You now have two new tools for identifying who is behind a political ad that you see on TV.  The Sunlight Foundation has released Ad Hawk and Glassy Media has offered Super PAC App. Both tools can listen to an ad and tell you what group is responsible for it, and Super PAC App can even point you to Politifact and FactCheck to weigh the facts surrounding the claims of the ad.

The apps are available for iPhone and Android devices.

For full news coverage, be sure to read:

“New apps can instantly identify political ads” by Brendan Sasso in The Hill.

“’Super PAC App’ knows when political ads stretch the truth” by John D. Sutter in CNN.com.

“Who’s Behind That Political Ad? This App Tells You” by Alex Fitzpatrick in Mashable.

Governor Robert Bentley has called a special election to fill the seat for House District 34, currently held by Representative Elwyn Thomas. Representative Thomas was appointed to be executive director of the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission, and will hold the seat until August 31.

The primary for the seat will by October 23, with a general special election scheduled for December 11 if no runoff is needed. If a runoff election is needed, it will be held December 11, with the general special election to be held January 29, 2013.

Trustees of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) hope to change ethics rules involving vendor contracting.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the new rules would require trustees to disclose relationships with vendors, prohibit trustees from voting on contracts where a vendor contributed $500 or more to a trustee’s political campaign, and prohibit vendors’ contributions while bidding for HISD contracts.

Last October, similar ethics changes were discussed but not implemented by HISD. The trustees are expected to vote on new policies in September.

The Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved campaign contribution limits to take effect January 1, 2013. The ordinance subjects supervisors and countywide candidates to the same limits as state legislative candidates at $3,900 per election cycle from individuals and $7,800 from small contributor committees.

Contributions or expenditures of $10,000 or more to candidates and independent expenditure committees will now be disclosed electronically. Currently, state law requires disclosure for amounts greater than $50,000 for state and independent committees, but no requirements are in place for local races.

The ordinance goes before the board again Tuesday, August 28, 2012 for adoption.

Seal of San Bernardino County, California by Jetijones on Wikipedia.

Lobbying

California:  “Bill raises fees on lobbyists to fund disclosure” by The Associated Press in the Mercury News.

North Carolina:  “Despite laws, NC legislators still ask lobbyists for money” by Laura Leslie in WRAL.com.

South Carolina:  “SC: Top-paid State House lobbyist earns $673K” by Eric K. Ward in Watchdog.org.

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “State Sen. Gould: No improper campaign spending” by Rebekah L. Sanders in the Arizona Republic.

Ethics

Kansas: “Kansas lawmakers unwittingly broke open meetings law” by Brad Cooper in the Kansas City Star.

North Dakota:  “Legislators to create code of conduct after North Dakota named ‘most corrupt state’” by Wendy Reuer in InForum.

South Carolina:  “Haley, Wilson unveiling ethics reform package” by The Associated Press in the Greenville News.

Redistricting

“2012 Pre-election Turnover is Typical for a Redistricting Year” by Karl Kurtz in NCSL’s The Thicket blog.

Montana: “Commission wraps up proposal for new Montana House districts” by Mike Dennison in the Missoulian.

California: “Bill would let voters impose greater disclosure requirements on political campaign spending” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Hawaii: “Cashing In: Hawaii’s Top Ten Campaign Donors” by Lindsey Txakeeyang in the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Louisiana: “Lee Zurik Investigation: Politicians owe the state thousands in fines” by Lee Zurik on WVUE Fox 8 News.

Nebraska: “Campaign finance donation removed from state tax return” in the Lincoln Journal Star.

“Romney’s campaign coffers have $60 million more than Obama’s” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.

“Ask Kim Barker Anything About Campaign Finance (a Reddit Chat)” by Amanda Zamora in ProPublica.

“New Online Game Puts Players in the Lawmaker’s Chair” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

“Study Examines Influence of Social Media on Interaction Between People and their Governments” by Lisa Goldman in TechPresident.

“Federal Mobile App Provides Real-Time Economic Stats” by Brian Heaton in Government Technology.

“Republicans plan a tech-heavy convention” by Steve Friess in Politico.

“Tweets Surrounding Paul Ryan Pick May Have Violated Electioneering Rules” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.

“Social Media and Politics: An Interview with George Scoville” by Bianca Sciotti in the Independent Voter Network.

Lobbying

“Lawmakers Rack Up Hefty Bills Wining and Dining Donors” by Emily Cahn in Roll Call.

“Here’s How Wall Street Finds Out Exactly What’s Going On In Congress All The Time” by Linette Lopez in Business Insider.

Campaign Finance

“Can the super-rich buy American elections?” by Mark Colvin on ABC News.

“From Citizens United to Super PACs: A Campaign Finance Reading Guide” by Amanda Zamora in ProPublica.

“Non-profits outspending Super PACs” by Alicia Budich, Robert Hendin in CBS News’ Face the Nation.

Ethics

Pennsylvania: “Report faults ethics board: Small staff and lack of authority cited” by Melissa Daniels in the Tribune-Democrat.

Governor Jerry Brown has told legislative leaders he intends to call a special session to deal with issues related to the federal healthcare law signed by President Obama in 2010.

The special session, planned for December, will give the governor and lawmakers an opportunity to keep working on healthcare proposals that have failed in the current session, which ends August 31, 2012.

Bills passed in a special session can take effect within 90 days of passage rather than at the beginning of the following calendar year.

Photo of the California State Capitol by Henri Sivonen in Wikipedia.

It can all be found on the NCSL 2012 Legislative Summit Resources page.

Have a great weekend!

Campaign Finance

“Text Message Donations Good for Democracy, Risky for Privacy” by Rachel Levinson-Waldman in Wired.

“In Win for Wireless Industry, FEC Clarifies Rules for Texting Campaign Contributions” by Jenna Greene in The Blog of Legal Times.

Louisiana: “Ethics board reviewing campaign finance rules” by The Associated Press in the Daily Comet.

Tennessee:  “TN election finance board investigates donor, PAC contributions” by The Associated Press in the Tennessean.

Lobbying

“Wall Street Lobbying Efforts Reach $4.2 Billion Since 2006, Or $1,331 A Minute, Report States” by Nick Wing in the Huffington Post.

Florida: “In session or out, lobbying remains a big business” by Bill Cotterrell in the Florida Current.

New York: “Lobby ban snags offer of free work” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

Pennsylvania:  “State spends less on federal lobbying but still leads the nation” by Melissa Daniels in the Daily Local News.

Ethics

California: “Bill to limit gifts to California lawmakers dies a quiet death” by Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee.

Georgia: “Sen. Balfour to pay $5,000 to settle ethics case” by Ray Henry (Associated Press) in the San Francisco Chronicle.

National:

Nonpartisan Groups Defend Neutrality in Harsh Climate

Tea Party Evolves, Achieves State Policy Victories

Federal:

Ethics Watchdogs Planning to Crash Convention Parties

Rentals Mean Quick Cash during Conventions

U.S. Regulators Clear Hurdle for Political Text Message Donations

From the States and Municipalities:

California

Bill to Limit Gifts to California Lawmakers Dies a Quiet Death

Colorado

Judge Rejects Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s Changes

Delaware

Delaware Governor Signs Campaign Finance Reform, Transparency Bills

Georgia

Ralston to Propose Total Lobbyist Gift Ban

Georgia

Sen. Balfour Agrees to Fine, Will Make Restitution

Minnesota

Top State Court Rules Campaign Finance Laws Apply to Schools

Ohio

Statehouse Office Served Conservative Group in Linking Ohio Legislators, Corporate Lobbyists

Pennsylvania

Pa. Voter ID Law Gets Approval of State Judge

Texas

Capitol Visitors Have New Speedy Option

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.

“Announcing techPresident’s ‘Politics and the Internet’ Timeline” by Micah L. Sifry in TechPresident.

“How the Presidential Candidates Use the Web and Social Media” in the Pew Research Center’s Journalism.org.

“Fake social media followers newest ploy, accusation in political campaigns” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.

“‘Pics or it Didn’t Happen’: 5 Ways Politicians Are Using Instagram” by Amanda Le in the Independent Voter Network.

“Politic365 Launches #VoiceYourVote” on Politic365 Blog.

July fundraising reports are due on Monday, but as is custom, both campaigns have leaked numbers prior to the deadline. For the third consecutive month, Gov. Romney and the GOP has significantly outraised President Obama and the DNC. The Romney campaign reported receipts of over $101 million while President Obama brought in approximately $75 million. Additionally, the Romney campaign claimed to have raised $3.5 million in the 24 hours following the announcement of Rep. Paul Ryan as the GOP vice presidential nominee. Perhaps more startling than fundraising numbers is the amount of money spent on advertising for the 2012 election cycle. According to NBC News Domenico Montaro, The Obama and Romney campaigns have so far passed the half billion dollar mark spending a combined $511 million.

As week one of the new Romney-Ryan ticket draws to a close, the election has reached a fever pitch. Both campaigns have ramped up their schedules with more rally’s, bus tours and fundraisers in swing states like Virginia, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin. With the addition of Ryan to the race, the messaging from both parties has begun to center around Medicare and the federal budget. The Ryan choice was undoubtedly made to call attention to these issues as they fall under the purview of Ryan’s leadership in his post as the House Budget Committee Chairman.

Notes from trail:

• Former Governor Tommy Thompson won Tuesday’s crowded Republican Wisconsin Senate primary garnering 34% of the vote, beating his next closest competitor by only three points. Thompson narrowly defeated businessman Eric Hovde, who spent millions of his own money on the race, as well as former U.S. Representative and tea party backed candidate Marc Neumann. Thompson will face Representative Tammy Baldwin (D) for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Herb Kohl (D). Kohl’s seat is seen as a toss-up and will be important in determining control of the Senate.

• Linda McMahon (R) and Chris Murphy (D) cruised to their party’s nominations for the Connecticut Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Joe Lieberman. McMahon is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) and has so far spent more than $15 million of her own money on the race. Murphy is a well known three-term congressman from Connecticut’s fifth district.

• Representative Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) announced Wednesday that he would resign prior to the end of his term. Cardoza had originally planned to finish out his term, but cited family issues as well as the lack of substantive legislative work being done during an election year as the reason for leaving early. Cardoza lives with his wife and three children in Maryland. A couple of hours after his announcement, Cardoza was named managing director of a top Washington D.C. Government Affairs firm.