After state lawmakers voiced concerns about problems with the state’s lobbyist reporting system, Secretary of State Mary Quintana intends to clarify campaign finance and lobbying rules.

Members of the Legislature became concerned after reports exposed confusion about what is required under the reporting system.

Quintana admitted to shortcomings in the law, and vowed to work with lawmakers and others to create new, less ambiguous rules.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics is seeking public comment on a proposed advisory opinion. The advisory opinion is in regards to the applicability of New York’s Lobbying Act to the activities of consultants when they are taking part in direct and grassroots lobbying, and whether they are subject to registration and reporting requirements.

The advisory opinion seeks to articulate when the Lobbying Act covers the services of consultants, and to clarify the test used to determine when grassroots advocacy constitutes reportable activity.

Comments will be taken by the Committee until December 4, 2015.

On November 12, the Tempe, Arizona City Council passed an ordinance that could limit political contributions to city candidates. Pursuant to the city’s charter, the ordinance will only be effective if passed by voters at a March 8, 2016, special election and after approval by the governor. Among the changes in the ordinance, contributions for mayor and councilmembers would be limited to $500 from individuals and $1,000 from any PAC or single partnership. The limits would be adjust biennially to the nearest $10 by the percentage change in the consumer price index. If passed, the limitations on candidate contributions for city elected office will begin with the 2018 election cycle.

On November 18, a special one-day session of the New Hampshire Legislature convened and adjourned after considering establishing funding for programs to battle the state’s rising use of heroin and other drugs. Lawmakers agreed to the creation of a joint Legislative task force to formulate legislation addressing drug abuse issues in the state.

According to the Union Leader, the task force will focus on several areas concerning illegal substance abuse, including “standardizing insurance company treatment authorization, enhancing the prescription drug monitoring program, [and] expanding drug courts.” The task force is expected to issue a final report on January 6, 2016.

Photo of the New Hampshire State House by AlexiusHoratius on Wikipedia.

Michelle Adolphe, a candidate who ran for a seat in the state Assembly last year, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with three counts of failing to file campaign finance reports as required under state election law.

Adolphe, who lost in last year’s election, allegedly failed to report where her campaign contributions came from and how they were spent.

If convicted on all three counts, Adolphe could face up to three years in jail.

Lobbying

“Refugee Groups Scramble to Defend Syrian Resettlement” by Simone Pathe for Roll Call

California: “California Ethics Panel Targets Vague Lobbying Payments” by Jeremy White for Sacramento Bee

New Mexico: “Acting SOS Plans to Clarify Lobbyist Contributions” by Sandra Fish for New Mexico in Depth

Campaign Finance

“New Tax Documents Show Crossroads GPS Poured Millions into 2014 Senate Race” by Carrie Levine for Center for Public Integrity

Montana: “Committee Fails to Block New Campaign Rules” by Matt Volz (Associated Press) for Flathead Beacon

New York: “Statewide Officials Seek to Narrow Draft Opinion Curbing Own Fundraising” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

New York: “Schneiderman, Sugarman Charge Ex-Assembly Candidate for Not Filing Reports” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Elections

“The Koch Intelligence Agency” by Kenneth Vogel for Politico

“Bobby Jindal Quits Republican Presidential Race” by Jonathan Martin for New York Times

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has proposed rules amending reporting requirements for “other payments to influence legislative or administrative action”, as provided in California Government Code section 86116. The proposed regulations require such payments to be itemized on periodic disclosure reports.

According to the FPPC, these payments encompass a range of expenditures and lump sum reporting does not provide the type of transparency imagined by the drafters of the statute. The amended regulations affect lobbyist employers and persons spending $5,000 or more to influence legislative or administrative action.

The FPPC will hold an interested persons meeting on December 3, 2015 at 10 a.m. to solicit public comment regarding the proposed rules. The rules will be considered for adoption at the FPPC’s January 21, 2016, meeting.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics is seeking public comment on a recent proposal aiming to prohibit pay-to-play contributions.  The proposal comes in the form of an advisory opinion, and would prohibit statewide executive and legislative candidates from accepting campaign contributions from persons or organizations subject to their enforcement powers.

Currently, there is no prohibition on pay-to-play type contributions for legislative statewide elected candidates.  The Joint Commission has not established a deadline for accepting public comments.

Lobbying

Texas: “Lobby Reform Rules Move Forward” by Jo Clifton for Austin Monitor

Campaign Finance

“What Are the Benefits of Campaign Finance Reform?” by Sam Power for Washington Post

California: “Vacations, Groceries, Hotels: Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s spending from obscure fund raises questions” by Meghann Cuniff for Orange County Register

Connecticut: “Dems Would Scrap Clean Election Program to Balance Budget” by Christine Stuart for CTNewsJunkie.com

Ethics

“Chris Christie, Taking Law-and-Order Stance, Sidesteps Bridge Scandal in ’16 Race” by Alexander Burns for New York Times

North Carolina: “NC Rep. Lewis Took Last-Minute Action to Protect Friend’s State Contract” by Patrick Gannon for Raleigh News & Observer

Wisconsin: “Assembly GOP Approves Rewritten Campaign Finance Laws, GAB Overhaul” by Patrick Marley for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Redistricting

“Supreme Court Takes Up Virginia Redistricting Case” by Jenna Portnoy for Washington Post

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a ballot measure which would create an ethics commission for the county. A newly created ethics commission would oversee the enforcement of the county’s campaign finance ordinance.

Voters will have the opportunity to approve the measure on June 7, 2016, the date of the presidential primary election.

Lobbying

Arizona: “Lobbying Records Only Disclose Recipient for $1 Out of Every $8 Spent” by Justin Price for Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting

Texas: “Travis County Has No Rules for Registering Lobbyists” by Sean Collins Walsh for Austin American-Statesman

Campaign Finance

“Clinton, Bush Lawyers Square Off in FEC Proxy War” by Isaac Arnsdorf and Theodoric Meyer for Politico

Alaska: “Group Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Alaska Campaign Contribution Limits” by Austin Baird for KTUU

Wisconsin: “Assembly GOP Approves Rewritten Campaign Finance Laws” by Patrick Marley for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ethics

District of Columbia: “Metro Board Chairman Cleared of Alleged Ethics Violation” by Paul Duggan for Washington Post

Illinois: “Feds Seize Computers, Files on Chicago Officials from Outgoing Inspector General” by Natasha Korecki for Politico

New York: “At Trial, Prosecutors to Detail Dean Skelos’s Favors for His Son” by William Rashbaum for New York Times

Elections

“How the Kochs Launched Joni Ernst” by Kenneth Vogel for Politico

“In Presidential Campaign, It’s Now Terrorism, Not Taxes” by Jonathan Martin for New York Times

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission issued a notification of proposed changes to the Commission’s rules. New rules being considered deal with lobbying expenditures made to the family of a public official or employee, when campaign contributions are deemed received, and anonymous contributions.

Rule amendments are also being considered to several sections of Chapter 189, including 189-1-.07 concerning adjustments of contribution limits based on inflation.

The Commission will consider the changes on December 15, 2015.

State and Federal Communications is pleased to announce the following individuals received their Professional Lobbying Certificate at the AGRP Annual Meeting.

Michael Beckett, Esq., George Ticoras, Esq., and John Cozine, Esq. received their certificates after completing the year-long Lobbying Certificate program. Since 2008, 11 staff from the company have completed the program, which is the only certificate program for the government relations professional that covers the wide range of activities that comprise modern government relations.

Through 14 courses over a year, participants have the opportunity to get the baseline knowledge of the numerous topics that need to be known by lobbyists and grassroots practitioners. Within those courses, five are required that cover Ethics of Advocacy, LDA & Compliance, PAC & Campaign Fundraising, Congressional Rules & Procedure and Communications & Media.

The Association of Government Relations Professionals (AGRP) is the national professional society dedicated exclusively to government relations, public policy and lobbying. AGRP’s mission is to enhance the development of the profession, competence, and high ethical standards for advocates in the public policy arena; and to collectively address the challenges affecting the First Amendment right to “petition the Government for redress of grievances.” For more information, visit http://grprofessionals.org.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be a sponsor of the Professional Women in Advocacy Conference on November 16-17, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

We are also excited to announce Elizabeth Bartz will be moderating the Tuesday lunch discussion panel Been There, Done That: Words of Wisdom and Experience.

The amazing panel lineup includes Gloria Dittus, chairman of Story Partners; Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP; and Ambassador Connie Morella.