Lobbying

“JCOPE’s New Guidance, or: You might be a lobbyist if …” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Campaign Finance

Connecticut: “House Passes Significant Campaign Reforms; Will the Senate Take Up the Bill?” by Christine Stuart for CTNewsJunkie.com

Louisiana: “Report Urges Louisiana to Ban ‘Troublesome’ Utility Campaign Contributions” by Jennifer Larino for New Orleans Times-Picayune

Minnesota: “After Criticism, Sen. Alberta Darling Cancels Fundraiser” by Scott Bauer (Associated Press) for Minneapolis Star Tribune

Pennsylvania: “City Council Gives Initial Thumbs Up To New Rules on Independent PACs” by Mike Dunn for KYW

Ethics

“Should We Pay Politicians More?” by Kevin Hartnett for Politico

“Clinton Foundation Paid Blumenthal $10K per Month While He Advised on Libya” by Kenneth Vogel for Politico

“How Dennis Hastert Made His Millions” by Tarini Parti for Politico

“Payments by Hastert Linked to Report of Sexual Abuse” by Michael Shear and Michael Schmidt for New York Times

Hawaii: “Under Fire: Hawaii ethics director defends his strict ethical views” by Ian Lind for Honolulu Civil Beat

New York: “Schneiderman Vows ‘Reform for All New Yorkers’ With Anti-Corruption Bill” by Will Bredderman for New York Observer

Oregon: “High-Ranking State Official Leaked Thousands of John Kitzhaber’s Personal Emails” by Laura Gunderson and Jeff Manning for Portland Oregonian

New York: “Grand Jury Indicts Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, and Son in Corruption Case” by William Rashbaum for New York Times

Elections

“George Pataki Announces Presidential Campaign” by David Fahrenthold for Washington Post

Legislative Issues

Arkansas: “Arkansas Primary Change Would Be Temporary under Compromise” by Andrew DeMillo and Claudia Lauer (Associated Press) for Washington Times

The Washington Legislature adjourned its first special session on Thursday, May 28, 2015, only to immediately convene a second special session on Friday, May 29, 2015.

Gov. Jay Inslee called the second special session as a result of lawmakers’ inability to agree on a budget during the first special session.

Lawmakers must come to a budgetary agreement by July 1, 2015, or the state government could face a shutdown.

Photo of the Washington State Senate chamber by Lincolnite on Wikimedia Commons.

The first session of the 104th Legislature adjourned sine die today, May 29, 2015, on the 89th day of the scheduled 90-day session.

Senators passed 272 bills into law, including an $8.7 billion two-year budget.

The second session of the 104th Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 6, 2016.

The First Extraordinary Session of the 90th General Assembly adjourned on Thursday, May 28.

Lawmakers spent much of the three day session discussing, and ultimately approving, a bill to move the state’s 2016 primary and nonpartisan judicial elections from May 20 to March 1.

National:

Meet the ‘Dark Money’ Phantom
Center for Public Integrity – Carrie Levine | Published: 5/26/2015

David Langdon is a behind-the-scenes player among the small army of lawyers working to keep secret the origins of millions of dollars flowing to candidates. Langdon is also a legal soldier for conservative, often Christian, nonprofit organizations that together spend millions more to influence public policy and wield great influence among evangelical voters. Since the 2010 election cycle, at least 11 groups connected to Langdon or his firm have collectively spent at least $22 million on federal and state elections and ballot initiatives around the country.

Should We Pay Politicians More?
Politico – Kevin Hartnett | Published: 5/27/2015

The prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, makes $1.7 million a year, more than four times as much as the next highest paid national executive – Barack Obama, who earns $400,000 a year. In Singapore, the salaries are seen as an anti-corruption measure. In the U.S., the idea of paying elected officials like corporate chief executives is politically unthinkable. But Renee Bowen, an economist at Stanford, and Cecilia Mo, a political scientist at Vanderbilt, used a game-theory model to argue that when elected representatives are paid more, they are more invested in keeping their jobs, and more likely to pursue citizen-friendly policies.

Federal:

FEC Deadlocks on Wealthy Donor Giving Limits
Washington Times – Tom Howell, Jr. | Published: 5/21/2015

The FEC deadlocked on a proposal to write new rules in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s McCutcheon decision last year that struck down aggregate campaign finance limits, freeing wealthy Americans to contribute money to as many candidates and political parties as they want. Democrats on the FEC signaled they had been chastened by another effort last year to impose campaign finance rules on Internet videos, after 5,000 comments poured in to commissioners telling them to lay off Internet speech as they considered post-McCutcheon rules.

K Street’s Gains Felt at Boutique Firms, Too
The Hill – Megan Wilson | Published: 5/27/2015

The surge in business on K Street during the first months of 2015 was not limited to Washington’s biggest lobby shops as many smaller lobby and law firms also saw gains. Smaller firms have long decried the standard practice of evaluating Washington’s top shops by earnings alone, arguing it puts them at a disadvantage by appearing to not keep up with their much larger counterparts. When looking at the figures posted by K Street for the first three months of the year, analysts instead ranked industry players on year-over-year increases in total and average per-client revenue, fees per lobbyist, and client retention rates.

Supreme Court to Weigh Meaning of ‘One Person One Vote’
New York Times – Adam Liptak | Published: 5/26/2015

The U.S. Supreme Court said it will decide an important “one person, one vote” case next term to determine whether states should consider total population – or only eligible voters – when drawing roughly equal legislative districts. A shift from using total population would have an enormous impact in states with large immigrant populations, where greater numbers are children or noncitizens. It would shift power from urban areas to more rural districts. The Supreme Court in 1964 ruled states must divide electoral districts population-wise so that political power is equally shared. But it did not specify whether total population or eligible voters was the standard to use.

From the States and Municipalities:

Arizona – Phone Records Show Close Contact between Regulator, APS and ‘Dark Money’
Arizona Republic – Ryan Randazzo | Published: 5/21/2015

Debates over solar energy, and a flood of money from non-profit groups into the campaigns for those who sought to regulate utilities, marked the 2014 Arizona Corporation Commission election. During that time, commission Chairperson Bob Stump sent more than 50 private text messages to an Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) executive and 46 to a political “dark money” organizer, according to a non-profit investigating the commission. Critics say regulators should not have such close contact with the utilities they oversee, and the utilities should not be participating in political campaigns, which could violate election laws and rules that prevent elected officials from campaigning with public resources. APS is widely believed to have contributed to groups that supported two Republicans in the Corporation Commission race, but utility officials will neither confirm nor deny such contributions.

Hawaii – Under Fire: Hawaii ethics director defends his strict ethical views
Honolulu Civil Beat – Ian Lind | Published: 5/27/2015

The Hawaii Ethics Commission is evaluating its executive director, Les Kondo, following complaints that he was going too far with ethics rules. House Speaker Joseph Souki sent a letter to the commission complaining about its “recent attempts to prohibit common and regular practices,” including receiving gifts, meals, and charitable fundraiser tickets of a certain value. Teachers also have been upset about a recommendation that educators who organize and chaperone educational trips should not get a free ride from tour companies. “It’s not my job to tell people what they want to hear or let them do what they want to do; it’s my job to do what’s right, not what’s popular,” Kondo told his colleagues.

Missouri – Lawmakers Fail to Ramp up Ethics Laws for Missouri Officials
Columbia Missourian – Summer Ballentine (Associated Press) | Published: 5/24/2015

Despite months of discussions and assurances from legislative leaders who said this year would be different, ethics reform fell apart in the last few weeks of the session. That means Missouri for at least another year will remain the only state with the trio of unlimited campaign contributions, uncapped lobbyist gifts, and no laws preventing legislators from leaving office and immediately becoming lobbyists. Lawmakers’ failure to pass ethics bills comes as the Capitol is under increased scrutiny after the House ended the legislative session in scandal. Former House Speaker John Diehl admitted to exchanging sexually suggestive text messages with a 19-year-old Capitol intern and resigned the last day of the session.

Montana – Court Reverses Ruling on Montana Campaign Contribution Limits
The Missoulian – Matt Volz (Associated Press) | Published: 5/26/2015

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invoked the Supreme Court’s Citizen United decision to raise the bar for states to justify limiting campaign donations. States can limit contributions if they have a legitimate interest in doing so. But proving that interest has changed since the Citizens United decision that said corporations can spend unlimited amounts in elections, said the three-judge panel. Before Citizens United, states only had to show they aimed to curb the influence of big money on politicians. After Citizens United, states must show more specifically that their laws are stopping an exchange of money for political favors, according to the opinion. The ruling by the Ninth Circuit was made in a case that challenged Montana’s contribution limits as violating donors’ rights to free speech.

New York – JCOPE’s New Guidance, or: You might be a lobbyist if …
Albany Times Union – Chris Bragg | Published: 5/27/2015

Proposed rules issued by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics said political consultants who take certain actions related to lobbying efforts must register, even if they do not directly ask lawmakers or agencies to act on bills or regulations. That could force firms that currently enjoy close relationships with New York lawmakers, and which simultaneously have clients with interests before those legislators, to start disclosing more interactions with them. Another provision directs firms who control the message and content of grassroots lobbying campaigns to register as lobbyists.

Oregon – Forget Fines – Oregon Prefers Warnings for Public Officials Guilty of Ethics Violations
Portland Oregonian – Nick Budnick and Laura Gunderson | Published: 5/26/2015

The Portland Oregonian found the state ethics commission has deliberately lightened up on those accused of abusing their public positions. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission has negotiated reduced penalties for every case it has handled involving a public official since 2008. “The commission is not one where we stand there looking to punish someone,” said Chairperson Kenny Montoya. Ron Bersin, the agency’s executive director, said the commission relies on education and training to keep public officials honest, but the panel hammers errant public officials when it is justified.

Tennessee – Ethics Panel Fading to Obscurity 10 Years after Tenn. Waltz
Albany Times Union – Erik Schelzig (Associated Press) | Published: 5/25/2015

May 26 marked the 10th anniversary of the arrest of five former lawmakers in the FBI’s sting operation called “Tennessee Waltz.” The case involved a scheme by state lawmakers to collect money in exchange for shepherding through bills on behalf of E-Cycle Management, which was an FBI front company. Following the scandal, lawmakers were spurred into trying to improve transparency and ethics in the statehouse. A decade later, most of those efforts have faded.

Texas – House Passes Ethics Bill, Senate Showdown Likely
Texas Tribune – Jay Root | Published: 5/26/2015

The Texas House approved an ethics bill that would force disclosure of “dark money” in campaigns. The legislation would also lower the amount lobbyists can spend to entertain state officials without disclosing the names of the politicians. But the House turned down an amendment to close a loophole that allows lobbyists to easily evade that disclosure by teaming up with other lobbyists to spend far more than the current $114, lowered to $50 in the House bill. The measure faces a showdown with the Senate over the details of their competing versions.

Vermont – Legislative Wrap: Lobbyist disclosure tops transparency effort
VTDigger.org – Erin Mansfield | Published: 5/22/2015

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is expected to sign Senate Bill 93, which increases the number of times per year that lobbyists and their employers must file expenditure reports from three to seven. Lobbyists are already required to register with the secretary of state’s office, but they only need to report spending once during the legislative session – April 25, when the session is almost over. The new law would require monthly reporting while lawmakers are in Montpelier. The bill also requires lobbying groups to disclose the name of the organization in ads and file a report within 48 hours of running an advertising campaign worth $1,000 or more.

Virginia – Conservative Group Paying Ken Cuccinelli’s Campaign
Washington Post – Rachel Weiner | Published: 5/26/2015

Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli won a legal victory against a conservative PAC he accused of duping campaign donors. Cuccinelli and the Conservative StrikeForce PAC reached a settlement that will prohibit the PAC from using a candidate’s name for future fundraising efforts against the candidate’s wishes. The PAC also agreed to pay Cuccinelli’s failed gubernatorial campaign $85,000 and give it exclusive rights to the PAC’s direct mail and email donor lists. Cuccinelli said the PAC used his name without his permission to mislead “thousands of innocent Americans” who thought they were helping his campaign.

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.

The Miami-Dade Clerk of the Courts has announced a new online lobbyist registration system will launch on June 1, 2015.

Current lobbyist information will be transferred to the new system and lobbyists will receive temporary log in information via email in order to create a profile.

This release only affects registration; however, plans to incorporate expenditure reporting are forthcoming.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has signed a bill amending the code of ethics.

Senate Bill 850, now known as Public Act 15-15, creates an additional exception to the definition of expenditure, adds to the list of who is not included in the definition of a lobbyist, and raises the threshold for lobbyist registration from $2,000 to $3,000.

The new provisions are effective January 1, 2016.

Lobbying

“K Street’s Gains Felt at Boutique Firms, Too” by Megan Wilson for The Hill

Campaign Finance

“Campaign Finance Watchdogs Push Justice Dept. to Investigate Jeb Bush’s PAC” by Ed O’Keefe for Washington Post

“Arkansas AG Rejects Language for Campaign Finance Issue” by The Associated Press for Washington Times

Virginia: “Conservative Group Paying Ken Cuccinelli’s Campaign” by Rachel Weiner for Washington Post

Wisconsin: “Sen. Alberta Darling Fundraiser Called ‘Shakedown’ for Lobbyist Cash” by Mike Ivey for Capital Times

Ethics

New York: “Fired Aide Pays $4,000 in Sandy Scandal” by Casey Seiler for Albany Times Union

New York: “Judge Rules Larry Seabrook, Ex-New York Councilman, Must Forfeit His Pension” by Benjamin Weiser for New York Times

Texas: “House Passes Ethics Bill, Senate Showdown Likely” by Jay Root for Texas Tribune

Elections

“Rick Santorum Is Entering Republican 2016 Presidential Race” by Trip Gabriel for New York Times

Legislative Issues

“Members Living in Their Offices Rent-Free Adds Up” by David Hawkings for Roll Call

On May 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court’s ruling in Lair v. Bullock. The lower court concluded Montana’s political contribution limits were unconstitutionally low. The appellate court found the lower district court applied the wrong legal standard prior to permanently enjoining the enforcement of Montana’s restrictions on campaign contributions by individuals, political action committees, and political parties.

The case was remanded back to the district court to allow Montana’s political contribution limits to be tested under the new and more restrictive standard of Citizens United v. FEC. This new standard, the court stated, means, “The prevention of quid pro quo corruption, or its appearance, is the only sufficiently important state interest to justify limits on campaign contributions. Before Citizens United, it was enough to show the state’s interest was simply to prevent the influence contributors of large sums have on politicians, or the appearance of such influence. No longer so.”

Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathon Motl said he was confident the limits will be sustained, according to the Missoulian.

The First Regular Session of the 55th Oklahoma Legislature adjourned sine die on May 22, 2015, one week ahead of its scheduled deadline.

The Second Session will convene on February 1, 2016.

Photo of the Oklahoma State Capitol by Caleb Long on Wikimedia Commons.

We were excited to see Laura Brelin from United Way of Summit County this morning. Laura dropped by to present a framed “Campaign Excellence Award” to State and Federal Communications.

The awards are presented to those organizations whose employees demonstrate outstanding excellence with at least 75% participation and either $100 per capita in giving or a 35% increase over last year’s campaign. We can proudly say our company had a $724 per capita giving in 2014!

State and Federal Communications is a proud supporter of United Way of Summit County. Aside from working hard each year on our annual campaign, we have had staff participation in the Board of Directors, the Corporate Volunteer Council, Day of Action, and the Corporate Derby Challenge.

Thank you, United Way! We look forward to many years of partnership.

Lobbying

Georgia: “Legislators and Corporate Lobbyists Meet in Secret at Georgia Resort” by Brendan Keefe and Michael King for WXIA

Vermont: “Legislative Wrap: Lobbyist disclosure tops transparency effort” by Erin Mansfield for VTDigger.org

Campaign Finance

“Meet the ‘Dark Money’ Phantom” by Carrie Levine for Center for Public Integrity

“Push to Name Donors in Political Ads Hits FCC Roadblock” by Mario Trujillo for The Hill

Montana: “MT’s Campaign-Donor Limits Still Up in the Air” by Katherine Proctor for Courthouse News Service

Ethics

“Clinton Foundation Reveals Up to $26 Million in Additional Payments” by Rosalind Helderman and Tom Hamburger for Washington Post

California: “California Fund Has Little Oversight” by The Associated Press for Contra Costa Times

Missouri: “Lawmakers Fail to Ramp up Ethics Laws for Missouri Officials” by Summer Ballentine (Associated Press) for Columbia Missourian

Oklahoma; “Former Oklahoma Legislators’ Bribery Convictions Upheld” by Nolan Clay for The Oklahoman

Oregon: “Forget Fines – Oregon Prefers Warnings for Public Officials Guilty of Ethics Violations” by Nick Budnick and Laura Gunderson for Portland Oregonian

Tennessee: “Ethics Panel Fading to Obscurity 10 Years after Tenn. Waltz” by Erik Schelzig (Associated Press) for Albany Times Union

Elections

“Republicans Seek to Bridge Gap with Latinos in Colorado and Beyond” by Jack Healy for New York Times

Redistricting

“Supreme Court to Weigh Meaning of ‘One Person One Vote’” by Adam Liptak for New York Times

A special election has been set for July 14, 2015. The election will be held to fill vacant seats in House Districts 48, 80, 146, and 155.

If necessary, a runoff election will be held on August 11, 2015.

Photo of the Georgia State Capitol dome by Connor.carey on Wikimedia Commons.

Lobbying

“At K Street’s No. 1 Lobby Shop, Ties to Clinton Run Deep” by Megan Wilson for The Hill

California: “‘Stalking’ of Pro-Vaccine Lobbyists Prompts Warning from Doctors’ Group” by Jeremy White for Fresno Bee

Kansas: “Records: Gov. Sam Brownback, aides still consult with ex-chief of staff, now a lobbyist” by Bryan Lowry for Wichita Eagle

Nevada: “Legislative ‘Cooling Off’ Lobbying Law Passes Nevada Senate” by Sandra Chereb for Las Vegas Review-Journal

Campaign Finance

“FEC Deadlocks on Wealthy Donor Giving Limits” by Tom Howell, Jr. for Washington Times

“Gyrocopter Pilot Indicted on Six Charges” by Jesse Byrnes for The Hill

“Rove’s Crossroads PAC Is No Longer G.O.P.’s ‘Big Dog;” by Eric Lichtblau and Maggie Haberman for New York Times

Arizona: “Phone Records Show Close Contact between Regulator, APS and ‘Dark Money’” by Ryan Randazzo for Arizona Republic

Ethics

New Jersey: “Christie Leaves Cowboys Tickets off His Disclosure Form” by Maddie Hanna and Andrew Seidman for Philadelphia Inquirer

South Carolina: “Pinson Given 5 Years in Prison” by John Monk for The State