The National Conference of State Legislatures has announced its leadership team for the upcoming year.

Take a look at their news release found on NCSL’s website: “NCSL Welcomes New Leadership: Norelli, Starr and Spaw set to lead national organization for 2012-13.”

National:

Jack Abramoff Urges Ethics Reform in NCSL Speech

Policing the Politicians; State Ethics Commissions Lack Muscle

Federal:

Is Your Neighbor a Democrat? A New App Can Tell You

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Judge Sentences Siegelman to 78 Months in Prison in Corruption Case

Arkansas

Arkansas State Police Set Policy for Troopers Working College Sports Events

District of Columbia

Petition to Vote on Banning Corporate Political Donations Fails

Florida

Judge Voids Florida Limit on Minors’ Campaign Giving

Missouri

Missouri Lawmakers Keep Reeling in Gifts from Lobbyists

Nebraska

Supreme Court Overturns Campaign Finance Law

New York

Board Accused of Shielding Donors

Ohio

Ohioans to Vote on Drawing Political Maps

South Carolina

Ethics Reform Effort Faces Uphill Fight in S.C.

Virginia

A Facebook Court Battle: Is ‘liking’ something protected free speech?

Washington

Public Disclosure Commission Keeps Working to Inform Voters

West Virginia

Federal Judge Blocks W.Va. Cap on PAC Contributions Pending Legal Challenge

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 Thursday, former lobbyist Jack Abramoff spoke at the NCSL Legislative Summit in Chicago. While he maintained that 99 percent of his work in lobbying had been ethical, his speech championed the need for ethics and campaign finance reform.

For the full story, be sure to read “Jack Abramoff Urges Ethics Reform In NCSL Speech” by John Celock in the Huffington Post.

According to the article: “Abramoff, who served four years in federal prison for crimes related to the Indian gaming lobby, told the National Conference of State Legislatures that public officials need to be mindful of what lobbyists do, and take money and gifts out of politics. Abramoff has spent his time since prison advocating for ethics reform, along with writing a 2011 book on his crimes.”

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro was selected last week as the keynote speaker for the DNC convention. Castro is being touted as a rising star in the party and the DNC is looking to garner latino support with his selection. First Lady Michelle Obama will open the event on Tuesday, September 4, while her husband will close the event accepting the party’s nomination on Thursday. Former President Clinton has also been given a prominent role and will speak at the convention and likely place President Obama’s name formally into nomination. Other speakers include Former President Jimmy Carter and Massachusetts Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren.

While the RNC has not yet named a keynote speaker, Chris Christie is widely believed to be chosen for the slot. Additionally, as more speakers are announced, Gov. Romney’s Vice Presidential list grows shorter. Already announced speakers include Condoleezza Rice, Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Current Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Rick Santorum, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. Noticeably absent from the list are potential VP’s Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty, Marco Rubio and Rob Portman. Both former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush declined invitations to the convention, as well as former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Other notes from the trail:

• Representative Todd Akin won the Missouri Republican Primary Tuesday and will face Senator Claire McCaskill in November. The race was tightly contested with Akin receiving 36% of the vote defeating businessman John Brunner and State Treasurer Sarah Steelman who received 30% and 29% respectively. Steelman was a favorite of the tea party and received a late endorsement from Sarah Palin. Democrats worked hard to elevate Akin, who they see as the weakest of the three candidates, by spending approximately $1.7 million on the race attacking both Brunner and Steelman.
• Ted Cruz won last Tuesday’s Texas republican primary to replace retiring Senator Kay Baily Hutchison (R). Cruz is a tea party backed candidate and defeated current Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst. Dewhurst had support from a number of established members of the GOP including Texas Governor Rick Perry while Cruz earned support from the likes of Sarah Palin, Rand Paul (R-KY), Glenn Beck and others. Cruz’s victory is seen as a major win for the tea party as a Republican is likely to succeed Hutchison in her senate seat.
• Polls show a very tight race for the Virginia Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jim Webb. The race pits two former Virginia Governors, Tim Kaine (D) and George Allen (R) against each other for the seat formerly held by Allen. Rasmussen’s latest poll shows the race tied with each candidate receiving 46% support. Virginia is vital to the presidential election as well and both President Obama and Gov. Romney will campaign with Kaine and Allen in the coming weeks.

Lobbying

“How lobbyists became Congress’s leading policy wonks” by Suzy Khimm in The Washington Post.

New York:  Editorial: “NY lobbying disclosures are a breakthrough” in Newsday.

“The Nation: It’s Still Party Time At The Conventions” by George Zornick on NPR.

Ethics

“Why Ethics Training Is a Waste of Time” by Mark Funkhouser in Governing.

Michigan: “Michigan: AG Will File Charges in Thaddeus McCotter Petition Scandal Thursday, Per Report” by Shira Toeplitz in Roll Call.

New Hampshire:  “Speaker calls for more oversight over ethics” by Garry Rayno in the Union Leader.

Social Media

“Wikipedia locks down pages of VP contenders after excessive edits” by Alicia M. Cohn in The Hill.

From the State Legislatures

“Legislative Leaders Share Stories, Offer Lessons on Leadership” by Alex Fitzsimmons in NCSL’s blog The Thicket.

August 6-9, 2012   NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) Booth 923, Chicago, Illinois

August 14, 2012   Watergate II: Cancer on the Presidency, Akron, OH

September 6-7, 2012   Practising Law Institute, Washington, D.C

September 19-21, 2012   PAC State and Local Government Seminar, Washington, D.C.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office has advised the Secretary of State against restricting contributions to political committees that only make independent expenditures.

While New Hampshire’s statute R.S.A. §664:4 sets contribution limits for political committees, the law does not distinguish between political committees in general and committees making only independent expenditures.

The Attorney General made this recommendation, and reviewed the current status of law concerning independent expenditures, in a letter to the Secretary of State on August 1, 2012. The Attorney General also stated in the letter that enforcement of “contributions to any political committee is a fact-specific determination that can only be made on a case-by-case basis.”

Governor Mark Dayton and the leaders of the state legislature have tentatively agreed on August 24 for a special session date. The legislature will convene in order to appropriate monies to disaster relief for counties that were ravaged by flooding earlier this year.

The date is still tentative as the final damage numbers are still being totaled. The federal government will supply 75% of the funding if the state picks up the last 25% of the cost.

Once the final numbers are set, Governor Dayton will have to officially call the legislature back to work.

Governor Robert Bentley has set the special election timeline for the House District 30 seat. The seat was vacated by Representative Blaine Galliher, who resigned to become the governor’s legislative director.

The primary will be held October 23, 2012, and the special general election held December 11, 2012 if no runoff is needed. If a runoff election is required, it will be held December 11, 2012, and the special general election held January 29, 2013.

The governor said in a statement that the timeline will allow the new lawmaker to be in place for the legislative session beginning February 5, 2013.

“How the President Tweets” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.

“Rep. Polis wins social-media contest for House Democrats” by Alicia M. Cohn in The Hill.

“Will Online Political Targeting Generate a Voter Backlash?” by Micah L. Sifry in TechPresident.

“Dems have new mobile app for convention” by Adam Mazmanian in NextGov.

“House Dems Battle for Social Media Supremecy” by Corey Bennett in NextGov.

“Local Governments Do Not ‘Like’ Facebook’s New Page Name Policy” by Lindsey Tepe in GovLoop.

Q. My company has existing, ongoing contracts with various state agencies. Sometimes, I have discussions with employees of these agencies (technicians, managers, and directors) regarding their use of my company’s products. Do I have to register and report as a lobbyist?

A. As a general rule for state-level lobbying, as long as discussions are limited to the evaluation and servicing of existing contracts, this type of activity will not typically be considered lobbying, the definition of which often includes influencing executive branch action.

However, in some states, executive branch action encompasses the state’s procurement process, including decisions to modify, extend, expand, or renew existing contracts. Once discussions of this type occur, lobbyist registration and reporting may be triggered, depending on the state’s specific time and expenditure thresholds. Every state has different thresholds, and requires its own specific analysis.

Here are some important things to track when evaluating whether you need to be registered in a specific jurisdiction:

1. Who are you talking to? In jurisdictions requiring registration for procurement lobbying, registration may hinge on whether the agency employee is considered a covered official. In some states, covered official is broadly defined to include all employees, while other jurisdictions require registration and reporting for attempting to influence directors or other major decision makers.
2. How many contacts have you had with the agency? How much time have you spent? Some jurisdictions require registration before the very first contact, while other jurisdictions require registration and reporting once you spend a certain amount of time engaging in procurement lobbying. You may need to determine your pro-rata share of compensation for time you have spent preparing for and engaging in the communication.
3. Is there a pending RFP or a contract renewal on the horizon? In some jurisdictions, the timing of your conversation with an agency official is important. Is there a pending decision before the state agency which would affect your company’s bottom line? If so, registration as a lobbyist may be required before engaging in communication which could be perceived as influencing the decision making process.
4. Did you expend any money on behalf of agency employees or officials? In some jurisdictions, registration may be triggered by expenditures on behalf of employees or officials.

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 Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill he hopes will help ease the financial burdens facing some local governments within the state. Senate Bill 5525, which was passed by the state legislature in late June, allows all New York cities and counties to piggyback contacts from other cities and counties.

If a public contract already exists, a city or county may choose to use the contract already in existence, instead of having to solicit the work itself. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, the original contract must have followed all state and local laws involving the procurement of government contracts, including competitive bidding requirements.

The law takes effect immediately.

You can receive session updates, alerts, a list of exhibitors, and the summit agenda. The app works for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices.

According to their site:

“At this year’s NCSL Legislative Summit, we’re offering a mobile app that will help you navigate the meeting with ease, take advantage of all its features, and enjoy the great cultural resources of Chicago during your visit. The app includes the entire agenda, automatic updates, alerts, maps, personalized agenda and note-taking features.”