County commissioners, by a unanimous vote, approved an ordinance requiring lobbyists to register and pay a yearly $50 fee. Under the previous law, lobbyists simply had to sign a registry each time they appeared to lobby.

The new law requires the lobbyist to declare who they represent, what topics they will be discussing, and with whom they are meeting. The ordinance also increases the fines for violations and increases the time lobbying privileges are suspended for repeat offenders. The definition of lobbying is also expanded to include indirect communication through emails or text messages.

The county will hold training for lobbyists in August covering the changes.

Missouri House Bill 2166, just one of many ethics bills moving through the legislature, passed the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday and will be sent to the full House for further debate. The bill bans most lobbyist gifts to state public officials and requires itemization of expenditures on lobbying reports for certain events unless all members of the legislature or all statewide elected officials are invited.

State Rep. Justin Alferman, the bill’s sponsor, says the proposal is designed to “alleviate some of the undue influence of lobbyists in Jefferson City.”

State Sen. Ernie Chambers introduced a resolution to prevent lobbyist-provided meals from influencing legislators. The resolution, Legislative Resolution 414, prohibits lobbyists from providing meals to legislators inside the Capitol while the legislature is in session. Last year, catering bills, paid for by lobbyists, exceeded $10,000.

Nebraska law currently limits gifts from lobbyists at $50 per month to senators and their immediate families, but meals and beverages do not count toward the limit when the lobbyist is present at the event.

Defending the tradition of a serving line during the final weeks of the session, Speaker Galen Hadley dismisses the idea of food influencing how a senator votes. Sen. Chambers believes the practice creates the appearance of impropriety and should be ended.

A bill seeking to increase lobbyist disclosure advanced in committee in the Florida state senate. Senate Bill 686, if passed, will require lobbyists to report on a monthly basis the bills and amendments they are attempting to influence. This would include listing the specific bar code the legislature uses to track amendments.

The bill still has several hurdles to clear before reaching the Senate floor, including three more committees.

State Representative Jeff Steinborn has introduced three pieces of legislation aimed at lobbyist disclosure and transparency. Steinborn’s bills would require employers of lobbyists to file biannual reports disclosing all funding spent to lobby the state government; would require lobbyists to disclose specific pieces of legislation and administrative issues they are hired to work on; and would require lobbyists to specifically list each legislator who receives a gift, meal, or other expenditure from them.

Steinborn has been successful with lobbyist legislation in the past, having passed a bill requiring the Secretary of State to publish lobbyist spending online in a searchable and downloadable format.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson has recommended legislation prohibiting state officials and employees from becoming lobbyists for one year after leaving office.

This is his second attempt to address his state’s revolving door. The bill is being considered in committee.

Photo of Attorney General Bob Ferguson by Joe Mabel on Wikimedia Commons.

State lawmakers have introduced legislation to make it harder for candidates to misuse campaign contributions. So far, thirty senators have backed a measure allowing the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission to cross-check campaign finance reports with year-end balances of campaign committees to ensure the proper use of campaign funds.

The bill also prohibits loaning campaign funds and increases penalties for violations of the law. A similar bill was introduced last year but died before reaching the floor.

Sen. John Murante, the committee chair of the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee, where the bill is being held, said he will bring the bill up for discussion in the coming weeks.

The state Legislature adjourned on Monday, January 11.

Among the business handled the last day of the session was an amendment to the state constitution to change how redistricting is handled. Due to criticism and a lack of support, the measure was pulled, with state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, who had sponsored the bill, promising the measure would be studied further and reintroduced in next legislative session.

The Legislature passed bills allowing counties to impose a hotel tax, to expand the state’s DNA database, and to require nonprofit hospitals to pay “community service assessments” to the counties in which they are located.

Bills concerning required sick leave for employees and required licensing and insurance for ride-share service drivers, like those who work for Uber or Lyft, expired at the end of the session.

Four ethics bills have passed out of the House Government Oversight and Accountability Committee and now move to consideration by the entire House.

These bills include banning statewide elected officials or legislators from working as political consultants while in office, creating a “cooling off” period of at least a full legislative session before elected officials or officials in jobs subject to Senate confirmation may work as lobbyists, requiring public officials to file semiannual reports detailing their personal finances, and reporting any out-of-state travel for official business when paid for by a third party.

Rep. Gina Mitten questioned the effectiveness of the revolving door bill during the committee hearing, asking if the cooling off period was long enough. She advocated having the measure cover legislative staff, requiring elected officials who leave office early to be prohibited from acting as lobbyists until the end of the term, and making the measure become effective as quickly as possible.

Hearings for bills regulating how to handle surplus campaign funds once an official leaves office and the banning of gifts from lobbyists have been delayed due to issues with the drafting of the bills. The committee will take those bills up next week.

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

On January 13, the Kauai County Council will begin looking at legislation regulating lobbyists. Currently, Kauai County is the only county in the state without a lobbying ordinance.

The new ordinance will require lobbyists to register annually with the county clerk and to report annually lobbying expenditures and what the expenditures were for. Any lobbyist providing testimony at a public hearing will also be required to disclose his or her status as a lobbyists before testifying; this disclosure will have to be made each time a lobbyist testifies.

The bill will also ban all gift-giving by lobbyists. Councilman Gary Hooser, who introduced the bill, said this provision may be amended in later drafts to exclude gifts of aloha, which are items such as cookies, cheese platters, or flower leis.

The Seal of Kauai County courtesy of Collection of Chris on Wikimedia Commons.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, along with the county chief elections officer, has implemented an electronic filing system for campaign finance reporting. The electronic filing system is now available.

Candidates and committees can file disclosures online, and the disclosures will be posted immediately on the county elections website, www.shapethefuture.org.

Photo of the San Mateo County Government Center by Coolcaesar on Wikimedia Commons.

A task force on campaign finance reform has recommended changes to the Oregon Constitution which would allow limits to be placed on political contributions. The task force urged the Legislature to make the changes by approving a constitutional amendment allowing limits to be enacted by either the Legislature or a ballot measure.

Currently, Oregon is one of only six states with no campaign spending limits. The Legislature will consider the recommendation at the beginning of this year’s legislative session, which kicks off on February 1.

The San Francisco Ethics Commission will meet January 13, 2016, to discuss the implementation of Proposition C, the November 2015 ballot measure imposing registration and reporting requirements on expenditure lobbyists. The measure takes effect February 1, 2016.

The Ethics Commission welcomes public input on the promulgation of regulations related to the registration threshold, how to account for staff time spent on expenditure lobbying, registration fee exemptions for nonprofit organizations, and other related topics. The meeting is at noon in City Hall.

A 2014 Superior Court decision is being reviewed by the San Francisco Ethics Commission. Critics of the decision argue it created a loophole wherein money a candidate raised via a general purpose committee can be used to elect or defeat candidates for other offices.

Further, the decision allows candidates and officeholders to skirt contribution limits and raise money from sources that would otherwise be prohibited.

The San Francisco Ethics Commission is being urged to consider regulations that would prevent candidates from circumventing the rules.