February 19, 2013 •
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Campaign Finance Case
McCutcheon v. FEC
Today the United States Supreme Court decided to grant a review to a case challenging the aggregate limits on federal campaign contributions. The case, McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, seeks to allow Shaun McCutcheon to make political contributions to several federal candidates exceeding the two-year aggregate limit currently set at $48,600 as provided in 2 U.S.C §441a(a)(3)(A).
Photo of Supreme Court building by UpstateNYer in Wikipedia.
February 19, 2013 •
May Elections May Move in El Paso
Voters to Decide
This May El Paso, Texas voters will decide whether to move city elections to November or let them remain in the spring.
The City Council voted on February 14, 2013, to allow the voters to amend the city’s charter and choose the timing of future municipal elections. The council did not make any recommendation as to its preference.
If approved, the first November election would be held in 2018, according to the El Paso Times.
February 15, 2013 •
North Dakota Holds Committee Hearing on Ethics Commission
House Bill 1442 would create an oversight body
The House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee held hearings on February 14, 2013, regarding the establishment of an ethics commission to investigate alleged acts of wrongdoing by elected officials and lobbyists.
House Bill 1442 would create an ethics commission consisting of nine members. Four members are to be appointed by legislators and the remaining five would be appointed by the governor.
North Dakota is currently one of nine states without an ethics commission.
February 15, 2013 •
Lobbying Services Could Be Taxed Under Governor Kasich’s Budget Plan
Ohio sales tax extended to many services currently exempt
Lobbying and consulting services could soon be subject to sales tax under Governor John Kasich’s budget proposal. House Bill 59, the governor’s expansive budget bill, proposes to decrease the state sales tax rate, but makes up for lost revenue by increasing the services subject to sales tax. All service transactions would be subject to the tax unless specifically exempted in the bill, including legal and accounting services.
You can view a list of the services that will be covered by the sales tax here.
While Governor Kasich predicts lobbyists will attempt to remove the tax on their industry from the budget bill, a Florida Institute of CPAs lobbyist claims it’s not just self-interest–determining who is taxed and who pays can be tricky when lobbying firms hire both accountants and lawyers to assist with projects.
If passed, the sales tax will apply to all non-exempt services rendered on or after September 1, 2013.
February 15, 2013 •
News You Can Use Digest – February 15, 2013
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
From the States and Municipalities:
California – Donor to Three Mayoral Candidates Hit with $170,000 Ethics Fine
Connecticut – Howls as Malloy Tries to Shorten Leash on Watchdogs
District of Columbia – D.C. Campaign Finance Proposals Await More Public Comment
Florida – Cashing in on State Contracts Becomes Growth Industry
Florida – Gov. Rick Scott Turns to Lobbyists to Help Push His Agenda
Georgia – New Lobbying Rules Would Prohibit Airfare Expenses
Illinois – Diluted Emanuel Ethics Proposal Finally Gets Nod
Kansas – Legislature Mulls Changing Official Lobbying Threshold
Massachusetts – Lynch, Markey Sign Pledge to Limit Third-Party Ads
New Jersey – Head of Lobbying Firm Hired by AshBritt Will Host Christie Fundraiser
New Jersey – N.J. Firms Donated over $700,000 to Republican Governors Association
New York – Lobby for Cuomo Keeps Donors Secret
South Carolina – South Carolina Attorney General Forwards Complaint against House Speaker Harrell to SLED
Texas – In Some Cases, Government Is All Relative
Virginia – Virginia General Assembly Displays State’s Exceptionalism and its Exceptional Weirdness
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.
February 14, 2013 •
Montana Governor and State Senator Introduce Campaign Finance Reform
TRACE Act
Montana Governor Steve Bullock and Senator Jim Peterson announced a comprehensive campaign finance initiative for the state.
The Transparency, Reporting and Accountability in Campaigns and Elections (TRACE) Act was introduced today at a joint press conference in the governor’s office.
The governor said the provisions of the bill, to be introduced by Senator Peterson, include increasing disclosure by organizations without regard to the organization’s federal tax status, prohibiting direct corporate or union contributions to candidates, and increasing disclosure requirements by corporations making independent expenditures.
The TRACE Act also increases campaign contributions: per election cycle, a candidate for governor could accept up to $2,000 from a political committee or individual, a statewide candidate could accept up to $1,000, and all other candidates could accept up to $500. Additionally, the bill increases the fine for those violating election law and requires all major donors to incidental committees be identified through disclosure.
In his press release, Governor Bullock said, “This isn’t about winning or losing elections. This is about putting our democracy back in the sunlight where [it] belongs – back firmly in the hands of ‘we the people’.”
February 14, 2013 •
American League of Lobbyists Offers Statement
Response to the President’s State of the Union Address
The American League of Lobbyists has issued a statement in response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.
Monte Ward, the organization’s president, said on their site: “Lobbyists are the professional advocates who help educate lawmakers every day about how their action (or inaction) affects the nation. Lobbyists will be critical components helping our federal lawmakers to understand the implications of their votes on the issues that they will tackle.”
The American League of Lobbyists statement provides a summary of the group’s self understanding and a reflection on the nature of the lobbying industry, with an eye to the future. You can find a pdf file of their “Recommendations for Improving the Regulation of Federal Lobbyists” at this link.
February 14, 2013 •
Chicago City Council Passes Watered-Down Ethics Ordinance
Mayor Emanuel Vows to Continue Fight
The Chicago City Council approved phase two of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s ethics reform. This time, however, it didn’t come easy and the mayor is not completely satisfied with its outcome. The set of reforms focused mainly on public officials.
Mayor Emanuel’s proposal included a two year ban on lobbying after leaving city council office and allowing citizens to make anonymous complaints against aldermen. The city council was against both of these provisions and eventually passed a watered-down version of the proposal.
The ban on lobbying will only last for one year and does not take effect until January 1, 2014. The idea of anonymous complaints was completely tossed out; as the aldermen were afraid the tactic would be used by political enemies to gain an advantage. Emanuel was not pleased with the changes. He vowed to continue to fight for the anonymous complaints and mentioned the aldermen are just playing into the hands of the cynics.
Following the council’s vote Emanuel said, “I believe all of you work really hard. You don’t get credit for how hard you work. You get an unfair rap. But when you take an action like you just took, it reinforces a cynicism about you.” He added, “I want you all to know that is not the end of the process. I’m going to continue to do it.”
Photo of the Daley Plaza and Chicago City Hall by JeremyA on Wikipedia.
February 14, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Happy Valentine’s Day! Here are some great articles for today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
Kansas: “Legislature mulls changing official lobbying threshold” by Vikaas Shanker in the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Louisiana: “Study ties Jindal tax plan to ALEC” in the Baton Rouge Advocate.
Maryland: “Bills seek to slow the revolving door of public officials into lobbying” by Becca Heller in the Maryland Reporter.
Campaign Finance
“ABA Supports Disclosure of Secret Political Spending” by Ian Vandewalker in the Brennan Center for Justice Blog.
Hawaii: “Mayor donor fund took in $360,000; Ethics digging deeper” by Gina Mangieri in KHON2 News.
New Jersey: “N.J. firms donated over $700,000 to Republican Governors Association” by John Reitmeyer and Melissa Hayes in the Bergen Record.
Rhode Island: “Local Politicians Owe $1.3M in Campaign Fines” by Stephen Beale in GoLocal Prov.
Ethics
Connecticut: “Conflict of interest bill gains traction” by Ken Dixon in the Connecticut Post.
Iowa: “Ethics committee won’t reprimand Iowa state senator” by Mike Wiser in the Quad-City Times.
Kentucky: “Metro ethics bill passes House panel” by Joseph Gerth in the Courier-Journal.
Maine: “Maine bill seeks to end cozy relations between state officials, private firms” by Naomi Schalit and John Christie in the Portland Press Herald.
Rhode Island: “Drive to reinstate R.I. Ethics Commission power over legislators resumes” by Katherine Gregg in the Providence Journal.
February 13, 2013 •
Wednesday Government Relations News
Keep up with the latest articles on lobbying, campaign finance, and more!
Lobbying
“The Dodd-Frank Cashout: Frank staffers launch lobbying firm” by Timothy P. Carney in the Washington Examiner.
“Al Jazeera signs a lobbying firm” by Anna Palmer in Politico.
“K Street Files: Ex-Frank Aides Open Lobbying Shop” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“Lobbying World” in The Hill.
Campaign Finance
Arizona: “Teeth sought for campaign-finance law” by Howard Fischer in the Arizona Daily Star.
Utah: “Senate OKs $50 limit on anonymous campaign contributions” by David Montero in the Salt Lake Tribune.
Redistricting
“Redistricting board waiting on word from court” by The Associated Press in the Juneau Empire.
Open Government
“Mo. lawmakers endorse Sunshine Law measures” by The Associated Press in the News Tribune.
State of the Union
“Word cloud: Obama’s State of the Union speech” by Megan H. Chan in Politico.
“The State of the Union speech — in word clouds” by Aaron Blake in the Washington Post.
February 12, 2013 •
See Us in Person!
Here is our February and March 2013 calendar. Say hello at future events where State and Federal Communications will be attending and/or speaking regarding compliance issues.
February 22-25, 2013 National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Washington, D.C.
February 26, 2013 Akron/Canton SMEI 41st Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award, Akron, Ohio
March 4-7, 2013 Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference, Miami, Florida
March 6, 2013 Ohio Birthday Party, Washington D.C.
March 13-15, 2013 SGAC Annual Meeting, Savannah, Georgia
February 12, 2013 •
Ask the Experts – Tracking Non-lobbyist Time
Here is your chance to “Ask the Experts” at State and Federal Communications, Inc.
Q. We’ve had some disagreement internally within our organization – please help. As a federal registrant employing in-house lobbyists, are we only required to report the time and expenses associated with our “registered” lobbyists.
A. It’s a good question. The answer to which often gets lost amongst the efforts to report lobbyists’ activities. Federal registrants are certainly required to make best efforts to track, capture, and report the lobbying activities and expenses of those employees who meet the 20% threshold standard (lobbyist employee). In addition, registrants are equally required to track, capture, and report expenditures associated with employees who do not meet the 20% threshold but still engage in lobbying activities during the course of the quarter (non-lobbyist employees.) The names of non-lobbyist employees are not included on the report and neither is information related to what issues they addressed or contacts they made. That said, the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House have consistently advised that all employee time spent engaged in lobbying activities should be included when determining an organization’s lobbying expenses, even when the employee(s) does not meet the statutory definition of being a lobbyist. In line with the best efforts standard, then, it is important to have in place reasonable, demonstrable processes to capture both lobbyist and non-lobbyist activities.
You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.
(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.
February 12, 2013 •
Legislation We Are Tracking
More than 1,000 legislative bills
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.
February 12, 2013 •
President Obama’s State of the Union Address
Enjoy some lively reading in honor of the president’s address tonight:
“State of the Union 2013: President Obama’s Speech is Just the Beginning” from The White House Blog.
“Check Out This Cool Thing the White House Is Testing For #SOTU” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.
“Upcoming State of the Union Will Be Interactive” by Joseph Marks in Mashable.
“Obama to Do a ‘Hangout’ After State of the Union” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.
“5 things to watch for in the State of the Union” by Carrie Budoff Brown and Reid J. Epstein on Politico.
“The 10 Most Historic State of the Union Moments in Modern History” by Mark Micheli in Government Executive.
“Memorable guests at the State of the Union” by Kourtney Geers in Politico.
“Lobbyists Vie for Mentions in State of the Union” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“Obama to use State of the Union to make case against spending cuts” by Amie Parnes in The Hill.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.