News You Can Use Editor Jim Sedor pointed me in the direction of a news item from Providence, Rhode Island. A new ordinance there requires lobbyists to register with City Hall (including a fee), to get a photo ID, and to file quarterly reports. In response, the ACLU of Rhode Island offered a statement saying the ordinance could chill free speech. The issue may go to court.

The article offers the following quote:

“Despite the good and sincere intentions underlying this proposal, we believe it will deter and chill robust community advocacy,” said ACLU Executive Director Steven Brown. “We understand the City’s interest in promoting transparency in government, but this ordinance is not a proper way to achieve that goal.”

For the full article, read: “ACLU Says New City Law Has ‘Chilling Effect’ on Free Speech” by Stephen Beale, on GoLocalProv.com.

Here is the March 21 news release from the ACLU.

State and Federal Communications Research Associate George Ticoras reported on the new ordinance last week in “Providence Creates Lobbying Registration Law” on Lobby Comply.

Photo of Providence skyline by boliyou on Wikipedia.

Representative Anna Fairclough introduced a bill concerning small procurements with the state, which includes the requirement of vendors to provide proof of an Alaska business license.

House Bill 204 also contains other mandates for vendors, including the registration of construction contract bidders and offerers, the establishment and maintenance of lists of person who want to contract with the state or state agencies, and small procurement provisions for certain amounts of leased space.

The legislation increases the maximum ceiling amounts of what constitutes a small procurement from $50,000 to $100,000 for supplies, services, or professional services; $100,000 to $200,000 for a construction, and from 3000 to 7000 square feet for a lease.

Photo of the Alaska State Capitol by Kevin Lam on Wikipedia.

Senate Bill 39 has been signed by Governor Daugaard and will take effect July 1, 2011.

This law will allow corporations to make contributions to political action committees, contributions previously banned by state campaign finance law.

Under this bill, however, corporate contributions to candidates, candidate committees, or political parties are still prohibited.

Photo of Governor Daugaard courtesy of the South Dakota Governor website.

LB 606 would require any person who makes an electioneering communication in the amount of more than $250 to file a report of the electioneering communication with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, similar to the requirements for those making independent expenditures.

Further, the measure would require a corporation, labor organization, or business association making an electioneering communication with a value of more than $250 to file a report with the Commission including the nature, date, and value of the electioneering communication, as well as the name of the candidate identified in the electioneering communication.

Finally, the term ‘electioneering communication’ would be defined to mean any communication referring to a clearly identified candidate, is publicly distributed in the 30 days before an election, and is directed to the electorate of the office sought by the clearly identified candidate, while also noting ‘electioneering communication’ would not include a contribution or expenditure, a communication by media, a candidate debate, or a communication by a membership organization to the organization’s members.

Photo of the Nebraska State Capitol by Decumanus on Wikipedia.

House Bill 89 has been signed into law by Governor Brian Schweitzer. The bill removes the requirement that political committees, organized to support a state district candidate or issue, file reports of contributions of $100 or more with the county election administrator.

These contribution reports will only be filed with the Commissioner of Political Practices.

The new law becomes effective October 1, 2011.

Providence has passed a new lobbyist registration law. The Lobbyist Disclosure Ordinance requires registration before the first lobbying activity. Online registration will be an available option. Each lobbyist will receive an ID badge with his or her name, photograph, identifying information, and the name of each client being represented.

There is a $150 filing fee for lobbyists employed by entities with budgets over $250,000. Otherwise, the filing fee is $25. Lobbyists and employers will be required to file quarterly reports, and a final report in January detailing all expenses and compensation for the previous calendar year.

Penalties include fines up to $250 a day, up to a maximum of $25,000 per calendar year, and a prohibition of lobbying the city until the following year or until compliance is established. The ordinance takes effect May 16.

Photo of the Providence City Hall by Anatoli Lvov.

The City of Paterson has implemented a new pay-to-play ordinance which enhances the rules concerning contribution limits for entities doing business with the city. Ordinance 11-006 includes an absolute ban on contributions between the time of first communication regarding a specific agreement and the termination of negotiations, the rejection of a proposal, or the completion of a contract. The ordinance also outlines specific contribution limits, in the 12 months prior to a contract, to mayoral and governing body candidates and their committees, joint candidate committees, Passiac County political committees, and PACs.

In order to receive financial aid from the state, the City of Paterson’s passage of the legislation was required by an earlier agreement with the New Jersey Transitional Aid to Localities program, the state’s financial aid program for local municipalities and counties.

Map of Paterson in southern Passaic County, New Jersey by JimIrwin on Wikipedia.

A bill has been introduced in the Iowa Legislature to impose a five percent “fee” on contributions in excess of $250 per year received by a PAC, candidate, or candidate’s committee from a single source.

Additionally, House File 140 would apply the same fee to political advertisements made by candidates or their committees and independent expenditures made by corporations.

The funds raised would be used to help offset the cost of operating the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

Photo of the Iowa State Capitol by Iqkotze on Wikipedia.

Commissioners in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina have agreed to a change in the county’s ethics code preventing themselves and other county employees from soliciting or receiving tickets to cultural or sporting events supported by the county.

If the county has included money, either directly or indirectly, or if an employee knows or has reason to know county money may be requested for an event, employees will no longer be able to receive complimentary tickets. County employees are still free to purchase their own tickets to sporting and cultural events without violating the new policy.

Photo of the Charlotte, North Carolina skyline by Riction on Wikipedia.

Governor Deal signed House Bill 232 on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. The law, which is effective retroactively to January 10, 2011, redefines the term “lobbyist” to require a person to be compensated specifically for lobbying activities before being required to register and report as a lobbyist. Also, a person is now only deemed a “lobbyist” if more than 10 percent of his or her working hours are spent engaged in lobbying activities.

A “lookback” period is included for each calendar month, requiring lobbyist registration and an initial disclosure report within five days if at the end of any month a person has met the 10 percent test. Further, the expenditure triggers for lobbyist registration have been increased from $250 to $1,000.

Additionally, lobbyists are granted a grace period of three business days in filing all disclosure reports. Finally, persons who are employed as bona fide salespersons are exempt from regulation as vendor lobbyists.

Photo of the dome of the Georgia State Capitol by Connor.carey on Wikipedia.

The complaint filed by the American Education Association seeks to have the law overturned on grounds of violating free speech and equal protection.

Even though the law prohibits the use of payroll deductions from all public employees for such activities, the teachers’ group says the law, passed and supported by Republicans, is discriminatory and specifically aimed at them because the A.E.A. has traditionally been a strong supporter of Democratic candidates.

The statute in question has been a source of controversy since it was passed in December during a special legislative session which saw an overhaul of several aspects of the Alabama ethics laws.



The House has included a provision in their appropriations bill which would double lobbyists’ registration fees. House Bill 3700 increases lobbyist and lobbyist’s principal registration fees to $200. The State Ethics Commission would retain fifty percent of the increased fee and the remaining fifty percent would go to the state’s general fund.

Also included in the bill is a provision precluding the State Ethics Commission staff from making any public comment which in any way reflects a personal opinion on any matter which is before the commission.

Effective March 17, 2011, the amount triggering detailed reporting for food, beverages, transportation, lodging, and entertainment will drop to $90.

The trigger is set by statute at 60% of the amount of the legislative per diem.

Due to the legislative per diem decreasing from $168 for the 2009 session to $150 for the 2011 session, the trigger has decreased from $100.80 to $90.

We have seen many examples of social media being used as a tool to promote a political campaign, now here it is being used as a tool to remove an official from office. Rhode Island’s Governor Lincoln Chafee is the target of a recall effort, and one group is using Facebook to gather support for the effort.

Take a look at the Facebook page with its 123 friends.

For the full story you can read the Providence Journal article “Governor unfazed by Facebook recall move” by Philip Marcelo and Katherine Gregg on March 14.