“Ethics Commission offers new campaign finance search tool” by Mike Lear in MissouriNet.

“2 Campaigns Chasing Funds at Frantic Pace” by Ashley Parker and Helene Cooper.

“Entrepreneurs, small lobby shops challenging K Street’s old guard” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Arkansas:  “Backers optimistic about ethics measure; GOP lawmaker questions proposal” by Jeff Arnold in the Arkansas News.

Connecticut: “Connecticut lawmakers return for special session” by Susan Haigh (Associated Press) in the Norwich Bulletin.

“Sunlight Foundation Unveils New Legislative Alert Service, Monitoring Action On Capitol Hill And All 50 States” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

“More on Legislative Turnover” by Karl Kurtz in NCSL’s The Thicket.

Arizona: “Fewer candidates vie for Arizona Legislature” by Mary Jo Pitzl in The Arizona Republic.

Maryland: “Maryland Becomes 40th State to Ratify 17th Amendment” by Karl Kurtz in The Thicket.

Redistricting

Alabama: “Inside the Statehouse: New district lines won’t change legislature” by Steve Flowers in the Jacksonville News.

Alaska: “Lawsuit claims redistricting procedure violates federal law” by Becky Bohrer in the Anchorage Daily News.

Illinois: “Ill. Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to state legislative remap” by Dave McKinney in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Kansas:  “In Kansas redistricting, new boundaries quickly bring new faces” by Dave Helling in the Kansas City Star.

Missouri: “Missouri senator will pursue redistricting changes” by The Associated Press in the Kansas City Star.

Photo of the Illinois State Capitol by Nikopoley in Wikipedia.

North Dakota: “Facebook advertisements for candidates pop up on election day” by Jenny Michael in the Bismarck Tribune.

“How Microsoft and Yahoo are selling politicians access to you” by Lois Beckett (ProPublica) on MNPolitics.net.

“US elections 2012: top 50 Twitter accounts to follow” by Richard Adams in The Guardian.

“LinkedIn: The Preferred Social Network of Government?” by Sarah Rich in Government Technology.

“How Political Donations by Text Message Might Work” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has issued an advisory opinion approving text messaging of political contributions in federal elections.

Political and media consulting firms Red Blue T LLC and AnnourMedia, Inc., along with m-Qube, Inc, a merchant billing service provider, requested approval from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to use text messaging to raise funds for political committees.

In AO 2012-17, the commission concluded the proposed plan made to use the merchant billing service as intended is consistent with reporting requirements, conforms to the prohibition on corporate contributions, complies with forwarding requirements when making factored payments, and satisfies the segregation requirement for commercial vendors processing the contributions.

The proposal envisions two methods for the use of text messaging to make contributions:

In the first method, a wireless user would text a pre-determined message to a common short code registered to a political committee. A text message response sent by the merchant to the user would then require the user to respond with his or her own text message to confirm the user’s intent to engage in the transaction and certify the user’s eligibility to make a contribution.

With the second method, a user would enter his or her mobile phone number on a political committee’s website. Before submitting the phone number, the user will be required to certify his or her eligibility to make a contribution. After the user makes the certification and submits the phone number, the user will receive a text message from the merchant that includes a PIN. The user will enter the PIN on the political committee’s website to confirm the transaction.

No mobile phone number can be billed more than $50 per month for contributions to any one political committee.

We send our congratulations to Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and Client Specialist Myra Cottrill, who recently completed the State Government Affairs Professional Certificate Program!

A formal graduation ceremony for those who have completed the certificate program will take place on August 8, 2012 at the SGAC luncheon in Chicago during NCSL’s Legislative Summit.

Campaign Finance

“FEC: Campaigns can raise money via text message” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“FEC sues ex-Sen. Craig over use of campaign cash” by The Associated Press on CBSNews.com.

“NJ considers changes to election finance rules” by The Associated Press in the Bergen Record.

Government Ethics

Georgia: “Squirrely Ethics in Georgia, Former Exec Says” by Iulia Filip in the Courthouse News Service.

New Mexico: “New Mexico agency compiled email list for governor’s PAC” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

The Connecticut General Assembly will convene a special session at 11 a.m. today, June 12, 2012.

House speaker Chris Donovan will not be presiding over the session, instead allowing the house majority leader to handle the leadership responsibilities after Speaker Donovan’s former campaign finance manager was arrested for allegedly conspiring to conceal the source of $20,000 in campaign contributions. The contributions were purportedly linked to a bill imposing taxes on roll-your-own cigarette businesses, which is expected to be voted on during today’s session.

Speaker Donovan does plan to participate in the session.

Photo of the Connecticut State Capitol by jglazer75 on Wikipedia.

“Washington’s Top Lobbying Groups Hire Mostly Men: BGOV Barometer” by Jonathan D. Salant and Jennifer Prince in Bloomberg News.

“Study: Lobbying bad for business?” by Tim Mak in Politico.

Here is the original study the above article references: “Corporate political giving doesn’t pay” by Amy Hodges in Rice University News & Media.

“K Street: ‘Let’s meet’; Hill staffers: ‘Text me’” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“The State of K Street: Work in the Shadows – Lobbying Rules That Were Meant to Regulate the Industry Have Spawned the Emergence of the Unlobbyist” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

New York:  “Lobbyists directed contributions” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

New York: “Lobbyists gave state pols $1.8M” by Erik Kriss in the New York Post.

“Are politicians too rich to understand us?” by Timothy Stanley on CNN.

“Hotel industry’s top lobbyist bringing it back to Main Street” by Elise Viebeck in The Hill.

“Text Messages as Campaign Finance Reform?” by Quentin Fottrell in the Wall Street Journal.

“The Politics of Social Networking” by Damon Eris on the Independent Voter Network.

“At Meeting of Left’s Online Activists, Weighing Impact of Attack Ads” by Sarah Wheaton in The New York Times.

Alaska: “Will Citizens United result in Big Oil deciding who wins Alaska elections?” in the Alaska Dispatch.

District of Columbia:  “Ex-D.C. Council Chairman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud” by Tom Schoenberg in Bloomberg.

Georgia: “Taking the Pledge – Most see need for lobbyist gift cap” in the Marietta Daily Journal.

Kansas: “Voters will see big changes from new redistricting plan” by Scott Rothschild in the Lawrence Journal World.

New York: “Analysis: $2M gambling bet puts focus on lobbyist” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ethics reform amendment to the city council on June 8. The amendment, based on the recommendations given to him by the Ethics Reform Task Force, would strengthen the gift ban, add a reverse revolving door provision, and increase the penalties for PACs who accept illegal contributions. The amendment also includes a code of conduct for city officials and employees, which is something the city has never had before.

The city council will now decide the fate of the mayor’s initiatives. The Ethics Reform Task Force will release its second set of recommendations in late July, this time focusing on the relationship between, and the key responsibilities of, the city’s ethics institutions.

Photo of Chicago skyline by mindfrieze on Wikipedia. 

The Alaska Public Offices Commission has issued an opinion allowing a new independent group, Alaska Deserves Better (ADB), to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in this year’s elections. Although the commission’s director said the advisory opinion is specific to ADB and the way it plans to operate, the decision seems to be relevant for other independent committees.

Under current state law, groups such as ADB may receive, each year, contributions of no more than $500 from an individual and $1,000 from a different group. Additionally, groups may not receive contributions from an individual who is not a resident of the state, or from a foreign national.

With the exception of the foreign national restriction, the opinion acknowledges laws prohibiting independent expenditures by corporations and labor unions are likely unconstitutional in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010. As a result, ADB, an independent expenditure group, can obtain contributions in unlimited amounts, with no restriction on the amounts or sources.

The commission acknowledges that without a ruling from a court or a change in legislation, there will not be clarity in the state’s campaign contribution law.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, was recently the master of ceremonies for a parish banquet recognizing the achievements of the church’s recent graduates. The event was held on Sunday, June 10, 2012 at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Akron, Ohio.

The keynote speaker for the banquet was Dr. Lester Lefton, President of Kent State University.

The secretary of the commonwealth’s office launched a new online lobbyist disclosure system Monday, June 11, 2012. The new system, available here, replaces the previous online filing system.

Lobbyists will use the account they created for the new registration system last month to access the online disclosure system. The new system allows lobbyists to sign their disclosure form electronically, and does not require a hard-copy signature follow-up.

The secretary of the commonwealth’s office strongly encourages lobbyists to file their disclosure statements electronically rather than mailing a hard copy.

National:

Poll: Sharp increase in partisan divides among Americans

Federal:

Lobbyists Ask Congress for a Mandate on Ethics

From the States and Municipalities:

Arkansas

Democratic, Republican Leaders Back Ethics Initiative

California

State’s Top 100 Political Donors Contribute $1.25 Billion

Delaware

Delaware Lawmakers Approve Campaign Finance Revisions

District of Columbia

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown Resigns after He Is Charged with Bank Fraud

Florida

Research Group Says Florida Has Most Corrupt Officials

Georgia

Georgia Lawmakers Back Lobbying Cap but Ignored Bill

North Carolina

Legislators, Lobbyists Mix Business with Pleasure

North Carolina

State Ethics Panel to Investigate Lobbyists Tied to Tillis Aides

South Carolina

Gov. Nikki Haley Ethics Inquiry Could Have Major Statehouse Implications

Wisconsin

Walker Survives Wisconsin Recall Vote

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.

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