The Oklahoma Ethics Commission has hired Lee Slater as its new executive director.

According to The Oklahoman, Mr. Slater will begin working part time with the commission on February 1 and become the full time executive director on July 1, 2013.

The position recently became vacant when Marilyn Hughes retired as executive director after 25 years with the agency.

Ethics

“Be It Dogged or Annoying, Office of Congressional Ethics Survives” by Billy House in National Journal.

Oklahoma: “Oklahoma Ethics Commission executive director named” by Michael McNutt in Tulsa World.

Oklahoma:  “Oklahoma Ethics Commission proposes blackout period on complaints” by Michael McNutt in The Oklahoman.

Campaign Finance

Mississippi:  “Federal trial scheduled for challenge to Mississippi’s campaign finance law” by The Associated Press in the Mississippi Press.

Montana: “Bill would tighten some Montana campaign finance laws” in the Missoulian.

New York: “Cuomo pushes NY campaign finance reform _ again” by The Associated Press in the Wall Street Journal.

New York City:  “Campaign Finance Board fires back at City Council” in by Beth Morrissey in The New York World.

In the first week of the 113th Congress, House Representative Marcy Kaptur introduced several pieces of legislation dealing with campaign finance.

Three separate House Joint Resolutions propose constitutional amendments aimed at limiting corporations’ influence in public elections. She also introduced a bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require radio and television broadcasters to provide free broadcasting time for political advertising.

Additionally, Representative Kaptur introduced House Concurrent Resolution 6, which expresses “the sense of Congress that the Supreme Court misinterpreted the First Amendment to the Constitution in the case of Buckley v. Valeo.” Buckley v. Valeo is a Supreme Court case decided in 1976 which crystallized the distinction between direct contributions and independent expenditures in political campaigns.

The Idaho Legislature is exploring the idea of creating an independent ethics commission. The new speaker of the house, Representative Scott Bedke, says that house lawmakers are working on the details of what such a commission would look like.

The commission would be a formal standing ethics committee, although Rep. Bedke did not specify whether a proposed commission would be completely independent of the legislature.

Idaho is among the small minority of states that do not have an ethics commission.

Photo of the Idaho Capitol Rotunda by Kencf0618 on Wikipedia.

Federal:

Cynthia Bauerly, FEC Commissioner, to Resign on February 1

From the States and Municipalities:

Colorado – Ethics Panel OKs Continuing Gessler Probe, Mulls Legal Defense Fund

Connecticut – Ex-Convict Candidate Charged with Campaign Fraud

Florida – Orange Mayor Jacobs Proposes Major Texting, Lobbying Reforms

Georgia – Senate Ready to Cap Lobbyists’ Gifts

Illinois – New Illinois Legislature Includes 3 Members Facing Criminal Charges

Kansas – Push to Change Kansas’ Ethics Enforcement Coming

Montana – Helena Judge Rules ‘Dark Money’ Group Violated Election Laws

North Carolina – NC Court of Appeals to Rule on State’s Ability to Levy Lobbying Law Fines

Oklahoma – Former Oklahoma Senate Leader Mike Morgan Is Sentenced to Probation

South Carolina – SC Lawmakers Push More Money for Ethics Commission

Texas – Legislature’s Ethics Rules Raise Concerns

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.

Lobbying

Delaware: “Kowalko introduces ‘revolving-door’ lobbying bill” by Doug Denison in the News Journal.

Florida: “Orange Mayor Jacobs proposes major texting, lobbying reforms” in the Orlando Sentinel.

Georgia: “Ga. Senate moves toward lobbying gift cap” by Ray Henry (Associated Press) in WSAV.com.

North Dakota:  “Lobbyists gear up for 2013 ND legislative session” by The Associated Press in InForum.

Oregon:  “Oregon Democratic legislators receive make-up donations” by Jeff Mapes in The Oregonian.

“K Street Files: TCH Group, Polaris Add Lobbyists” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign Finance Reform In Congress Moves Forward With Little Hope For Passage” in the Huffington Post.

“Watchdog group criticizes Rep. Tim Ryan’s ‘campaign meals’ in congressional dining room” by Sabrina Eaton in the Plain Dealer.

Ethics

Idaho: “Idaho lawmakers get ethics training, a first” by The Associated Press in the Idaho Press-Tribune.

South Carolina: “SC lawmakers push more money for Ethics Commission” by Adam Beam in The State.

Legislative Issues

Kentuckey: “Kentucky House elects first woman to leadership post” by Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Michigan: “Governor calls May special election to fill Flint-area state Senate seat vacated by John Gleason” by Kristin Longley in MLive.

Michigan:  “5 things to watch today as the Michigan Legislature starts its 2013-14 session” by Tim Martin in MLive.

Redistricting

“Alaska redistricting board wants high court to reconsider” by The Associated Press in the Daily News-Miner.

Open Government

“House Republicans Release More Data Catnip for Developers” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.

Government Tech

“Technology’s Real Value for Government” by Jerry Mechling in Public CIO.

Governor Mark Dayton has set special election dates for two house seats after the incumbents turned in their resignations on January 7.

The special elections for the house seats in districts 14A and 19A will take place on February 12.

The special primary, if necessary, will take place on January 29. Both districts are home to large college student populations, so the governor decided to ensure that as many students as possible would be back for the election.

Lobbying

“Matt Walker Heads to the National Restaurant Association” by Alex Roarty in National Journal.

Campaign Finance

“Coalition Presses for Rules on Corporate Political Spending” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Campaign finance fight lands at the SEC’s door” by Anna Palmer and Zachary Warmbrodt in Politico.

District of Columbia: “Campaign finance reform bills introduced at D.C. Council” by Alan Blinder in The Examiner.

Ethics

Georgia: “Senate committee meets on ethics rules” by Melissa Roberts on CBS Atlanta.

Kansas: “GOP conservatives’ ire at ethics commission likely to result in proposals to revamp watchdog” by John Hanna in The Republic.

South Carolina: “Sanford set for political comeback trail” by Cameron Joseph in The Hill.

Legislative Issues

“The Hill’s 2012 New Members Guide” in The Hill.

“Americans prefer Nickelback, root canals to Congress” by Breanna Edwards in Politico.

“Rhode Island Likely to Lose a House Seat” by Katherine Q. Seelye in The New York Times.

Michigan: “Michigan Legislature starts new session Wednesday” by David Eggert (Associated Press) in the Lansing Journal.

Vermont:  “As new legislative session starts, a look at the old Statehouse” by Terri Hallenbeck in the Burlington Free Press.

Wisconsin: “Wis. lawmakers reach no deal on changing rules” by Scott Bauer in the La Crosse Tribune.

Government Tech

“Who has the worst web presences in politics?” by Steve Friess in Politico.

The North Carolina General Assembly will have a one-day special session January 9, 2013, before convening the regular session on January 30, 2013. This one-day special session is for both houses to elect officers, adopt rules and organize the upcoming session.

This is the first time the general assembly has decided to hold this one-day special organization session, but both parties have expressed interest in continuing the idea in the future.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Senate Districts 32 and 40 to fill vacancies.

The primaries will be held March 12, with runoffs on May 14, 2013.

Ethics

“Citing Flawed Process, Lawyers Call for Changes in Ethics Office Inquiries” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

“CREW Files DOJ, FEC Complaints Against Payday Lender for Illegal Conduit Contribution to Super PAC” in ENews Park Forest.

Colorado: “Ethics commission moves forward with Gessler investigation” by John Tomasic in the Colorado Independent.

Maryland: “Common Cause hires new state director” by Michael Dresser in the Baltimore Sun.

South Carolina:  “Ethics commission discusses reform recommendations” by The Associated Press in GoUpstate.com.

Wisconsin: “Funding cut threatens popular Wisconsin campaign finance database” by Steven Elbow in The Capital Times.

Lobbying

Ohio: “Former Rep. Steve LaTourette and wife to start law firm’s lobbying practice” by Sabrina Eaton in the Plain Dealer.

Campaign Finance

“Outside, secret money likely to flow in 2013” by Tarini Parti in Politico.

Minnesota:  “Campaign Finance Board looks to strengthen public disclosure law” by Tom Scheck in MPR News.

New York:  “Campaign finance reform crusader Cuomo fund raises at Waldorf Astoria” by Carl Campanile in the New York Post.

New York:  “Mayoral candidate files lawsuit challenging limits on campaign contributions” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

New York:  “NY proposal: Use casino money to fund NY campaigns” by Michael Gormley in the Huffington Post.

New York: “NY campaign funding drops, but Senate GOP gets most money” by Joseph Spector in the Press & Sun-Bulletin.

Legislative Issues

“SC House minority leader steps down” by Adam Beam in The State.

Social Media and Government Tech

“The Library of Congress is Archiving 170 Billion Tweets — on Tape” by Julia Wetherell in TechPresident.

Two lawmakers have announced their intention to introduce campaign finance bills this session. Senator Bill Avery plans to introduce legislation lowering the threshold amount to trigger campaign finance reports from $250 to $100. Senator Avery’s bill would additionally use the amount remaining in the fund created by the Campaign Finance Limitation Act, which was ruled unconstitutional by the Nebraska Supreme Court, to create an online system for filing campaign finance disclosure reports.

Senator Steve Lathrop intends to introduce a bill that would require nonprofits to report their expenditures on political advertising. He argues that nonprofits involved in the election process should be subject to the same rules as other groups required to report their spending.

Campaign Finance

“Obama Campaign Fined $375,000” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Supreme Court won’t hear campaign finance arguments from anti-abortion group” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.

Connecticut: “Former State Sen. Ernest Newton Arrested” by Mark Pazniokas in the Hartford Guardian.

Lobbying

“2013 Lobbying Certificate Program Calendar Released” on the American League of Lobbyists website.

“K Street Files: MPAA Casts Strahan” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Confessions of a Young Lobbyist on Capitol Hill” by Mickey Leibner in Roll Call.

“K Street Files: Airline Group Lands New Staffer, Lawsuit; Former Senators Lobbying” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Ethics

“Cynthia Bauerly, FEC Commissioner, To Resign On February 1” by Paul Blumenthal in the Huffington Post.

Idaho: “Idaho lawmakers could create ethics committee” by Justin Corr in KTVB News.

South Carolina: “S.C. lawmakers have packed 2013 agenda” by Stephen Largen in the Post and Courier.

Legislative Issues

“Utah lawmaker wants to dump must-vote rule” by Robert Gehrke in The Salt Lake Tribune.

The Illinois State Board of Elections has announced that campaign contributions limits have been increased with the start of the new year. According to statute, on January 1 of every odd-numbered year, the board of elections must adjust the contribution limits due to inflation.

Under the updated limits, a candidate political committee may accept, over the course of an election cycle, no more than $5,300 from an individual, $10,500 form a corporation, labor organization, or association, and $52,600 from a political action committee. A political party committee and a political action committee may accept no more than $10,500 from an individual, $21,100 from a corporation, labor organization, or association, and $52,600 from a political action committee.

Absent any legislation, these contribution limits will remain in place until January 1, 2015 and will be in effect for the next gubernatorial election.