The Lakewood, Colorado City Council voted to approve new campaign finance rules October 14. The new ordinance caps campaign donations at $2,500 per person for council candidates and $5,000 for mayoral candidates. Additionally, cash and in-kind donations will be treated the same; together they cannot exceed the limits.

Other amendments to the ordinance require LLCs making political donations of more than $100 to disclose their members.

The ordinance also addresses complaints against candidates. The deadline to file a complaint has been changed from 180 days after the alleged violation to 120 days after the violation.

Finally, the ordinance outlines the threshold or point at which a person interested in running for an elected position becomes a candidate. Declaring candidacy, receiving a donation, or making a campaign-related expenditure all trigger the change in status.

City Attorney Tim Cox confirmed the changes will have no effect on the current election and will not be implemented until April 2014.

Photo of the Lakewood Civic Center by Jeffrey Beall on Wikimedia Commons.

A precept for a special election for New Hampshire State Representative in Strafford County District 6 (Durham and Madbury) was approved on October 16 by Governor Margaret Hassan and the Executive Council. The primary election will be held on December 17 followed by a special general election on February 4, 2014.

Gov. Mike Beebe issued a call to bring the General Assembly into special session to address the health insurance rate increase facing the Public School Employee Plan. The special session will begin Thursday, October 17, and is expected to conclude by the end of the day on Saturday, October 19, 2013.

Beebe is confident bipartisan efforts will pass bills designed to stabilize retirement plans for teachers and public school employees.

Photo of the Arkansas State Capitol courtesy of jglazer75 in Wikimedia Commons.

On October 15, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan announced she will call for a special session of the Legislature.

According to the governor’s press release, Hassan will ask the Executive Council to support calling a special session for November 7 through November 21.

The purpose of the special session will be to consider the Medicaid Expansion Study Commission’s report recommending the state accept $2.5 billion in federal funds to expand Medicaid.

Photo of the New Hampshire State House by AlexiusHoratius on Wikimedia Commons.

On October 15, 2013, an Arizona Court of Appeals directed the secretary of state not to enforce the law concerning contribution limits enacted in House Bill 2593, which had became effective on September 13, 2013.

According to the Arizona Daily Star, the courts’ three-judge panel found the new law illegal without explaining the basis of its decision. The lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new law was brought by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and others from the state.

Changes in the law include allowing individuals and noncertified political committees to give $2,000 to candidates running for legislative and statewide offices who do not participate in the state’s Citizens Clean Elections Act campaign financing system and removing the aggregate contribution limitations for individuals and some political committees.

Lobbying

“Lights! Cameras! Action on K Street” by Kevin Bogardus on The Hill.

“Bottom Line” in The Hill.

New York: “Lobbying spending dips in NY to lowest in 5 years” by Joseph Spector in the Democrat and Chronicle.

New York: “JCOPE Mid-Year lobbying data is out” by Rick Karlin in the Times Union.

Campaign Finance

“Why striking down campaign contribution limits might make politics better” by John Sides in The Washington Post.

“The Political-Monetary Complex” op-ed by Thomas B. Edsall in The New York Times.

“Extra! Extra!! Get your real time campaign finance data here!!!” by Jacob Fenton in the Sunlight Foundation blog.

Arizona: “Arizona court blocks new campaign finance law” by Howard Fischer in the Arizona Daily Star.

New Jersey: “N.J. election spending soars: Political groups’ $21M shatters Jersey record” by Michael Linhorst in The Record.

Ethics

New York: “NY corruption commission expands probes” by Michael Gormley (Associated Press) in the Connecticut Post.

Redistricting

North Carolina: “N.C. panel calling for fairer redistricting scheduled to meet” by The Associated Press in the News & Record.

Tech and Social Media

Maryland: “Hough argues for webcasting committee votes, floor sessions” by Bethany Rodgers in The Frederick News-Post.

The D.C. City Council failed to overturn a mayoral veto of The Large Retailer Accountability Act, a bill requiring large retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more to pay their employees a “living wage” of $12.50 per hour.

Seven of the 13 city council members voted to support the override of the veto, which was two votes shy of the nine votes needed for the measure to pass.

Gov. Scott Walker has called a special election to fill a vacancy in the 82nd Assembly District.

The election will be held December 17, 2013.

If more than one candidate files for the seat, a primary election will be held November 19, 2013, the same day as special general elections to fill vacancies in the 21st and 69th Assembly Districts.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be the Keynote Speaker Sponsor at the Washington Area State Relations Group 2013 WASRG Summit today in Washington, D.C.

Our Federal Compliance Associate Rebecca South and Marketing Manager Melissa Coultas are attending the event.

They Keynote Speakers are Robert Blizzard, a Partner at Public Opinion Strategies and Drew Lieberman with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Inc.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists’ lobbying group wants a new name — one that doesn’t mention lobbying” by Holly Yeager in The Washington Post.

Campaign Finance

“No, overturning campaign contribution limits really would be a problem” opinion piece by Bob Biersack in The Washington Post.

“The next, next Citizens United” by Reid Wilson in The Washington Post.

“McCutcheon v. FEC: Why it matters” by Jerad Najvar and Dan Backer in The Daily Caller.

Missouri: “Candidates to file campaign finance reports with Missouri Ethics Commission” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

New Mexico: “Candidates face campaign finance report deadline” by The Associated Press in KFDA News.

Ethics

Missouri: “St. Louis Firefighters PAC fined for campaign violations in St. Louis mayoral race” by Nick Pistor in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

New York: “Lawsuit: Silver breached ‘contract’” by James M. Odato in the Times Union.

Open Government

“Mass. lawmakers weighing public records bills” by The Associated Press in the Boston Herald.

A bill introduced October 10 by Rep. Robert Hagan proposes to amend sections 101.72, 101.73, and 101.75 of the Revised Code. H.B. 295 would require a legislative agent to report to the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee compensation paid to the agent by the agent’s employer. This would be an additional requirement, as the current sections of code require the reporting of expenditures only.

The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Pillich and Foley.

Photo of the Ohio Statehouse by Wikimedia Creative Commons.

Lobbying

“Abramoff Talks Lobbying” by Sam Abrams in The Hoya.

“Lobbyist Who Doesn’t Lobby Still Gets Paid” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political MoneyLine Blog.

Nevada: “State lawmaker hired as lobbyist for medical marijuana bill he helped pass” by Andrew Doughman in the Las Vegas Sun.

Campaign Finance

Michigan: “Andy Dillon’s campaign investigated over handling of $130,000 loan” by Paul Egan in the Detroit Free Press.

Ohio: “Federal trial of North Canton businessman on campaign finance charges scheduled for June 2014” by James F. McCarty in The Plain Dealer.

Ethics

California: “San Diego mayoral PAC fined for ethics violations” by The Associated Press in The Sacramento Bee.

Illinois: “IDOT official out over Sandoval fund-raising flap” by Chris Fusco in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Rhode Island: “Political Scene: Ethics panel clears 6 of ‘revolving door’ conflict” by Philip Marcelo, Katherine Gregg and Randal Edgar in the Providence Journal.

South Carolina: “Gov. Nikki Haley describes ethics fine as ‘business expense’ in campaign report” by Corey Hutchins in the Charleston City Paper.

On Friday, October 11, Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert issued a proclamation convening a special session for the Legislature on October 16.

During this session the Legislature is expected authorize the appropriation of the use of state funds to open and operate national parks, national monuments, and national recreation areas; to offset obligations caused by delays in federal funding to the Child Nutrition Program; and to cover the benefits of certain unpaid furloughed federal employees. The Senate will also consider appointments made by the governor.

Herbert stated in his press release, “Issues related to the federal shutdown necessitate immediate action by our State Legislature. We can no longer wait.”

On Wednesday, October 9, a three-judge federal appeals panel heard a challenge to Hawaii’s campaign finance law, paying specific attention to the ban on political contributions by state and county contractors and the spending threshold for triggering disclosure requirements.

Although no rulings have been made, the judges did appear skeptical regarding the constitutionality of the contribution ban on contractors passed by the Legislature in 2005.