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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The New York City Lobbying Commission has released its recommendations to update and enhance the city’s lobbying laws.

In its preliminary report, the commission recommends expanding the definition of lobbying to include efforts to influence legislation prior to a bill’s introduction, efforts to keep a bill from being introduced, or efforts to shape or stop executive orders by the mayor.  The commission also recommends raising the threshold for lobbyist registration from $2,000 to $5,000.  The commission rejected suggestions to move regulation of lobbying from the city clerk’s office to another office.

The commission’s final report will be submitted to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City Council who, if they agree with the recommendations, can introduce legislation incorporating the changes.

Photo of the Manhattan Municipal Building by Momos on Wikipedia.

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 Gilbert, Arizona; Savannah, Georgia; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Springfield, Missouri; and Syracuse, New York on our website.

The image of North America by Bosonic dressing on Wikipedia.

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.

Legislators concluded the 2011 regular session Friday evening after reaching agreement on a number of bills.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has 10 days upon transmittal of a bill to sign or veto legislation that reaches his desk.

Photo of the New York Assembly Chamber by UpstateNYer on Wikipedia.

The New York Governor’s Office has released the ethics bill created by the agreement between legislators announced last Friday.  The bill, which had previously been titled the Clean Up Albany Act of 2011, will be known as the Public Integrity Reform Act.

Chiefly, the bill establishes an independent Joint Commission on Public Ethics and enhances disclosure requirements by requiring state employees to disclose income from outside sources and names of clients. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics will have jurisdiction over all elected state officials and their employees in the executive and legislative branches, as well as lobbyists.

The bill provides the Joint Commission on Public Integrity must create an online ethics training course for registered lobbyists with a specific curriculum regarding the public officers’ law and ethics to be completed every three years. Additionally, the bill requires the disclosure by lobbyists of any reportable business relationship of more than $1,000 with public officials.

The definition of “widely attended” event is altered to include any event where 25 or more people other than legislators, officials, or government employees attend and which is related to the attendee’s duties or which allows the public official to perform a ceremonial function.  The bill also allows officials to accept food or beverage valued at $15 or less.

The bill increases penalties for violations of the filing requirements and contribution limits and provides for a special enforcement proceeding in the Supreme Court.

The bill must age three days after its introduction and then can be voted on by the Legislature. The Legislature will recess today until next Monday, making adoption possible next week.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and General Assembly leaders have reached an agreement regarding comprehensive ethics reform.  The agreement titled the “Clean Up Albany Act of 2011,” creates a joint commission on public ethics to investigate violations of law by members of both the executive and legislative branches, oversee their financial disclosure requirements, and oversee lobbyists with newly expanded disclosure rules and definition of lobbying.

The act expands lobbying disclosure requirements, including the disclosure by lobbyists of reportable business relationships of more than $1,000 with public officials. It also expands the definition of lobbying to include advocacy to affect the introduction of legislation or resolutions.   Additionally, the act calls for the state board of elections to issue new regulations clarifying disclosure requirements for independent expenditures.

Photo of Governor Cuomo by Pat Arnow on Wikipedia.

New York Assembly Bill 04933, which is currently before the Assembly Election Law Committee, seeks to impose disclosure requirements upon lobbyists who act as political consultants.

The bill defines political consultants as any person receiving compensation for providing professional services relating to advising clients on political activities, political advertising, campaign strategies, campaign publicity, or campaign management.

Political consultants would be required to disclose the identities, telephone numbers, and addresses of all clients.

New York Coat of Arms by One Salient Oversight on Wikipedia.

City Council has confirmed the appointments of Herbert Berman, Margaret Morton, Lesley Horton, and Jamila Ponton Bragg to the New York City Lobbying Commission.  Berman, a lobbyist and former Council Finance Committee Chair, was selected to be the Lobbying Commission Chair.

Formation of the Lobbying Commission had stalled for three years as suitable candidates were sought.  The Lobbying Commission is an advisory body charged with making recommendations to improve New York City’s 2006 lobbying laws.

Photo of the New York City Hall by Momos on Wikipedia.