Campaign Finance

“Campaign Finance Reformers Get Back To Work After Record Election Spending” by Paul Blumenthal in the Huffington Post.

“Abramoff, Occupy Wall Street join forces on campaign finance reform” by Megan M. Wilson in The Hill.

“U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown calls for campaign finance reform” by Stephanie Warsmith in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists Woo New Lawmakers in D.C. Mating Dance” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Incoming freshman lawmakers already have bundlers on K St.” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Tax fight sneaks up on K Street” by Bernie Becker and Peter Schroeder in The Hill.

“Rove Super PAC will try lobbying” by Rachel Weiner in The Washington Post.

Florida:  “Cretul, Cannon are lobbyists; former speakers start new firm” by Bill Thompson in the Gainesville Sun.

Ethics

“Secretary of state accused of moving too slow on PAC ethics complaint” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

“Montreal Hackathon Aims to Combat Government Corruption” by Elisabeth Fraser in TechPresident.

Redistricting

“Ohio State Bar Association urges commission to take up redistricting reform” by Kate Irby in the Plain Dealer.

Some federal employees and interest groups are asking lawmakers to lower the cap on non-Department of Defense (DOD) contractor compensation.

Yesterday, in a letter addressed to leaders of the Senate and House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittees, a coalition of 11 public interest, government accountability, research, and labor groups urged a reduction in the maximum allowable compensation to $400,000 for non-DOD contract employees.

Referring to a Senate version of the 2013 Financial Services Appropriations Bill that is being considered by Congress, the letter argues the cap is needed for “fiscal responsibility and fairness.” The petitioners submit the increase in allowable governmental compensation to contractors has “outpaced inflation by 53 percent” in the last 12 years while the salaries for government employees, the military workforce, and elected officials has stagnated or been frozen.

The letter reasons, “It is grossly unfair to expect working people to pay for the inflated salaries for contractor employees.”

The Georgia Alliance for Ethics Reform is holding town hall meetings throughout the state to encourage citizen feedback on comprehensive ethics reform to be introduced in the 2013 legislative session. Senator Josh McKoon plans to pre-file ethics legislation in four separate bills by mid-December.

The legislation will include a comprehensive bill, a $100 gift limit bill, and two constitutional amendments to regulate funding for the ethics commission and to authorize a statewide grand jury to investigate corruption.

The next stop on the town hall tour will be in Columbus on November 27th.

The Georgia Alliance for Ethics Reform includes Common Cause Georgia, Georgia Conservatives in Action, Georgia Tea Party Patriots, League of Women Voters in Georgia, and Georgia Watch.

Mayor Joshua J. Cohen has introduced legislation to revise the city’s ethics code, based upon recommendations prepared by the City Ethics Commission. Ordinance 41-12 will grant the commission additional power to impose penalties for ethics violations and will prohibit city officials from accepting tickets to sporting events.

The proposed legislation was reviewed and approved by the State Ethics Commission in late October. Annapolis is required by a 2011 state law to revise certain provisions of its ethics code.

The clerk of the legislature’s office is implementing voluntary electronic filing for lobbyist registration and reporting for the 2013 legislative session.

Paper filings will be accepted through 2014, and mandatory electronic filing will be implemented January 1, 2015.

Governor Steve Beshear has set December 18, 2012 as the date of a special election to fill the 16th district senate seat.

The seat was held by senate president David Williams, who resigned upon his appointment to circuit judge.

The timing of the election will allow the seat to be filled before the start of the 2013 legislative session.

Campaign Finance

“Result Won’t Limit Campaign Money Any More Than Ruling Did” by Nicholas Confessore in The New York Times.

“It’s hard to follow the money” by Ruth Marcus in the Columbia Daily Tribune.

“Campaign finance reform on Klobuchar’s to-do list” by John Croman in KARE11 News.

“Super-PACs already planning for 2014” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“Colbert shuts down super PAC” by Kevin Robillard in Politico.

California: “Secret donation hindered campaigns, GOP advisors say” by Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times.

Illinois:  “Illinois congressional races belie fears that outside, anonymous money can buy elections” by John O’Connor in The Republic.

Kentucky:  “Three Kentucky Agencies Probe Requests for Political Contributions” by The Associated Press in WKU Public Radio.

Montana: “Montana Voters Overwhelmingly Said That Corporations Aren’t People” by Erin Fuchs in Business Insider.

Oklahoma: “Oklahoma political action committee fails to file campaign financial reports” by Michael McNutt in the Oklahoman.

Texas: “County moving toward digitizing campaign finance reports” by Nolan Hicks in the San Antonio Express-News.

Lobbying

“Super PACs Make Move to Lobbying” by Elizan Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Street Talk: Plum K St. Jobs Scarce in Post-Election Market” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Good news for lobbyists: Cyber dollars” by James Ball in The Washington Post.

“Majority of K Street Lobbyists’ Former Capitol Hill Staff” by David K. Rehr in the Huffington Post.

California: “Tim Howe, longtime political consultant and lobbyist, dies” by Robert D. Davila in the Sacramento Bee.

Ethics

District of Columbia: “Former DC Council chairman to be sentenced for bank fraud, campaign finance violation” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.

Illinois: “Blago gets ‘booked’” by Mackenzie Weinger in Politico.

Maryland:  “Annapolis To Revise City Ethics Code” by Anna Staver in the Annapolis Patch.

Campaigns and Elections

“Obama’s Victory Is a Win for Big Data” by Steve Towns in Government Technology.

Federal:

Spending by Independent Groups Had Little Election Impact, Analysis Finds

From the States and Municipalities:

Arkansas

State Senator’s Campaign Money Went to Girlfriend, Records Show

California

California’s $11 Million Campaign Donation Source Tied to Koch Brothers, Research Reveals

California

Labor Defeats Anti-Union Initiative in California

Colorado

Denver DA Launches Criminal Probe of Secretary of State Scott Gessler

Georgia

50 State Lawmakers Back Ethics Pledge

Illinois

Indicted Former Lawmaker [Wins] State House race

Massachusetts

Trial Starts; Jury to Decide if Cahill Broke Ethics Law during Campaign

Montana

Secretive Conservative Group’s Records Released

Ohio

Issues 1, 2 Overwhelmingly Defeated

Texas

HISD Trustee Got Cut of Contracts Awarded to Associate, Records Show

Washington

Ethics Fines May Follow Gifts of Liquor to City Light Trainer

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Voters approved an amendment to the state constitution requiring the governor and lieutenant governor to run on the same ticket.

Beginning with the general election of 2018, the lieutenant governor will no longer be elected separately and will no longer preside over the senate.

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.”