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.

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 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

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.

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.

“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.

Lobbying

“Wall Street tipsters brace for exposé on their industry, scrutiny from Capitol Hill” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Wisconsin: “Bill to prevent revolving door” by Alice Coyne in the Badger Herald.

Campaign Finance

“Congressman seeks to overturn Citizens United” by the Associated Press in U.S. News & World Report.

Arizona: “Phoenix launches searchable campaign-finance website” by Dustin Gardiner in the Arizona Republic.

Florida: “House moves ahead with plan to end slush funds, raise campaign contribution limits to $10,000” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.

Ethics

Florida: “Former state GOP chairman Jim Greer pleads guilty to theft, money laundering” by Lucy Morgan in the Miami Herald.

Social Media

Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law blog points out that next week is Social Media Week.

“Do Governments Need Personal Social Media Policies?” by Colin Wood in Government Technology.

The first rule details when non-lobbyist employees must register as a lobbyist. In North Carolina, an employee must register as a lobbyist if a significant part of that employee’s job duties include lobbying. The new rules stipulate that this threshold is met if at least five percent of an employee’s duties include direct or goodwill lobbying during any rolling 30 day period. Once this threshold is met, the employee must register as a lobbyist within one business day.

The second rule explains what must be included when providing a description of a reportable expenditure for the lobbyist reports. The description must identify what was given, who the third party was that received the expenditure, and the name of the event or meeting where the expenditure was given.

The third rule describes how to determine the immediate family member who is connected with a reportable expenditure. On the reports, the name of the designated individual or immediate family member connected with the expenditure must be reported. The person that must be identified is the person who either received or benefited from the expenditure, or who requested the expenditure be made on someone’s behalf.

The fourth and final rule effecting lobbying details what must be reported in connection with a lobbying event. The entire cost of a lobbying event must be reported, rather than just the costs of any gifts given. Examples of the non-gift expenditures that must be reported include supplies, facility rental, food, name badges, flowers and other decorations, planning services, and all other expenses and charges incurred in connection with the lobbying event.

One of the first events I attended when I moved to Akron in 1993 was Akron Roundtable. It was a bargain at $6 for a great lunch, great speaker, and we even had a silent prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. I lived in the DC area for 12 years and never started a program with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now, 20 years later I serve on this great board. Akron Roundtable was started in 1976 as a community forum to encourage and bring bold, creative, and new ideas to the region. To date, more than 400 major corporate executives, writers, government officials, artists, and civic leaders from around the country have addressed the Akron Roundtable audience.

And, on April 18th, we will have David Adkins, Executive Director of the Council of State Governments, as our speaker. CSG is the country’s only organization serving all three branches of state government. It is a region-based forum, which fosters the exchange of insight and ideas to help state officials shape public policy. David is a former Kansas state senator and served as vice chancellor for External Affairs at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Many of us know David from our work with State Government Affairs Council and being a CSG Associate. This is the first time CSG has been represented at Akron Roundtable.

State and Federal Communications will hold a reception for David Adkins and the CSG family after the Akron Roundtable program. Its offices are across the street from the event. For more information about attending the program go to www.akronroundtable.org.

Until next month, make your reservations to be in Akron on April 18th. It will be a great day with David in town. And, if you have to spend the night—and who wouldn’t want to—John Lithgow is part of the University of Akron’s speaker series that evening at EJ Thomas Hall. If we can be of assistance in planning your day, please do not hesitate to contact me at ebartz@stateandfed.com.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Bartz

President and CEO, State and Federal Communications

Philadelphia Councilman James Kenney has proposed an amendment to the city’s contribution limits to close a loophole in the law. Currently, individuals may not contribute more than $2,900 per year to a candidate and PACs are limited to $11,500 per year to a candidate.

It was recently uncovered by NewsWorks, through campaign finance reports for 2012, that Councilman Bill Green received $35,000 in contributions from one person. This would appear to violate the city’s contribution limits. However, it is perfectly legal under the current law.

According to the city’s Board of Ethics director, Shane Creamer, a person could accept as much money as they wanted until they became an official candidate. The funds would have to be kept separate and it would be difficult to legally do, but it is not illegal.

Kenny’s proposed amendment would help to shut this loophole down. Under the proposed ordinance, the contribution limits would include incumbents, which the proposed ordinance defines as any individual who currently holds elective city office. With this new law in effect, Green’s actions in accepting the large contributions would have been illegal.

Lobbying

District of Columbia: “Washington lobbying is key part of Williams Mullen’s evolution” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.

North Dakota: “Bill would allow use of public funds to hire lobbyists” by Nick Smith in the Bismarck Tribune.

Texas: “Despite Reforms, Some Elected Officials Still Lobby” by Aman Batheja in the Texas Tribune.

Campaign Finance

“Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. admits to campaign finance violationsFormer Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. admits to campaign finance violations” by ASndrew Rafferty in NBC News.

“Review: Ex-House members still dipping into campaign funds” by Fredreka Shouten in the Montgomery Advertiser.

District of Columbia: “D.C. campaign finance proposals await more public comment” by Tim Craig in the Washington Post.

Florida: “Indicted Developer Jay Odom Set to Enter Plea in Campaign Finance Case” by Lucy Morgan in the Ledger.

Georgia: “Ralston Amends Proposed Lobbying Rules” by the Associated Press in GPB News.

Iowa: “Campaign finance bill offers new approach” by William Petroski in the Des Moines Register.

Montana: “Several campaign finance bills introduced in 2013 session” in the Missoulian.

Philadelphia, PA: “2 move to regulate campaign $” by Jan Ransom in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ethics

Connecticut: “Legislator pushes conflict of interest bill” by Brian Lockhart in the Connecticut Post.

Idaho: “Lawmakers propose ethics committee” by Katherine Wutz in the Idaho Mountain Express.

Oklahoma: “New Ethics Commission leader seeks better campaign-reporting software” by Barbara Hoberock in Tulsa World.

West Virginia: “Ethics Commission in contract talks with director finalist” by Phil Kabler in the Charleston Gazette.

Open Government

Oklahoma: “Disputes over Oklahoma’s open records and open meetings laws continue” by Zeke Campfield and Phillip O’Connor in the Oklahoman.

Redistricting

Ohio: “Ohio Redistricting Overhaul Gains Support” by Josh Goodman in Stateline.

Social Media

“Social Media: Becoming a Trusted Source for Political Information” by Pam Greenberg in NCSL’s The Thicket.

National:

U.S. Groups Flex Their Muscles in Brussels

From the States and Municipalities:

California – FPPC Examining Changes to California Lobbyist Disclosure

Colorado – Judge Denies Halting Ethics Probe of Gessler; Appeal Coming

Kansas – NRA Lines Up Support for Anti-Public Lobbying Bill

Maine – America’s Capital of Divided Government

Maryland – Maryland Ethics Panel Says Delegate Should Not Have Tried to Silence Football Player

Massachusetts – DiMasi, Lobbyist Ask Appeals Court to Overturn Convictions

Massachusetts – Lobbyists Win Challenge to Galvin Requirement

Missouri – Missouri Gov. Nixon Got Donation from Contractor While Decrying Big Political Money

Nebraska – Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy Resigns in Scandal Involving Cell Phone Calls to Four Women

New Jersey – N.J. Budget Official Questions Florida Debris Firm’s $100 Million Contract, Political Connections

New York – Two Campaign Aides Going on Trial, but Comptroller May Face Judgment

Texas – Text Donations Spread Down Ballot

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 Palm Beach County Commission voted in favor of a proposal to expand the county’s ethics commission from five members to seven. County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor pushed for the change, saying the commission needed more diversity.

The proposal will go before the committee responsible for drafting changes to the county code, and then back to the county commission for a final vote.

Independent community groups are responsible for selecting the ethics commission’s members.

Special election dates for a Massachusetts Senate seat and a state House seat have been announced by the Secretary of State.

The special primary election for the First Suffolk Senate District seat will be held on April 30, the same date as the special primary election for the U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by Senator John Kerry. The special general election for the Senate seat will be held on May 28.

May 28 will also be the special primary election date for the Eighth Suffolk District House seat. The special election for the house seat will be held on June 25, the same date as the special general election for the U.S. Senate.

The House election is being called to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative Martha Marty Walz. The Senate election is being called to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Jack Hart.