A new executive director for the Oklahoma Ethics Commission may be selected next week.

According to The Oklahoman, commissioners intend to interview the final four applicants, all from Oklahoma, for the position on November 27.

Outgoing executive director Marilyn Hughes, who has held the position for nearly 25 years, is leaving the job on November 30.

Also retiring on November 30 are the Ethics Commission’s general counsel, Rebecca Adams, and its investigator, Darey Roberts. Ms. Adams was general counsel for the last 21 years and Mr. Roberts its investigator for 17 years.

The state of Oklahoma has just announced the debut of its new web portal, OK.gov. The site sports a new look and promises to offer a wealth of searchable  datasets on Data.OK.gov. For instance, you can view state expenditures and vendor payments by quarter.

According to their site: “Data.OK.gov strives to make Oklahoma government more transparent through an unprecedented level of openness in Oklahoma government. By publishing raw datasets in different formats, you can look up statistics, build applications, conduct analysis and perform research. Data.OK.gov allows for a simple way to gather Oklahoma government data about the economy, public health, transportation, environment, and more on one website. Centralized access to this data saves you from having to visit multiple websites.”

Perhaps you don’t find the information you need on OK.gov? The state invites you to send your feedback and let them know what data you would like to see included.

Here is the press release for the new site.

Massachusetts: “Casinos industry spent millions lobbying in Mass.” by The Associated Press in the Boston Herald.

Oklahoma: “Lobbyist: Lawmaker Morgan sought help for ‘friends’” by Nolan Clay in the Tulsa World.

South Carolina: “Senators hold moment of silence for missing lobbyist, search continues” by Noelle Phillips in The State.

Wisconsin: “Union lobbying plummets in last half of 2011” by Bill Lueders in Wisconsin Watch.

The Oklahoma State Ethics Commission has approved a rule which creates an exception to the $100 annual gift limit. The rule allows lobbyists to provide a lunch or dinner for a group of legislators once a year, during the legislative session, at the state capitol, without counting the meal against the annual limit. Lobbyists would be required to report the amount spent.

The rule will go into effect on January 1, 2013 unless the legislature disapproves by the end of the 2012 session.

The Oklahoma State Ethics Commission has approved a series of changes to the campaign finance rules. The changes are intended to provide more disclosure from PACs and super PACs.

The new rules impose additional registration and reporting requirements on PACs that make any independent expenditure or electioneering communications in state level races. The changes require disclosure of the amount, date, a brief description or statement of each expenditure, the name of the candidate and office supported or opposed, and whether the expenditure is made to support or oppose the candidate.

The approved rule changes will now go before the state legislature which has until the end of the session to disapprove. If the legislature does not disapprove, the rule changes will go into effect January 1, 2013.

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.

OKLAHOMA: The Oklahoma Legislature adjourned sine die on May 27, 2011.

ILLINOIS: The Illinois General Assembly has recessed. The senate will reconvene on October 25, 2011. No date has been set for the house to reconvene.

The state Ethics Commission has released its final promulgated amendments to the state’s ethics rules for 2011.

These amendments, available on the commission’s website, become law on July 1 if no action is taken by the state legislature.

One of the rules set forth this year will allow corporations to make independent expenditures and another will allow PACs to contribute to ballot measure committees.

Image of the Oklahoma flag by Denelson83 on Wikipedia.

Under the process in place for changing these rules, the proposals will be sent to the state legislature who will either approve or override them. The approved rules become law on July 1 of each year.

The highlights of this year’s proposals include changes to bring Oklahoma law into compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision, and the abrogation of a rule restricting PAC contributions to ballot-measure committees. The restrictions on contributions to ballot committees have not been enforced in several years because they are unconstitutional.

Photo of the Oklahoma State Capitol copyright © Caleb Long on Wikipedia.

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission has announced it will not enforce a law banning PAC-to-PAC transfers of funds in an instance where one PAC supports or opposes a ballot issue.

The commission recognizes the rule, as written, is unconstitutional because of the U.S. Supreme Court case “First National Bank of Boston v. Belloti”. The ethics commission will likely rewrite the rule in 2011.

According to public filings, more than 130 registered lobbyists gave contributions toward 2010 campaigns. Republicans, who control the House and Senate, received about $190,000, while Democrats got almost $155,000. Another $13,000 went to nonpartisan judicial candidates.

Five statewide candidates each have received more than $20,000 in contributions from registered lobbyists, with Lt. Gov. Jari Askins leading the way at more than $36,000. Askins won a narrow victory over Attorney General Drew Edmonds in the Democratic primary for governor. Edmondson received more than $28,000 from registered lobbyists. The contributions from lobbyists, however, are a small share of overall fundraising for those candidates; the Askins and Edmondson campaigns have each raised more than $2 million.