It will be two more years before Vermont’s campaign finance reports are available in a searchable database, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Currently, Vermont offers scanned copies of campaign finance reports online, but there is no easy way to search for donor names or contribution totals, and handwriting on the forms may be difficult to read. The secretary of state hoped that such a database would be available for the 2014 elections, but is unable to give a precise timetable or detailed costs.

Common Cause Vermont recently compiled its own searchable database for the 2010 state elections.

The Louisiana Legislature has decided not to convene a session to consider overturning Governor Bobby Jindal’s vetoes.

The veto session, which is automatically set upon a governor vetoing a bill, was scheduled for July 14. A majority of Senate members voted in writing against holding the session. A majority is required from either the House or Senate to cancel a session.

The Legislature had adjourned sine die on June 4.

Both President Obama and Gov. Romney’s campaigns have released fundraising numbers in anticipation of the July 20th deadline. For the second month in a row, Gov. Romney and the GOP outraised President Obama and DNC, bringing in $106.1 million to the President’s $71 million. The Romney campaign was helped by a $4.6 million spike in fundraising during the 24 hours following the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act.

President Obama’s campaign has been using the June numbers to encourage supporters to donate, sending out an urgent email claiming, “We’re getting outraised — a first for a sitting president, if this continues.” The Romney campaign reports $160 million cash on hand at the end of June. President Obama’s campaign has not yet released cash on hand numbers, but had roughly $147 million at the end of May.

Additionally, weekly claims for unemployment benefits were released Thursday, which saw a drop of 26,000 claims from the previous week’s total of 376,000 to 350,000.

Other notes from the week in politics:

• Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) is being treated at an undisclosed facility for a mood disorder. Jackson has come under fire from fellow democrats for failing to fully disclose the circumstances surrounding his recent medical leave of absence from the U.S. House of Representatives. Jackson’s office announced June 25, that he had been on leave since June 10 to be treated for exhaustion and calls for further disclosure have come from senior congressional democrats including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (IL) and most recently, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (MD).

• Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) raised roughly $5 million in the second quarter, falling short of the $8.6 million raised by Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren. Brown and Warren are in a tight race for the seat formerly held by Senator Edward Kennedy. Brown reports $15.5 million cash on hand which gives him a $2 million lead over Warren who reported $13.5 million cash on hand. Recent polling shows Brown and Warren in a statistical tie at 46% each.

• Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley (R) has called for a special election to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. Thad McCotter. A primary will be held on September 5th, and the election will take place on November 6, the same day as the general election. The winner of the special election will serve the remaining two months of McCotter’s term before the 113th Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2013.

The kitchen is complete by now. There is no more noise. Today alone, I ran into three people in our recently resized dining area:

Jen and I empathized over our faltering attempts at gardening. Why is it so hard, sometimes?

Jon and I discussed Radiohead and Hilton Head. Thom Yorke is a dancing machine!

And Sarah and I talked weddings. “I’m a bridesmaid, and it’s carnival themed.”

Just through these tiny interactions, I notice myself getting more comfortable here, in my new surroundings. I feel more at ease as an intern, and I’m happy.

It seems like all that racket was worth it.

This year marks the 104^th annual meeting of the National Governors Association. The meeting will be held in Williamsburg, Virginia, from July 13 through the 15. Governors from different regions will attend to discuss leadership methods and issues regarding states.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, Inc., will attend the meetings and listen to the distinguished speakers discuss governing approaches.

A news conference will kick off the meeting on July 13, highlighting business tactics and economic development methods. Saturday’s events consist of meetings with organizations including the Economic Development and Commerce, the Human Services Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.

The sessions on July 15 cover entrepreneurial opportunities for governors and other policy leaders. According to the NGA news website, Delaware Governor Jack Markell, vice chair of the NGA, acknowledged the importance of governors joining to make improvements.

“The annual meeting brings governors together at a bipartisan level to develop innovative and improved approaches to governing,” Markell said. “As evidenced over the past year, when we come together great things can be accomplished. I look forward to hearing about the work governors are doing in their states.”

Lobbying

Ottawa, Ontario: “Council endorses lobby registry, integrity commissioner” by Errol McGihon in the Ottowa Sun.

The Hill’s “Lobbying World” staff report.

Campaign Finance

Alaska: “Assembly to weigh resolution on campaign finance” by The Associated Press in the Juneau Empire.

District of Columbia: “Vast ‘shadow campaign’ said to have aided Gray in 2010” by Mike DeBonis and Nikita Stewart in The Washington Post.

New York:  “Cuomo turns to campaign finance” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

Pennsylvania: “SEPTA found to violate federal lobbying rules” by Mark Fazlollah in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

West Virginia: “W.Va. group wants contribution limit blocked” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Ethics

“Panel Seated in Ethics Inquiry Into Nevada Lawmaker” by Eric Lipton in The New York Times.

“CNN, Facebook Partner to Make ‘America’s Choice 2012’ Political Coverage an Interactive, Social Experience” on CNN News.

“Facebook Wants to Be the ‘Second Screen’ of Election 2012 Coverage” by Zoe Fox in Mashable.

“Facebook will be a key part of the 2012 election” in the Capitol Column.

“Social Fundraising Platform Rally To Launch One-Click Donations” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.

Also, be sure to take a look at:

“A Politician’s Guide to Social Media (VIDEO)” in Government Technology.

Video courtesy of Govgirlblog on YouTube.

“On the (Non-)Effects of Redistricting on Electoral Competition” by Karl Kurtz in NCSL’s The Thicket.

Alabama: “Democrats punt in state court, look to feds to fight redistricting of the Alabama Legislature” by Kim Chandler in the Birmingham News.

California: “State Legislative Campaigns Least Competitive in Nation” by Will Evans in KQED News.

Maryland: “Md. petitioners confident of sufficient signatures for redistricting vote” by Elizabeth Sallie in the the Washington Times.

North Carolina: “NC Supreme Court hears redistricting issue Tuesday” by Gary D. Robertson (Associated Press) in the Greensboro News-Record.

Pennsylvania: “Districts map redraws challenges in state Senate” by Marc Levy in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Campaign Finance

“Political Spending by Unions Far Exceeds Direct Donations” by Tom McGinty AND Brody Mullins in The Wall Street Journal.

“Campaigns to Compete for Ads During Olympic Games” by Nathan L. Gonzales in Roll Call.

Alaska:  “Committee weighs in on ethics of pre-election pledges” by Becky Bohrer (Associated Press) in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

District of Columbia: “Jeanne Clarke Harris is charged in ongoing investigation of Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s campaign” by Mike DeBonis and Nikita Stewart in the Washington Post

District of Columbia: “D.C. activists deliver 30,000 signatures for ballot initiative to ban corporate contributions” by Nikita Stewart and Tim Craig in the Washington Post.

Idaho:  “Idaho Democrats use state seal for campaign email” by John Miller (Associated Press) in the Idaho Statesman.

Ethics

“Ethics panel clears Buchanan on charge of misleading Congress” by Jordy Yager in The Hill.

Procurement

Arkansas: “New Arkansas Site Reveals State Salaries” in Government Technology. “The contracts page offers details on contracts or individual purchase orders for more than $25,000. Construction contracts with a value of greater than $20,000 are also listed.”

And then there’s Maria Varonis, who is me. But I’m going to write about myself in third person because it feels less pretentious that way.

Maria is by far the oldest intern here at State and Federal Communications, Inc. She looks like an aging oak compared to this handful of beautiful, youthful seeds. Last year, Maria had a birthday party. It was roller-skating themed. There was a DJ and vegan baklava. “You only turn 25 once,” she said.

Maria studied Organizational Communication at Ohio University, and is working on her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Akron. Her focus is nonfiction. Sometimes she works on her thesis during her lunch break, and sometimes she doesn’t touch the thing.

Here, Maria has been helping with marketing. Having studied organizational practices in her undergraduate years, she considers it a privilege to work at “such a productive and communicative establishment.” Maria said she is impressed with how State and Federal Communications, Inc. functions, and that Elizabeth sets a good example for how to run a business. “She takes great care of her staff. In return, her staff is kind and accomplished,” she said. “It’s impressive.”

For lunch, Maria packs very strange meals consisting usually of tofu and mustard greens, vegetables and beans. The tofu is only sometimes, but there are almost always beans.

Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie signed House Bill 2175 into law, exempting certain people from the state’s revolving door provisions.

In an effort to increase participation amongst the state’s experts and those with special knowledge, the law exempts members of a state task force from the revolving door provisions. A task force is a group which is created to study a specific problem for a specified period of time.

The law will take effect immediately.

Photo of Governor Abercrombie courtesy of Wikipedia.

On Friday, July 6, 2012, Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 3722 into law, rewriting the state campaign contribution limits. Under this new law, if a natural person or an independent expenditure committee makes independent expenditures in support of, or in opposition to, the campaign of a candidate or incumbent in an amount over $250,000 for statewide office, or $100,000 for all other elective offices, then the contribution limits are waived for all candidates for that specific office. For example, if an independent expenditure committee spends more than $250,000 for commercials against candidate A, who is running for governor, then the contribution limits do not apply for any of the gubernatorial candidates.

The new law also establishes registration and reporting requirements for independent expenditure committees. The law goes into effect immediately, which means these rules apply for the state house and senate seats which are up for election in November.

And too, there is Emily Kesler. She goes to school at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois. Emily is double-majoring in Political Science and Psychology and is working on her minor in Business Institutions. She will be a senior after the summer.

Emily and I met this morning while slinging bags of carrots at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, located in Akron. Elizabeth Bartz stays active with the nonprofit activities of the church, and she gives us the opportunity to help. The interns were there to help with a food drive initiative—“Good Samaritans”—something the church does every month. Emily’s mother helps run the thing. I met her, and she was really nice.

This is Emily’s second stint interning at State and Federal Communications, Inc. and she is excited to be back. She remembers everyone’s name, and there’s energy and warmth behind it. She spends a lot of time in Chicago.

For fun? Emily rock climbs, and has just passed her belay test. She has also played soccer her whole life. For lunch? She eats paninis almost every day: mozzarella, tomato and basil.

“Rules of the Game: Debate Over Corporate Spending Spans Parallel Universes” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Exclusive: Campaign donations by text? Not so fast, wireless carriers say” by Alina Selyukh (Reuters) in the Chicago Tribune.

“ESPN scores with political ads” by Tim Mak in Politico.

“Ethics Panel Weighs Whether to Continue Shelley Berkley Case” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

Arizona: “72 run under Arizona’s Clean Elections system” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Sun.

Illinois: “Quinn OKs change in campaign finance law” by Chris Wetterich in the State Journal-Register.

New York: “More questions than answers in lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms” by James Odato in the Albany Times Union.

Oregon: “Donors finance Oregon’s initiatives” by Peter Wong in the Statesman Journal.