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.
December 19, 2011 •
NYC Campaign Finance Board Executive Director Testifies about Citizens United
Council Considers Resolution to Reverse Citizens United with Constitutional Amendment
Amy Loprest, Executive Director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, testified last Friday before the City Council about the effects of the Citizens United decision on New York City’s campaign finance regulation.
According to their press release:
“Campaign Finance Board Executive Director Amy Loprest testified before the City Council Committee on Governmental Operations regarding the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision earlier today. The Council is considering a resolution that calls for a Constitutional amendment to reverse the decision and establish that corporations are not entitled to the same rights as natural persons.”
“Recognizing a First Amendment right where none had previously been found, Citizens United opened the floodgates to allow massive amounts of unlimited—and too often, undisclosed—independent spending by corporations, unions, and other groups,” Loprest said.
Here is a link to a pdf file of the entire testimony.
December 13, 2011 •
Appointees Named to New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics
DiFiore Named Chair of New Commission
NEW YORK: Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders announced the appointment of 14 members to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. Governor Cuomo chose Janet DiFiore, the District Attorney of Westchester County, to chair the commission.
The new agency replaces the Commission on Public Integrity, which was created in 2007 by the merger of the ethics and lobbying commissions. Under a law signed on August 15, the new commission came into existence yesterday.
The creation of the joint commission put operations of the prior agency on hold, except for collecting lobbying expenditure reports, financial disclosure reports by state employees, and conducting on-line ethical training courses. Any allegations of unethical conduct it has received will be transferred to the new commission.
Approximately 30 employees remain with the commission, about half the work force when the Commission on Public Integrity was formed in 2007.
October 25, 2011 •
Suffolk County Legislature Passes Bills Aimed at Cleaning Up County Ethics
Current Ethics Commission under Investigation
SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: The Suffolk County Legislature has approved two bills that would overhaul the county’s ethics rules. One bill would create a five-member board of ethics, to replace the three-member commission. The county executive would appoint two members, and the legislature’s presiding officer, majority leader, and minority leader would each appoint one member. All appointees would require confirmation by the legislature.
The other bill consolidates disclosure and ethics requirements into one section of the county code. The bills are awaiting action by the County Executive.
The Suffolk County Ethics Commission is currently under investigation as a grand jury determines if the County Executive attempted to influence actions of the commission, and if the commission disclosed confidential information.
October 21, 2011 •
Highlighted Site of the Week – NYC Digital
A Road Map for the Digital Future Based on Access, Open Government, Engagement, and Industry
Who can possibly top New York City? This week’s Highlighted Site of the Week is the city government’s NYC Digital. Their statistics are staggering: a four million digital audience, 202 million pageviews of NYC.gov in 2010, 52 agencies represented, 4000 points of engagement, 98% residential broadband access, 200 social media channels, and – as they are proud to say – it is all because they have one plan for New York City’s digital future.
According to the site: “New York City is one of the world’s leading digital metropolises. As Part I: State of the Digital City illustrates, New York City government engages over 25 million people a year through more than 200 digital channels including NYC.gov, mobile applications, and social media.”
They work hard to promote civic engagement, encourage new business startups with their Business Solutions Centers, and host hackathons where they provide city data to programmers so they can write cutting edge web and mobile applications to help the city. For those involved in government relations, their Lobbying Bureau page has many links in its helpful FAQ list.
The hundreds of NYC Social Media Sites range from the mayor’s office Twitter feed and Children’s Services’ Facebook, to the Departments of Aging, Buildings, Business, Community Affairs, Education, and many more. Take a look at their 21 Mobile Apps, where you can have information about the road conditions, sports events, Department of Health updates, directions for getting around the city, sanitation department info, and the latest news from the mayor’s office sent directly to your mobile phone.
NYC Digital is as big as the city itself and just as humbling, I must say. Have a terrific weekend, everyone!
Photo of the New York City skyline at night by Francisco Diez on Wikipedia.
September 9, 2011 •
New York City Campaign Finance Board Proposes Independent Expenditure Reporting Rules
The NYCCFB has proposed new reporting rules
On September 8, 2011 New York City’s Campaign Finance Board proposed new rules requiring the reporting of certain independent expenditures.
The proposed reporting rules would cover expenditures that are for the design, production, or distribution of public communications, that are either express advocacy made at any time in an election cycle or an electioneering communication made within 90 days of an election, and that, when combined with all other expenditures made by the independent spender in support of or in opposition to that candidate or proposal, exceed $1,000.
Generally, in non-election years reports would be due semi-annually and in election years eight reports would be required, with expenditures required to be reported within 24 hours during the two weeks before the election.
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.