April 2, 2012 •
Today’s Government Ethics News
Here are the latest articles covering the federal government and the states:
Federal: “Lawmakers profit from positions in Congress” by Gary Martin in the San Antonio Express-News.
Federal: “Ethics committee: Sen. Vitter of Louisiana violated public trust in blocking Salazar salary” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.
Florida: “Senate to decide punishment on Norman ethics violation” by Brittany Davis in the Miami Herald.
Idaho: “Idaho Senate approves series of new ethics rules” by Alex Morrell and Todd Dvorak (Associated Press) in the Idaho Statesman.
Mississippi: “Lawmaker appeals $346K ethics violation order” in The Clarion-Ledger.
New York: “APNewsBreak: NY board won’t disclose hire record” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.
Ohio: “Cleveland lawmaker requests legislative group’s financial records after recent bribery charge” by Joe Guillen in The Plain Dealer.
South Carolina: “Blame enough to go around for ethics rank” in the Orangeburg Times and Democrat.
Texas: “Two-thirds of Texas congressional delegation named in report on ethics lapses” by Gary Martin in the Houston Chronicle.
April 2, 2012 •
Campaign Finance in Monday’s News
The Federal Election Commission, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy’s campaign finance plan, and the New York Legislature are featured. Here are today’s articles:
“Federal judge says Federal Election Commission went too far in shielding campaign ad donors” by The Associated Press in the Washington Post.
“US Joins Countries Not Enforcing Campaign-Finance Regulations” by Samuel Rubenfeld in the Wall Street Journal.
Connecticut: “Governor’s controversial campaign finance fix rejected” by Mark Pazniokas on CTMirror.com.
New York: “Albany to begin Act II of legislative session” by Jon Campbell in the Lower Hudson Journal News. Campaign finance will be on the agenda.
March 22, 2012 •
Stay on Top of Redistricting News
Here is a roundup of the latest articles from four states:
Arizona: “Arizona lawmakers OK money for redistricting panel” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Sun.
Arizona: “Arizona redistrict panel to get more cash” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.
Florida: “Down to the wire, Senators propose last-minute changes to new Senate map” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.
Florida: “Florida Senate panel approves redistricting plan” by The Associated Press in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Florida: “Fla. Senate panel approves redistricting plan” by Bill Kaczor in the Deseret News.
Kansas: “Kan. Senate delays vote on redistricting bill” by The Associated Press in the Salina Journal.
Kansas: “Kansas House votes down latest redistricting bill” by Fred Mann in the Wichita Eagle.
New York: “Between the Lines: Map Complete, Time to Sort Out Who’s Running” by Joshua Miller in Roll Call.
The final rules can be found online.
The New York City Campaign Finance Board has voted to adopt its final rules for the disclosure of independent expenditures.
The rules require the reporting of independent expenditures by individuals, organizations, corporations, and other entities in New York City elections.
The adopted rules are available here.
March 14, 2012 •
Redistricting News Roundup
Here are articles from four states:
Florida: “Lawmakers ready to tackle redistricting during special session” by Bill Kaczor (Associated Press) in Florida Today.
Florida: “Legislators return for special session to redraw rejected Senate map” by Mary Ellen Klas The Miami Herald.
Florida: “Senate Re-Redistricting Plan Is Flawed, Says State Dem Chair” by Brandon Larrabee in Sunshine Slate.
Kansas: “Kansas lawmakers face votes on redistricting plans” by The Associated Press in the Wichita Eagle.
Minnesota: “Redistricting maps give DFL advantage in legislative races, but …” by Eric Black on MinnPost.com.
New York: “An Update on New York Redistricting” by Thomas Kaplan in The New York Times.
New York: “Silver bristles at Cuomo slap at NY Legislature” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.
New York: “New York: Redistricting End Is Nigh” by Joshua Miller in Roll Call.
February 24, 2012 •
New York Bill Would Forbid Lobbying by Convicted Lobbyists
JCOPE Would Have Authority to Remove or Extend Suspension after Mandatory Period
New York Senator Gustavo Rivera has introduced Senate Bill 6533 that would forbid lobbyists convicted of class D felonies or more serious offenses from lobbying in the state for three years.
The barred person may seek to re-register as a lobbyist with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics after three years.
The commission may determine if the suspension should be lifted or extended for a maximum of an additional two years.
February 21, 2012 •
Gov 2.0 News
Here is a quick look at three news items where government and the internet meet:
Hawaii: “Tech-Savvy Leaders Push Honolulu Toward Gov 2.0” by Michael Levine in Honolulu Civil Beat.
Maryland: “NIC to Run Maryland’s Website” in Government Technology.
New York: “Mayor Bloomberg Puts N.Y. Government On Facebook” by Julie Andrews on All Facebook.
February 17, 2012 •
Redistricting News Roundup
Here is today’s redistricting news from the states:
Arizona: “Arizona House Speaker wants June special election on redistricting” by Mary Jo Pitzl in The Arizona Republic.
Florida: “Gov. Rick Scott signs off on new congressional districts” by Brandon Larrabee in the Miami Herald.
“With redistricting lawsuit looming, legislators want immunity” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Tampa Bay Times.
“House redistricting tweaks quietly put U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams in her preferred district” by Mark K. Matthews and Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.
Maryland: “Alternative redistricting plans stalled” by Danielle E. Gaines in the Gaithersburg Gazette.
Missouri: “Missouri Supreme Court examines new US House districts” by Chris Blank in the Kansas City Star.
New York: “Senate redistricting proposal comes under fire” by Aaron Besecker in The Buffalo News.
“Judge calls for ‘special master’ to redraw state legislative and congressional district boundaries” by Kenneth Lovette in the New York Daily News.
Washington: “Secretary of state asking justices to approve redistricting plan” byThe Associated Press in The Seattle Times.
Wisconsin: “Court issues stern order in state redistricting” by Scott Bauer in the Green Bay Press Gazette.
“Federal judges slam GOP lawmakers over redistricting secrecy” by Patrick Marley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
February 16, 2012 •
News from the New York City Campaign Finance Board
Their website says the board voted on penalties, repayment obligations, and payments:
According to a press release, “During a regularly scheduled meeting today, the Campaign Finance Board determined that nine campaigns in the 2009 elections committed violations and one campaign in the February 2009 special election committed violations. ”
You can view a video archive of the meeting here:
February 16, 2012 •
New York City Campaign Finance Board Releases Revision to Proposed Rules on Independent Expenditures
Board Accepting Comments Until March 2nd
The New York City Campaign Finance Board has released revised proposed rules regarding the disclosure of independent expenditures in city elections.
The revised proposed rules are available here.
The revisions include a new definition of electioneering communication, different reporting requirements, and changes to covered expenditures.
The board will accept public written comment on the rules until March 2, 2012. The final rules will be adopted at a subsequent meeting of the board.
February 2, 2012 •
New York J.C.O.P.E. Appoints Executive Director
Inspector General Ellen Biben Named Head of Ethics Agency
The Joint Commission on Public Ethics has selected Ellen Biben to serve as its executive director.
Biben is a former federal prosecutor, who served as a deputy in the attorney general’s office, and now serves as inspector general.
December 22, 2011 •
Court Upholds NYC Campaign Finance Laws
Laws Found Constitutional After Citizens United
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a challenge to the city’s campaign finance laws.
The laws which prohibit corporate contributions to political campaigns and require candidates to disclose contributions from people and groups that do business with the city were found to not violate constitutional free speech rights and to appropriately address the risk of corruption.
The plaintiffs argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission made the laws unconstitutional. The Court rejected that argument, finding that Citizens United applies only to independent corporate expenditures, and not to contributions limits such as those enacted by New York City.
Photo of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse by Americasroof on Wikipedia.
December 21, 2011 •
N.Y. Senator Resigns and Pleads Guilty
The state senator collected at least $1 million in bribes.
New York Senator Carl Kruger pleaded guilty in United States District Court in Manhattan yesterday to federal corruption charges.
Prosecutors offered a complex tale of federal wiretaps, bribes in return for political favors, and Kruger living in a mansion built for the boss of a New York crime family.
Kruger could face a sentence of up to 50 years.
The New York Times covers the news in “After Resigning, Tearful Senator Pleads Guilty to Accepting Bribes” by William Rashbaum.
Photo of the Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in Manhattan by Americasroof on Wikipedia.
December 19, 2011 •
New York A.G. Increasing Involvement in Local Ethics
Office to Review Local Gift and Conflict of Interest Regulations
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has requested the state’s 932 towns show his office their ethics regulations in an effort to bolster ethics in local government.
The Office of the Attorney General has begun reviewing local ethics measures addressing issues like gifts and conflicts of interest.
The goal is to gather the ethics information to make it public and provide the office with referral information for citizen calls and complaints.
The Attorney General has also has assigned public integrity prosecutors in all 13 regional offices to deal with investigations.
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.
