Lobbying

New York: “Nonprofit Linked to Mayor de Blasio Is Closing” by J. David Goodman for New York Times

New York: “Harold Ickes, Mentor to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Builds Lobbying Victories” by Michael Grynbaum for New York Times

Campaign Finance

“Scorecard: Essential disclosure requirements for contributions to state campaigns, 2016” by Staff for National Institute on Money in State Politics

“How ‘Ghost Corporations’ Are Funding the 2016 Election” by Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy for Washington Post

Massachusetts: “Large Donations Help Mass. GOP Avoid State Cap” by Frank Phillips for Boston Globe

Mississippi: “Many Mississippi Officials Take from Closed Campaign Accounts, Review Reveals” by The Associated Press for New York Times

Montana: “For Some Montana Office Seekers, It’s Not about Winning” by Bobby Caina Calvan (Associated Press) for Great Falls Tribune

Elections

“The U.S. Has ‘Worst Elections of Any Long-Established Democracy,’ Report Finds” by Rick Noack for Washington Post

“Trump Wannabes Shake Up Cable Airwaves” by Hadas Gold for Politico

Ohio: “Cleveland Prepares for Unrest at GOP Convention” by Tracy Jan for Boston Globe

Redistricting

Virginia: “Supreme Court May Decide against Va. Republicans in Redistricting Fight” by Robert Barnes and Jenna Portnoy for Washington Post

Chuck Totto, executive director of the Honolulu Ethics Commission, is on leave following an internal personnel investigation. The commission received a complaint regarding Totto’s management of staff and hired an independent investigator.

Totto has been the executive director for over a decade, but has publically struggled to get along with Mayor Kirk Caldwell and his appointees on the commission for the past three years. Conflict emerged in 2013 when Totto investigated the mayor’s inaugural luau, an event largely funded by lobbyists and city contractors.

Totto has been on leave since March 1 and is expected to return on April 4.

Attorney General Mike DeWine recently approved language for a proposed ethics amendment to the Ohio Constitution. The proposal includes a revolving door provision, including a two-year ban on former legislators doing business with the Legislature.

The issue must be reviewed by the Ohio Ballot Board to determine how it should appear on the ballot. Supporters of the amendment must gather at least 305,591 signatures of registered Ohio voters in order to reach the fall ballot.

The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission has a new executive director. Constantinos “Dino” Ioannides assumed the role on March 1.

The commission has been under scrutiny lately for its overall efficacy regarding ethics violations. The state auditor recently issued a scathing audit highlighting a lack of guidance on conflicts of interests, the commission’s failure to retain documents, and missing hearing minutes.

Ioannides serves as the third director since the commission was created by voter approval in 2006.

The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission is coming under harsh criticism in the wake of records released by the state auditor, with some claiming it is unethical. Often, the burden of investigating and presenting a case for an ethics violation falls upon the person filing the complaint. As an alternative, state Rep. Beth McCann is sponsoring House Bill 1216 to enhance the ability of the commission to investigate public officials who skirt the ethics rules.

One of the more specific issues addressed in HB 1216 is the role of the attorney general. Currently, the commission relies on the legal assistance of the attorney general; if the person accused of an ethics violation is an elected official, the attorney general must also provide legal assistance to the official. HB 1216 would require the panel to retain or employ independent counsel rather than rely on the attorney general.

As the primaries wind down and the conventions draw closer, there is more and more discussion of the Republican convention being contested. But what is a contested convention? How does the Republican Party handle such an event? And what does it mean for the eventual nominee?

The Pew Research Center describes a contested convention occurring “when no candidate has amassed the majority of delegate votes needed to win his or her party’s nomination in advance of the convention. A candidate still might gather the delegates needed by the time balloting begins, in which case the nomination is settled on the first ballot. But should the first ballot not produce a nominee, most delegates become free to vote for whomever they wish, leading potentially to multiple ballots.”

Since the adoption of the modern primary system in the early 1970s, most presidential conventions have not been contested as one candidate usually won enough delegates to enter the convention as the presumptive nominee. But this year there is a possibility no Republican candidate will have the majority of delegates when the convention begins.

Under the rules of the Republican National Convention, “each candidate for nomination for President … shall demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each of eight or more states” (including territories) before he or she is able to be on the convention’s first ballot. The balloting process ends when one candidate receives the majority of delegate votes. This year there are 2,472 delegates, so to secure the Republican nomination a candidate will need 1,237—one more vote than 50 percent. Simply having a plurality of delegates is not enough to become the Republican nominee.

Entering the convention, each candidate who ran in the primaries will have a dedicated number of delegates from each state based on his or her performance in that state. Candidates who fail to have the support of enough states or who dropped out will not be able to be on the first ballot.

For the first ballot, the majority of delegates are bound to a specific candidate based on the performance of the candidate in the delegate’s state due to convention rules and, in some cases, state law. Some states assign delegates based on percentage of votes won in the primary, while others are “winner take all.” About 5 percent of the delegates come to the convention free to vote for who they want. These delegates, which include state party leaders and delegates from states or territories electing to not hold a primary, are able to vote their preference on the first ballot. Delegates who were bound to candidates who do not appear on the first ballot may also become unbound for the first ballot.

If no candidate receives a majority vote on the first ballot, the second and subsequent ballots are open to all who wish to put forth their names. Delegates are progressively unbound until all of them are free to vote their personal preference. The balloting will continue until a nominee is chosen. But the more ballots that occur, the less likely the nominee will win in November.

A Pew Research Center study looking at presidential elections since the Civil War found that only seven candidates coming out of contested conventions with multiple ballots were elected president. However, four of those seven candidates had opponents who had also been elected through a contested convention requiring multiple ballots. The last time this occurred was in 1920 when Warren Harding, who required 10 ballots to secure the nomination, beat James Cox, who required 44 ballots to secure his nomination.

The last president to be elected after a contested convention and face a candidate from an uncontested convention was Franklin Roosevelt in 1932. Adlai Stevenson was the last candidate to require multiple ballots to win the party nomination.

Sources:

Call of the 2016 Republican National Convention, Republican National Committee, 11/30/15

Contested presidential conventions, and why parties try to avoid them, Drew DeSilver, Pew Research Center, 2/4/16

The Democratic Convention of 1924, Digital History (archived page)

An Extremely Detailed Guide to What the Heck Might Happen at a GOP Contested Convention, Josh Voorhees, Slate Magazine, 3/10/16

Lobbying

Illinois: “Cook County Lobbyists Were Paid $2.95 Million to Lobby County Officials in 2015, Most Ever, Report Says” by Carrie Baden for Cook County Report

Campaign Finance

Montana: “Campaign Violation Backlog Cleared, but Enforcement Needed” by Matt Volz (Associated Press) for Brown County Democrat

South Carolina: “SC Lt. Gov. McMaster Ordered to Repay $72,700 in Campaign Contributions” by Andrew Shain for The State

Ethics

“GOP Lawmaker’s ‘Meals with Constituents’ Draw Scrutiny” by Scott Wong for The Hill

Connecticut: “Administrator Who Angered Watchdog Agencies Resigns” by Jon Lender for Hartford Courant

New York: “Albany Area Lawmakers Who Also Run Businesses Criticize Outside Income Limit Proposals” by Marie French for Albany Business Review

Pennsylvania: “Wolf’s Reform Plan Targets Campaign Cash, Gifts to Lawmakers” by Marc Levy (Associated Press) for WPXI

Elections

“The Great Unsettling” by David Maraniss and Robert Samuels for Washington Post

On March 17, two bills were introduced into the U.S. Congress requiring the disclosure of political intelligence activities.

House Resolution 4809, The Political Intelligence Transparency Act, was introduced by Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter and Rep. John J. Duncan. This bill would subject individuals engaged in political intelligence to the same regulations and requirements as lobbyists, according to Slaughter’s press release. The bill amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) by requiring registration and reporting of activities and imposes revolving door restrictions for members of Congress, executive branch officials, and their staff. An exemption exists in the bill for members of the media.

Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced Senate Bill 2738, a different bill also amending the LDA to require disclosure of political intelligence activities.

Photo of the United States Capitol by Martin Falbisoner on Wikimedia Commons.

A lawsuit seeking to eliminate the “LLC loophole” for political contributions was dismissed this week. The loophole, which allows large contributions by organizations controlling many limited liability companies, treats each limited liability company as a separate entity capable of contributing the maximum amount an individual may give.

Gov. Cuomo and Assembly Democrats support closure of the loophole, and the decision is expected to be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Third Judicial District of New York.

National:

Even as Political Spending Explodes, Disclosure Remains Hazy
CTNewsJunkie.com – Mary Spicuzza (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) and Jeremy White (Sacramento Bee) | Published: 3/15/2016

So-called dark money spending is expected to explode during this presidential election year. Congress could require more disclosure about who is financing campaigns, but it has made no move to do so. Attempts to force more disclosure from outside special interest groups have succeeded in some states. But there is a limit to what states can do, since they do not have oversight of spending on federal races, which are consistently the costliest elections. While some state election agencies have moved to make more donor information public, they often struggle to win support from lawmakers, said Denise Roth Barber of the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

Federal:

Donald Trump’s Presidential Run Began in an Effort to Gain Stature
New York Times – Maggie Haberman and Alexander Burns | Published: 3/12/2016

During his remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in 2011, President Obama lampooned Donald Trump. After the dinner ended, Trump quickly left, appearing upset. That evening of public abasement accelerated Trump’s efforts to gain stature within the political world. And it captured the degree to which his campaign is driven by a yearning sometimes obscured by his bluster and bragging: a desire to be taken seriously. That desire has played out over the last several years within a Republican Party that placated and indulged him, and accepted his money and support, seemingly not grasping how determined he was to become a major force in American politics. In the process, the party bestowed upon Trump the kind of legitimacy that he craved, which has helped him pursue a credible bid for the presidency.

Rubio’s Demise Marks the Last Gasp of the Republican Reboot
Washington Post – Robert Costa and Philip Rucker | Published: 3/15/2016

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio dropped out of the presidential race after losing the Florida primary to Donald Trump and failing to unite the Republican establishment against the front-runner. Since Mitt Romney’s loss in 2012, the Republican National Committee and leading voices at think tanks and editorial boards have charted a path back to the White House based on inclusive rhetoric and a focus on middle-class issues. Nobody embodied that vision better than Rubio, a standard-bearer for conservative orthodoxy who readily embraced the proposals of the right’s elite thinkers. But his once-promising candidacy, as well as the conservative reform movement’s playbook, was spectacularly undone by Trump and his defiant politics of economic and ethnic grievance. The drift toward visceral populism became an all-consuming rush, leaving Rubio and others unable to adjust.

Supreme Court Nomination Drives Groups from Left and Right to Fight
New York Times – Eric Lipton | Published: 3/16/2016

With the selection by President Obama of Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, advocacy groups from the left and the right are now fully engaged in what both sides agree will be a highly contentious nomination fight, even if the Senate never formally considers the president’s choice. Part of the intensity is a reflection of the enormous and diverse range of special interest groups that have decided to engage in this fight, which will be the first in an age in which social media has become a dominant force. In many cases, the groups have set aside longstanding tensions that have prevented them from teaming up in a unified way.

Wild Card for Trump: Who gets to be a convention delegate?
Washington Post – Karen Tumulty and Jose DelReal | Published: 3/16/2016

With more than half the states having now held their nominating contests, Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz are directing their attention to a second, shadow election campaign – one that is out of sight and little understood but critical if Republicans arrive at their national convention with Trump short of a majority of delegates. This parallel campaign is to select the individual delegates who will go to Cleveland in July for what could be the first contested convention in more than 60 years. Chosen through a byzantine process in each state, most of the delegates will become free agents if no one wins a majority on the first ballot. The mere prospect that delegates could deny Trump the nomination led him to predict that violence could erupt in such a scenario.

From the States and Municipalities:

California – FPPC Votes to Tighten California Lobbying Regulations
Sacramento Bee – Taryn Luna | Published: 3/17/2016

The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) voted to narrow a regulation that allows people to avoid identifying themselves as lobbyists by attending Capitol meetings as experts. The regulation has faced scrutiny as a way for former legislators and officials to skirt state rules requiring they wait a year after leaving office to lobby their former colleagues. The changes approved by the FPPC state that the “ride-along” participant must work for the lobbyist employer and can only act as an expert on subject matter related to the legislation under discussion.

California – How a State Senator – Whose Family is in the Taxi Business – Put the Brakes on Two Uber Bills
Los Angeles Times – Liam Dillon | Published: 3/11/2016

San Diego taxi company owner Alfredo Hueso is a frustrated businessperson. He believes state regulations are helping companies like Uber and Lyft rob him of business. And as he complained in a recent letter to the state Senate president, elected leaders are not doing anything to fix the problem. In that battle, though, Hueso has one advantage over the ridesharing companies: his younger brother is state Sen. Ben Hueso, an important advocate in Sacramento for the taxi industry. Since his election to the Legislature more than five years ago, Sen. Hueso has pushed for stiffer regulation of rideshare companies amid a battle playing out all over the country. At the same time, the burgeoning industry has stepped up its attempt to influence policy in Sacramento.

Florida – FBI Agents Blow Lid Off Opa-locka City Hall Corruption Probe
Miami Herald – Jay Weaver, Michael Sallah, and Katie Lepri | Published: 3/10/2016

Federal agents raided Opa-locka City Hall to gather official records, computers, and other evidence in a public corruption probe zeroing in on top public officials, including the mayor and other city commissioners. The FBI’s search follows a two-year investigation into allegations of kickback schemes between government contractors and public officials, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the case. The crackdown comes at a time when Opa-locka, one of Miami-Dade County’s poorest cities, has been struggling with a financial crisis stemming from millions of dollars in uncollected revenue and mismanagement.

Hawaii – Honolulu Ethics Director on Leave after Internal Investigation
Honolulu Civil Beat – Anita Hofschneider | Published: 3/14/2016

Chuck Totto, the Honolulu Ethics Commission’s longtime executive director, is on leave following an independent investigation by the commissioners into the management of the agency’s staff. He has been gone since March 1 and plans to return on April 4. Totto has had a contentious relationship with Mayor Kirk Caldwell and, increasingly, the commission over the last three years.

Hawaii – Passing The Buck: When Hawaii politicians give to each other
Honolulu Civil Beat – Nathan Eagle | Published: 3/15/2016

Hawaii law prohibits candidates from using their own campaign funds to support others running for office. But some state legislators and other officeholders have long gotten around the ban through a loophole that lets them buy up to two tickets to another politician’s fundraiser for an amount often equal to the maximum allowable individual campaign contribution. Now the Legislature is considering a bill that would remove the need to hold a fundraiser and simply allow direct campaign donations between candidates, something critics contend amounts to buying influence.

Michigan – Could More Government Transparency Help Prevent Another Flint?
Christian Science Monitor – Jessica Mendoza | Published: 3/17/2016

The drinking water crisis in Flint, which left about 200 children diagnosed with dangerous levels of lead in their blood, underscored not only officials’ failure to address concerns about the city’s water quality, open government advocates say. It also reflects an overall lack of transparency in Michigan’s government, which two watchdog groups characterized as the worst in the nation. As some, but not all, e-mails related to the decision to switch Flint’s water source have been released, it also has called to question loopholes in the state’s Freedom of Information Act, which some say allowed officials to function with little public oversight. More broadly, the situation has renewed national conversation about the value of the public’s right to know and the role of accountability in effective governance.

New Mexico – Questions Raised about Martinez’s Inaugural Spending
Las Cruces Sun-News – Justin Horwath | Published: 3/14/2016

How the nearly $1 million that Susana Martinez’s inaugural committee raised was spent has remained largely a mystery and was, until recently, among the subjects of a long-running FBI investigation into Jay McCleskey, the governor’s top political adviser. McCleskey’s lawyer said the FBI has dropped its inquiry and no grand jury indictment is forthcoming. Records obtained by The Santa Fe New Mexican provide details into the committee’s spending, including more than $130,000 that went to companies connected to McCleskey. The documents also provide strong evidence that, despite the committee’s promises to the contrary, some of the 2010 inaugural money was used for fundraising for Martinez’s 2014 re-election campaign. The committee had promised to donate all unspent money to charity.

New York – Suit to Close LLC Loophole Tossed
Albany Times Union – Chris Bragg | Published: 3/16/2016

A judge has dismissed a challenge to the New York Board of Elections’ treatment of limited liability companies (LLCs). The board treats LLCs as individuals for the purpose of determining campaign contribution limits, which allows those who control many of them give politicians far more than the caps that apply to other individuals. The Brennan Center for Justice brought a case challenging this interpretation. State Supreme Court Justice Lisa Fisher dismissed the case, finding the statute of limitations against the 1996 board decision had passed. She also wrote that the treatment of LLCs “has all the hallmarks of a political question best suited for resolution through legislative action.”

Washington – Judge Finds Grocery Group Violated Campaign Laws in 2013
Tacoma News-Tribune – Donna Gordon Blankinship (Associated Press) | Published: 3/11/2016

A judged ruled the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association (GMA) violated Washington’s campaign finance disclosure laws by hiding the identities of corporate donors that were funding efforts to defeat a food labeling initiative in the state. But Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch said the case has to go to trial to determine what fine the group will pay; the amount depends on whether the violation was intentional. The GMA raised $14 million from corporations to fight Initiative 522 and then donated $11 million in the organization’s name. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued the association in October 2013.

Washington – Voters Could Get $150 to Give to Candidates under Proposed Initiative
Seattle Times – Jim Brunner | Published: 3/14/2016

Washington voters would be allowed to make $150 in taxpayer-funded donations to legislative candidates every two years under a ballot initiative proposal. Backers of the measure, aimed at the November 2016 ballot, say it would curb the influence of moneyed special interests by creating the new public campaign financing system, modeled in part on a “Democracy vouchers” initiative approved by Seattle voters last year. It also would make a host of changes to state campaign finance and lobbying laws, including a $100 limit on campaign donations by government contractors and lobbyists to candidates for offices with power to benefit them.

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.

At its March 17, 2016, meeting, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) passed an amendment to lobbying regulations narrowing the “ride along” exception to the definition of direct communication for registration.

The new amendment limits the ride along exception to employees of the lobbyist employer who participate in the meeting or communication only as a subject matter expert.

Campaign Finance

“Even as Political Spending Explodes, Disclosure Remains Hazy” by Mary Spicuzza (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) and Jeremy White (Sacramento Bee) for CTNewsJunkie.com

Arizona: “House Panel OKs Significant Changes to Campaign Finance Laws” by Howard Fischer (Capitol Media Services) for Arizona Daily Star

Hawaii: “Honolulu Ethics Director on Leave after Internal Investigation” by Anita Hofschneider for Honolulu Civil Beat

Hawaii: “Passing The Buck: When Hawaii politicians give to each other” by Nathan Eagle for Honolulu Civil Beat

Washington: “Voters Could Get $150 to Give to Candidates under Proposed Initiative” by Jim Brunner for Seattle Times

Ethics

“Supreme Court Nomination Drives Groups from Left and Right to Fight” by Eric Lipton for New York Times

California: “‘Dark Money’ Measure Pulled by California Campaign Reform Backers” by Taryn Luna for Sacramento Bee

California: “How a State Senator – Whose Family is in the Taxi Business – Put the Brakes on Two Uber Bills” by Liam Dillon for Los Angeles Times

Florida: “FBI Agents Blow Lid Off Opa-locka City Hall Corruption Probe” by Jay Weaver, Michael Sallah, and Katie Lepri for Miami Herald

West Virginia:”Lawmakers Killed Ethics Bills on Session’s Last Day” by Eric Eyre for Charleston Gazette

Elections

“Hillary Clinton Wins 4 Races, Rebounding From Michigan Loss” by Patrick Healy and Amy Chozick for New York Times

“Donald Trump Takes 3 States; John Kasich Wins Ohio” by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns for New York Times

“Rubio’s Demise Marks the Last Gasp of the Republican Reboot” by Robert Costa and Philip Rucker for Washington Post

Legislative Issues

“Capitol Benches That Provided Comfort to Lobbyists Have Been Ordered Removed” by Nathaniel Herz for Alaska Dispatch News

The City Auditor has announced a comment period for potential changes to the city’s lobbying code. The significant changes include closing a loophole in registration requirements by establishing a $1,000 registration threshold. Other changes include broadening revolving door restrictions and increasing penalties for repeated violations.

The comment period is open from now until March 30, 2016.

Proponents of the Voters Right to Know Act suspended their campaign for a California ballot measure to trace dark money and tighten lobbying and campaign finance regulations. Jim Heerwagen, who led the campaign, said he is ending the work on the initiative because there are now several bills in the Legislature that cover the same issues.

Heerwagen cited Senate Bill 1349, introduced to create a new campaign finance database, as one of the pending bills that would carry out the goal of his campaign.