September 26, 2012 •
Executive Order Against Human Trafficking in Federal Contracts
Signed September 25
President Obama has signed an Executive Order “to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not contribute to trafficking in persons.”
The Executive Order, “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking In Persons In Federal Contracts,” signed yesterday, orders the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council to amend its regulations and implement specific requirements of federal contractors.
For example:
- Vendors will be required to agree to cooperate fully in providing reasonable access to allow audits, investigations, or other actions to ensure compliance;
- Contractors will be prohibited from charging employees recruitment fees;
- Contractors will be prohibited from destroying, concealing, and confiscating an employee’s identity documents, such as passports or drivers’ licenses; and
- Contracting officers will have a duty to notify the government if they become aware of any activities concerning the use of forced labor, trafficking in persons, and other specified illegal activities.
While the order is effective immediately, it will apply to solicitations issued after the FAR Council makes its rules. FAR has six months to realize the regulations.
September 25, 2012 •
Contributions by Texting: The FEC Explains
Six Common Questions
Today the FEC posted an article answering some questions about political contributions made and received by text messaging.
The article can be found here.
September 25, 2012 •
Tuesday News Snapshot
Keep up with the latest articles on lobbying, campaign finance, government ethics, and more:
Lobbying
“D.C.’s Riches: More Lobbying Over Less” by Matthew Yglesias in Slate.
Alabama: “Alabama gambling lobbyist seeks probation” by Phillip Rawls (Associated Press) in GoErie.com.
California: “California taps the lobbying crowd” in the Central Valley Business Times.
New York: “Court papers: Convicted NYC lobbyist cooperating with prosecutors in inquiry” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
Washington: “Lobbyists, state staff helped Washington lawmaker’s charity, records show” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.
Campaign Finance
“Trevor Potter Talks Campaign Finance, Super PACs With Bill Moyers” by Tracy Bloom in Truthdig.
“Ben & Jerry’s co-founder talks campaign finance reform” by Tarini Parti in Politico.
New Mexico: “Albuquerque lawmaker spends campaign money on massages” by The Associated Press in KOB News.
Vermont: “Vt. GOP: Sorrell ad may violate campaign finance law” by WCAX News.
Ethics
“Rep. Waters formally cleared by Ethics panel” by Jordy Jager in The Hill.
“Ethics Committee Details ‘Lessons Learned’ From Maxine Waters Case” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.
Florida: “State Rep. Mike Horner resigns after being linked to brothel in Orange County” by Toluse Olorunnipa, Steve Bousquet and Marc Caputo in the Miami Herald.
Social Media and Government Tech
“Report: States Should Switch to Digital Resources Within 5 Years” in Government Technology.
“Social Media Now A Must Have In The Political Campaign Toolbox” by Amanda Falcone in the Hartford Courant.
“More than 50 members of Congress just say no to Twitter’s 140 characters” by Alicia M. Cohn in The Hill.
“Facebook lets users announce voter registration” by Jennifer Martinez in The Hill.
Political Campaigns
“‘Trackers’ now a weapon in the modern campaign arsenal” by Ry Rivard in the Charleston Daily Mail.
September 25, 2012 •
Baltimore to Review Twilight Gift Giving
Gifts from lobbyists between registration periods are targeted
Council President Jack Young has introduced legislation on behalf of city watchdog officials to close gaps in Baltimore’s ethics code after reviewing attempts to take advantage of loopholes.
The bill would prohibit council members from accepting gifts from anyone who has lobbied the city in the previous 12 months, even if the lobbyist is no longer registered.
Last January a prominent lobbyist attempted to give a gift, including tickets, to a council member during a short interlude between the expiration of the lobbyist’s 2011 registration and the eventual 2012 registration renewal.
September 25, 2012 •
Federal Revolving Door Bills
House Resolutions 6424 and 5737
A bill introduced by U.S. Representative Bill Posey hopes to curtail members of congress from becoming lobbyists.
The “End the Congressional Revolving Door Act,” H.R. §6424, would prohibit a former member of congress or former congressional employee, while employed as a lobbyist, from being eligible for certain federal benefits.
Those benefits are:
- The Civil Service Retirement System;
- The Federal Employees’ Retirement System;
- The Federal Employees’ Health Benefits Program; and
- The Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Program.
The prohibition covers each month the individual is a compensated lobbyist.
In May, a similar bill was introduced by U.S. Representative Steve Israel. The “Congressional Double Dipping Pension Prevention Act,” H.R. §5737, would prohibit a former member of congress receiving annual compensation exceeding $1,000,000 as a lobbyist from being eligible to concurrently receive federal retirement benefits for the period of time he or she is employed as a lobbyist and receiving such income.
September 24, 2012 •
Wisconsin Announces Special Election Dates for State Senate Seat
Primary to take place on November 6th
Governor Scott Walker announced the dates of the special elections for a state Senate seat that was recently vacated. Rich Zipperer resigned his seat in 33rd senate district, which represents the Milwaukee area, to serve as Walker’s chief of staff.
The special primary election will take place on November 6 and the general election will take place on December 4. The primary elections will only take place if there are two or more candidates from the same party who declare for the seat.
Two republican candidates have already announced their intentions to run for the Senate seat.
September 24, 2012 •
Connecticut Judge Orders Runoff Election for 5th Assembly District
Primary candidates tied after second recount
A judge has set October 2, 2012 as the date for a runoff election for a state House primary race.
Two recounts were conducted in the democratic primary for the 5th assembly district between Brandon McGee and Leo Canty.
The second recount resulted in a tie between the two candidates.
September 24, 2012 •
Monday News Roundup
Start the week off right with these government relations news articles:
Campaign Finance
“Phone Company PAC Funds Campaigns Against Republicans With Customer Overpayments” by Janie Lorber in The Hill.
“Super PAC Influence Falls Short Of Aims” by Neil King, Jr. in The Wall Street Journal.
California: “Measure attacks corporate campaign funds” by Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Iowa: “Iowa sees $29.6 million TV ad inundation” by Jennifer Jacobs in the Austin Post-Bulletin.
Washington: “State watchdog says Owen violated campaign laws” by The Associated Press in The Seattle Times.
Lobbying
Alabama: “Probation sought for ex-lobbyist Jennifer Pouncy in bingo bribery trial” by Kim Chandler in the Birmingham News.
Canada: “Feds respond to Lobbying Act review, but don’t scrap controversial 20 per cent rule” by Bea Vongdouangchanh in The Hill Times.
North Carolina: “Ethics guidance on legislative staffers and lobbyists” by Mark Binker in WRAL.com.
North Carolina: “Tillis: Second staffer had relationship with lobbyist” by Mark Binker and Laura Leslie in WRAL.com.
Pennsylvania: “Lobbying.ph updated: which tech orgs spent the most lobbying in Philly so far this year?” by Juliana Reyes in Technically Philly.
Ethics
Michigan: “Kwame Kilpatrick prosecutor: Bernard Kilpatrick acted to ‘cash in’ on son’s mayoral power” by Gus Burns in the Detroit News.
Political Campaigns
“Obama Campaign Adopts ‘Wet Signature’ to Entice New Voters” in Government Technology.
“Campaign expense list: Beer, limos, Chick-fil-A” by Tarini Parti in Politico.
Open Government and Gov 2.0
“One year later We the People petitioners have mixed reviews” by Joseph Marks in Nextgov.
“Open government partnership marks first anniversary” by Kedar Pavgi in Nextgov.
Canada: “Alberta gets a ‘D’ in freedom of information audit” by Darcy Henton in the Edmonton Journal.
September 21, 2012 •
One Last News Roundup for the Week
Have a wonderful weekend!
Campaign Finance
Federal: “FEC launches two new campaign finance disclosure tracking tools” by David Phillips in the Examiner.
“Political Fundraising Post-Citizens United” on PBS Newshour.
District of Columbia: “Wells joins call for D.C. campaign reforms” by Tom Howell, Jr. in the Washington Times.
Florida: “N Miami Bch ex-mayor charged in campaign case” by The Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maryland: “Franchot calls for real-time campaign finance reporting” by Holly Nunn in the Gaithersburg Gazette.
Ethics
“Maxine Waters Expected to Be Cleared of Conflict of Interest Charges” by Emma Dumain and Amanda Becker in Roll Call.
“Venue change nixed; Kilpatrick corruption trial gets under way” by Tresa Baldas and Jim Schaefer in the Detroit Free Press.
September 21, 2012 •
San Diego City Council to Consider Increasing Contribution Limits
For the 2014 election cycle
The city council’s rules committee has tentatively approved amendments to the city’s campaign finance laws that would increase the contribution limits for citywide offices from $500 to $1,000.
Limits for elections within districts would remain at $500.
If the entire city council approves the amendments, the new contribution limits would be in effect for the 2014 election cycle.
Seal of San Diego courtesy of Zscout370 on Wikipedia.
September 21, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – September 21, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Bain Capital Gives Millions to Democrats
Federal:
Appeals Court Overturns Political Donor Disclosure Ruling
Behind The Big-Ticket Political Fundraisers
From the States and Municipalities:
California
State Ethics Czar to Scale Back Proposed Disclosure Rules on Blogs
Connecticut
Ethics Agency Destroys Public Records of State Officials’ Financial Interests
Georgia
Ethics Commission: State has defanged its watchdog
Kansas
Kansas Ethics Panel Fines Candidates for Posts about Fundraisers on Facebook during Session
Maryland
More Than Half of City Officials, Employees Fill out Ethics Forms Wrong
Michigan
Detroit’s Former Mayor Faces Corruption Trial
Minnesota
Lobbyist Fined Who Donated to Davids’ Campaign
Montana
Federal Appeals Strikes Ban on Partisan Endorsements in Montana Judicial Elections
Oklahoma
Executive Director of Oklahoma State Ethics Commission Retires after 25 Years on Job
Pennsylvania
Pa. High Court Wants Review of Voter ID Access
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.
September 20, 2012 •
A Surfeit of Government Relations News!
Here are today’s articles on Lobbying, Campaign Finance, Elections, Ethics, and more:
Lobbying
“Tim Pawlenty to head bank lobbying organization” by Dave Clarke and MJ Lee in Politco.
Florida: “A First For Fla. Lobbyist Conference: A Governor’s Top Aide Gives Input” by Sascha Cordner in WFSU.org.
Kansas: “Lobbyist spending up nearly 9 percent” by The Associated Press in the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Ethics
Kansas: “Kansas ethics panel fines candidates for posts about fundraisers on Facebook during session” by John Hanna (Associated Press) in The Republic.
Maine: “LePage and House Democratic leader Emily Cain announce plans to improve state ethics” by Naomi Schalit and John Christie in the Bangor Daily News.
Massachusetts: “Ethics board to inform agencies of nepotism law” by Erin Smith in the Boston Herald.
Oklahoma:“Executive director of Oklahoma state Ethics Commission retires after 25 years on job” by Megan Rolland in The Oklahoman.
Utah: “Legislature hires ethics commission director” by Lee Davidson in the Salt Lake Tribune.
West Virginia: “W.Va. court candidate advocates email disclosures” by Lawrence Messina in the Charleston Gazette.
Campaign Finance
“Money in Politics Never Looked So Pretty” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.
“Campaign finance report cards due” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.
California: “New poll: Hope fades for measure barring political contributions; tax measures are touch-and-go” by Josh Richman in the Contra Costa Times.
Oregon: “Oregon Secretary of State candidates trade tough words over campaign spending limits” by Michelle Cole in The Oregonian.
Vermont: “Dems criticize GOP PAC official for denying, then acknowledging dinner meeting with Brock” by Sam Hemingway in the Burlington Free Press.
Government and Technology
“GovGirl Covers Best of the Web Awards” by Jessica Mulholland in Government Technology.
“Congress launches Congress.gov in beta, doesn’t open the data” by Alex Howard in O’Reilly Radar.
“New search engine offers better access to Congress” by Brett Zongker in The Associated Press.
Elections
“Online Voter Registration Launches in California” by McClatchy Newspapers in Governing.
“Supreme Court rejects LULAC suit seeking to postpone Texas elections” by Greg Stohr in the Star-Telegram.
September 19, 2012 •
Keep Us Strong
Our campaign to encourage voting in 2012!
It’s your voice, your country, your community – and change doesn’t just happen, it’s ignited by a single vote. So stop making excuses and start making changes.
Pledge today to VOTE on Nov. 6, 2012 and help “Keep US Strong.”
According to the latest U.S. Census Report, an average of only about 40 percent of the U.S. population votes during a non-presidential election year – while just over 60 percent vote during a presidential election.
Those statistics are too low for President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz of State and Federal Communications Inc., based out of Akron, Ohio.
So in recognition of Election Day 2012 and the need to get more voters to the polls, Bartz and her company are sponsoring a campaign to encourage voting. The campaign aims to not only encourage people to vote, but also to encourage voters to think about the impact their voice and efforts have on their community and their country.
September 19, 2012 •
Wednesday News Roundup
Don’t miss these important Lobbying, campaign finance, and election news articles:
Lobbying
“Street Talk: From K Street to School Corridors” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“K Street abuzz over who will get the $1.8 million Roundtable job” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
“Report: gambling interests spend heavy in Albany” by The Associated Press in the Wall Street Journal.
“Facebook, Google, Amazon join forces in D.C. lobby” by Cecilia Kang in the Washington Post.
“Twitter hires GOP congressional staffer” by Brendan Sasso in The Hill.
Campaign Finance
“Romney campaign took out $20-million loan, still owes $11 million” by Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times.
“FPPC Delays Vote on Paid Political Blogger Regulations” by Ben Adler in Capital Public Radio.
Electoral Maps
“2012 Swing States Map” in Politico 2012 Live.
“The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory” in the New York Times.
State Legislatures
“Too Much Information: Enemy # 1 for New Member Orientation” by Bruce Feustel in NCSL’s The Thicket.
Social Media
“Gov Website Evolution: Changes in 2013” by Sarah Rich Government Technology.
“The time of the ‘social media’ candidate is nigh” by Jen Doll on TechPresident.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
