Federal

“Generation X joining K Street” by Jonathan Allen and Jennifer Martinez in Politico.

“Administration Staffers Head Out the Revolving Door” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

In the States

Illinois: “Illinois Senate panel blocks lobbyist ethics legislation” by Shannon McFarland (Associated Press) in the Jacksonville Journal Courier.

Illinois: “Lobbying reforms buried in subcommittee” by Rick Miller in Capitol Fax.

Iowa: “Iowa’s lobbying free-for-all” by Jason Clayworth and Jeffrey Kummer in the Des Moines Register.

Massachusetts: “AP: Mass. health care 5-year lobbying topped $51M” by Steve LeBlanc (Associated Press) in Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Minnesota:  “$61M spent on lobbying in 2011” by Matt Herbert in Minnesota Daily.

As the presidential primaries are quickly approaching, alleged threats have surfaced from the “hacktivist” group Anonymous that some worry could jeopardize the caucus results.

Anonymous is a group known for its cyber-attacks on companies and agencies which it deems corrupt. The alleged threat reported by the Associated Press surfaced in a YouTube video and targets the Iowa contest.

“We are calling on you to occupy the campaign offices of presidential headquarters … and peacefully shut down the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3,” the voice in the video says.

These threats which target Iowa are putting other states who are holding early primaries, such as South Carolina who is holding primaries on January 21st, on the alert.

“Everybody in the computer security world is aware of [Anonymous] and its capabilities. Their threats are not taken lightly,” said Chris Whitmire, a public information officer with the South Carolina Election Commission.

In a world that is becoming more and more reliant on web based programs and tools, security on the web seems to be getting worse instead of better, and every program seems to have a loophole that hackers can use to their advantage.

Read this article from The Hill to learn more about the steps South Carolina is taking to protect their primary from hackers.

Federal:

IRS Drops Audits of Political Donors

New Breed of ‘Super PACs,’ Other Independent Groups Could Define 2012 Campaign

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Alabama Democratic Conference Files Lawsuit to Stop New Alabama Law Banning Political Fund Transfers

Arizona

Arizona Conservatives Scramble after Campaign Finance Law’s Defeat

California

Marijuana Lobbyist’s Fundraiser for DA Raises Questions

Veil Drawn on Donors to Latino Caucus-Controlled California Nonprofit

Connecticut

Agent Who Arrested Politicians Now Seeks House Seat

Georgia

Lobby Late Fees Add Up

Illinois

Mayor Rahm Emanuel Proposing New Round of Ethics Reforms

Iowa

Judge Upholds New Iowa Campaign Disclosure Rules

Massachusetts

House Leader Apologizes for Holocaust Remarks

Michigan

Justices Stop Political Gifts Taken at Work

Minnesota

Campaign Board Rejects NOM’s Efforts to Shield Donors in Marriage Battle

Pennsylvania

Lobbying Law on Hold

South Carolina

Lt. Gov. Ard Paying $48,000 Fine

Washington

Ex-Prisons Chief Eldon Vail Says He Resigned Because of an Affair with Subordinate

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.

DELAWARE: The 146th Delaware General Assembly concluded its first regular session June 30, 2011.

IOWA: The Iowa General Assembly adjourned sine die.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: The New Hampshire Legislature adjourned June 30, 2011.

OREGON: The 2011 regular session of the Legislature adjourned sine die on June 30, 2011. Governor John Kitzhaber has 30 days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, to act upon any bill he receives within the last five days of the session, or the legislation becomes law without his signature.

RHODE ISLAND: The Legislature’s 2011 regular session recessed today. Any bills submitted to Governor Lincoln Chafee must be signed or vetoed by July 10. There is no pocket veto.

All lobbyists, for both the legislative and executive branches will file their reports with the legislative branch. Executive branch lobbyists will not have to register with the legislature as legislative branch lobbyists. They will, however, have to register for the online reporting system used by the legislative branch.

The legislative branch will be sending a letter with directions and passwords for the new system to all registered executive branch lobbyists and their clients. The online system will open to executive branch lobbyists on July 1st, 2011.

This law, taking effect on July 1, 2011, requires lobbyist registration and reporting only with the legislative branch.

Lobbyists will indicate on this registration whether they will also engage in lobbying executive officials.

Employer reports will still be due each July 31^st.

Photo of Governor Branstad courtesy of the official website for the Office of the Governor.

House File 126 has passed both houses of the Iowa Legislature and now awaits approval from Governor Terry Branstad.

This bill would change the state’s law to require lobbyists to register and report with the legislative branch only; currently there is separate registration and reporting for the legislative and executive branches.

Lobbyists would indicate on the registrations whether they will lobby executive officials in addition to lawmakers. Lobbyists would have a combined annual report due each July 31st and registration would open in December for the following calendar year.

A bill has been introduced in the Iowa Legislature to impose a five percent “fee” on contributions in excess of $250 per year received by a PAC, candidate, or candidate’s committee from a single source.

Additionally, House File 140 would apply the same fee to political advertisements made by candidates or their committees and independent expenditures made by corporations.

The funds raised would be used to help offset the cost of operating the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

Photo of the Iowa State Capitol by Iqkotze on Wikipedia.

The Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board has hired Megan Tooker as its new executive director. Tooker was unanimously selected by the six-member board and will assume the role on January 1, 2011. Before joining the agency, she graduated from Drake law school and clerked for former state supreme court Justice Michael Streit.

The outgoing director, Charlie Smithson, is stepping down from the position to become the Iowa House’s new chief clerk. Smithson had been with the board since 1998 and was originally its legal counsel. The Ethics and Campaign Disclosure board administers and advises on state lobbying, campaign and ethics laws and, to a certain extent, local ethics rules.

The new law requires groups like The Iowa Right-to-Life Committee, which is organized as a corporation, to form a PAC if they wish to make independent expenditures. The group claims this requirement and the new disclosure requirements are an unconstitutional burden on their First Amendment rights.

Supporters of the law are calling this suit a “political stunt.”

Photo of the Iowa Capitol by Cburnett on Wikipedia.