The Idaho Legislature adjourned its regular session sine die on April 4, 2013.

Before adjourning at 11:30 a.m., the Legislature finalized the $1.3 billion public education budget. It failed to pass by one vote at the end of March, with some lawmakers arguing that it codified the Students Come First laws rejected by voters last November.

The House also debated and passed a bill aimed at allowing school districts flexibility in adjusting teacher pay and contracts.

The seat for House District 95 will be filled by special election on May 14, 2013.

A runoff, if needed, will be held on June 4.

The seat was left vacant by the death of Representative Jessica Upshaw in March.

Photo of the Mississippi State House by Shawn Lea on Wikipedia.

On April 1^st, we added Comptroller Jeff Roberts to the 10-Year Club. He is now our sixth member to this exclusive club. This is a huge recognition at State and Federal Communications.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 30 percent of employees had 10 year or more of tenure with their current employer. And, the median number of years with an employer is only 4.4 years.

Yesterday, we celebrated Jeff’s milestone and he mentioned so many things that have happened in 10 years.

• Staff increased from 13 to 36;
• Space increased from 8,200 sq feet to 16,000 sq feet;
• We published the updates to our Political Contributions and Lobbying Laws publications twice a year and now we update our website every day;
• We added the Procurement Lobbying and Canadian Lobbying to our suite of on-line services;
• Increased our consulting clients from 19 to 126; and
• The number of children from staff went from eight (8) to 32.

Jeff’s input into the operation of the company is not seen to the outside crowd, but he has been an amazing trusted employee making sure we are always ahead on bills and the IRS. And, as he mentioned at our program yesterday, has never worried as to whether he would be paid or whether benefits would be provided.

We live in a different society now. Tenure used to only be associated with academic careers. In the private sector, tenure is the faithful commitment to an employer who has proven there is worth to staying.

Thanks to Jeff Roberts for 10 years of faithful service.

Q. I am interested in making a political contribution in Puerto Rico. What are the current political contribution limits? Am I required to disclose my contribution?

A. In Puerto Rico, individuals and PACs may make contributions.  Direct corporate contributions are prohibited. Puerto Rico has recently raised the annual political contribution limits. In response to the Federal Election Commission raising the federal contributions limits in 2 U.S.C. §441a(a)(1)(A),  the Oficina del Contralor Electoral (OCE) issued Circulated Letter OCE-CC-2013-02. The circulated letter raises the individual and PAC contribution limits to $2,600 per candidate per year, with an aggregate contribution limit of $13,000.  In an election year, the limits are modified to $2,600 per candidate per election, and $13,000 in the aggregate per election. These contribution limits do not apply to independent expenditures.

There are no reporting requirements for individuals making contributions in Puerto Rico.  PACs, however, have a quarterly disclosure requirement for any quarter in which contributions were received or expenditures were made.  PACs established and registered in a jurisdiction other than Puerto Rico have separate reporting requirements under the campaign finance regulations issued by the OCE.

For specific guidance on making contributions in Puerto Rico, please contact Sarah Kovit.

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.

Governor Rick Scott has scheduled the special election for House District 2 for June 11, 2013.

A primary election will be held May 14.

The election will replace the late Representative Clay Ford, who lost his battle with cancer in March.

The Senate has passed a campaign finance reform bill, including a provision allowing public financing of local campaigns. House Bill 1499 raises campaign contribution limits, for the first time in two decades, from $10,000 to $24,000 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.

An amendment to remove a public financing option for counties was rejected by a 25-16 vote.

The Senate passed House Bill 1499 and cross-filed Senate Bill 1039 on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 by a 45-2 vote. The bill now must be reconciled with a different version passed by the House.

The contributions limits in the upcoming Pittsburgh mayoral election have been removed by the courts. Judge Joseph James voided the city’s contribution limits because of one candidate’s decision to contribute his own money to his campaign.

Under city law, candidates may only accept $2,000 from individuals and $4,000 from PACs per covered election. However, if a candidate decides to use personal resources in excess of $50,000 for his or her campaign, then the contribution limitations are thrown out for all candidates in that specific race.

In this situation, Councilman Bill Peduto requested an injunction barring former state Auditor General Jack Wagner from using nearly $300,000 in contributions collected during previous campaigns. The judge ruled the use of the previous campaign funds to be a contribution, which would have exceeded the city’s contribution limits.

Wagner’s lawyers then turned their attention to Michael Lamb, the city controller who withdrew from the race earlier in the week. Lamb had given his campaign $53,000 of his own money, which voided the contribution limits and allowed Wagner to use the $300,000 in question. Lamb attempted to give $3,000 from the campaign back to himself in order to undo the contribution, but the judge ruled that the refund did not repair the breach.

The primary election for the mayoral office takes place on May 21, 2013 and the general election on November 5, 2013.

Photo of downtown Pittsburgh by Theeditor93 on Wikipedia.

Campaign Finance

“As Obama begins fundraising swing, campaign finance watchdogs growl” by David Nakamura in the Washington Post.

Maryland: “Campaign finance reform advances in Senate” by Michael Dresser in the Baltimore Sun.

New York: “Campaign finance reform gains momentum” by Dan Levy in WNYT News.

New York: “Campaign reform advocates say NY scandals show need to change Albany culture” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Ethics

Florida: “Palm Beach County ethics board targeted for state audit” by Jennifer Sorentrue in the Palm Beach Post.

New York: “Lawmakers in New York Tied to Bribery Plot in Mayor Race” by Michael Wilson and William K. Rashbaum  in the New York Times.

New York: “Rogues gallery of corruption cases” by Rick Karlin in the Albany Times Union.

From the State Legislatures

Alaska: “Kawasaki draws rebuke for conduct on House floor” by The Associated Press in the Juneau Empire.

Nebraska: “Late nights planned for state lawmakers” by The Associated Press in the Lincoln Journal Star.

Oregon: “Many bills in Oregon Legislature won’t see the light of day” by Laura Fosmire in the Statesman Journal.

A state appellate court has ruled that a trial court judge must reconsider the state’s large fine for lobbying law violations. Don Beason, once considered one of the state’s most influential lobbyists, was originally fined $111,000 for a violation of the state’s disclosure policy for lobbyists. This fine was eventually reduced to $30,000 after the court ruled it was too large. Beason was working on overturning the state’s “Buy America” law for Sigma Corporation, a New Jersey company who imports foreign-made iron and steel.

The state claims Beason was paid with money funneled from an Indian iron exporters’ trade association and other companies through Sigma and Beason knew of this arrangement and failed to disclose. The trial court ruled that state law defines a lobbyist as someone who communicates directly with legislators or their employees and there was no evidence Beason directly contacted anyone for these clients supposedly funneling money through Sigma.

The appellate court however found the trial court failed to consider a second aspect of Beason’s case; whether Beason’s activities for the client constituted lobbying. The trial court must rule on that issue and then can determine whether the state has the power to fine Beason.

There is no time frame on when the trial court will hear the second part of this case.

It has been a long cold winter for most of the country and though it may be hard to see, sunshine and warm weather are fast approaching. While cold temperatures and snow are making summer seem far in the distance, Major League Baseball’s opening week is upon us and that means summer is close. With America’s pastime finally here, the Sunlight Foundation did a report on how much Major League Baseball and its clubs contributed to campaigns and PACs throughout the last election cycle.

According to the report, MLB organizations contributed more than $24 million last election cycle. The Chicago Cubs can’t win on the field (they have not been to a World Series since 1945 and have not won since 1908), but they certainly won the political spending war. The Cubs spent $13.9 million, more than $12 million more than any other team. Most of that money, more than $12 million, went to a PAC started by the Ricketts family (the team’s ownership group) established to fight wasteful spending in Washington and the defeat of President Obama. However, not all of the family veered to the right with their spending. Laura Ricketts spend more than $500,000 on Democratic candidates and PACs.

The Cubs rival, and President Obama’s favorite team, the Chicago White Sox were one of the few teams who favored the Democrats in their spending. The White Sox gave several donations to Obama, amounting to $60,000 and only $7,000 to Obama’s opponent in the presidential election, Mitt Romney.

Not all teams spend heavily though. The Toronto Blue Jays did not contribute a single penny, as federal laws do not allow foreign contributions to campaigns. The Oakland Athletics only gave a $5,000 contribution to the league’s PAC and gave nothing to either the Republican or Democratic parties. The New York Yankees, owners of the league’s highest payroll at nearly $229 million, only spent $43,000 off the field in political donations.

In addition to the individual teams contributing, Major League Baseball operates its own PAC, called the MLB Commissioner’s Office PAC. The league collects donations from each team and contributes fairly evenly to both the Democrats and Republicans. The Los Angeles Dodgers were the only team to eschew a donation to the league’s PAC.

Most of the donations coming from baseball were made by team executives and owners. However, a few current and former players decided to contribute. Players to contribute to the Republicans included White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham, New York Yankees designated hitter Travis Hafner, and San Diego Padres closer Huston Street. Los Angeles Dodgers outfield Tony Gwynn Jr. was the only current player to contribute to the Democrats, but he was joined by Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Lou Brock.

For a complete look at how each team contributed, check out the Sunlight Foundation’s report. And just remember, no matter how miserable the weather may be today, baseball is here and summer is right around the corner.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its audit of federal lobbying compliance for 2012. For the audit, the GAO reviewed a random sample of 100 quarterly disclosure reports filed for the third and fourth quarters of calendar year 2011 and the first and second quarters of calendar year 2012.

Among its findings, the GAO concluded 97 percent of filers of lobbying disclosure reports were able to provide documentation to support reported income and expenses, 85 percent filed the required federal political campaign reports, and 74 percent of the reported income and expenses were properly rounded to the nearest $10,000. The audit also found at least 15 percent of all lobbying disclosure reports did not properly disclose formerly held covered positions.

The 47 page report, released on April 1, 2013, is titled “2012 Lobbying Disclosure Observations on Lobbyists’ Compliance with Disclosure Requirements” and can be found here.

Lobbying

“Street Talk: The Curious Cases of Vanishing Lobbyists” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

California: “Special interests spent $277 million lobbying in 2012 at state Capitol” by Marc Lifsher in the Los Angeles Times. (via the Political Activity Law blog.)

New Mexico: “Former New Mexico state senator, ex-lobbyist Odis Echols dies at 82” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

North Carolina: “NC Court of Appeals sends case against former lobbyist back to trial court” by Anne Blythe in the News & Observer.

Campaign Finance

Los Angeles, California: “Our porous campaign laws” op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times.

New York: “Groups Seek State Campaign Finance Reform” on WNYF News.

Ethics

Connecticut: “Bills to address the costs of blight and conflicts of interest” by Ken Dixon in the Connecticut Post.

Iowa: “Session may adjourn with ethics charges unresolved” by William Petroski in the Des Moines Register.

Texas: “Senate panel OKs tweaks to ethics panel; critics say major reforms ignored again” by Mike Ward in the Austin American-Statesman.

From the State Legislatures

New Jersey: “150 candidates file peititons to seek legislative nominations” by Anthony Campisi in the Bergen Record.

“Expulsions of State Legislators are Rare” in NCSL’s The Thicket.

Elections

“Presidential Election Commission: It’s Official” by Wendy Underhill and Karen Shanton in NCSL’s The Thicket.

Government Teach and Social Media

“The Present, and Future, of Social Media in Government” by Mark Micheli in Government Executive.

As a result of the state of Maine’s observance of Patriot’s Day, the March lobbying report is now due on April 16, 2013. Normally, the monthly lobbying report is due on the 15th day of each month, but with the state holiday, the Ethics Commission has pushed back the due date.

All registered lobbyists must file a report, even if no lobbying was done during the month. If a lobbyist did not lobby during the month of March, he or she may file a short-form report.

Patriot’s Day is only a state holiday in Maine and Massachusetts (in Massachusetts it is officially Patriots’ Day) and celebrates the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the Revolutionary War. In Boston, the holiday is celebrated by the running of the annual Boston Marathon and a late morning Boston Red Sox game.

Photo of the Lexington Minuteman statue by Daderot on Wikipedia.

Lobbying

Florida: “Florida lawmakers weigh bill to tweak lobbyist gift ban” by Jim Saunders in the Miami Herald.

Georgia: “New lobbyist law leaves possible loopholes” by Aaron Gould Sheinin, Chris Joyner and James Salzer in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Kentucky: “Ethics Commission reports $4.2M spent on lobbying in Frankfort in January, February” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

New York: “Lobbying spending in N.Y. dropped to $205M in 2012” by Jon Campbell in the Democrat and Chronicle.

New York: “Pro-Cuomo Group Repeats as Top Spender on Lobbying” by Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times.

Oregon: “State, colleges lobbying costs top $1M” by Raju Chebium in the Statesman Journal.

Campaign Finance

Connecticut: “Boosting public financing for campaigns is off the table” by Mark Pazniokas in the Connecticut Mirror.

Nebraska: “Measure repeals Neb. campaign finance law but seeks to put campaign spending reports online” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

New York: “New Ads to Press Albany on Campaign Financing” by Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times.

Vermont: “Campaign finance reform bill in jeopardy” in the Rutland Herald.

West Virginia: “W.Va. House seeks anti-Citizens United amendment” by The Associated Press in WTRF.com.

Ethics

“Larry Craig Loses Major Battle in Fight Against FEC” by Steven T. Dennis in Roll Call.

“STOCK Act Endangers National Security, Report Says” by Niels Lesniewski in Roll Call.

North Dakota: “Gov. Dalrymple’s energy stocks, contributions raise questions” by Amy Dalrymple in InForum.

Ohio: “Jimmy Dimora files federal appeal claiming innocence” by James F. McCarty in the Plain Dealer.

From the State Legislatures

Georgia: “Ga. lawmakers take flurry of votes on final day” by The Associated Press in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Redistricting

Texas: “Texas redistricting fight resumes” by Tim Eaton in the Austin American-Statesman.

Open Government

“Which States Aced the Spending Transparency Test?” in Government Technology.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Internal Website HouseNet Gets a Makeover” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.

“NASA Becomes The Most-Followed Government Twitter Account, Nominated For Second Shorty Award” by Benny Luo in NewMediaRockstars.com.

Hawaii: “Bill would require state to post more information online” by The Associated Press in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.