State and Federal Communications will be attending the State of the County Address for Summit County, Ohio.

Summit County Executive Russel M. Pry will be delivering his fifth address today at 11:30 in the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be one of the sponsors of the Ohio Birthday Reception in Washington D.C.! The grand event will take place tonight at the Library of Congress.

Elizabeth Bartz, the company’s President and CEO, will be in attendance.

Bruce E. Bailey, an attorney from Westerville, Ohio, has been appointed to the Ohio Ethics Commission. Bailey will be taking the seat held previously by former commission chairman Ben Rose.

Rose had requested Governor John Kasich not reappoint him for another term.Bailey’s term will run through January 1, 2018.

The Ohio Joint Legislative Ethics Committee has released Advisory Opinion 2012-001, which prohibits members and employees of the Ohio General Assembly from using their office or employment status in order to promote a registered lobbyist. In its first advisory opinion to be released since 2009, the Committee pointed to Ohio Revised Code section 102.03(D), which prohibits a public official or employee from using his or her status acquired by such position in order to secure anything of value.

The Committee opined that the use of the member or employee in his or her official capacity as Senator, Representative, or legislative staffer in an advertisement or other promotional item would result in a value to the lobbyist, thus resulting in the prohibition. Additionally, the Committee cautioned against allowing such a promotion in merely a personal capacity in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety despite no specific prohibition existing.

The opinion, which was requested by an Ohio registered lobbyist, was deemed necessary after things such as requests for quotes on websites or letters of recommendation to be sent to potential clients had been made of members and employees of the Ohio General Assembly by registered lobbyists.

Ohio Ethics Commission Chair Ben Rose has asked Governor John Kasich not to reappoint him to the Commission in 2012.

Rose, who was first appointed to the Commission in 2006, has been elected Chair during each of his last three years.

In making his request, Rose cited desires to become involved in endeavors where a conflict of interest may have been previously raised due to his Commission membership and to spend more time with his family as reasons for his decision.

Rose, whose term expires January 1, 2012, has indicated a willingness to remain on the Commission for a reasonable period of time after the expiration of his appointment until a successor is appointed, if permitted.

Governor John Kasich signed HB 369 on Thursday, December 15, 2011. The bill consolidated Ohio’s June 12, 2012 primary for the President and U.S. House of Representatives into the state’s March 6, 2012 primary.

The bill also established new boundaries for the state’s 16 congressional districts to settle a dispute over the previous boundaries established earlier this year.

The Ohio House and Senate have passed HB 369, a measure to consolidate the state’s two 2012 primaries into a single primary date, scheduled for March 6, 2012.

The state originally scheduled two primaries, a March 6, 2012 primary for county partisan offices, the state legislature, and the available U.S. Senate seat, and a June 12, 2012 primary for the President and U.S. House of Representatives, in order to give state lawmakers more time to settle differences concerning Ohio’s map for legislative redistricting.

The bill now moves to the desk of Governor John Kasich for his signature.

The Ohio House of Representatives has approved House Bill 326, a bill setting criminal penalties for using taxpayer money for political activity. While it is currently illegal in the state to use taxpayer funds for campaign finance purposes, there is no penalty associated with such an action.

The bill calls for a $1,000 penalty and up to six months in jail for violators. The measure now proceeds to the Ohio Senate.

Soon after the successful overturning of Senate Bill 5, the controversial collective bargaining law, advocates of fair elections in Ohio are looking to overturn a second piece of legislation that they have called a “voter suppression” bill.

Supporters of this bill, HB 194, believe that this bill will create a more efficient electoral process in Ohio, decrease incidences of fraud due to absentee and provisional ballots, and effectively utilize technology in elections.

The opponents of the bill, largely Democrats and voting rights activists, collected 307,358 signatures achieving their goal of allowing voters to decide on the fate of the bill. They are opposed to several provisions in the bill, most notably those that shorten the time frame for early voting from five weeks to three weeks, eliminate most weekend voting hours, and drop a requirement that poll workers tell voters when they are in the wrong precinct in a multi-precinct voting location.

Voters will decide on HB 194 in November of 2012, preserving the existing election rules through the 2012 presidential elections which gave Democrats the edge in the 2008 elections when Obama won Ohio by only 4 points.

Read more in this article on Cleveland.com.

Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 318 into law the evening of Friday, October 21, 2011. House Bill 318 creates two separate primary elections in the state during 2012. The first primary election, for county partisan offices, the state legislature, and the available U.S. Senate seat, will be held on March 6, 2012, while the second primary date, for the President and U.S. House of Representatives, will be June 12, 2012.

The bill is intended to give state lawmakers more time to settle differences concerning Ohio’s recently passed map for legislative redistricting, as a Democrat-backed coalition seeks to place the redistricting measure before Ohio’s voters for a possible repeal in 2012 if a compromise cannot be reached.

On Ohio.com, the Associated Press report that Ohio Republican state Rep. Marlene Anielski of Cleveland is beginning a contest she named “There Ought to Be a Law” where constituents from her district will be competing for a free lunch provided by none other than Rep. Anielski.

Participants will enter their proposals for possible legislation by September 30th, and whoever provides the proposal Rep. Anielski deems the best will get a free lunch, as well as the satisfaction of their proposal possibly being drafted into a bill.

Read the press release here.

The Ohio Statehouse may be the first to be home to a full-service bar available to those reserving The Capitol Cafe which resides in the basement of the building.

An ariticle from National Public Radio says that state officials are debating a proposal to establish what would apparently be the nation’s first statehouse bar — a venue where lawmakers and even members of the public could tip a few back after hours if they reserve the space.

As would be expected, the idea has supporters who welcome the idea of having a bar in their statehouse as well as opposition who think it inappropriate to open a bar in a government building frequented by schoolchildren.

The panel that oversees Statehouse operations has slowed the project’s pace, assigning it to a study committee that will sort out what the business should offer.

Read this article, “Drinks On The House? Ohio Statehouse Considers Bar”, to learn more.

I do have a manual typewriter. I will not throw it away because I used to type a lot of articles.

I wanted to bring out that manual typewriter today after I heard John Dean speak at the Watergate CLE for the Ohio State Bar Association today. And, HBO recently showed All the President’s Men where we could see Woodward and Bernstein hammering on their Washington Post Royal typewriters. Today, I am opting to just use the courier font on my laptop!

John Dean was disbarred because of his involvement in Watergate and he has never considered requesting reinstatement. However, he is teaching continuing legal education courses on a lawyer’s obligations when a client engages in crime.

I am a product of Watergate having been a journalism student in the 70s and State and Federal Communications owes its existence to what happened at that time.

Dean pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice for his role in the Watergate cover-up and believes his experience is instructive.

I did get a chance to ask him if Watergate was an albatross around his neck. He had been an investment banker and retired when he was 60. (He is now 72.) He said he did not spend his life wallowing in Watergate. He returned to business school and had a lucrative career as an investment banker. He has written a number of books, including:

1. Blind Ambition—now autographed and on my bookshelf;

2. Warren G. Harding;

3. Conservatives without Conscience; and

4. Worse than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush.

John Dean was born in Akron, Ohio and holds a BA from the College of Wooster. He is still married to Maureen “Mo” Dean and lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Today’s program was amazing. We met a man who affected history and wanted to share with us the ultimate ethical dilemma. He is going on the road with this four-hour program, which basically focuses on June 16, 17, and 18, 1972.

Amid declining web traffic and engagement, Cuyahoga County Council has turned to social media as a way to better engage its constituents.

Today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer features “Cuyahoga County Council streams meetings, turns to social media” by Harlan Spector. The article reveals that the Cuyahoga County Council is now on Facebook, has a Twitter account, and offers live video streaming of council meetings.

I also found a county government YouTube channel and separate Facebook.