State and Federal Communications is proud to be a sponsor of the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank’s Harvest for Hunger Kick-off Breakfast on February 26th!

On February 24, the Utah Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 2, which asks Congress to repeal the 17^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and proposes a new Amendment to return the power of choosing U.S. Senators to state legislatures. The resolution contends the “popular election of senators has diluted the power of the separate states, diminished federalism, and resulted in the increased power of the federal government over the individual states.”

In the proposed language of the new Amendment, each state must create “a liaison committee” to “work with its United States Senators in evaluating the impact of federal legislation on its state. All legislation proposed by Congress, and all treaties proposed, shall be submitted to each State’s liaison committee.” Additionally, the language of the Amendment calls for the senators to be subject to removal by the senator’s state legislature and for their salary to be provided by the senator’s state. The resolution quotes arguments made by James Madison in the Federalist Papers that federal legislation should be “ratified by two independent power sources: the people’s representatives in the House and the state legislatures’ agents in the Senate.”

The resolution passed 20-6. All five senators from the Democratic Party, along with one Republican senator, voted against the resolution. Three other Republican senators did not vote.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh has filed a home rule petition with the City Council to establish a lobbying law for the city.

The proposal, filed with the council on February 1, requires lobbyist to register annually with the city by December 15 of each preceding year. The annual registration fee will be $1,000 for a lobbyist entity, and $100 for clients and lobbying agents. A lobbying agent is defined in the petition as “a person who for compensation or reward engages in a least one lobbying communications with a city employee.”

Activity reports are due twice a year, on January and July 15, and must include campaign contributions, client identification, “names of pieces of legislation or the decisions of the city employees” attempted to be influenced, statements of the lobbying agent’s position on the legislation or decision, the lobbyist’s compensation, and the dates of all lobbying communications.

The petition is based on the state’s lobbying law, the Boston Globe reports the mayor has said. According to the Globe, City Councilor Michael F. Flaherty Jr. said, “Let’s eliminate the hocus-pocus that used to permeate every corner of City Hall, where projects and petitions lived or died on who you knew and who you hired.”

If the home rule petition is passed by the City Council, it must then be approved by the state Legislature to become law because it includes financial penalties for lack of compliance.

Photo of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh by David Parsons on Wikimedia Commons.

Lobbying

Kentucky: “Drug Company Lobbying Has Doubled In Kentucky in Recent Years” by James McNair for Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting

Missouri: “Missouri Senate Backs End to Lobbyist-Catered Group Events” by Summer Ballentine (Associated Press) for digitalBURG.com

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Senate Panel Advances Bill to Overhaul Campaign Finance Laws” by Ryan Van Velzer (Associated Press) for Arizona Daily Star

Maine: “After Legislative Raids and Funding Delays, Maine’s Public Campaign-Finance Money Could Run Out” by Steve Mistler for Portland Press Herald

West Virginia: “House Passes Bill to Shine Light on Fundraisers during Legislative Session” by Eric Eyre for Charleston Gazette

Ethics

“How America Became the Love Child of Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump” by Lynn Stuart Parramore for Reuters

California: “Former State Sen. Leland Yee Sentenced to Prison” by Howard Mintz for San Jose Mercury News

Missouri: “Some Question the Limits to Legislating the Missouri Legislature” by Jason Rosenbaum for St. Louis Public Radio

Texas: “Texas Court Drops Criminal Case against Rick Perry” by Manny Fernandez for New York Times

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin GOP Secretary Is 1st Appointee to New Ethics Board” by   for Minneapolis Star Tribune; Associated Press

Elections

“Bernie Sanders, as Secular Jew, Leaves Religion in Background” by Joseph Berger for New York Times

Procurement

Florida: “Broward Health Probe Looks at Advertising Contract” by David Fleshler for South Florida Sun Sentinel

A special legislative session has been called to start on April 6, a week before the 2016 regular session kicks off. The special session will address passing a new form of Medicaid expansion in the state.

Lawmakers will vote on the issue during the April 6 special session, and will vote to fund the program in a fiscal session starting April 13.

What are the qualifications for becoming a Justice on the Supreme Court?

There are no requirements listed in the Constitution to be a Supreme Court Justice. The youngest Associate Justice was Joseph Story. He joined the bench in 1811 at 32 years old. The oldest justice was Associate Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. who retired after serving 32 years at 90 years old. All justices have been lawyers prior to joining the court. To this point there have been six justices that were foreign born.

Where did we find someone to nominate as a Supreme Court Justice?

On the current bench Chief Justice, John Roberts, Jr, Associate Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, and Associate Justice, Elena Kagan are all from New York. Associate Justice, Samuel A. Alito, Jr is from New Jersey. Associate Justice, Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy are from California. Associate Justice, Clarence Thomas is from Georgia.

What is the range of time it takes to confirm a justice?

Believe it or not, there are many who were confirmed and sworn in on the very day they were nominated. The most recent was Associate Justice Harold Burton during the Truman administration.

The longest amount of time recorded to go from nomination to a successful confirmation was Associate Justice, Louis Brandeis from the Woodrow Wilson administration at 125 days.

How many were nominated that didn’t achieve confirmation?

From the President George Washington administration thru the President George W. Bush administration there have been 34 that did not get confirmed. The various reasons include the following:

• Withdrawn as a nominee
• Rejected by Congress
• Declined to serve

How many Justices died in office?

Justices are appointed for life. Fifty have retired or resigned on their own accord. Only Associate Justice, Samuel chase has been impeached [1984]. The Senate acquitted him and he remained on the bench until his death six years later.

Associate Justices

Before Associate Justice, Antonin Scalia died on February 12, 2016, there were 26 associate justices who died in office from 1798 – Associate Justice, James Wilson through 1954 – Associate Justice, Robert Jackson.

Chief Justices

A total of 17 men have been the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The longest served was Chief Justice, John Marshall of Virginia [who was nominated in 1801 and died in office in 1835.]

There were eight Supreme Court Chief Justices who died while serving the court. Included in this list are Chief Justice, John Marshall [appointed by President John Adams] died in 1835 at 76 years old. The most recent Chief Justice was William Rehnquist [initially appointed by President Richard Nixon as associate justice and nominated to chief justice by President Ronald Reagan] died in 2005 from throat cancer.
How many vacancies occurred during presidential election years?

Vacancies in the Supreme Court during an election year are not that uncommon.   There have been 14 confirmed between Associate Justice, Oliver Ellsworth, 1796 [during the President George Washington administration] and Associate Justice, Anthony Kennedy in 1988 [during the Ronald Reagan administration].

How many U.S. Presidents have also served on the Supreme Court?

There has only been one U.S. President to serve on the Supreme Court and that is President William Howard Taft. Eight years after his failed re-election to the office of president, he was nominated by President Warren Harding to replace Chief Justice Edward White. He served for nine years and resigned due to bad health.

This article has been researched from the following sources:

“7 Things You Might Not Know About the U.S. Supreme Court” by Elizabeth Nix on History.com

“At least 14 Supreme Court justices have been confirmed during election years” by Timothy Lee in Vox

“U.S. Justices and Judges Who Died While Still Holding Office” on PoliticalGraveyard.com

“Biographies of Current Justices of the Supreme Court” on the United State Supreme Court website

“How Long Does It Take to Confirm a Supreme Court Nominee?” in The New York Times

Lobbying

California: “California Bill Would Ban Legislative Junkets Funded by Interest Groups” by Jeremy White for Sacramento Bee

Missouri: “Curtis Presents Bill to Cut Union Exemption for Lobbying” by Travis Zimpfer for Missouri Times

Campaign Finance

“Democratic Party Fundraising Effort Helps Clinton Find New Donors, Too” by Matea Gold and Tom Hamburger for Washington Post

“Can You Sell Marijuana Pipes to Help Fund Bernie Sanders?” by Michael Beckel for Center for Public Integrity

Massachusetts: “Baker Taps Wealthy Donors in Bid to Shape Mass. GOP” by Frank Phillips for Boston Globe

Mississippi: “Elected Officials Use Campaign Finds for Private Gain in Mississippi” by Geoff Pender, Mollie Bryant, and Katie Royals (Jackson Clarion-Ledger) for The Sun-Herald

New Jersey: “Birdsall CEO Pleads Guilty in Huge N.J. Pay-to-Play Scheme” by S.P. Sullivan (NJ Advance Media) for Newark Star Ledger

Ethics

New York: “Watchdog Group Asks for Inquiry into Nonprofits Tied to de Blasio” by J. David Goodman for New York Times

Elections

“Univision Aims to Make Hispanic Voting Bloc Even More Formidable” by Nick Corasaniti for New York Times

Nevada: “In Nevada Caucuses, Trump Gets a Third Straight Win” by Philip Rucker and David Weigel for Washington Post

Attorney General Karl A. Racine proposed a new bill to close the current loophole allowing unlimited donations to political action committees (PACs) in non-election years. The bill also contains a pay-to-play provision creating a two-year period of ineligibility for “high value” city business for any company that contributes to a candidate or elected official.

The legislation comes after public concern raised last year when Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s PAC received unlimited contributions from businesses seeking contracts from her administration.

Lobbying

North Carolina: “Lobbyist and Employee Help with Work at NC Speaker’s Condo” by Dan Kane for Raleigh News & Observer

Campaign Finance

District of Columbia: “D.C. Attorney General Seeks to Ban PACs Like The One That Benefited Mayor” by Aaron Davis for Washington Post

Montana: “Emails Show Bullock’s Office Quietly Influenced ‘Dark Money’ Rules” by James DeHaven (Helena Independent Record) for Montana Standard

New Hampshire: “N.H. Campaign Finance Lapses Go Unnoticed” by Allie Morris for Concord Monitor

Virginia: “No Rules Means No Accountability for Virginia Campaign Funds” by Alan Suderman (Associated Press) for ABC News

Washington: “State Asks Judge to Fine Grocery Group in 2013 Ballot Fight” by Phuong Le (Associated Press) for Raleigh News & Observer

Ethics

Massachusetts: “Political Polarization? It’s Not Just in Washington” by Jill Ramos for Boston Globe

Mississippi: “Bribes ‘Cost of Doing Business in Mississippi’ Says Consultant Who Pleaded Guilty” by Anita Lee for The Sun-Herald

Elections

Kansas: “Want to Vote in This State? You Have to Have a Passport or Dig Up a Birth Certificate.” by Sari Horwitz for Washington Post

New York: “Specter of Corruption Hangs over Special Elections for Legislature” by Vivian Yee for New York Times

North Carolina: “Supreme Court Won’t Intervene in North Carolina Election Fight” by Richard Fausset for New York Times

Gov. Susana Martinez has set a date for a special election to replace interim Secretary of State Brad Winter. Winter, who was appointed to the position following the resignation of former Secretary Dianna Duran, declined to seek election to the remainder of the four-year term.

A special primary election will be held June 7, 2016. The special general election is scheduled for November 8, 2016.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in State and Federal Communications’ digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying and can be found in the client portion of our website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly email updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regard to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Enjoy these fun photos from recent events:

Elizabeth Z. Bartz in Washington, DC with the DC staff, Rebecca Pixton South and Gamble Hayden at the WASRG happy hour.

Gamble Hayden at the PLEN Women in Public Policy event in Washington, DC.

A new bill introduced in the Georgia Senate seeks to prevent campaign contributions from companies and executives doing business with the state. Senate Bill 394, introduced by Senate Judiciary Chairman Josh McKoon, prohibits contributions from business entities and affiliated persons who have contracts with the state exceeding $50,000 in the aggregate to any candidate for the office responsible for awarding such contracts.

Just last year, DeKalb County CEO, Burrell Ellis, was found guilty of threatening to end a contract with a state vendor if it did not make a $2,500 campaign contribution.

McKoon introduced the bill after noting Georgia is lagging behind the rest of the country, and federal law, on such legislation. The bill currently only affects statewide offices, but McKoon stated he is open to making the law more robust.

Photo of Georgia State Senator Joshua McKoon courtesy of the Georgia Senate website.

State and Federal Communications hosted the first of a series of free government relations compliance webinars for 2016. President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz and Amber Fish Linke, Director of Client and Product Operations, presented the widely attended “Lobbying Compliance at the State Level” webinar on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. If you are interested in participating in our future webinars, contact us at training@stateandfed.com!