The bill, HB1080, also includes strict limits on campaign contributions and a ban on legislators working as political consultants.

Kander believes the gifts, along with six-figure campaign donations, allow special interests to gain improper influence.

The bill would limit campaign contributions to $500 for House races, $1,000 for the Senate and $2,000 for statewide elections.

The term limits approved in Missouri in 1992 that were put into full effect in the House in 2001 and in the Senate in 2003 have been shown by a report from the Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri to have had more negative than postive effects.

A post from The Thicket points out that the average within chamber tenure of Missouri legislators in 2011 is about what it was in the 1920s. Additionally, the report claims that the loss of experienced members has resulted in a loss of institutional memory and that due to the term limit, politicians are planning for their next job instead of focusing on their current position in the legislature of doing work for their constituents.

Although the term limits were put into effect to help prevent politicians from abusing their power, are the trade-offs of less focused and experienced politicians worth it?

To learn more, read New Report Says Term Limits Detrimental to Missouri Legislature by Karl Kurtz.

CityCampSF gathered app developers for a hackathon last weekend. The result was a series of apps that took raw government datasets and turned them into usable, searchable information. One app will allow people to receive city legislative alerts and agenda item alerts based on keywords. Another app will make ethics commission data and lobbyist filings searchable.

Don’t miss what Govtech reported in “SF Hackathon Produces Legislative Alert App Prototype” by Sarah Rich.

Here is CityCampSF’s summary of the results from the Hackathon in “CityCampSF Outcomes” on AdrielNation’s blog:

“What happened at CityCampSF Hackathon 2011 on Saturday and Sunday? Lots of great discussion about technology and open government, folks meeting for the first time over pizza, Red Bull and Peanut M&Ms, and some civic hacking on online lobbyists filings, timber harvest plans and text notifications for public meeting agenda keyword alerts.”

Common Cause Rhode Island released a statement asking the state to stop the redrawing of congressional districts.

For news coverage read “Common Cause calls for R.I. to stop redistricting process / Poll” by Philip Marcelo in the Providence Journal on December 13.

For more background information, read “New maps for Congress and state House of Representatives draw criticism” by Randal Edgar in the Providence Journal from December 12.

You can find Common Cause’s statement in “Common Cause calls for pause to redistricting process” on the Common Cause Rhode Island blog. Video coverage of the Rhode Island Redistricting Project meetings this week can be found here.

The Baltimore Sun reported that lobbyist Bruce Bereano has settled the ethics case with the Maryland State Ethics Commission by agreeing to pay a $2,750 fine.

For the full story read “Bereano settles ethics charges for $2,750” by Michael Dresser.

In June, Stacey Kalberman had raised questions about the timing of the commission’s plan to cut her salary and eliminate her chief deputy’s position. In the weeks before her resignation, Kalberman said the two prepared draft subpoenas for Deal and his aides to further their investigation.

The subpoenas were never executed because commissioners would not sign off. The commission did ask Deal’s campaign to voluntarily turn over records, but commissioners have refused to say whether that’s happened.

Some are concerned about how an inspector general appointed by the governor can fairly investigate the governor.

The Ohio House of Representatives has approved House Bill 326, a bill setting criminal penalties for using taxpayer money for political activity. While it is currently illegal in the state to use taxpayer funds for campaign finance purposes, there is no penalty associated with such an action.

The bill calls for a $1,000 penalty and up to six months in jail for violators. The measure now proceeds to the Ohio Senate.

Soon after the successful overturning of Senate Bill 5, the controversial collective bargaining law, advocates of fair elections in Ohio are looking to overturn a second piece of legislation that they have called a “voter suppression” bill.

Supporters of this bill, HB 194, believe that this bill will create a more efficient electoral process in Ohio, decrease incidences of fraud due to absentee and provisional ballots, and effectively utilize technology in elections.

The opponents of the bill, largely Democrats and voting rights activists, collected 307,358 signatures achieving their goal of allowing voters to decide on the fate of the bill. They are opposed to several provisions in the bill, most notably those that shorten the time frame for early voting from five weeks to three weeks, eliminate most weekend voting hours, and drop a requirement that poll workers tell voters when they are in the wrong precinct in a multi-precinct voting location.

Voters will decide on HB 194 in November of 2012, preserving the existing election rules through the 2012 presidential elections which gave Democrats the edge in the 2008 elections when Obama won Ohio by only 4 points.

Read more in this article on Cleveland.com.

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will hear arguments on January 9 regarding Congressional and State Legislature districts in Texas. This has put Texas campaigning and fundraising in a state of confusion.

You can find the news coverage here:

“Redistricting Orders Throw Texas Politics Into Disarray” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.

“Texas Elections Are in Limbo Over Redistricting Issue” by Manny Fernandez in the New York Times.

“Judges to offer guidance to party leaders after Supreme Court blocks maps” by Tim Eaton in the American-Statesman.

State lawmakers in Louisiana will be going through what has been called a “crash course” in the craft of lawmaking.

Be sure to read “Newest Louisiana legislators will get crash course in their new roles” by Ed Anderson in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The article says, “[House Clerk Alfred] Speer said the House’s agenda will include mock committee meeting and floor sessions, as well as discussions of ethics laws, parliamentary procedure, introduction to legislative staff, key dates for filing bills, and one called ‘Norms of Behavior or How to Operate within the House and Keep Your Integrity and Sanity.'”

You can find the Web Portal for the Louisiana State Legislature here.

Photo of the Louisiana State Capitol by Bluepoint951 on Wikipedia.

NEW YORK:  Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders announced the appointment of 14 members to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.  Governor Cuomo chose Janet DiFiore, the District Attorney of Westchester County, to chair the commission.

The new agency replaces the Commission on Public Integrity, which was created in 2007 by the merger of the ethics and lobbying commissions.  Under a law signed on August 15, the new commission came into existence yesterday.

The creation of the joint commission put operations of the prior agency on hold, except for collecting lobbying expenditure reports, financial disclosure reports by state employees, and conducting on-line ethical training courses. Any allegations of unethical conduct it has received will be transferred to the new commission.

Approximately 30 employees remain with the commission, about half the work force when the Commission on Public Integrity was formed in 2007.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Wisconsin law that set limits on contributions to groups that independently spend on political speech and permanently enjoined enforcement of the law.

The appeal was brought by the political action committee of Wisconsin Right to Life, which previously won a temporary injunction against enforcing the law during recall elections earlier this year.

The court found that after Citizens United v. FEC, W.S. §§ 11.26(4) is unconstitutional to the extent that it limits contributions to committees engaged solely in independent spending for political speech.

The West Virginia Legislature convened a special session on Sunday, December 11, 2011.

The session has been called to discuss the regulation of oil and gas wells.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission has approved changes to the gift regulations which will take effect on January 1, 2012.

Changes to the regulations include the ability for public officials to accept gifts from lobbyists without disclosure if a dating relationship exists.

Additionally, officials will be able to accept tickets to sporting events if the officials are attending the event to perform a ceremonial duty.

In such circumstances, the gifts are to be reported by the agency and not the official.