Today, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) filed an amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarifying the two-year look-back ban on contributions from municipal advisors in the upcoming amendments to MSRB Rule G-37.

The amendments, effective August 17, 2016, apply regulatory policies to municipal advisors matching the regulatory policies applicable to dealers under the existing rules. Included in the rules is a two-year look-back provision prohibiting contributions in the two years prior to conducting regulated business.

The MSRB states contributions by persons who become associated with a dealer and become municipal finance professionals of the dealer who are affected by new amendments to Rule G-37 taking effect on August 17, 2016, are subject to the two-year look-back in Rule G-37. Contributions made in the two years prior to the August 17 effective date may subject a dealer to a prohibition on municipal securities business.

Jan Yamane has been selected to fulfill the role of executive director and legal counsel for the Honolulu Ethics Commission, effective immediately. She is the former acting state auditor.

Yamane replaces Charles Totto, who stepped down from the position on June 15.

Lobbying

“Is K Street Warming to Trump? Just Barely.” by Catherine Ho for Washington Post

Virginia: “Lobbyists Less Likely to Say Who They’re Treating” by Dave Ress for The Daily Press

Campaign Finance

“New Search Tool Traces Sources of ‘Dark Money’” by Staff  for Center for Public Integrity

Florida: “Petition Drive Could Change How Miami-Dade Political Campaigns Are Financed” by David Smiley for Miami Herald

New Jersey: “Using Pay-To-Play as a Political Weapon” by Donald Scarinci for PolitickerNJ.com

Ethics

Arizona: “Regulator Hires Attorney to Study Possible Outside Influence” by Russ Wiles for Arizona Republic

Tennessee: “New Legislative Policy Doesn’t Require Posting Founded Sexual Harassment Complaints” by Dave Boucher for The Tennessean

Elections

“Hillary Clinton and the Peace of the Pantsuit” by Megan Garber for The Atlantic

“GOP Reaches ‘New Level of Panic’ over Trump’s Candidacy” by Philip Rucker, Dan Balz, and Matea Gold for Washington Post

Texas: “Texas Agrees to Weaken Voter ID Law for November Election” by Aneri Pattani and Jim Malewitz for Texas Tribune

A political committee called An Accountable Miami-Dade is sponsoring a proposal to change campaign finance rules for county elections.

The proposal would limit contributions to candidates to $250, rather than the state-set limit of $1,000, and county vendors and lobbyists would be prohibited from making contributions. A system of matching contributions with public funds would also be created.

The group delivered 125,000 signed petitions to the county clerk of courts. If enough are verified, the county commission will decide whether to adopt the measure or to place it on the ballot. The proposed changes would not take effect until the next county election cycle.

On August 2, the Redondo Beach City Council carried a motion to establish campaign finance reforms setting contribution limits.

Council recommended that the ordinance limit individual contributions to $750 for City Council candidates and $1,500 for citywide candidates. The future ordinance would also seek to create an ethics commission.

The recommendations are now being forwarded to the city attorney for drafting.

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has named Jeffrey Sigurdson as its new executive director.

He currently serves as a member of the Campaign Finance Board and has previously worked in the election division of the Secretary of State’s Office.

Sigurdson will replace current Executive Director Gary Goldsmith, who is retiring from the position.

The Massachusetts Legislature adjourned its formal session on July 31 with a flurry of activity.

Lawmakers passed several significant pieces of legislation, including a campaign finance law requiring certain independent expenditure-only committees to disclose their top five contributors, a law regulating services like Uber and Lyft, and bills funding state infrastructure projects.

The Legislature will continue to hold informal sessions until the body is adjourned sine die in January of 2017.

Photo of the Massachusetts State Capitol by Fcb981 on Wikimedia Commons.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists Woo Potential Freshmen Long Before Election Day” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

California: “S.F. Ballot Measure Takes Aim at Lobbyists’ Fundraising” by Noah Arroyo for San Francisco Public Press

California: “Billion-Dollar Beverly Hills Development Challenged Because of Ex-Mayor’s Lobbying” by Kim Christensen for Los Angeles Times

California: “Bill to Ban Private Communications by California’s Coastal Commissioners Gets Sidetracked” by Dan Weikel for Los Angeles Times

Campaign Finance

“Women Are Finally Breaking into the Top Tier of Political Donors” by Matea Gold for Washington Post

“Court: Super PAC Can Use Candidates’ Names” by Josh Gerstein for Politico

Minnesota: “New Boss at Minnesota Campaign Board Is Old Hand” by Brian Bakst for Minnesota Public Radio

Elections

“Left Turns to Ballot Measures to Enact Political Change” by Reid Wilson for The Hill

“The States Where Third-Party Candidates Perform Best” by Russell Berman and Andrew McGill for The Atlantic

North Dakota: “Federal Judge Bars North Dakota from Enforcing Restrictive Voter ID Law” by Michael Wines for New York Times

The San Francisco Ethics Commission voted unanimously to submit an initiative ordinance to the November 2016 ballot.

The measure would restrict lobbyist gifts, campaign contributions, and bundled contributions.

If passed by voters, the ordinance will become effective January 1, 2018.

Today, a federal court ruled an unconnected committee should be allowed to use candidates’ names in the titles of their websites and social media pages while the case is being resolved.

In Pursuing America’s Greatness v. FEC, the United States Court of Appeals for The District of Columbia Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction and remanded the case for the district court to enter a preliminary injunction enjoining the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from enforcing the application of 11 C.F.R. § 102.14(a) against the plaintiff pending the outcome of the case.

Federal law requires a candidate’s committee to include the name of the candidate in the committee’s title and requires an unauthorized political committee to not use a candidate’s name in its title. The purpose of the law is to avoid confusion. Through regulation, the FEC has extended the naming prohibition to other committee activities, solicitations, and communications, including special project names for websites or social media pages.

The court found there is a substantial likelihood the regulation violates the First Amendment and the plaintiff will prevail in the lawsuit because the FEC has not shown the regulation is the least restrictive means of achieving the government’s interest.

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.

The number of municipalities and regional governments our research associates track continues to grow. We now cover almost 300 municipalities and local governments. This is part of a continuous effort to better serve the needs of our clients.

In that effort, we have added abridged jurisdictions to our website. These entries, condensed due to the limited number of relevant local laws, provide the core information our clients need for their government relations work.

The new jurisdiction is: Nassau County, New York

Q. Our company is active and registered as a lobbyist employer in several states. What are best practices for record-keeping? What will we need to access and keep in the event of a state audit?

A. Each state takes a different approach to auditing, requiring registered companies and lobbyists to keep substantiating records for varying periods of time.  As a conservative rule of thumb, it’s generally advisable to keep substantiating records for seven years.  However, for each state where your company has an active registration, you should determine if there is a set document retention policy.  While some states have no set period of time for lobbyists/employers to retain records, a majority of states require retention for a set period of time, usually within a three to five year range.

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(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

Progress Now New Mexico has filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office alleging state Rep. Paul Pacheco failed to disclose a conflict of interest on a major project.

According to the complaint, Pacheco violated state law and House ethics rules when he requested over $1.2 million in state funds for the project managed by his brother, architect David Pacheco.

The Attorney General’s Office is currently reviewing the complaint.

Photo of Rep. Paul Pacheco by Gopmario on Wikimedia Commons.