State and Federal Communications is pleased to announce the addition of 2015 legislative session and key dates information to its website.

In the Lobbying Laws publication, the key dates information addresses all of the reports and registrations due in 2015. In the Political Contributions publication, the key dates address the reports due, the scheduled statewide elections, and, where dictated by the state, scheduled local elections.

This information has been added for the federal government, the states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Continue to watch the website for updates to the 2014 and 2015 key dates and for the addition of key dates information for local jurisdictions and for Canada.

Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed three ethics bills, including one to reduce the value of gifts lawmakers and officials may accept. SB 1443 would have prohibited all gifts from lobbyists and reduced the annual value of gifts from non-lobbyists to $200 per single source. The bill would have also prohibited officials from accepting tickets to concerts, golf passes, and gift cards.

Brown also vetoed SB 1442 and SB 831. The bills would have required more frequent campaign disclosures and forced interest groups to offer more information on sponsored trips for lawmakers.

Brown did sign SB 1441 to ban fundraisers at lobbyists’ homes. Effective January 1, 2015, the definition of “contribution” will include the value of lobbyists’ homes if used for a fundraising event.

County Council has voted to enact public financing for county elections beginning with the 2015-2018 election cycle. Bill 16-14 will establish a public election fund, regulate participating candidates, and authorize the Maryland State Board of Elections to enforce the provisions.

To qualify, candidates for county executive or council must demonstrate viability by raising a specific number of small individual contributions between $5 and $150. Candidates for county executive need at least 500 contributions totaling $40,000. At-large council candidates must collect 250 donations worth $20,000.

Maryland lawmakers included a public funding option for counties as part of a 2013 campaign finance reform bill. Montgomery is the first county to pass such a public campaign financing measure.

Thank you for joining us on another statehouse tour. This week we will be visiting Arizona’s capitol building, located in Phoenix.

Arizona’s previous statehouse is now known as the Old Capitol. It is defined by frugality; many of the building’s plans did not come into being because they were “too expensive”. These plans included a grand rotunda and wings off the main building for each house. Many of the building’s features were even incorrectly executed by the contractors.

In the mid-1950s, Frank Lloyd Wright drew up plans for a new statehouse, but those plans also were rejected because of cost. The Old Capitol is topped with a copper dome. which is crowned with a statue called Winged Victory.

The Old Capitol was used as the statehouse from 1901 to 1960. In 1960, separate House and Senate buildings were built on the north and south sides of the Capitol. The Arizona Legislature currently uses these House and Senate buildings. There are plans in the works to build a new Capitol because of the Old Capitol’s inadequacies.

The Old Capitol is now a museum. It exhibits local and state history with an emphasis on the state government and statehood. The museum also has exhibits on historical figures from the state and explanations of state symbols. One of the most notable exhibits there is a silver punchbowl service and silver statue from the battleship USS Arizona. These artifacts survived when the ship was sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack. People of all states can appreciate Arizona’s statehouse for its historical significance and its survival through frugal times.

To learn more, visit the Arizona State Government page.

Photo of the California State House by Jeff Dean on Wikimedia Commons.

The U.S. Statehouse Series is a project of the State and Federal Communications team of summer interns: Alessandra Dickos, Zack Koozer, Elaina Laikos, and Rachel Rodgers.

Lobbying

“Bottom Line” in The Hill.

“Mack IV joins lobbying firm” by Salem Solomon in the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Florida: “Search Broward lobbying database, if you find it” by Brittany Wallman in the Sun Sentinel.

Ohio: “2nd lobbyist guilty of unreported Bengals tix” by Chrissie Thompson in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Campaign Finance

“Greens take 2014 fight to states” by Darren Goode and Andrew Restuccia in Politico.

Minnesota: “Franken, McFadden complain about big money but still rake it in” by Catherine Richert on Minnesota Public Radio News.

Kentucky: “Special interests spend in Ky.” in The Courier-Journal.

Texas: “Panel weighs pros, cons of campaign donor reporting” by Joseph Basco in the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

Ethics

Georgia: “Georgia ethics commission dismisses complaint accusing Jason Carter of fundraising violation” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Hawaii: “Hawaii House leader fined a record $50,000 for ethics violations” by Malia Zimmerman in Watchdog.org.

Nevada: “Ex-employee alleges ethics director violated Nevada law” by Emerson Marcus in the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Tech and Social Media

“Contractors, Expect 72-hour Rule for Disclosing Corporate Hacks” by Aliya Sternstein in Nextgov.

Today, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will sit en banc to hear oral arguments challenging the constitutionality of barring contractors from contributing to candidates, parties, and their committees.

On November 2, 2012, in Wagner v. Federal Election Committee, a District Court rejected challenges to the constitutionality of section 441c of Title 2 of the U.S. Code, which prohibits any vendors with contracts with the federal government from making political contributions to federal candidates or political parties. The case, initially brought by the ACLU, asked the court to declare the law unconstitutional as applied to individuals who have personal services contracts with federal agencies.

Because federal workers who are not contractors may make federal political contributions, while contractors performing the same work may not, the suit argued section 441c violates both the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and the First Amendment. The court found no First Amendment or Equal-Protection violations, noting “the dissimilar roles of contractors and employees, moreover, justify the distinct regulatory schemes that the Government has fashioned.”

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower court order requiring the state to begin early voting on September 30, 2014.

The stay eliminates the period known as the “Golden Week,” when voters were able to register and vote on the same day.

The stay will remain in effect until the state formally appeals the lower court’s order and the Court acts upon that appeal.

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO of State and Federal Communications, was honored recently by the Akron Urban League as one of seven awardees named Women of Power for 2014.

According to the organization’s website, “Women of Power Awards are granted to women who have made a difference in the organizations where they work and also to the community at-large.”

The Akron Urban League is a non-profit working very hard to “improve the economic, cultural, social, educational, and recreational conditions affecting all citizens of Summit County, particularly African Americans, other minorities, and those most in need.”

A luncheon will be held at the Akron Urban League on November 6, 2014.

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

Lobbying

“That ‘Bravo’ reality show about lobbyists? It’s not happening.” by Emily Heil and Helena Andrews in The Washington Post.

Michigan: “Lobbyists spending more on Michigan politicians this year” by Andrew Green on WKZO News.

Campaign Finance

“Outsiders Add Money and Negativity to State and Local Elections” by Chris Kardish in Governing.

“Mystery Money: Your Guide to Campaign Finance in 2014” by Rebecca Ballhaus in The Wall Street Journal.

“Billionaire donors to watch” by Tim Divaney in The Hill.

Arizona: “‘Dark money’ floods Phoenix pension election” by Dustin Gardiner in The Arizona Republic.

Connecticut: “Outside money pouring into Connecticut governor race despite public campaign funding system” by Susan Haigh (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Massachusetts: “Bitcoin makes an itty-bitty splash in MA politics” by Jordan Graham in the Boston Herald.

Wyoming: “Legislature may take on independent expenditures” by LAURA HANCOCK in the Casper Star-Tribune.

Ethics

“Ex-GSA official indicted in spending scandal” by Peter Sullivan in The Hill.

Illinois: “Lobbyist’s attorney: Roland Burris involved in shakedown while in Senate” by Jason Meisner in the Chicago Tribune.

Maryland: “Md. elections board: Leggett improperly used campaign funds for trips” by Bill Turque in The Washington Post.

Oklahoma: “Informal hearings set by Ethics Commission” in The Edmund Sun.

Virginia: “Full list of McAuliffe ethics commission members” by Travis Fain in the Daily Press.

Elections

“Voter Turnout Plummeting in Local Elections” by Mike Maciag in Governing.

Michigan: “Dems asked to end online absentee ballot program” by The Associated Press in the Detroit Free Press.

Ohio: “Appeals court: Early voting can start Tuesday” by The Associated Press in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Virginia: “450,000 in Va. may lack proper ID needed to vote” by Antonio Olivo and Jenna Portnoy in The Washington Post.

Political Advertising

“There have been roughly 550,000 state race TV ads this campaign season — so far” by Niraj Chokshi in The Washington Post.

State Legislatures

“The Evolution of State Legislatures Has Driven Some to Flee” by Alan Ehrenhalt in Governing.

Tech and Social Media

“These 7 local governments will Code for America in 2015” by Luke Fretwell in Govfresh.

Governor Jerry Brown has issued a proclamation declaring a special election for Senate District 35 on February 10, 2015.

The primary will be held on December 9, 2014.

The special election became necessary following the resignation of Sen. Roderick D. Wright (D), who was sentenced last week to three months in jail for lying about where he lived when he ran for office.

New regulations to compliment the Lobbyist Ordinance take effect today, September 26, 2014.

Preparation and research are included in the definition of “lobbyist services” and a single conversation (or email) with multiple officials counts as multiple “contacts” for purposes of the new registration threshold.

The new regulations are designed to interpret and otherwise provide guidance concerning recent amendments to the ordinance effective July 26, 2014.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics has developed online ethics training, as required by the New York Legislative Law. Enrollment in the online training is available here.

All registered lobbyists, including principals, must complete the online training.

All lobbyists registered for both the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 biennia must complete the online training by December 31, 2014. Beginning in 2015, all registered lobbyists will be required to complete the training once every three years.

New Jersey Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll recently introduced Assembly Bill 3650 to abolish the Election Law Enforcement Commission, repeal New Jersey’s restrictions on campaign finance and lobbying, and end public financing of gubernatorial campaigns.

Carroll claims contribution limits do not actually limit contributions but simply encourage candidates to find money in other ways, such as through PACs or other non-profit issue advocacy organizations. He said he’s not wholly averse to reporting contributions, however, and suggested the creation of a website to which every candidate would periodically download contribution and expenditure data.

A federal judge rejected Citizens United’s request to air a documentary critical of Colorado Democrats without disclosing its donors in accordance with state law.

The conservative group argues its free speech rights are violated when the law requires it to disclose donors while effectively exempting traditional print media and broadcasters from the same requirement.

Although its motion for a preliminary injunction was denied, Citizens United President David Bossie claims the organization will appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.