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.”

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Ohio’s ban on political contributions from doctors who treat Medicaid patients to candidates for state attorney general or county prosecutor is unconstitutional.

The provision was designed to prevent fraud by banning contributions to those officials who prosecute Medicaid fraud, but the court held that the prohibition was a violation of doctors’ free speech rights.

The secretary of state’s office announced it was reviewing the decision and had no further comment on the case.

Lobbying

“Conventions Lose Appeal for D.C. Lobbyists” by Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

California: “Highest-billing lobbying firms” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.

Colorado: “University of Colorado’s in-house lobbyists hire out for other firms” by Allison Sherry in the Denver Post.

Indiana: “Daniels still waiting on lobbying decision” by The Associated Press in the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Missouri: “Missouri lawmakers keep reeling in gifts from lobbyists” by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Campaign Finance

“O’Connor: Declining approval for high court a ‘disappointment’” by Meghashyam Mali in The Hill.

Ethics

Alabama: “Former Gov. Don Siegelman sentenced to 78 months in prison” by Kim Chandler in the Birmingham News.

Government Social Media

“More government officials embrace social media” by Adam Silverman in USA Today.

“Tweets, social media help more officials get the word out” by Adam Silverman in USA Today.

South Carolina “SC governor goes to Facebook to get message across” by The Associated Press in GoUpstate.com.

The state supreme court has held Nebraska’s Campaign Finance Limitation Act (CFLA) unconstitutional. The CFLA allowed candidates participating in the public financing program to receive additional public funds if their privately-funded opponents exceeded certain spending limits.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission issued a statement in August 2011 that it would not enforce the CFLA for the 2012 elections after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a similar Arizona law. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning then filed an action asking the state supreme court to rule on the CFLA’s constitutionality.

The supreme court also determined that the public financing portion of the CFLA was not severable from the other provisions of the law, including those providing for aggregate contribution limits and rules governing acceptance of contributions from independent groups, and declared the entire law unconstitutional.

Delicately wrapped treats in a wicker basket laced by a gold ribbon arrived in a package outside the offices of State and Federal Communications yesterday. Along with the treat basket came a small card that read: A Special Gift…Just for You!

The Public Affairs Council congratulated State and Federal Communications on winning the Ready, Set, Walk challenge by sending a basket of treats from Wine Country Gift Baskets on August 2^nd.

President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz announced the arrival of the gift basket during the company staff meeting.

A special thank you to the Public Affairs Council for providing us with this wonderful surprise!

In a few days, we are leaving for Chicago to attend our 13th National Conference of State Legislatures. This is no small feat for State and Federal Communications anymore—we are taking seven (7) staff people and our exhibit booth, which I refer to as my “retirement condo.”

Our schedule for the week is color coded for exhibit times, NCSL meetings we attend, State Government Affairs Council (SGAC) events, Washington Area State Relations Group (WASRG) events, Women’s Legislative network events, and other social events held throughout the week.

In addition, State and Federal Communications is a sponsor to both Ohio Night and Virginia Night—but we are definitely more involved with Ohio Night. Our friends from Whirlpool are providing the Penthouse level from the World of Whirlpool for our function. We are definitely excited that so many folks from the state legislature are attending this year’s NCSL Legislative Summit.

The best thing about NCSL is you will find us if you have any questions or concerns about taking legislators out to dinner or a baseball game (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday – White Sox vs. the Royals Thursday through Sunday – Cubs vs. the Reds ). You can find us in Booth 923 in the Exhibit Hall on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Stop on by to say hello.

The sad part of this year’s program is Bill Pound’s wife, Margie, passed away on July 25th after a long illness. Our hearts and prayers are with Bill and his children at this time. May Margie’s Memory Be Eternal.

Thank you.

National:

Conservatives Work to Cull Moderate Republicans

Poll: Public doesn’t like lobbyists, OK with lobbying

Federal:

Conservative Group Challenges Red Line Dividing Candidates, Super-PACs

FEC Says It Will Enforce Nonprofit Disclosure Rules

Households Divided by Campaign Donations

From the States and Municipalities:

California

Two Former Lynwood Officials Guilty of Illegally Boosting Salaries

Georgia

Georgia Voters Back Limits on Lobbyist Spending

Iowa

Contributions Dodged Rules, Records Show

Kentucky

Kentucky Lawyer’s Threatened Sanction Rejected on Free-Speech Grounds

New Jersey

Trenton Residents Lobby for Creation of City Ethics Board

New York

Lobbyists to Disclose Donors Since July 1

North Carolina

New Lobbyist Rankings Reflect GOP Takeover of NC Legislature

Ohio

Jimmy Dimora Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison, ‘A Life Sentence,’ Lawyers Say

Utah

Utah Supreme Court Ruling Ends Ethics Initiative Bid

West Virginia

W.Va. Election Commission Votes to Defend Public Financing Plan

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.

“New App Delivers Latest Political Polls Instantly to Your iPhone” by Alex Fitzpatrick in Mashable.

“Twitter will gauge voter sentiment in new venture” by Stephen Shepard in NextGov.

“Twitter Political Index Launches, But Is It Actually Measuring ‘Voter Sentiment?’” by Micah Sifry in TechPresident.

“Obama Campaign Debuts Mobile Canvassing App” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

“Ohio Democrats cry foul over Republican Gov. John Kasich’s social media blasting of Obama during president’s visit” by Reginald Fields in the Plain Dealer.

“It’s the Romney Veepstakes, Pushed Straight to Your Phone” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

Lobbying

“Commish claims board shields lobbyist” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.

“GOP Hits Obama on Lobbyist Meetings at ‘Caribou’” by Devin Dwyer, Shushannah Walshe and Mary Bruce on ABC News.

Campaign Finance

“TV stations begin publishing political ad spending” by Mark Binker on WRAL.com.

“Oregon Gets Low Marks For Campaign Finance” by April Baer in Oregon Public Broadcasting.

“The New Rules Of Campaign Finance: Small Dollars Are No Longer King” by Michael Scherer in TIME Magazine.

Ethics

“Laura Richardson fined $10K by ethics panel” by John Bresnahan in Politico.

Utah: “Push for ethics initiative will continue, backers say” by Robert Gehrke in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Republicans and Democrats voted overwhelming to limit gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers. The issue was among several nonbinding questions appearing on Republican and Democratic primary ballots.

The vote will not change state law, but it may put political pressure on lawmakers to enact gift limits. Unofficial results show 87 percent of Republicans voted to cap gifts at $100, while 71 percent of Democrats voted in support of setting some kind of limit on what lobbyists can spend.

Lobbying

Georgia: “Voters want lobbyist gift cap” by Kristina Torres in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Utah: “Utah Supreme Court ruling ends ethics initiative bid” by Robert Gehrke in The Salt Lake Tribune.

The Hill’s “Lobbying World” from July 31.

Campaign Finance

“Washington mayor under fire as finance scandal swirls” by Ian Simpson in Reuters.

“NY board keeps secret donors to pro-Cuomo lobbyist” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.

Ethics

“Attorney general appoints former prosecutor to Oklahoma Ethics Commission” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

The New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics voted to approve draft regulations and guidelines for implementing the public disclosure requirement for lobbyists and their clients. The commission’s interpretation of the state’s new lobbying act states that starting July 1 certain lobbyists and lobbying employers must disclose individual funding behind their lobbying campaigns. The law would apply to donors of more than $5,000.

There will be two filed reports each year, with the first being due January 15, 2013.

Good government advocates were hoping that the law would be applied starting June 1, when the disclosure provisions were to go into effect. However, the commission said that a “fair and reasonable” reading of the law required the disclosure to begin in July.

These proposed regulations now have to be submitted through the formal rule promulgating process under state law. This means a public comment period and publication in the state register will have to occur before the rule officially goes into effect.