State and Federal Communications remains committed to strengthening our community through corporate philanthropy, community engagement, sustainability, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We are happy to present our CSR Annual Report for 2021. In this report, you will find not only this company’s efforts from the previous year, but also a testament to its longevity.

“There is no quick path to a successful CSR program. It takes culture-building, determination, and accountability. It takes everybody on the team.” -Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO

To view the 2021 CSR annual report, please click here!

Thank you for your interest in our Corporate Social Responsibility Program.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its audit of federal lobbying compliance for 2021.

For the audit, the GAO reviewed a random sample of 98 quarterly disclosure reports filed for the third and fourth quarters of calendar year 2020 and the first and second quarters of calendar year 2021. They also reviewed random samples of 160 LD-203 reports for the year-end 2020 and midyear 2021 reports.

Among its findings, the GAO concluded 97  percent of filers of lobbying disclosure reports were able to provide documentation to support reported income and expenses, 7 percent of LD-203 reports were missing reportable contributions, and 92 percent of lobbyists who filed new registrations also filed LD-2 reports as required for the quarter in which they first registered.

The audit estimates at least 35 percent of all lobbying disclosure reports did not properly disclose formerly held covered positions.

The 57-page report, released on April 1, is titled “2021 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations on Lobbyists’ Compliance with Disclosure Requirements.“

Maine Gov. Mills signed Legislative Document 1754 amending the state’s major contributor disclosure law.

The amendments exclude committees from the definition of major contributor and exclude certain funds from disclosure requirements.

Major contributors will no longer need to disclose funds restricted to non-campaign uses; derived from the major contributor’s regular trade, business, or investment income; and provided by a source that contributed no more than $5,000 to the major contributor during the relevant reporting period.

The law also clarifies the penalties associated with noncompliance and provides a mechanism to request a waiver of the penalties.

Legislative Document 1754 will take effect 90 days after the adjournment of the current legislative session.

Campaign Finance

Georgia: “Judge Questions Abrams Suit Seeking Unlimited Contributions” by Jeff Amy (Associated Press) for Yahoo News

Illinois: “Session Recap: Lawmakers pass limits on campaign contributions in judicial races” by Peter Hancock for Capitol News Illinois

South Carolina: “SC Developers Give Over the Legal Limit to Horry Candidates Through LLCs. Here’s How” by J. Dale Shumaker for The State

Tennessee: “House Speaker Backs Ethics Bill to Bring Expenses ‘From the Dark into the Light’” by Sam Stockard for Tennessee Lookout

Elections

North Carolina: “Mark Meadows Removed from N.C. Voter Rolls Amid Fraud Investigation” by Amy Wang (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

Alabama: “Selma Is Tired of Being Just a Symbol – They Want Change” by Emmanuel Fenton (Washington Post) for MSN

California: “Corruption Probe Ends in Ex-San Mateo County Community College District Chancellor’s Arrest” by Jason Green (Bay Area News Group) for MSN

New York: “Buffalo Officers Can Return to Duty After Pushing 75-Year-Old Protester” by Julian Mark (Washington Post) for MSN

Legislative Issues

Virginia: “Youngkin Vetoes Bipartisan Bills While Stoking Political Rancor” by Laura Vozzella and Gregory Schneider (Washington Post) for MSN

Meet John Cozine, Esq., Associate Director, Compliance Services!

What are your areas of expertise?

I’ve done it all in my time here, but most of my work focuses on lobbyist registration and reporting, gifting questions, procurement lobbying, and revolving door issues.

How many years of experience do you have at State and Federal Communications?

More than 16 years.

How do you help our clients?

I’m the primary point of contact for many of our clients, so they frequently come to me first with questions. I either answer their questions or connect them with the appropriate Manager who can assist them. As the person in charge of the Compliance Department I ensure all of our clients’ filings are made on time so they can stay out of the newspapers.

Campaign Finance

Indiana: “‘I Plead Guilty’: Former Indiana GOP Sen. Brent Waltz admits role in straw donor scheme” by Tony Cook (Indianapolis Star) for Yahoo News

New York: “New York Lt. Gov. Benjamin Arrested in Campaign Finance Scheme” by Joshua Solomon and Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Elections

National: “Inside ‘the Next Big Political Frontier’ of State Supreme Court Races” by Grace Panetta (Business Insider) for Yahoo News

Ethics

National: “Before Giving Billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi Investment Fund Had Big Doubts” by David Kirkpatrick and Kate Kelly (New York Times) for Yahoo News

National: “Records of Foreign Gifts Given to Trump and Pence in 2020 Are Missing, State Department Says” by Alia Shoaib (Business Insider) for MSN

South Dakota: “South Dakota House Votes to Impeach Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, 36-31” by Joe Sneve (Sioux Falls Argus Leader) for Yahoo News

Lobbying

Wyoming: “Targeted: Lawmakers in the political crosshairs of Wyo Gun Owners” by Mike Koshmrl for WyoFile

Redistricting

Florida: “Florida Legislators Give DeSantis Their Power to Draw House Map” by Colby Itkowitz and Lori Rozsa (Washington Post) for MSN

Assembly Bill 09006C was signed by New York Gov. Hochul and replaces the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) with a new Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government effective July 8.

The substantive law enforced by the ethics body was not altered, and all lobbyist reporting and disclosure requirements will remain the same.

The agency’s overhaul is designed to increase greater transparency.

While members of the ethics agency will still be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, deans at the state’s law schools will comprise an independent review committee charged with approving appointees to the new commission.

Individuals who were registered as lobbyists in the previous two years are prohibited from serving on the commission.

The 444^th Maryland General Assembly adjourned from its 90-day session on April 11 with over 600 bills being passed as of Monday morning.

Passed legislation includes a compromise increasing local budgets for highway repairs, additional measures to enhance Maryland’s cybersecurity response, and bills aimed toward accelerating the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.

New York Gov. Hochul announced a special election for Assembly District 58 to be held on May 24.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Nick Perry was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the ambassador to Jamaica.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was arrested today on a federal bribery conspiracy charge in connection with a scheme to direct fraudulent contributions to one of his prior campaigns.

The scheme was reportedly designed to help Benjamin receive matching funds from New York City’s public campaign financing program during his bid for city comptroller last year.

Benjamin has served as lieutenant governor for less than a year and is currently running for re-election with Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The Mississippi Legislature adjourned sine die on April 5 after over 90 days in session.

This extended session was highlighted by lowered state taxes, redistricting, and the creation of a medical marijuana program.

This does affect lobbyist reporting.

The lobbyist end-of-session activity report is due April 15.

Campaign Finance

New York: “Emails Reveal How Major Hochul Campaign Donors Seek Sway” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Elections

Georgia: “With Biden’s Voting Rights Push Stalled, Georgia Activists Regroup” by Matthew Brown (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

National: “Jan. 6 Panel Has Evidence for Criminal Referral of Trump, but Splits on Sending” by Michael Schmidt and Luke Broadwater (New York Times) for Yahoo News

California: “S.F.’s Environmental Official Resigns Over Alleged $25,000 Donation” by Adam Shanks and Jessica Wolfrom for San Francisco Examiner

Legislative Issues

National: “Partisan ‘Doom Loop’? The Answer Is More Parties, This Group Says” by Jim Saska (Roll Call) for MSN

Lobbying

National: “Crypto Industry Helps Write, and Pass, Its Own Agenda in State Capitols” by Eric Lipton and David Yaffee-Bellany (New York Times) for Seattle Times

Illinois: “Emails Show Valencia Promoted Smart City Development While Her Lobbyist Husband Profited from It” by Mark Maxwell for WCIA

Pennsylvania: “Draft Bills and Late-Night Emails Reveal Cozy Ties Between Pa. State Lawmaker, Casino Lobbyists” by Angela Couloumbis (Spotlight PA) for PennLive.com

Illinois lawmakers adjourned sine die early Saturday morning after passing a bill limiting contributions to judicial self-funding political committees and independent expenditure committees.

Amendment to House Bill 716 prohibits self-funding political committees and independent expenditure committees established to support or oppose a state judicial candidate from accepting contributions from any single person, other than the candidate or the candidate’s immediate family, in a cumulative amount exceeding $500,000 in any election cycle.

Supporters of the bill argue this does not conflict with federal law established in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission because the state’s interest in preserving public confidence in the integrity of its judiciary extends beyond its interest in preventing the appearance of corruption in non-judicial elections.

If Governor Pritzker signs the bill, it will become effective immediately and would apply to judicial elections this year.

A lawsuit has been filed in federal court challenging the constitutionality of campaign finance rules passed in a 2020 voter initiative in Alaska.

The newly filed suit focuses on the disclosure requirements of the initiative, stating the requirements hinder free speech and could lead to reprisals against donors.

The disclosure requirements include a disclaimer and reporting for ads concerning contributions greater than $2,000 given to or received by independent expenditure groups.

The embattled voter initiative already faced challenges in court over the open primary system and ranked-choice voting provisions of the law.