring America Group’s Sole Donor
Montana
Montana Political Practices Office to Address Social Media Campaign Complaints
Nevada
Short-Staffed Ethics Commission Wading Through Flood of Cases
New York
Operative Convicted of Stealing from NYC Mayor
Ohio
Washington
With $22 Million Bet, Costco Shakes Up Washington Election
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Capitol to Allow Guns
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.
October 28, 2011 •
How Much Are Tech Companies Spending on Lobbying?
With third quarter figures emerging, everyone seems to be interested in how much tech companies are spending to lobby the government.
Here is a brief survey of articles:
USA Today offers “Social media companies ‘friend’ politics” by Fredreka Schouten.
In the Washington Post’s Capitol Business we find “LightSquared adds lobbyists from four firms to roster” by Catherine Ho.
ReadWriteWeb.com posted “Who Are The Top Tech Lobbying Firms?” by David Strom. Last year, the top three were: Microsoft, HP, and Google. Strom claims Google employs 25 different lobbying firms.
AllFacebook.com posted “Facebook Spends Record Amounts On Lobbying, But Not As Much As Google Does”
Bloomberg’s Businessweek published “Google’s 3Q lobbying bill rises to $2.4 million” by the Associated Press.
October 27, 2011 •
Ask the Experts – It’s Football Time!
Here is your chance to “Ask the Experts” at State and Federal Communications, Inc.
Q: I am a registered lobbyist who would like to host a state legislator at a college football game. Are there specific restrictions to this type of gift?
A: The most common gift restrictions are those relating to food and beverage. Providing tickets or admission to a football game is a different type of gift, referred to as entertainment or hospitality.
Some jurisdictions do not restrict providing entertainment at all. Pennsylvania does not restrict a lobbyist providing hospitality to an official. However, Pennsylvania does require the lobbyist’s principal to report the gift of hospitality, even itemizing it if the aggregate of all gifts to the official is more than $650 in a calendar year.
Other jurisdictions allow a lobbyist to provide entertainment up to a certain amount. In Texas, a lobbyist may provide expenditures for entertainment of $500 or less in a calendar year. Ohio permits a lesser amount. Lobbyists may provide Ohio officials gifts worth an aggregate annual value of $75 or less. Like Pennsylvania, both Texas and Ohio require the gift to be reported.
Louisiana specifically prohibits providing tickets to sporting events except for a very narrow exception. Other jurisdictions do not specifically mention entertainment or hospitality, but generally restrict these gifts to officials. Though a big football state, Wisconsin generally prohibits all gifts to officials.
The question reinforces the idea that a lobbyist must understand all of a jurisdiction’s gift restrictions, not just those that pertain to food and beverage. When considering any dollar value limitation on entertainment or hospitality, be sure to consider the proper method to value the gift in that jurisdiction. For example, the cost of a football ticket for ethics purposes could be its face value or its fair market value.
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.
October 24, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – October 24, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Deep Sea Burial Forms First Corporate ‘Super PAC’
Federal:
ACLU Challenge to Small Piece of Campaign Finance Law May Lead to a Slippery Slope
Judge Sends Abramoff Deputy to Halfway House
K Street Suffers from Twitter Jitters
From the States and Municipalities:
Alaska
APOC Busy as Redistricting Raises Legislators’ Questions
California
California’s Center for Governmental Studies to Close
California
San Jose Eases Campaign Limits, Focuses Economic Efforts
Florida
To Interview Mayor, Reporters Must Register as Lobbyists
Kentucky
Judge Bars Group’s Ads Supporting David Williams from Airing
Massachusetts
Lally, DiMasi Conspirator Who Cooperated with Prosecutors, Sentenced to 18 Months
Montana
Group Asks Judge to Toss Campaign Finance Ruling
Pennsylvania
Nutter, Green Unlikely Allies in Same-Sex Ethics Bill
Tennessee
Corporations Signing Up to Donate Under New State Law
Texas
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.
October 21, 2011 •
Lobbying Spending Is Down
Third quarter reports show spending is down again.
I saw a pattern on Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law Blog entry for today – articles talking about lobbying spending. Each one comes to us from The Hill and each one tells of dropping numbers. I thought they were significant, so here they are:
Staff article: “Lobbying Revenue – Third Quarter 2011”
“Influence industry officially in a funk” by Kevin Bogardus and Rachel Leven
“Chamber of Commerce and legal affiliate report spending $45.8M on lobbying” by Kevin Bogardus
Photo of the U. S. Capitol dome and flag by Florian Hirzinger on Wikipedia.
October 20, 2011 •
Thursday News Items
Lobbyists, government, social media ethics, and latest trends!
Lobbyists are prominently mentioned in this Wall Street Journal piece, “Washington Area Is Tops in Income” by Elizabeth Williamson.
NCSL published “Social media tools can pose ethical problems for lawmakers,” by Judy Nadler. The article explores the ethical considerations lawmakers face when using social media tools. The article raises the question about the types of relationships that are established on a network like Facebook by citing the example of someone running for office: “A ‘push’ was organized to add key lobbyists, government contractors and others as ‘friends.'” Nadler discusses government-using-social-media issues such as transparency, playing favorites, and the obligation officeholders have to choose the words they use online carefully.
The Fierce Government IT article, “‘Snapshots cannot accurately archive gov 2.0 content, says Navy official” by Molly Bernhart Walker, discusses the challenges posed by the need to keep a record of government presence in social media platforms.
From Federal Computer Week: A recent survey takes a look at mobile device trends in “Government workers using mobile to access social media, survey shows” by Alice Lipowicz.
October 18, 2011 •
The Dilemma Social Media Poses to Lobbyists
“Luddite lobbyists go out of business.”
Dave Levinthal just published the article “K Street suffers from Twitter jitters” in Politico, where he talks about how lobbyists face a world increasingly using social media.
Members of Congress and their staff are communicating more and more via Facebook and Twitter. So too, many of the companies and organizations that hire lobbyists are employing social media platforms in their communications strategies.
Levinthal’s article explains how lobbyists prefer face-to-face meetings over video conferences or Facebook updates as a way of getting their message across to lawmakers. He also stresses that lobbyists are eager to keep their clients’ information from being broadcast in all directions over social networks.
The article quotes Patton Boggs Chairperson Nick Allard in order to highlight the dilemma: “I’m sure when lawyers or lobbyists used the telegraph for the first time, they faced this kind of issue … But you cannot be a Luddite and a lobbyist. Luddite lobbyists go out of business.”
What communications will lobbyists embrace in the face of social media? Don’t miss Politico’s analysis.
Photo of the K Street street sign by Ben Shumin on Wikipedia.
October 17, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – October 17, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Company Shops for Campaign Cash
Former Lobbyist Sent to Jail for a Few Hours for Taking Hill Aides to 2003 World Series Game
‘Scarlet L’ for K Street Returns as Obama Sharpens 2012 Rhetoric on Lobbyists
‘Super PAC’ American Crossroads Seeks Permission to Feature Candidates in Ads
The Outsized Returns from Lobbying
From the States and Municipalities:
California
California OKs Donations via Text
California
L.A. Ethics Commission Slaps Developer with Maximum Campaign Fine
California
Proposed California Regulations Spell Out Gift-Reporting Requirements for Elected Officials
Massachusetts
DiMasi Friend Admits Breaking Massachusetts Lobbying Law
New Mexico
GOP Files Lawsuit against Newly Imposed Campaign Contribution Limits in New Mexico
Tennessee
Tennessee Lawmaker Arrested on DUI, Gun Charges
Vermont
Judge: Republican Governors Association violated Vermont campaign finance laws
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.
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.