March 26, 2012 •
Virginia Legislature Convenes Again
Special session to continue budget debate
Lawmakers began the 2012 Special Session I last week to consider budget bills including a two-year, $85 billion proposal.
The special session was convened immediately upon adjournment sine die of the 2012 regular session, but was in recess until Wednesday, March 21st.
The House and Senate adjourned in the afternoon on March 21st and will again convene this afternoon on Monday, March 26th to continue the special session.
No person or PAC may make or promise to make a contribution to a member of the general assembly, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, or their campaign committees, during the annual regular session of the general assembly. This ban does not apply to contributions during special sessions.
Photo of the Virginia State Capitol by Amadeust on Wikipedia.
March 26, 2012 •
How Many Public Corruption Convictions in Your State?
Governing took a look at data from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section.
In the wake of the State Integrity Investigation corruption risk report, Governing posted this article revealing how many public corruption convictions have occurred in each state from 2001 to 2010, as well as calculating a per capita conviction index.
According to the article: “In terms of raw totals, the more populous states racked up the most prosecutions over the decade, led by Texas (697), California (679), Florida (674) and New York (589).”
The per capita ranking was a bit different, with Louisiana leading the list.
Be sure to read “Which States Have the Highest Public Corruption Convictions?” by Mike Maciag in Governing.
March 26, 2012 •
Senate DISCLOSE Act of 2012 Committee Hearing Scheduled
Hearing Scheduled for March 29
A committee hearing is scheduled this week in the Senate to examine its version of the DISCLOSE Act of 2012.
Introduced last week, Senate Bill 2219, also entitled “Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2012”, amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, Super PACs, and other entities.
A House version of the bill, H.R. 4010, introduced in February, revives a previously failed effort in 2010 to pass the legislation.
The Senate Bill 2219 hearing with the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is scheduled for Thursday March 29 at 10 a.m.
March 26, 2012 •
Today’s Campaign Finance Top Stories
Keep up with the latest news about campaign finance reform and super PACs with these items from around the country:
National and Federal
“Can 46 rich dudes buy an election?” by Charles Riley in CNN Money.
“Obama ‘Super’ PAC Donors Among White House Guests” by Jack Gillum (Associated Press) in The San Francisco Chronicle.
“Planners for Democratic convention in Charlotte scramble to raise funds” by David Nakamura in The Washington Post.
In the States
Indiana: “Super PACs start battle in Senate race” by The Associated Press in the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Iowa: “Group wants to close campaign finance loophole” by Rod Boshart in the Sioux City Journal.
Montana: “New arguments filed in campaign finance case” by Matt Gouras in the Great Falls Tribune.
March 26, 2012 •
Lobbying News Roundup
Gen X on K Street, the Obama staff revolving door, the latest news in Illinois lobbying reform, spending in Massachusetts and Minnesota, and more:
Federal
“Generation X joining K Street” by Jonathan Allen and Jennifer Martinez in Politico.
“Administration Staffers Head Out the Revolving Door” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
In the States
Illinois: “Illinois Senate panel blocks lobbyist ethics legislation” by Shannon McFarland (Associated Press) in the Jacksonville Journal Courier.
Illinois: “Lobbying reforms buried in subcommittee” by Rick Miller in Capitol Fax.
Iowa: “Iowa’s lobbying free-for-all” by Jason Clayworth and Jeffrey Kummer in the Des Moines Register.
Massachusetts: “AP: Mass. health care 5-year lobbying topped $51M” by Steve LeBlanc (Associated Press) in Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Minnesota: “$61M spent on lobbying in 2011” by Matt Herbert in Minnesota Daily.
March 23, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – March 23, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Study: State governments at high risk for corruption
Federal:
Federal Contractors Donate to Super PAC Backing Romney
GOP Super PAC Men Seek to Overturn Donation Limits
Insider Trading Ban for Lawmakers Clears Congress
Senate Dems Push ‘Disclose Act 2.0’
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Key Corruption Trial Attorneys to Be in Benefit
Georgia
Atlanta Ethics Nominee Withdraws Name; Legislation to Give City Council More Power is Shelved
Illinois
Democrats Now Press Smith to Resign
Kansas
Kansas Bill Would Allow Officials to Explain Ballot Items in ‘Plain English’
Wisconsin
Ethics Violations Filed against Prosser
Wisconsin
Supreme Court Dismisses Case Challenging Political Ad Rules
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.
March 23, 2012 •
U.S. Senate Passes STOCK Act
The Senate passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act yesterday, banning insider trading by members of Congress.
For full news coverage, be sure to read:
“STOCK Act passes: Insider trading ban heads to Obama” by Scott Wong in Politico.
“Lawmakers hit bipartisan note following STOCK Act passage” by Peter Schroeder in The Hill.
March 23, 2012 •
Summit County Holds 2012 State of the County Address
Akron Press Club is sponsoring the luncheon.
State and Federal Communications will be attending the State of the County Address for Summit County, Ohio.
Summit County Executive Russel M. Pry will be delivering his fifth address today at 11:30 in the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio.
March 23, 2012 •
Highlighted Site of the Week – The FEC’s New Campaign Finance Disclosure Portal
A new, more user-friendly site for federal campaign finance disclosure data.
Our Highlighted Site of the Week is the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) new Campaign Finance Disclosure Portal. The site was announced just yesterday and offers powerful resources allowing the visitor to access campaign finance data sets and perform advanced segmentation. The types of information included are independent expenditures; bundled contributions; candidate and committee summaries; receipts, disbursements, and a cash summary for PACs and National Party committees; leadership PAC and sponsor data; and much more.
According to the FEC’s news release: “The Commission announced the release of a new campaign finance disclosure portal that will simplify access to the wide range of data available on the agency’s website. The disclosure portal provides a single point of entry to federal campaign finance data.”
Information can be accessed through interactive maps, easily readable charts, or by searching with a name or keyword. Data sets can also be downloaded as XSD, XML, or CSV files in order to perform your own analysis or data mashup.
The FEC promises the Campaign Finance Disclosure Portal will be regularly updated throughout the election cycle. With both the site and its Disclosure Data Blog, you can subscribe to its feed via RSS so that you can keep up with any updates.
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
March 22, 2012 •
Stay on Top of Redistricting News
Here is a roundup of the latest articles from four states:
Arizona: “Arizona lawmakers OK money for redistricting panel” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Sun.
Arizona: “Arizona redistrict panel to get more cash” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.
Florida: “Down to the wire, Senators propose last-minute changes to new Senate map” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.
Florida: “Florida Senate panel approves redistricting plan” by The Associated Press in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Florida: “Fla. Senate panel approves redistricting plan” by Bill Kaczor in the Deseret News.
Kansas: “Kan. Senate delays vote on redistricting bill” by The Associated Press in the Salina Journal.
Kansas: “Kansas House votes down latest redistricting bill” by Fred Mann in the Wichita Eagle.
New York: “Between the Lines: Map Complete, Time to Sort Out Who’s Running” by Joshua Miller in Roll Call.
March 22, 2012 •
South Carolina House Representative Resigns
Special election to be called
Thad Viers announced his resignation as State Representative for House District 68. The announcement came after Mr. Viers was charged with harassing his ex-girlfriend. She told investigators he continued to call, text and email for more than five months after they broke up, according to a Myrtle Beach police report.
Due to the vacancy, a special election will be held following the writ of election to be issued by the speaker of the house. There is currently an unrelated special election scheduled for Senate District 41 on July 17, 2012.
Photo of Thad Viers courtesy of the South Carolina House of Representatives website.
March 22, 2012 •
Illinois Lawmaker Arrested on Federal Bribery Charges Wins Nomination Anyway
Derrick Smith, an Illinois lawmaker who has been arrested on federal bribery charges, has won the Democratic primary for the state House race in the fall.
“Indicted Illinois House member wins Dem nomination” by John O’Connor (Associated Press) in The State Journal-Register.
“Chicago lawmaker charged in bribe case wins primary” by Andrew Stern (Reuters) in the Chicago Tribune.
ᔥ Thanks go to Jim Sedor, Editor of News You Can Use, for finding this article.
ᔥPhoto courtesy of the Illinois General Assembly website.
March 22, 2012 •
Oregon Bill to Increase Procurement Transparency
For contracts advertised or entered into beginning 2013
Governor John Kitzhaber has signed Senate Bill 1518. The bill’s provisions are intended to improve transparency in the procurement process.
The bill prohibits a vendor from writing the specifications of a project and then turning around and bidding on the project. Bidders will be able to include information on the number of jobs that will be created if the bid is chosen for the project.
In addition, the Department of Administrative Services will have to report to the legislature about special procurements, a contracting procedure that allows state agencies to bypass competitive bidding rules.
Although the bill took effect upon passage, the operative date for the above provisions is January 1, 2013.
March 21, 2012 •
Mass. Lobbyists Need to Schedule Photograph for Identification Card
Lobbyist Section of the Public Records Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
Registered Massachusetts legislative and executive agents must schedule an appointment with the Lobbyist Section of the Public Records Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to have their photographs taken for their lobbyist identification card.
The photographs will be taken on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the hours of 10 to 4pm beginning March 27 and continuing through April.
Agents must request appointments by e-mail at lob@sec.state.ma.us. Schedules will not be accepted by phone or walk-in. Agents should suggest three dates and times convenient for them in their e-mails.
All appointments will be given on a first come first serve basis.
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.