Attorneys for the Indiana Election Division have opined that a proposed local ban on political contributions from city contractors violates state law.

The proposed Fort Wayne, Indiana ordinance prohibits companies, including subcontractors and family members, from doing business with the city if political donations were made to candidates or officials during the previous year. If a violation were not remedied by having the contributions returned, the company would be banned for three years from contracting with the city.

As quoted by The Journal Gazette, the authors of the opinion, Dale Simmons and Leslie Barnes, co-counsels at the Indiana Election Division, write “We believe the proposed ordinance unlawfully attempts to exercise the ‘power to conduct elections,’ which is a power expressly withheld from municipalities by the General Assembly. If this were not so, it would be easy to anticipate the confusion wrought in the administration of elections by numerous and conflicting local campaign finance regulations.”

The campaign finance practices of Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee have come under fire as his campaign has asked supporters of his past congressional campaigns to roll their donations forward to his current campaign, regardless of contribution limits.

Inslee could then ask those donors for additional money that would be subject to the state’s campaign finance limits for the 2012 election cycle.

Republican candidate Rob McKenna’s campaign, characterized the money as “illegal.”

The Washington Public Disclosure Commission staff has stated that Inslee’s interpretations of campaign finance regulations are correct.

McKenna’s campaign pointed to federal election documents that show Inslee never declared the cash as surplus money, meaning it cannot be transferred, and also questioned whether a federal candidate could ever move money to a state campaign because the cash was raised under different election rules.

Amid declining web traffic and engagement, Cuyahoga County Council has turned to social media as a way to better engage its constituents.

Today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer features “Cuyahoga County Council streams meetings, turns to social media” by Harlan Spector. The article reveals that the Cuyahoga County Council is now on Facebook, has a Twitter account, and offers live video streaming of council meetings.

I also found a county government YouTube channel and separate Facebook.

Ginny Looney, the Ethics Officer for the city of Atlanta Ethics Office, has announced she will be leaving the position in order to work as a clerk for the Georgia Supreme Court.

Looney, who was the first appointee to the position in 2003, made the announcement at the most recent Atlanta City Council meeting.

Among her accomplishments during her time holding the position, Looney developed the city’s electronic disclosure system, helped to craft city ethics laws, and established the city’s 24/7 ethics hotline.

Looney’s final day is set to be September 30, 2011.

Photo of the Atlanta City Hall doors by Jeff Clemmons on Wikipedia.

The special session of the Utah Legislature adjourned after one day, as expected.

Several items were passed including a resolution calling for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Photo of the Utah State Capitol by BigBen212 on Wikipedia.

Judge Thomas Johnston of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia has struck down key provisions of campaign finance law pertaining to electioneering communications.

In a suit filed by West Virginians for Life and the Center for Individual Freedom, the court held that while the state of West Virginia could regulate advertisements that “can have no other reasonable meaning than to urge the election or defeat of one or more clearly identified candidates,” the state could not require financial disclosures from third party groups creating advertisements that are merely “susceptible” to the interpretation that they are an appeal for or against a specific candidate.

Further, the court struck down the extension of electioneering communication regulations to print media while upholding the applicability of such regulations to broadcast media.

The special legislative session called on Tuesday by Governor Mark Dayton adjourned at 3:43 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The Legislature passed 12 budget bills that were signed by Governor Dayton in order to reopen state government.

True to the recent trend that can be observed in both local governments and the federal government, the city of Burleson, Texas has released a new Facebook app named the Citizen Request Tracker soon to be spread  to other communities nationwide that makes it easier for citizens to report problems and request services from its local government.

This app can help alert the local authorities about such issues such as pot holes, graffiti, barking dogs and malfunctioning streetlights.

Read more about the Citizen Request Tracker Facebook App in “New App Connects Social Media Users with Municipal Services” by Brian Heaton posted on GovTech.com.

We now provide information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for Miami, Florida; Pembroke Pines, Florida; and Vancouver, Washington on our website.

The image of North America by Bosonic dressing on Wikipedia.

The Cuyahoga County Executive and Inspector General, in collaboration with the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio have announced plans to offer additional vendor ethics training courses.

The first vendor ethics course was offered for construction vendors only. Training sessions will soon be scheduled for health and human services providers, professional services providers, and miscellaneous service providers.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has called a special legislative session to begin today at 3 p.m. for a vote on a budget agreement that would end the state’s government shutdown.

Governor Dayton stated that some state agencies could re-open as early as Wednesday if the budget agreement is finalized.

Photo of the Minnesota State Capitol dome by Mulad on Wikipedia.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert has called a special session of the State Legislature for July 20. It is expected to last only one day.

“The items on the call are generally minor housekeeping items, some of which are time-sensitive,” the Governor is quoted as saying in his press release.

Photo of Governor Gary Herbert courtesy of Gw.hajduk on Wikipedia.

New ethics regulations have been introduced by the Laurel, Maryland City Council, including provisions related to lobbyists.

Observing Maryland’s state ethics regulations for municipalities, the introduced ordinance requires lobbyists to file reports twice a year for each entity they represent. Lobbyists failing to file timely reports could be assessed a late fee of $10 per day up to a maximum of $250. Further enforcement of violations by lobbyists could include additional fines up to $5,000 per offense and suspension of lobbyist registration.

The bill also includes financial reporting requirements for public officials, hiring practices regulations, and rules regarding conflicts of interest.

Map of Maryland by Arkyan on Wikipedia.

The city attorney for Boynton Beach, Jim Cherof, has proposed ceasing enforcement of the city’s lobbying ordinance and turning over enforcement to the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics. The lobbying ordinance, in effect since 2007, has come under fire recently due to a perceived vagueness in the law.

This past May, the city levied the first fines ever under the ordinance and has also taken steps to open an investigation against former city commissioner David Katz, all concerning failure to register as a lobbyist. Each fine is being appealed and Katz maintains he was never required to register under the law because he was performing consulting work and not lobbying.