A special election for the state representative for Sullivan County District 4 (Claremont Ward 2) will be held on July 23, 2013.

A special primary election for the office is scheduled for June 4, 2013. The elections are being held to fill the seat of Representative Tom Donovan, who resigned earlier this year.

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

Lobbying

“Lobby Reports Expected To Show $750+ Million in First Quarter Lobbying” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.

Indiana: “9-year-old lobbyist weighs in on school safety” by Maureen Hayden in the Tribune-Star News.

Kentucky: “Lawmakers treated to lavish parties in Frankfort” by The Associated Press in Kentucky New Era.

Missouri: “Loophole hides trail of lobbyists’ largesse” by Jason Hancock in the Kansas City Star.

Campaign Finance

“James Bopp Jr. among 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” news release in the Tribune-Star News.

Florida: “Lights grow dim for campaign finance, ethics bills” by The Associated Press in WPEC News.

Maryland: “Maryland lawmakers approve campaign finance reform bill” by The Associated Press in the Washington Post.

New Jersey: “Group raising money for NJ races contests political donation limits” by Herb Jackson in the Bergen Record.

New Jersey: “Contributions from government contractors to New Jersey pols dropped to $7.5 million in 2012” by Anthony Campisi in the Bergen Record.

New York: “Eye on NY Spotlight: Bill Samuels on campaign finance reform and latest Albany scandals” by Robert Harding in the Auburn Citizen.

Texas: “Austin rep proposes restrictions for leftover campaign cash” by Tim Eaton in the Austin American-Statesman.

West Virginia: “House and Senate differ on campaign financing” by Phil Kabler in the Charleston Gazette.

Ethics

Colorado: “Scott Gessler’s discretionary spending not unique, investigator says” by Joey Bunch in the Denver Post.

Florida: “Lawmakers eye ‘blind trust’ in ethics reform bill” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.

New York: “Criticism of Cuomo Grows as the Problems in Albany Endure” by Danny Hakim in The New York Times.

New York: “Cuomo addresses ethics package” by Casey Seiler in the Albany Times Union.

Pennsylvania: “Bipartisan group of Pennsylvania state senators to introduce ethics bills” by Kate Giammarise in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Utah: “No Ethics Complaints Against Utah Legislators in Two Years” by Bob Bernick on UtahPolicy.com.

Elections

“Which Governors Are Most Vulnerable in 2014?” by Micah Cohen in the New York Times’ Five Thirty Eight blog.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Majority of Senate Standing Committees Still Aren’t Tweeting” by Joseph Marks in NextGov.

“New Tactics in Fight Against Corruption Include Crowdsourcing, Mobile Games and SMS” by Jessica McKenzie in TechPresident.

The General Assembly passed a campaign finance reform bill before adjourning on Monday, April 8, 2013.

House Bill 1499 increases contribution limits to any one campaign committee from $4,000 to $6,000 and from $10,000 to $24,000 for total contributions to all campaign committees within a four-year election cycle. The bill also curbs giving through multiple corporate entities for the purpose of evading contribution limits, increases reporting requirements, and gives the State Board of Elections new enforcement powers.

Unless vetoed by Governor O’Malley, the new limits will be effective for the election cycle beginning January 1, 2015.

Photo of the Maryland State House by Thisisbossi on Wikipedia.

Voters in the Chicago area are heading to the polls this morning to choose a new representative to the United States Congress, as well as other local offices. Voters on the south side of the city must pick a successor to former Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. Jackson resigned from Congress earlier this year for personal reasons and has since pleaded guilty to illegally using campaign funds for personal expenses.

The Democratic nominee, Robin Kelly, is the favorite in the heavily Democratic district. Kelly is a former state lawmaker who hails from Matteson, a village in the south suburbs.

Her opponent is the Republican nominee, Paul McKinley. McKinley, who served almost 20 years in prison for armed robbery, burglary, and aggravated battery, is running on a promise to stop the Chicago political machine and put ex-offenders back to work to help turn their lives around.

In another high profile race, former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Steve McMichael will take on incumbent John Noak for Romeoville mayor. Romeoville is about 30 miles southwest of Chicago and has a population of almost 40,000.

Towns throughout the area will also be deciding whether to allow video poker machines and whether to approve multiple bond requests. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time and the weather looks promising for a good turnout.

April 14-16, 2013   NASPO Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana

April 22-25, 2013   BIO International Convention, Chicago, Illinois

April 25, 2013   Washington Program in National Issues 40th Anniversary, Washington, D.C.

May 8-10, 2013   OSBA Annual Convention, Booth 24, Cleveland, Ohio

May 16, 2013   Women in Government Relations Spring Reception, Washington D.C.

May 30-Jun 2, 2013   NCSL Executive Committee Spring Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts

The United States Supreme Court has decided to hear a case challenging the aggregate federal limits for a person making contributions to candidates, party committees, and PACs. The case, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission (FEC), is expected to be argued and decided during the Court’s next term, which begins in October, 2013.

The plaintiff, Shaun McCutcheon, is an Alabama businessman who regularly makes political contributions to Republican candidates and the Republican National Committee (RNC). Mr. McCutcheon wishes to contribute $26,200 more to candidates and committees than the aggregate ceiling would allow. However, he is not challenging the limits on contributions to individual candidates and entities. Mr. McCutcheon wants to give to more candidates and political entities. The RNC is also a plaintiff in the suit.

Federal law imposes two types of limits on individual political contributions, base limits and biennial limits.

Base limits restrict the amount an individual may contribute to:

• A candidate committee;
• A national party committee;
• A state, local, and district party committee; and
• A political action committee.

Biennial limits restrict the aggregate amount an individual may contribute biennially, using the 2011-2012 election cycle limits argued against in the lawsuit, as follows:

• $46,200 to candidate committees; and
• $70,800 to all other committees, of which no more than $46,200 may go to non-national party committees (e.g., state parties and PACs).

The plaintiffs are only challenging the overall limits (the biannual limits) and not the base limits.

The attorneys for McCutcheon and the RNC argue the two-year ceilings federal law sets on what an individual can contribute during a campaign are unconstitutional. Specifically, they assert the limits on contributions violate a contributor’s right to free speech; the limits for biennial contributions are too low; and the distinction between contributions and expenditures articulated in the 1976 US Supreme Court case Buckley v. Valeo are no longer applicable because of the changes in campaign finance laws over the last 30 years. Buckley v. Valeo allowed for government regulation of contributions to prevent political corruption and prohibited government regulation of expenditures because of First Amendment protections.

Unlike Citizens United v FEC, which concerned political expenditures, McCutcheon v. FEC addresses contribution limits. Additionally, this case does not involve the political contributions or expenditures of corporations.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: Former Obama Health Care Guru Heads to K Street” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Rules of the Game: Lame-Duck FEC Invites Scofflaws” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Top GOP House aide goes to K Street” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

California: “Charities are engaged in California political fights” by Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee.

Campaign Finance

Arkansas: “Ark. lawmakers OK proposal to put campaign finance constitutional amendment on the ballot” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

New Jersey: “Donors behind millions in N.J. political contributions kept secret, analysis finds” by Christopher Baxter in the Star-Ledger.

Ethics

“Why Washington is corrupt” by Lawrence Lessig on CNN News.

Arizona: “Panel on constitutional amendments endorses ethics proposal” by John Lyon in Arkansas News.

New York: “Lhota, at City Hall, Proposes Ways to Curb Corruption” by David M. Halbfinger in The New York Times.

Texas: “Texas ethics watchdog hardly ever barks” by Rick Casey in the Express-News.

Virginia: “Cuccinelli denies conflict of interest claims” by Julian Walker in The Virginian-Pilot.

Open Government

“Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin won’t budge on executive privilege claim concerning emails” by Zeke Campfield in The Oklahoman.

Social Media

“For pols, Tumblr is trending” by Kevin Cirilli in Politico.

Governor Mike Beebe has approved a bill expanding restrictions on former public officials seeking to register as lobbyists. Senate Bill 331, now Act 486, prohibits statewide elected officers, certain state employees, and state agency executives from registering as a lobbyist for one year following expiration of employment.

Previously, only members of the General Assembly were subject to this revolving door restriction.

Governor Matt Mead has signed a campaign finance bill to increase contribution limits and decrease criminal penalties for violations. House Bill 187 increases contribution limits to $2,500 per candidate for statewide office and to $1,500 per candidate for non-statewide office. Currently, the limit is $1,000 for both statewide and non-statewide campaigns.

The bill also increases the total individual contribution limit from $25,000 to $50,000 per two-year election cycle. Contributions from PACs, currently unlimited, will be limited to $7,500 per candidate for statewide office and $3,000 per candidate for non-statewide office.

The penalty for a first violation of the limits will drop from $10,000 to $5,000 and filing a false report will no longer be a felony. The bill becomes effective January 1, 2015.

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 the State and Federal Communications digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of the State and Federal Communications’ website.

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

National:

Governors’ Groups Rely Increasingly on ‘Dark Money’ Affiliates

Federal:

Hanford Contractor Reaches $1.1 Million Settlement in Whistleblower Suit Involving Training Program

Most Lobbyists Following Disclosure Rules, Government Report Says

From the States and Municipalities:

Alaska – House Trips over Bad Jokes and a Representative’s Tongue

Arizona – Federal Judge Strikes Down 2 Arizona Anti-Union Statutes

Florida – Lawmaker Complains about Getting Out of Speeding Ticket; Trooper Fired

Florida – Lawmakers Seek Exceptions to Free Food and Drink Ban

Georgia – New Ga. Lobbying Rules Raise Fresh Issues

Iowa – Sex Offender Faces Charge after Lobbying Legislators

Maryland – Maryland Close to Raising Political Donation Limit to $24,000

New Jersey – Secret Recording Led to Criminal Case against N.J. Engineering Firm Birdsall Services Group

New York – Lawmakers in New York Tied to Bribery Plot in Mayor Race

North Carolina – NC Court of Appeals Sends Case against Lobbyist Back to Trial Court

Pennsylvania – Judge Throws Out All Campaign Finance Limits in Pittsburgh Mayoral Race

South Carolina – GOP Frets Mark Sanford Could Blow It

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 80 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

News You Can Use is a news service provided at no charge only to clients of our online Executive Source Guides, or ALERTS™ consulting clients.

The General Assembly reconvened for a one-day session on April 3, 2013, to consider the governor’s vetoes and amendments.

Up for consideration were 80 bills for which Governor McDonnell offered amendments, including the state’s landmark transportation bill, and six vetoed bills.

The General Assembly accepted a number of the governor’s amendments to the transportation bill, including a reduction of fees on alternative-fuel vehicles and a reduction of lodging and vehicle-titling taxes.

Photo of the Virginia State Capitol by Anderskev on Wikipedia.

The Mississippi Legislature adjourned sine die on April 4, 2013.

Despite approving a budget for fiscal year 2014, lawmakers will need to return for a special session to reauthorize the Medicaid program. Reauthorization efforts stalled due to a dispute over whether to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

A special session will be needed prior to the start of the fiscal year on July 1 to keep the program funded.