The North Carolina General Assembly convened as scheduled for a special session on April 23, 2012.

Both the Senate and the House will meet again on April 25, at which time they are expected to adjourn until the scheduled regular legislative session begins on May 16, 2012.

Photo of North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

North Carolina: “John Edwards gambles on NC jury to avoid prison” by Michael Beisecker (Associated Press) in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

North Carolina: “Edwards campaign repays taxpayers $2.1 million” by Michael Beisecker (Associated Press) in Bloomberg Businessweek.

South Carolina: “State Ethics Commission probing SC Gov Haley campaign finances, sets July hearing” by Meg Kinnard (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Texas: “Texas Ethics Commission report disappoints some good government activists” by Mark Lisheron on TexasWatchdog.org.

Arizona: “Ariz. lawmakers want elected officials to disclose use of public funds” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Georgia: “Advocates push for ethics funding” by Charles Edwards on WABE News.

“Watchdog groups demand more money for ethics board” by in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Maryland: “Maryland Ethics Panel Suggests Reducing Local Disclosure” by Brian Witte (Associated Press) on NBC Washington.

“Bill would require online disclosure” by Michael Dresser in the Baltimore Sun.

Minnesota: “Lobbying violations vex understaffed Minnesota regulator” by Brad Schrade in the Star Tribune.

North Carolina: “Dome: Few ethics complaints probed, report shows” by John Frank in The News & Observer.

NORTH CAROLINA: Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway has cleared former lobbyist Don Beason of misconduct, finding parts of North Carolina’s lobbying reform law are ambiguous as applied and the secretary of state overreached in fining Beason.

The court held that Beason does not have to pay the $30,000 fine imposed on him. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall fined Beason a record-setting $111,000 in 2010, an amount that was later reduced, for failing to make required disclosures about companies he was representing.

Judge Ridgeway stated North Carolina law defines a lobbyist as someone who communicates directly with legislators or their employees, but there was no evidence Beason directly contacted anyone on behalf of the companies he represented. Additionally, because the law gave the state ethics commission the authority to interpret the act and the secretary of state the power to administer it, Marshall overstepped her authority in interpreting the act and fining Beason.

NORTH CAROLINA:  A special session of the North Carolina General Assembly convened Sunday evening.

The session is scheduled to adjourn on Tuesday, November 29, 2011.

The session was called to consider bills vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue, revise redistricting plans, and address election law bills.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

The special session of the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on Monday evening.

A joint resolution is expected to pass the House and Senate that would schedule a three-day special session on November 27.

It also sets special sessions in 2012 for February 16-18 and April 23-25 before the standard May 16 short sessions begins.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for:

Tempe, Arizona

Evansville, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

Flint, Michigan

North Las Vegas, Nevada

Reno, Nevada

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned the special session concerning redistricting on Thursday, July 28, 2011.

During the session, the redistricting process for the state was completed.

Further, five of Governor Beverly Perdue’s vetoes were overridden.

The Legislature is expected to convene another special session on Monday, September 12, 2011.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

NORTH CAROLINA: The North Carolina General Assembly has convened in special session today, July 13, 2011.

 Issues concerning redistricting are the primary focus of the session, while gubernatorial vetoes are also expected to be considered.

A monthly lobbyist and principal report will be due on August 12, 2011.

House Bill 139, a bill aimed at limiting pay-to-play activities in the state, began moving through committees last week.

The bill seeks to limit vendors who have a state contract of greater than $25,000 from contributing in excess of $500 per election to a candidate or candidate committee for a public servant if the public servant would have authority over the contract with the vendor.

House Bill 139 is similar to a bill introduced during the prior legislative session; however, that bill was left out of a series of ethics reforms eventually approved by the legislature.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

Commissioners in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina have agreed to a change in the county’s ethics code preventing themselves and other county employees from soliciting or receiving tickets to cultural or sporting events supported by the county.

If the county has included money, either directly or indirectly, or if an employee knows or has reason to know county money may be requested for an event, employees will no longer be able to receive complimentary tickets. County employees are still free to purchase their own tickets to sporting and cultural events without violating the new policy.

Photo of the Charlotte, North Carolina skyline by Riction on Wikipedia.

A superior court judge has ruled the Secretary of State cannot refuse to provide procedural information regarding a complaint made against a lobbyist. In NCICL v. North Carolina, Judge Paul G. Gessner found no basis in law for the refusal to grant information regarding a formal complaint previously made about a legislative lobbyist.

The Secretary of State had argued the state public records laws prohibited them from releasing any information, and had refused to reveal any details, including the status of the complaint or even whether any action had been taken.