On Thursday, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff spoke at the NCSL Legislative Summit in Chicago. While he maintained that 99 percent of his work in lobbying had been ethical, his speech championed the need for ethics and campaign finance reform.

For the full story, be sure to read “Jack Abramoff Urges Ethics Reform In NCSL Speech” by John Celock in the Huffington Post.

According to the article: “Abramoff, who served four years in federal prison for crimes related to the Indian gaming lobby, told the National Conference of State Legislatures that public officials need to be mindful of what lobbyists do, and take money and gifts out of politics. Abramoff has spent his time since prison advocating for ethics reform, along with writing a 2011 book on his crimes.”

August 6-9, 2012   NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) Booth 923, Chicago, Illinois

August 14, 2012   Watergate II: Cancer on the Presidency, Akron, OH

September 6-7, 2012   Practising Law Institute, Washington, D.C

September 19-21, 2012   PAC State and Local Government Seminar, Washington, D.C.

You can receive session updates, alerts, a list of exhibitors, and the summit agenda. The app works for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices.

According to their site:

“At this year’s NCSL Legislative Summit, we’re offering a mobile app that will help you navigate the meeting with ease, take advantage of all its features, and enjoy the great cultural resources of Chicago during your visit. The app includes the entire agenda, automatic updates, alerts, maps, personalized agenda and note-taking features.”

In a few days, we are leaving for Chicago to attend our 13th National Conference of State Legislatures. This is no small feat for State and Federal Communications anymore—we are taking seven (7) staff people and our exhibit booth, which I refer to as my “retirement condo.”

Our schedule for the week is color coded for exhibit times, NCSL meetings we attend, State Government Affairs Council (SGAC) events, Washington Area State Relations Group (WASRG) events, Women’s Legislative network events, and other social events held throughout the week.

In addition, State and Federal Communications is a sponsor to both Ohio Night and Virginia Night—but we are definitely more involved with Ohio Night. Our friends from Whirlpool are providing the Penthouse level from the World of Whirlpool for our function. We are definitely excited that so many folks from the state legislature are attending this year’s NCSL Legislative Summit.

The best thing about NCSL is you will find us if you have any questions or concerns about taking legislators out to dinner or a baseball game (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday – White Sox vs. the Royals Thursday through Sunday – Cubs vs. the Reds ). You can find us in Booth 923 in the Exhibit Hall on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Stop on by to say hello.

The sad part of this year’s program is Bill Pound’s wife, Margie, passed away on July 25th after a long illness. Our hearts and prayers are with Bill and his children at this time. May Margie’s Memory Be Eternal.

Thank you.

We are very excited to go to the National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Summit in Chicago. The motto of the conference this year is “Build Strong States,” and six members of our staff will be attending. If you are planning to be there, please stop by booth 923 and say hello!

We sent our booth ahead to Chicago and had a little fun making a little video about it. Take a look!

July 13-15, 2012   National Governors Association Annual Meeting, Williamsburg, Virginia

July 15-18, 2012   The Council of State Governments [CSG] Midwestern Legislative Conference, Cleveland, Ohio

August 6-9, 2012   NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) Booth 923, Chicago, Illinois

Planning on attending NCSL in Chicago and want to be involved with Ohio Night? Be sure to save the date!

For more information, contact Elizabeth Bartz of State and Federal Communications, Inc. at
330-761-9960.

Election Law

NCSL is now offering a searchable database of election reform legislation from the states in one convenient location on their website: “Election Reform Legislation Online on NCSL Website”

“Brewer signs elections bill, vetoes 6 bills” by Mary JO Pitzl in the Tucson Citizen.

Redistricting

Alabama: “Alabama Legislature holding final day of session” by The Associated Press in the News Courier. According to the article, “Legislative leaders have asked the governor to call a special session starting Thursday to draw new legislative districts.”

Alaska: “Redistricting board unveils changes made in Southeast” by Becky Bohrer in the Anchorage Daily News.

Kansas: “Republicans at war with each other over redistricting” by Scott Rothschild in the Lawrence Journal World.

Minnesota: “$628K sought for redistricting costs in Minn.” by Martiga Lohn (Associated Press) in the Crookston Times.

William Pound, the President of the National Conference of State Legislatures, wrote a letter to the editor in The New York Times. It is a response to a recent editorial “The States Get a Poor Report Card,” which disparages the ethics oversight of the states and their ability to perform other vital government functions. The editorial comes after the Center for Public Integrity gave many states a poor or failing grade in the area of ethics.

Pound responds: “In the tradition of our founding fathers, most state lawmakers are citizen-legislators. You cite a study that graded states poorly on ethics issues, yet you did not acknowledge that the overwhelming majority of the 7,382 state legislators are honorable public servants.”

Pound also compares the record of ethics agencies in state governments with the public’s current lack of trust regarding the performance of the U.S. Congress. Be sure to read the full letter here.

Thank you to Elizabeth Bartz for bringing this article to our attention.

• Find out which state ethics commissions offer ethics training and what they are like in Natalie O’Donnell Wood’s brief, “Making the Most of Your Ethical Training” in the latest edition of LEGISBRIEF.

• NCSL is hosting this webinar: Putting Election Laws to the Test on Monday, February 13 at 2:00 PM ET.

Their site describes the session in this way: “This webinar will discuss the various election reforms being debated in legislatures, including whether to require citizens to show ID to register or to vote, whether to allow online and Election Day registrations, and how best to modernize aging voting machines.”

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending today’s NCSL Foundation Bi-Annual Luncheon.

NCSL Executive Director Bill Pound will be talking about top issues this legislative session.

February 7, 2012     NCSL Foundation Bi-Annual Luncheon, Washington, D.C.

February 17, 2012     Innovate to Motivate, Washington, D.C.

February 25 – February 27, 2012     National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Washington, D.C.

February 27 – March 1, 2012     National PAC Conference, Miami, Florida

The 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar (ordered by date)

and the 2012 State and Presidential Primary and Caucus Dates (ordered by state).

Here is the announcement posted on their blog.