A new Utah state law requiring independent expenditure reporting for political spending became effective today. House Bill 39 requires all persons and entities, except political parties, to file independent expenditure reports with Utah’s chief election officer within 30 days after the day on which a person or entity has made a total of at least $1,000 in independent expenditures during an election cycle.

Another provision of the new law is the requirement to retain records related to the filings for two years, including all independent expenditures, receipts, and donations described in the reports. New definitions concerning independent expenditures are now codified, including telephone bank, which is defined as “500 or more identical or substantially similar telephone calls within any 30-day period.” Fines from $100 to $1000 can be imposed for violations.

The Government Accountability Board (GAB) has concluded a recently signed law allowing lobbyists to personally give campaign contributions a couple of months earlier also prohibits them from providing such contributions on behalf of clients at any time.

Whether by design or by drafting error, a late amendment to Senate Bill 655 removed the provision to allow a lobbyist to deliver a client’s contribution at any time.

GAB will review the matter at its meeting on May 21, 2014. The Legislature would have to reconvene to fix a drafting error.

Delaware Lt. Gov. Matt Denn recently announced his candidacy for attorney general in 2014. If he is elected in November, the office of the lieutenant governor would be vacant until 2016.

Delaware law has no provision to address such a vacancy, so legislators in both houses have introduced bills for a constitutional amendment mandating a special election in these and similar circumstances.

Legislators can pass a constitutional amendment calling for a special election, but they must pass the bill twice. In order to accomplish this before the 2016 general election, the Legislature must pass the first part of the amendment by June 30, 2014.

Colorado state legislators recently passed a bill aimed at increasing lobbying transparency. Senate Bill 14-217 passed the House by unanimous vote on May 7, demonstrating bipartisan support for changes in lobbyist disclosure requirements.

The bill requires lobbyist subcontractors receiving business from a professional lobbyist to report subcontracting business on their annual disclosure statements though such information is contemporaneously reported on the professional lobbyists’ disclosure statements.

Another legislative provision requires lobbyists to update their registration statements within 24 hours of lobbying for a new client or subcontracting for another lobbyist. Per its design, SB 217 effectively closes a lobbying loophole by allowing the public to connect the lobbyists who subcontract for lobbying firms to the clients hiring such firms.

If signed by Gov. Hickenlooper, the bill will become effective July 1, 2015.

Just over a month ago, the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust cleared David Beckham of a complaint charging he violated county ethics law by failing to register as a lobbyist. At the time, Beckham’s meetings with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez were characterized as “meet and greets” regarding potential interest in bringing a Major League Soccer franchise to Miami. Once the plans start to take shape, however, individuals meeting with county officials would need to register as lobbyists, according to the Commission’s report.

Now, with potential sites being discussed, Beckham and his business partner Simon Fuller have registered as county lobbyists ahead of their meeting with county commissioners. But, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners may not be the only government body to need convincing on stadium site approval. One of two potential waterfront stadium sites is under the city of Miami’s jurisdiction, and Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado has cautioned voter approval may be required.

David Beckham’s Lobbyist Registration, courtesy of the Miami Herald.

Photo of David Beckham courtesy of Paulblank on Wikimedia Commons.

Despite the adjournment of the Maine Legislature on May 2, 2014, legislators are still debating issues.

Republican leaders are urging Democrats to reconvene for a special session to address a funding crisis for the state’s nursing homes.

The Assembly has passed a bill to ban fundraisers at the homes of lobbyists. Assembly Bill 1673 passed without a no vote and without debate.

The bill modifies the definition of “contribution” by removing a $500 exception for home or office fundraisers if the host of the fundraiser is a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer. Any payments by the lobbying occupant related to the costs of the fundraiser would then potentially be a prohibited contribution to officials and candidates.

In the Senate, a similar home fundraiser bill (Senate Bill 1441) currently awaits a floor vote.

Aggregate contribution limits for individuals and PACs contributing to state candidates are no longer enforceable, according to the settlement reached in Young v. Government Accountability Board.

The federal case challenging Wisconsin’s aggregate limits was on hold until the Supreme Court struck down aggregate limits for federal elections in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission.

Before the settlement, Wisconsin law prohibited donors from giving more than $10,000 a year to all candidates combined.

Gov. Phil Bryant has called a special session of the Mississippi Legislature to begin May 8, 2014, to make appropriations for the state’s share of disaster relief for tornado damage.

The National Weather Service reported 23 tornadoes touched down in Mississippi on April 28, killing 14 people and damaging hundreds of buildings.

State and local governments are required to match one-eighth of federal aid dollars.

The Ethics Commission has prepared draft amendments to the Election Campaign Control Ordinance (ECCO). The proposed ECCO amendments include a provision to classify a committee’s otherwise independent payment as a “contribution” if the payment is for an advertisement duplicating materials found in a candidate’s advertisement or on the candidate’s website. Such payments would be subject to both contribution limits and source prohibitions.

The commission has invited public comment at the next meeting on May 8, 2014. The draft amendments are available here.

Photo of the San Diego skyline courtesy of Tomcio77 on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Nikki Haley has rejected a proposed compromise on ethics oversight by the House ethics reform panel. The panel unanimously advanced a proposal in House Bill 3945 to create an independent investigative commission.

The commission would consist of 12 members selected by all three branches of state government and have the power to investigate allegations of violations by officials and candidates. Power to punish violations would remain with the existing House and Senate ethics committees. The governor has also rejected the panel’s previous attempt to create an omnibus commission with the power to investigate, judge, and punish.

The panel is attempting to find compromise between the House version containing a combined ethics committee and the Senate version maintaining separate ethics committees. The investigative committee proposal will go before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, May 6, 2014.

Q. My company is a registered lobbyist employer in California.   I do not currently meet the threshold for lobbyist registration, however, I do engage in some lobbying activity.  Am I required to disclose this activity on the company’s report?

A. In California, lobbyist employers are required to track and disclose compensation and expenditures for non-lobbyist employees (NLEs) on quarterly disclosure reports. If you meet the NLE threshold for reporting, you are required to disclose your pro-rata share of compensation and related expenditures, even if you do not meet the registration threshold.  Specifically, you qualify as an NLE if you spend more than 10 percent of your compensated time in any calendar month in connection with lobbying activities.  However, this does not include compensation paid to an employee whose duties are solely clerical, manual, or are limited to the compilation of data or statistics.

If you qualify as an NLE, you must track your compensation and reimbursed expenditures dedicated to state lobbying activities.  This combined figure is included on the employer report (Form 635) in Part D, Other Payments to Influence Legislative or Administrative Action.  When estimating your time, you will need to include all time spent in connection with lobbying activities, including direct communications with public officials in the presence of your company’s or trade association’s contract lobbyist.  Although there is an exception in the Fair Political Practices Commission regulations allowing employees to not count this type of direct communication towards the registration threshold, you must nevertheless track and disclose this time on your company’s employer report if you exceed the NLE reporting threshold.   You will also need to include grassroots activity, research, and preparation time.

Be mindful of the gap between the NLE reporting threshold and the lobbyist registration threshold. If your level of activity exceeds the lobbyist registration threshold, you are required to register within 10 days.  The registration threshold for in-house employees is defined as spending one-third or more of your compensated time in any calendar month engaging in direct communications with a qualifying official for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action.

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(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

The Kansas Legislature adjourned in the early morning hours of May 3, making this the shortest legislative session in 40 years.

State lawmakers passed a budget and approved funding for courts and schools, but failed to address the state’s falling revenue due to deep tax cuts passed in 2012 and 2013.

Sharp declines in revenue are causing the state to quickly burn through its reserve funds, leaving some to wonder if the next Legislature will be able to fund critical state services.

The Florida Legislature adjourned its 2014 session on May 2, 2014 after passing a record $77.1 billion budget.

The final day of session also saw two immigration bills passed, including one allowing undocumented immigrants attending Florida high schools to qualify for in-state tuition rates at Florida universities.