Voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 65, a ballot measure that instructs the Colorado congressional delegation to propose, and the state legislature to ratify, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United.

While the results are heralded by watchdog groups like Colorado Common Cause as a clear sign that Colorado voters want action on the issue of corporate political spending, the measure has no legal significance as it cannot force the state’s congressional delegation or legislature to take any action.

A runoff election will be held for Mississippi House District 52 on November 27, 2012.

The top two candidates in the special election held November 6 are Bill Kinkade and Jeremy Bryan.

They are vying for the seat vacated by Representative Tommy Woods, who resigned on the advice of his doctors after suffering a mild stroke after the last election.

Voters defeated Proposition 32 and the effort to prohibit corporations and unions from collecting money for state political activities through paycheck deductions. The initiative would have impacted unions the most since corporations rarely deduct money from employee pay for political activities.

If Proposition 32 had passed, unions and corporations would have been prohibited from making donations directly to state candidates. It would not have stopped corporations, individuals, or unions from spending unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns through independent expenditure committees.

Initiative 166 passed yesterday, charging Montana’s officials to implement a policy that corporations are not human beings with constitutional rights.

The initiative is a reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

Additionally, Montana’s congressional delegation is now charged with offering an amendment to the United States constitution which would overturn the Citizens United decision, establish that corporations are not human beings with constitutional rights, establish that campaign contributions and expenditures by corporations be prohibited at any level of government, and achieve “a level playing field in election spending.”

The initiative also directs the state’s elected and appointed officials to regard “money as property, not speech.”

Voters rejected changing Arizona’s primary election system to a top-two structure.

Proposition 121 would have allowed primary elections in which all voters, regardless of party affiliation, vote in a single and combined primary. The top two vote-getters for each seat would then have advanced to a general election ballot. The proposition would not have affected elections where no party affiliation appears on a ballot.

Voters also rejected a proposition aimed squarely at the judicial department. Proposition 115 would have increased the term length of judges and raised their retirement ages.

The proposition additionally included procedural changes, such as requiring court decisions to be published online, requiring the Supreme Court to send copies of judicial performance reviews for each judge who is up for retention to the legislature, and allowing a joint legislative committee to meet and take testimony on justices and judges up for retention.

Campaign Finance

“Outside Spending Defines Elections” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

California: “California’s 11th-hour, $11 million campaign finance uproar” by Alexander Burns in Politico.

California: “California watchdog only half-way to bottom of Arizona donation” by Peter Henderson (Reuters) in the Chicago Tribune.

Maine:  “Ethics Commission Rules a Republican Candidate Violated State Election Law” by The Associated Press in WABI News.

Lobbying

“2 firms unite in Capitol lobbying” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

Ethics

“Campaigns use secretive ethics process as weapon against opponents” by Jordy Yager in The Hill.

Campaigns and Elections

“One Final Preview of the Election” by Meagan Dorsch in NCSL’s The Thicket.

“5 Unforgettable Social Media Election Moments” by Juliet Barbara in Forbes.

“How to cut through social media noise on Election Night” by Jenna Sakwa on CBS News.

A Federal District Court has held Congress may constitutionally bar federal contractors from contributing to candidates, parties, and their committees.

Finding in favor of the Federal Election Committee (FEC), the United States District Court for The District of Columbia granted a summary judgment on Friday, November 2.

In Wagner v. FEC, the Court rejected challenges to the constitutionality of section 441c of Title 2 of the U.S. Code, which prohibits any vendors with contracts with the federal government from making political contributions to federal candidates or political parties.

The case, initially brought by the ACLU, asked the Court to declare the law unconstitutional as applied to individuals who have personal services contracts with federal agencies. Because federal workers who are not contractors may make federal political contributions, while contractors performing the same work may not, the suit argued section 441c violates both the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and the First Amendment.

The Court found no First Amendment or Equal-Protection violations, noting “the dissimilar roles of contractors and employees, moreover, justify the distinct regulatory schemes that the Government has fashioned.”

“5 social media questions 2012 will answer” by Steve Friess in Politico.

“Tweet, like, and vote: Social media in modern campaigns” by Rachel Sadon and Leah Yarnshon in TechHive.

“The Politics Of Social Media” by Krister Rollins in WCSH News.

“Social Technologies Changing How the Next Generation Votes (Infographic)” by Crystal Hutter in the Huffington Post.

Lobbying

“Start-ups aim for a more democratic lobbying system” by Jeffrey MacMillan in the Washington Post.

“More banks raise efforts on lobbying” by Carter Dougherty (Bloomberg) in NorthJersey.com.

Campaign Finance

“Former lawmakers sit on piles of cash” by Molly K. Hooper in The Hill.

Arizona: “Updated: Arizona group ordered to turn over campaign donation records” by The Associated Press in the East Valley Tribune.

Arkansas: “State senator’s campaign money went to girlfriend, records show” by John Lyon in the Arkansas News.

California: “Fight over campaign donation audit goes to California top court” by Tim Gaynor in Reuters.

Michigan: “Campaign spending in Michigan hits $175M” by Chad Livengood in the Detroit News.

Nevada: “Dollars in the Desert: Nevada State Senate Contest Rakes in Big Money” by Ben Wieder in Stateline.

Oklahoma:  “Super PACs altering Oklahoma’s political landscape” by Randy Krehbiel and Curtis Killman in the Tulsa World.

Washington: “Big names and big money define Washington state election” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.

Ethics

“2 top Texas judges on ballot fighting ethics fines” by Jim Vertuno in the Austin American-Statesman.

Campaigns and Elections

“New Jersey to allow voting by e-mail and fax” by Ginger Gibson in Politico.

“In Legislative Elections, Majorities and Supermajorities at Stake” by Josh Goodman in Stateline.

Kyrie Eleison

Down the Road that I must travel

Kyrie Eleison

Through the darkness of the night

Kyrie Eleison

Where I’m going will you follow

Kyrie Eleison

On a highway in the night.

Wait a minute. Do you know what follows a presidential election? That’s right, all 50 states have a 2013 legislation planned session. Every one of them—Yes, Nevada, Kentucky, and Texas, too.

Are you ready for it?

This is just a reminder our website at www.stateandfed.com has all of the legislative sessions included and we update it every month because there are changes, extensions, and our favorite sine die days. Very soon you will easily see the legislative sessions for every individual state on its Home Page, which will make it easier for you to know whether a lobbying report is due and whether you can make a political contribution during the time the legislature is session.

Once again, our goal for 2013 is to make our website 100% accurate and 100% easier for our clients to use. And, you know if you have a suggestion, all you have to do is call me at 330-761-9960 and I would love to listen to it.

My name is Elizabeth Bartz…And, I approve this message.

Back to singing with Mr. Mister!

When I was young I thought of growing old

Of what my life would mean to me

Would I have followed down my chosen road

Or only wished what I could be.

November 17-20, 2012   SGAC Leaders’ Policy Conference, Santa Monica, California

November 28-30, 2012    ALEC States and Nation Policy Summit, Washington, D.C.

December 2-5, 2012   COGEL Annual Conference 2012, Columbus, Ohio

December 3, 2012  Women in Government Relations PACs, Politics and Grassroots Taskforce Annual Conference, TBD

Republican Assemblyman Jim Tedisco is ready to play hard ball with campaign finance violators. Tedisco and two other lawmakers are hoping to introduce a “three strikes and you’re out” type of a bill for people who fail to file campaign financing reports with the state.

The possible legislation would send those who fail to file reports on three separate occasions to prison. This comes in the wake of serious scandals sweeping the state, including former state Senator Pedro Espada who was convicted of tax fraud and is awaiting sentencing. Espada owes around $30,000 in fines to the state, which the state is highly unlikely to ever see.

Tedisco says New York needs laws on the books that have teeth, so politicians are not willing to circumvent the rules. It does not seem likely for a bill of this nature to pass both houses of the general assembly, especially when the sponsor of the bill is coming from the minority party. However, Governor Andrew Cuomo is making a big push for campaign finance reforms, so an increase in penalties and enforcement is not impossible.

As Tedisco said, “Sunshine is truly the greatest disinfectant. That’s why we need to strengthen the laws to allow for full disclosure and transparency.”

Photo of Jim Tedisco courtesy of UpstateNYer on Wikipedia.

Federal:

Little Girl Cries over ‘Bronco Bamma’

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

AEA Plays Bigger Role in Politics than Teachers Unions in Most Other States, Study Finds

California

Anti-Tax Group’s Support Can Come with a Price

California

Arizona Nonprofit Must Reveal $11 Million Donor Details

District of Columbia

Inspector General Audit Details Hiring, Ethics Abuses at MWAA

Florida

Justin Lamar Sternad Invokes Fifth Amendment Right in FEC

Idaho

Idaho Nonprofit Reveals Donors after Losing Lawsuit; Bloomberg Gave $200K, Scott $250K

Maine

Senate District 25 Candidate Lachowicz Cleared by Ethics Panel

Michigan

Term Limits Launching Political Careers, Free Press Analysis Shows

Mississippi

Officials to Call for New Anti-Corruption Laws

Montana

Political Practices Reports Apparent Break-in

North Dakota

Judge Blocks ND Election Day Campaign Ban

West Virginia

WV House of Delegates Candidate Killed Because of Storm, Still on Ballot

Wisconsin

Five Wisconsin Lawmakers Settle Suit with Groups Seeking ALEC E-mails

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.

On Wednesday our office had some fun and raised money for a good cause all at the same time. On behalf of the United Way of Summit County, State and Federal Communications staff held a donut and apple cider sale. We sold dozens of donuts and ate a few ourselves.

To make things a little more interesting, we made the whole affair a Halloween costume party, which was pay-to-play, of course. For a $10 donation, we came in fancy dress – or not-so-fancy as the case may be – and as you can see Mae West, Rosie the Riveter, Paul Bunyan, and a host of Zombies, gangsters, sports fans, and assorted weirdos magically appeared.

Happy Halloween from State and Federal Communications!