Lawmakers are meeting this week for three legislative days to start discussions on bills they would like to pass during the shorter, 32-day session next year.

In addition to getting updates on this year’s wildfire season and how the state is reacting to Equifax’s consumer data breach, legislators will be discussing a proposal to institute a greenhouse gas “cap and invest” proposal, which would fine businesses that go over their limit on greenhouse gas emissions and would invest that revenue into green-energy infrastructure.

Legislators are also being tasked with approving executive appointments during this three-day period.

On September 15, the head of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) said in an interview with Politico anonymous contributions to legal defense funds of federal employees are prohibited. David Apol, the acting director of the OGE, told Politico the policy had not changed, even though the note on a guidance document had been changed earlier this year.

In 1993, the OGE issued an opinion letter holding a fund established for the benefit of a government employee to pay the employee’s legal expenses, while administered by a person having no connection with the employee’s official duties, could accept anonymous contributions. The OGE guidance letter is not legally binding.

Walter Shaub, then director of the OGE, instructed his staff in May of this year to add a one-sentence note to the top of the document signaling the OGE’s long standing internal practice had diverged from the formal guidance, according to Politico. The note read in all caps and a red font, “NOTE: SOME STATEMENTS IN THIS OPINION ARE NOT CONSISTENT WITH CURRENT OGE INTERPRETATION AND PRACTICE.”

Subsequently, after Shaub left the OGE, the document’s note was changed to read, again in all caps and a red font, “NOTE: THE PRIMARY FINDING ABOUT THE LIMITED APPLICABILITY OF 18 U.S.C. §209 TO PAYMENTS MADE FOR AN EMPLOYEE’S LEGAL EXPENSES HAS NOT CHANGED. HOWEVER, BECAUSE EACH ANALYSIS IS VERY FACT-SPECIFIC, AGENCY ETHICS OFFICIALS SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR OGE DESK OFFICER BEFORE ADVISING EMPLOYEES ON THIS TOPIC.”

Critics of the note change had said this opens the door up to lobbyists and other prohibited sources funding legal defenses for employees currently working in the White House.

Campaign Finance

California: “L.A. School Board President Faces Felony Charges Over Campaign Contributions” by Anna Phillips, David Zahniser, and Howard Blume for Los Angeles Times

Michigan: “Campaign Finance Bills Pass Michigan Senate, Give More Power to Big Donors, Critics Say” by Emily Lawler for MLive.com

Pennsylvania: “Former Judge to Admit Payments from Brady Campaign, Lawyer Says” by Chris Brennan and Craig McCoy for Philadelphia Inquirer

Ethics

“Government Ethics Office Says It Will Stick with Ban on Anonymous Gifts” by Darren Samuelsohn for Politico

“Trump Lawyers Clash Over How Much to Cooperate with Russia Inquiry” by Peter Baker and Kenneth Vogel for New York Times

“Trump’s Divisive Presidency Reshapes a Key Part of His Private Business” by David Fahrenthold, Amy Brittain, and Matea Gold for Washington Post

“Trump’s FEC Nominee Has Questioned the Value of Disclosing Political Donors” by Matea Gold for Washington Post

Lobbying

“Mike Flynn’s Son Is Subject of Federal Russia Probe” by Carol Lee, Julia Ainsley, and Ken Dilanian for NBC News

Arkansas: “Lobbyist Got Part of Fees Paid by Bondsmen” by Brian Fanney for Arkansas Online

Colorado: “Big Bucks Flow to Colorado Lobbyist Offices Steps from The Capitol” by Sandra Fish for KUNC

North Carolina: “Lobbyist Faces Investigation after WBTV Uncovered Unregistered Lobbying” by Nick Ochsner (WBTV) for Charlotte Observer

Elections

“How Party Bosses, Not Voters, Pick Politicians in New York” by Shane Goldmacher for New York Times

Legislative Issues

California: “In California’s Capitol, the Real Battles Are Often Between the Assembly and the Senate” by Chris Megerian and Melanie Mason for Los Angeles Times

Missouri: “Missouri Lawmaker Censured over Trump Assassination Post” by Associated Press for Wichita Eagle

After review and finalization, a package of campaign finance code revisions is going to the City Council Governance Committee for approval.

Proposed revisions include language creating a blackout period for owners or top executives of primary bidders on city contracts making contributions to a council campaign within a certain time frame when the contract is out to bid.

Some members of the Ethics Board fear tighter campaign finance laws will decrease political activity and lead to political problems and controversy while others are happy to see steps taken towards transparency.

The committee will meet Sept. 20 to review the proposed changes completed by the City’s Ethics Review Board this week.

Gov. John Hickenlooper has called a special legislative session on Oct. 2 to fix a budgeting issue that resulted from consolidating two marijuana taxes.

A bill-drafting error inadvertently left out the Regional Transportation District, the Denver Zoo, and other Denver-based institutions from receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in marijuana tax revenue.

Republican leaders reacted angrily, claiming they had not been consulted about a game plan and questioning why this could not wait till the regular session convenes in January.

Per the state constitution, lawmakers are required to convene when called, but they are not required to take action.

Jonathan Spontarelli is here to deliver this week’s News You Can Use from the new Washington D.C. branch of State and Federal Communications!

The Minnesota Supreme Court overturned a district court ruling Gov. Mark Dayton’s line-item vetoes unconstitutional.

In May, Dayton line-item vetoed funding for the House and Senate. In response, the Legislature sued arguing Dayton violated the separation of powers clause of the state Constitution.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered Dayton and the Legislature to mediate their funding disagreements.

On or before September 30, both Dayton and the Legislature must give the court a status report regarding mediation efforts.

A bill further restricting revolving door provisions was sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for consideration.

Assembly Bill 1620 would change the current law prohibiting legislators from lobbying from one year to up to three years, depending on when he or she steps down from office. The bill states a legislator could not lobby during the two-year session after he or she was elected, plus another full year after the session ends.

If signed by the governor, the bill is effective January 1, 2018.

Gov. Mary Fallin has called a special election to fill a vacant seat in Oklahoma Senate District 27.

Bryce Marlatt resigned his seat on Tuesday after being charged with a felony count of sexual battery for grabbing an Uber driver’s head and kissing her neck while she was driving him to a bar.

A special primary will be held December 12, with a special general to follow on February 13, 2018.

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) of 2007 was enacted 10 years ago. It is a law of the US federal government, which in part, amended parts of the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995.

What did it do? For one, it strengthened the public disclosure requirements regarding lobbying activity and placed restrictions on gifts. The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 15, 2007.

In addition, it closed the revolving door for many people in the federal government from lobbying for a certain period of time; it increased the number of reports due a year—from twice a year to four times a year; it prohibited Members of Congress from attending parties held in their honor at national party conventions—if they were sponsored by lobbyists; requires candidates, other than those running for a seat in the House, pay the fair market value of airfare (charter rates) when using non-commercial jets to travel; requires candidates for the House to not use non-commercial aircraft; requires lobbyists to certify they have not given gifts or travel that would violate Senate or House rules; requires the disclosure of businesses or organizations contributing more than $5,000 and actively participating in lobbying activities by certain coalitions and associations; instituted a lot of prohibitions between spouses who are registered lobbyists unless they were registered at least one year prior to the most recent election of the spouse to office; and requires entertainment and sports tickets be valued at market rates.

There is definitely more to HLOGA which affected lobbyists, Members of Congress, Cabinet Secretaries, senior Senate staff, and senior House staff. It is the #1 reason State and Federal Communications strengthened its federal presence in DC by bringing on Rebecca South, formerly from Blank Rome, and Gamble Hayden, formerly from PhRMA and Boehringer Ingelheim. Our FedALERTS program is the key to capturing the information needed for 100% compliance on the federal level.

Will there be changes in the future? Probably…In the meantime, we are celebrating HLOGA today at State and Federal Communications.

National:

How Anna Nicole Smith’s Billionaire In Laws Secretly Lobbied the Courts
Bloomberg.com – Zachary Mider | Published: 9/13/2017

When the heirs of billionaire J. Howard Marshall II, famous for his May-December romance with Playboy centerfold Anna Nicole Smith, went to court in a $75 million tax dispute, they got help from an unlikely ally: Barber-Scotia College, the nation’s first institution of higher learning for black women. Barber-Scotia’s name, along with those of four other historically black colleges and universities, was on a friend-of-the-court brief submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The brief was part of a campaign by the Marshall family, orchestrated by a Washington, D.C. consulting firm, to influence two of the nation’s highest courts. The campaign shows how it is possible for well-funded litigants to stack the deck by generating phony friends of the court, or by paying advocates who present themselves as independent but are really lobbyists in disguise.

On Facebook and Twitter, a Hunt for Russia’s Meddling Hand
New York Times – Scott Shane | Published: 9/7/2017

The Russian information attack on the election did not stop with the hacking and leaking of Democratic emails. Far less splashy, and far more difficult to trace, was Russia’s experimentation on Facebook and Twitter, the American companies that essentially invented the tools of social media and, in this case, did not stop them from being turned into engines of deception and propaganda. An investigation reveals some of the mechanisms by which suspected Russian operators used Twitter and Facebook to spread anti-Hillary Clinton messages and promote the hacked material they had leaked. Given the powerful role of social media in political contests, understanding the Russian efforts will be crucial in preventing or blunting similar, or more sophisticated, attacks in upcoming elections.

Federal:

Russian Network RT Must Register as Foreign Agent in US
The Hill – Megan Wilson | Published: 9/12/2017

The company that runs the U.S. version of RT, the Russian state-owned outlet originally known as Russia Today, must register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent, signaling that all of their content would be labeled as propaganda from Moscow. Media organizations have been exempted from the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which is wide-ranging in its disclosure requirements and generally applies to political consultants and those working in lobbying or public relations. It would be a felony if RT is found to have willfully failed to register as a foreign agent, however.

From the States and Municipalities:

Colorado
Denver City Council Approves New Rules Requiring Reports of Dark-Money Spending in Elections
Denver Post – Jon Murray | Published: 9/11/2017

The Denver City Council approved a bill that will require the reporting of at least $1,000 in independent spending by individuals, companies, or other organizations to support candidates or ballot issues. Those independent expenditures include any activity aiming to aid or hurt a candidate, including “electioneering communications” such as mailers, broadcast ads, or other advertising. The initial report to the Denver Elections Division, disclosing all expenses and donors above $25, will be required within two days after cumulative spending reaches $1,000.

Illinois
Weighing Third Term, Emanuel Relies on Campaign Donors Who Get City Hall Benefits
Chicago Tribune – Jeff Coen and Bill Ruthhart | Published: 9/8/2017

As Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel ramps up his campaign fundraising toward a possible third term, he continues to rely on donors who have received City Hall benefits, ranging from contracts and zoning approvals to appointments and personal endorsements from the mayor. With the mayoral election still a year and a half away, Emanuel has collected $3.1 million in high-dollar contributions. And more than $2.1 million of it, nearly 70 percent, has come from 83 donors who have benefited from actions at City Hall.

Massachusetts
Pro-Charter School Group Pays State’s Largest Campaign Finance Penalty
Boston Globe – Michael Levenson | Published: 9/11/2017

A group that backed last year’s charter school ballot question in Massachusetts paid $426,466 as part of a campaign finance settlement. The payment by Families for Excellent Schools-Advocacy is the largest civil forfeiture in the history of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Investigators say the organization violated the law by raising money from individuals and then contributing that money, more than $15 million, to the Great Schools Massachusetts Ballot Question Committee in a manner intended to disguise the source of the money. The group agreed with the IRS to dissolve itself, and Families for Excellent Schools, its umbrella group, agreed not to fundraise or engage in any election-related activity in Massachusetts for four years.

Minnesota
Scott County Attorney Declines Charges in Dai Thao Bribery-Solicitation Case
St. Paul Pioneer Press – Frederick Melo | Published: 9/12/2017

St. Paul City Councilperson Dai Thao will not face criminal charges over an allegation he attempted to solicit a bribe. The Scott County attorney’s office declined to prosecute the claims made against Thao and his former campaign manager, Angela Marlow. The allegations stemmed from a meeting between Thao, lobbyist Sarah Clarke, and some of Clarke’s clients. Clarke said that Thao told the group during the meeting that he needs “resources to spread his message.” She said it seemed clear he was asking for a bribe.

New Mexico
New Campaign Spending Rules to Take Effect
Albuquerque Journal – Dan Boyd | Published: 9/8/2017

Nonprofit advocacy organizations that spend unlimited amount of money to influence elections in New Mexico will have to disclose the names of contributors under rules adopted by state elections officials. The new requirements are set to go into effect on October 10, in time for 2018 primary and general elections, for so-called dark money groups that spend at least $2,500 on a statewide election or ballot measure. New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said vague and confusing rules are being cleaned up and the changes will “help shine a light on the dark money that has been plaguing our state’s campaigns.”

New York
Firm Uses Loophole to Secretly Donate $60G to de Blasio Campaign, Lobbying Records Show
New York Daily News – James Fanelli | Published: 9/9/2017

Constantinople & Vallone has a reputation as a powerful lobbying firm that gets its clients access to New York City Hall, but what is not so well known is it has helped steer $60,900 in campaign donations to Mayor Bill de Blasio. A loophole in the city’s campaign finance law has allowed the firm to stay under the radar as a fundraiser for the mayor. The only way to know Constantinople & Vallone has raised so much money for de Blasio is through obscure filings with the city clerk’s lobbying bureau.

Oregon
Legislators Consolidate Power, Cash, in Partially Invisible Cycle of Giving to Each Other
Salem Statesman-Journal – Cooper Green | Published: 9/9/2017

If a candidate passes contributions to another candidate, or to a re-election fund for fellow party members, the public can no longer see the money’s original donor. These transactions are known as pass-throughs. Transactions between Oregon legislators, or between lawmakers and re-election funds, are commonplace and have been for decades. An analysis shows legislative officeholders and candidates have utilized this system of pass-throughs more than 2,800 times in the last three election cycles alone, transferring $18.7 million dollars between themselves. Based on the total amount contributed to legislators during that time, this means more than a quarter of all money involved in legislative campaigns has seen more than one lawmaker as it moves through the system.

Pennsylvania
Elect Them, Then Lobby Them: Two firms blur the worlds of policy and politics in Harrisburg
Philadelphia Inquirer – Angela Couloumbis and Liz Navratil | Published: 9/11/2017

For years, lobbying in Pennsylvania was a secretive business, and more recently attracted scrutiny from federal investigators. A decade-old law strengthened registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists and their clients, but the state still lags behind others in transparency and accountability, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Among Harrisburg’s high-powered partnerships, only two have well-established campaign arms that, for the last decade, have dominated the market on both electing and lobbying Republicans who drive public policy.

Tennessee
Lobbyists Courted Lawmakers with Free Food, Baseball Tickets at Conferences
The Tennessean – Joel Ebert | Published: 9/11/2017

Under state law, Tennessee lawmakers can accept gifts like dinner and sports tickets at out-of-state conferences, provided they are related to the conference itself. Lobbyists can even pay for events labeled “state night” for lawmakers. And little disclosure is required, unlike the rules in place for how lobbyists interact with lawmakers at the Capitol. The practice at out-of-state conferences is increasingly widespread, including at conferences this year in Boston and Denver, according to interviews with lobbyists, lawmakers, and legislative staff.

Virginia
Virginia Lawmakers Attend Fewest Lobbyist-Paid Entertainment Events Since McDonnell Case
The Virginian-Pilot – Will Houp | Published: 9/7/2017

Virginia lawmakers continue to shrink away from meals, galas, and other entertainment occasions paid for by lobbyists as they attended less than half such events in 2016 and 2017 as they did three years ago. Data from the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council shows a stark difference in what delegates and senators felt comfortable accepting before and after the corruption charges against former Gov. Bob McDonnell. At the same time, several law changes related to lobbyist entertainment have muddied the water in terms of comparing year to year.

Washington
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray Resigns After Fifth Child Sex-Abuse Allegation
Seattle Times – Jim Brunner, Daniel Beekman, and Lewis Kamb | Published: 9/12/2017

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, beset over the past five months by sex abuse allegations, resigned his office. His announcement came after The Seattle Times reported that a fifth man, one of his cousins, had accused Murray of molesting him decades ago. Though he has denied all the accusations against him, Murray had already decided not to seek re-election. City Council President Bruce Harrell will temporarily serve as mayor and will decide within five days whether to take on the role of acting mayor past the November 7 election. If he demurs, the council will pick another of its members to serve until the election results are certified.

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 60 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

A change of a note regarding an Office of Government Ethics (OGE) guidance document from 1993 may open the door to allowing anonymous contributions, including from prohibited sources such as lobbyists, to government employees’ legal defense funds. In 1993, the OGE issued an opinion letter holding a fund established for the benefit of a government employee to pay the employee’s legal expenses, while administered by a person having no connection with the employee’s official duties, could accept anonymous contributions. The OGE guidance letter is not legally binding.

Walter Shaub, then director of the OGE, instructed his staff in May of this year to add a one-sentence note to the top of the document signaling the OGE’s long standing internal practice had diverged from the formal guidance, according to Politico. The note read in all caps and a red font, “NOTE: SOME STATEMENTS IN THIS OPINION ARE NOT CONSISTENT WITH CURRENT OGE INTERPRETATION AND PRACTICE.”

Subsequently, after Shaub left the OGE, the document’s note was changed to read, again in all caps and a red font, “NOTE: THE PRIMARY FINDING ABOUT THE LIMITED APPLICABILITY OF 18 U.S.C. §209 TO PAYMENTS MADE FOR AN EMPLOYEE’S LEGAL EXPENSES HAS NOT CHANGED. HOWEVER, BECAUSE EACH ANALYSIS IS VERY FACT-SPECIFIC, AGENCY ETHICS OFFICIALS SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR OGE DESK OFFICER BEFORE ADVISING EMPLOYEES ON THIS TOPIC.”

Critics of the note change say this opens the door up to lobbyists and other prohibited sources funding legal defenses for employees currently working in the White House. Richard Lucas, once counsel for a Clinton legal defense fund, told Politico, “Not knowing the source is a recipe for disaster.”

Gov. Bill Haslam recently issued a writ of election to fill a vacancy in Tennessee Senate District 17.

Mae Beavers recently resigned from the seat to dedicate her time to running for governor.

A special primary will be held November 7. The special general will be held on December 19.

Denver City Council unanimously approved a proposal to close a loophole allowing campaign spending to go unreported if not coordinated directly with a candidate’s campaign.

Individuals, companies, and other organizations making $1,000 in independent expenditures, including electioneering communications, will be required to disclose all expenses and donors exceeding $25 within two days after reaching the $1,000 expenditure threshold.

The approved legislation also amends various campaign finance definitions, changes reporting periods for political committees, and imposes fines for late reports.

All bill provisions are effective Friday, September 15, unless otherwise provided in the legislative text.