San Luis Obispo City Council will review a proposed ordinance to create a system of democracy voucher funding for municipal elections. The voucher system provides each registered voter with a $20 voucher that can be donated to the municipal candidate of choice. Candidates opting in to receive the voucher funds would be restricted to using only those funds; the program is optional because it is unconstitutional to completely ban privately funded elections.

This ordinance would also create an ethics commission and require reporting on independent expenditures over $500. The council will review the ordinance on March 15, 2016.

The Utah Legislature adjourned its 2016 session sine die on March 10. Gov. Gary Herbert has until March 30 to veto or sign legislation. The governor does not possess a pocket veto. The normal effective date for bills passed this year, unless otherwise specified, is May 9.

Photo of the Utah State Capitol by Robert Cutts on Wikimedia Commons.

In Coalition for Secular Government v. Williams, the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling declaring the state’s issue committee regulatory framework unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiff, but declined to address the facial validity of the Colorado Constitution’s $200 threshold for issue committee reporting. However, the appeals court did emphasize there must be a legitimate public interest in requiring financial disclosure from issue committees. Moreover, the strength of the public’s interest in issue committee disclosure depends, in part, on how much money the issue committee has raised or spent.

The court went on to agree with the 9th Circuit’s characterization of the sliding scale by noting “. . . the value of this financial information to the voters declines drastically as the value of the expenditure or contribution sinks to a negligible level. As the monetary value of an expenditure in support of a ballot issue approaches zero, financial sponsorship fades into support and then into mere sympathy” [Appellate Case: 14-1469; see Canyon Ferry Rd. Baptist Church of E. Helena, Inc. v. Unsworth, 556 F.3d 1021, 1033 (9th Cir. 2009)].

In its earlier holding, the lower court advised state lawmakers the secretary of state will “be on the hook for fees every time a group, like the Coalition for Secular Government, falls under the $200 trigger for issue committee status and has to sue to vindicate its First Amendment rights” [D.C. No. 1:12-CV-01708-JLK].

On March 9, the Louisiana Legislature adjourned its special session sine die. Gov. John Bel Edwards had called the special session of the Legislature to convene on February 14 for the purpose of focusing on fiscal issues concerning the state.

The regular session of the Legislature is scheduled to begin on March 14.

An advisory opinion by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics has been challenged in federal court. Five public relations firms have brought a suit seeking to block the enforcement of Advisory Opinion 16-01, as they argue the legality of the opinion’s definition of what constitutes lobbying.

Under the opinion, the firms claim private conversations with editors and reporters would be required to be disclosed, an act they say would have a chilling effect on the way they do business. Additionally, the firms argue the opinion’s definition of lobbying to be unconstitutionally vague, claiming it fails to give citizens reasonable notice of what is and is not considered lobbying activity.

New Jersey law requires every business receiving $50,000 in government contracts in a calendar year to file a Business Entity Annual Statement (Form BE) with the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) by March 30 of the following year. ELEC recently amended Form BE to require filers to certify the statements on the form as accurate, to acknowledge penalties for willfully filing a false statement, and to identify whether each contract was awarded pursuant to a fair and open process.

Businesses completing Form BE for 2015 can expect to spend more time filing, as determining if a contract was awarded pursuant to a fair and open process may not be as simple as it sounds. The term may be defined differently at the state, county, and municipal levels, and some long-term contracts to be listed on the form may have been awarded years ago.

The fair and open certification is just another addition to New Jersey’s notoriously complex pay-to-play rules. Because certain laws apply only to contracts not awarded through a fair and open process, identifying a contract awarded through any other process will likely highlight the contract for regulatory agencies.

Although the changes will certainly make filing more complicated, ELEC has yet to issue guidance on the new requirements.

The Missouri Senate recently passed a bill to restrict certain political contributions from registered lobbyists. The bill limits the ways campaign committee funds can be invested and prohibits elected officials from keeping their campaign money if they become lobbyists.

If the bill becomes law, elected officials would need to dissolve their respective campaign committees upon registering as lobbyists.

The Senate amended the version previously passed by the House, so the bill must head back to the House for final approval.

Photo of the Missouri Capitol courtesy of RebelAt on Wikimedia Commons.

A bill permitting the Executive Branch Ethics Commission to regulate the lobbyist registration fee has passed in committee. The State Government Committee approved House Bill 608, paving the way towards allowing the commission to set the amount executive branch lobbyists must pay each year to register, rather than follow the statutorily mandated $125.

The bill also requires executive branch officials and employees to report suspected violations of the code of ethics to the commission.

Proponents of the bill argue any increase in the fee would simply help cover the costs of investigating and prosecuting violations. The bill now heads to the full house for consideration.

On March 4, the Wyoming 63^rd Legislature adjourned its regular session sine die. During the 20-day session, the legislature rejected Medicaid expansion for the state, passed a $3 billion budget, and approved funding for several public construction projects, including facilities at the University of Wyoming.

The 64th Legislature will convene the 2017 general session on January 10.

Photo of the Wyoming State Capitol by Bradlyons on Wikimedia Commons.

The Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, March 3, 2016. Before adjourning, lawmakers passed House Bill 4134 to reduce the time frame for lobbyist registration requirements.

Gov. Brown has 30 days to consider the bill, and any other bill not reaching her desk is now dead.

On April 9, 2016, a special primary election will be held for the Louisiana House District 29 seat, which has been left vacant by the death of Rep. Ronnie Edwards on February 24.

If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the special primary election, a special runoff election will be held on May 14, 2016.

House Bill 4134, a bill tightening timelines for reporting for lobbyist’s clients and lobbyist registration, has passed both the Oregon House and Senate, and will head to Gov. Brown’s desk for approval. The bill requires lobbyists to register within three business days after meeting the threshold instead of the current 10 day time period.

The bill also requires a client or employer of a lobbyist to sign an authorization for the lobbyist within 10 calendar days after the lobbyist files a registration statement.

The bill will become immediately effective if approved by Gov. Brown.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be one of the sponsors of The Ohio Society of Washington D.C.’s 2016 Ohio Birthday Celebration!

The grand event will take place tonight in the Montpelier Room of the James Madison Building at the Library of Congress.

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

The Frederick County, MD Council has passed a new ordinance regarding county contracts and the size of the Frederick County Ethics Commission. The ordinance prohibits elected officials and certain family members for securing county government contracts.

Additionally, the ordinance increases the size of the Ethics Commission from five to seven members.