The Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) rejected the Department of State’s proposed increase to the biennial lobbyist registration fee. The proposal called for an increase from $200 to $400 for lobbyists, lobbying firms, and principals.

The Department of State believed the higher fees were needed to offset increased costs associated with the lobbyist registration database and website. The IRRC disapproved the increase following testimony stating it would be too burdensome on smaller companies and the general public, creating a disincentive to engaging in the lawmaking process.

The pro-life group Vermont Right to Life Committee filed a complaint with the state’s attorney general’s office against Vermont Leads and its independent expenditure PAC, Vermont Leads Political Action Committee. The complaint alleges transfers of money between the two groups violate campaign finance laws.

Act 90, enacted in January, states an independent expenditure PAC cannot be closely related to a political party or political committee if they make contributions to candidates. The treasurer of Vermont Right to Life Committee, Sharon Toborg, is asking the attorney general to clarify the statute’s language.

Assistant Attorney General Eve Jacobs-Carnahan believes the distinction will depend on communication between Vermont Leads and its PAC as well as their governance structure, activities, and spending.

A special election will be held on November 4 to fill the vacant state senate seat for District 17. Gov. Phil Bryant issued a Writ of Election after Sen. Terry Brown passed away earlier this month.

The deadline to qualify is October 6 and should a runoff election be necessary, it will be held November 25. The newly elected senator will complete Sen. Brown’s term ending January 2016.

The Internal Services Department in Miami-Dade County has combined the separate vendor enrollment and registration processes into one online vendor registration. The online vendor registration process can be accessed here.

Paper based registrations are no longer accepted.

All registered vendors whose status was “Active” prior to September 15, 2014 will be able to update their existing registration profiles through this portal. An email containing the login information will be sent to each firm currently registered or enrolled. These vendors will only be required to log-in to the portal to establish an online, secure profile. Thereafter, the existing registration records will be available to them online.

Vendors still must return a notarized business entity registration application by regular mail.

State Rep. Ronnie Sabb won the Democratic special primary runoff for Senate District 32 by receiving 58.7 percent of the vote against Williamsburg County Councilman Sam Floyd. With no Republican challengers, Sabb’s name will be the only one to appear on the November ballot.

A special election will then be held in early 2015 to fill Sabb’s House seat, which Floyd may pursue. The Senate District 32 special election became necessary when Lt. Gov. Yancey McGill vacated the seat to take his current position from Glenn McConnell, who resigned as lieutenant governor to become president of the College of Charleston.

Photo of Rep. Ronnie Sabb courtesy of the South Carolina Legislature website.

The Board of Supervisors remains in disagreement with 2013-2014 grand jury reports calling for a county ethics commission. The board remains committed to a proposal to employ the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for monitoring and enforcement of county ethics laws. Although the FPPC proposal will appear on county ballots in November, the FPPC will lack the authority to contract with the county even if the proposal passes.

Senate Bill 1226 was introduced in the California Legislature to allow the FPPC to contract with counties, but was eventually amended and passed as a veterans licensing bill. The June grand jury report and the board’s proposed response is available here.

The State Ethics Commission has issued a reminder of changes to the Public Ethics Law taking effect on October 1, 2014. Several of the changes will affect the lobbyist registration process.

Signed paper registrations will no longer be required since the requirement to submit an employer authorization with signature has been replaced by a lobbyist certification with electronic signature. The commission also is working to implement an electronic payment option to allow a completely online registration process.

The Maryland Capitol Police will accept an email confirmation of the online registration for purposes of issuing the lobbyist state identification badge.  Paper registration will continue to be available, but will require the lobbyist to sign forms under oath before a notary and to submit the $100 registration fee by paper check.

The Suffolk County Legislature introduced an ordinance amending the county’s lobbying law. Resolution No. 1658-2014 expands the definition of lobbying to include attempts to influence county agencies with respect to the procurement of goods, services, or public works. The ordinance also changes the overseeing body of lobbyist filings from the Clerk of the Legislature to the Board of Ethics.

The ordinance would further require the Board to develop a protocol to review sources of information that may assist the Board in identifying non-complying lobbyists. This provision is similar to a recent change made to New York City’s lobbying law aimed at identifying non-complying lobbyists.

If passed, the ordinance will take effect January 1, 2015.

Changes to current election procedures are being considered following an extremely close Senate race. State Sen. Chris McDaniel narrowly lost to incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran in a June 24 runoff election. A legal battle is still underway after McDaniel claimed thousands of illegal crossover votes were cast for Cochran.

A 51 member panel of academics and community leaders, assembled by Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, will consider if changes to the way voters register for primaries are needed and whether early voting and online registration should be allowed. Currently, voters do not register with a party prior to a primary election and state law states that a voter should only vote in a primary if they intend to support a candidate later.

The panel will make its recommendations to the state legislature for consideration during next year’s session.

Arlington County Board member John Vihstadt is calling for tougher gift restrictions for county employees and officials. In the wake of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell and his wife being convicted on corruption charges, Vihstadt hopes to place a $100 yearly limit on gifts from any source.

The current Code of Ethics states officials should ensure gifts are not received in exchange for official acts and officials may not accept gifts from individuals with whom the official does business. Vihstadt, running for reelection, argues the current code only described principles of conduct rather than definite rules preventing unethical influence on public officials.

The Nevada Legislature adjourned its special session on September 11, 2014, after sending four bills to the governor.

The four bills were a tax incentive package designed to bring a Tesla Motors battery factory to the state.

Photo of the Nevada Legislature courtesy of Dave Parker on Wikimedia Commons.

The Cook County Board of Commissioners passed a new ordinance banning registered lobbyists from attempting to communicate with commissioners, for purposes of discussing any matter of county business, while the commissioners are present on the floor during public meetings.

The ordinance does not affect lobbying outside of county chambers or lobbying in the boardroom after a meeting is brought to a close.

Moreover, the new rule applies only to registered lobbyists, and makes no mention of those engaged in lobbying activity who are not yet registered with the county.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell has been suspended following an indictment on criminal charges of misconduct in office, using campaign funds for personal use, and falsifying candidate campaign disclosures. The nine-count indictment claims Harrell used hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds for personal expenses and falsified his private plane’s logbook to seek payment for travel that did not occur.

The complaint was filed by the director of the nonpartisan South Carolina Policy Council and follows a fight between Harrell and Attorney General Alan Wilson, who ordered an investigation of the speaker’s conduct last year.

A new web tool is available to follow the money in November’s mayoral election race. The Open Disclosure project is the product of a partnership between the Public Ethics Commission and OpenOakland, a civic innovation organization.

The project displays campaign finance data for the 15 mayoral candidates in a user friendly way, allowing the public to quickly see who is contributing, where they are contributing from, and in what amounts.  Developers hope to expand the contribution information to all elected races in Oakland.

The information is available here.