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.

The Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics has issued a reminder concerning holiday gifts to county and municipal officials and employees. The Commission noted that holiday gifts given by lobbyists and vendors are still impermissible if the gift exceeds the aggregate $100 per calendar year limit or the gift is given to influence or reward the employee.

The Commission issued the reminder to employees and officers of the county and the 38 municipalities within the county after several requests for advisory opinions were received concerning the subject-matter.

After hearing an explanation of the rules, Ethics Commission Chairman Edward Rodgers questioned whether the rules went a bit far, asking “Are we not serving as a grinch for Christmas?”

Aerial photo of Palm Beach, Florida by Michael Kagdis on Wikipedia.

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.

Federal:

Crossroads GPS, Priorities USA Violate Tax Laws, Reform Groups Allege in IRS Petition

Oregon Congressman, Named in Sex Case, to Resign

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Bob Riley’s PAC Admits Taking PAC-to-PAC Donation in Violation of Law Riley Pushed

California

Judge Ready to Strike down San Jose Law Barring Last-Minute Campaign Contributions

District of Columbia

D.C. Council Member Thomas to Repay D.C. $300,000

Florida

Judge Hears Challenge to Florida Campaign Law

Florida

Press Group in Talks to Take Over State Lobbyist Registration

Georgia

Ethics Commission Could See Major Reorganization

Illinois

Emanuel Ethics Reforms Back on Track at City Council

Massachusetts

GOP’s Winslow Uses On-line Coupon to Promote Fundraiser

New York

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz Fined $20,000 for Taking Free Foreign Trips for His Wife

Rhode Island

Twenty Politicians Owe $800,000 in Election Fines

Tennessee

Some Advocacy Avoids Tennessee Lobbying Label

Virginia

For Virginia Companies, Campaign Donations to Lawmakers Just another Cost of Doing Business

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 Miami, Florida; Pembroke Pines, Florida; and Vancouver, Washington on our website.

The image of North America by Bosonic dressing on Wikipedia.

The city attorney for Boynton Beach, Jim Cherof, has proposed ceasing enforcement of the city’s lobbying ordinance and turning over enforcement to the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics. The lobbying ordinance, in effect since 2007, has come under fire recently due to a perceived vagueness in the law.

This past May, the city levied the first fines ever under the ordinance and has also taken steps to open an investigation against former city commissioner David Katz, all concerning failure to register as a lobbyist. Each fine is being appealed and Katz maintains he was never required to register under the law because he was performing consulting work and not lobbying.

The Palm Beach County Ethics Commission has voted to limit the public’s ability to speak on items during final hearings prior to a vote or comment at closed-door sessions where decisions on the pursuit of ethics complaints are made.

The limits are intended to limit decisions being made by members of the commission to the guidance of the ethics code and avoid allowing influence from outside the code to be taken into consideration at a final vote.

Public comment will still be allowed concerning commission policies and on other issues being considered.

Federal:

Colbert Declares Victory at FEC

FEC Limits Lawmakers’ Fundraising for Super PACs

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Gambling Trial Highlights Fees Paid to Legislators

Arizona

Justices Strike Down Arizona Campaign Finance Law

Florida

Judge Strikes Down Florida Campaign Finance Matching Law

Illinois

Jury Finds Blagojevich Guilty of Corruption

Massachusetts

Ethics Changes Generate Talk as Proposal to Require Lobbyists to Wear ID Badges Is Likened to Nazi Germany

Massachusetts

Special Education Director Said to Siphon $10 Million

Missouri

Missouri Lawmakers Eat for Free

Nevada

Tougher Nevada Campaign Money Laws Come into Play

New York

New Contribution Rule Limits Assignments to Elected Judges

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ethics Commission Reprimands NRA Lobbyist

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Justices in Altercation

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.

Centorino has served as chief of the Public Corruption Division of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office since 1995 and was a prosecutor within the organization an additional nine years. Centorino will succeed Robert Meyers, who has held the post since the Ethics Commission was established.

Meyers announced his resignation earlier this year, but will assist in the transition over the next several weeks.

Members of the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission will have 39 applicants to choose from when replacing current Executive Director Robert Meyers, who is resigning his position after 12 years with the commission.

Included in the 39 applicants, among other professions, are two retired former Miami-Dade prosecutors, a former assistant attorney general, an assistant public defender, and a former daytime television judge.

The commission is expected to narrow the list of candidates at their upcoming meeting on May 26, 2011. After narrowing the list, interviews of the finalists will take place and a new executive director is expected to be named during the summer.

Effective April 1, 2011, lobbyists will be required to register with the city treasurer-clerk prior to engaging in any lobbying. Lobbyists will be required to pay a fee of $25 for each principal represented. Additionally, each lobbying firm may register in the name of the firm, corporation, or legal entity, provided the registration lists the names of all persons who engage in lobbying for the firm.

Further, each lobbying firm will be required to file a quarterly compensation report during each calendar quarter during any portion of which the lobbyist or lobbying firm was registered to represent a principal. A provision was also included in the ordinance stating the annual period of registration will be the calendar year, ending December 31, and noted the first period of registration will begin on the ordinance’s effective date of April 1, 2011, and all registrations during the 2011 year after such time will end on December 31, 2011.

Elizabeth Bartz and several staff members from State and Federal Communications will be attending the Public Affairs Council’s National Grassroots Conference in Key West, Florida from January 25-28.

The conference is offering an exciting lineup of speakers presenting on grassroots leadership, best practices, and the use of social media.

If you are attending, be sure to stop by and say hello! We would be pleased to see you!

A grand jury convened to investigate government corruption has issued its first interim report.

The report makes various recommendations, including the elimination of “3-pack” advertising, where a political party may advertise jointly for three or more candidates without it being considered a contribution to any candidate.

The report also recommends a lifetime ban on vendors entering into any contract with Florida if convicted of a crime involving theft or procurement with the state.

Among the other suggestions the grand jury makes is a requirement candidates receive election and campaign finance law training. “Election and campaign laws constitute an intricate blanket of laws which can lead an honest and sincere public official or candidate to run afoul even with the best efforts to comply,” the report states.

The statewide grand jury had been called by Governor Christ and heard testimony for ten months.

The new ethics code is an extension of previous code which had been passed during the summer of 2010 to institute such a standard on the county commissioners. Following a training session scheduled for spring of 2011, all county employees who receive perishable gifts will be required to place them in an area where other employees and the public will be free to enjoy them, while non-perishable gifts will have to be turned over to the administration to be put to the public use.

Further, employees will not be permitted to accept personal gifts outside the office which could be perceived as being intended to influence their decisions as an employee of Broward County.