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.

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.

Q.  I am not currently registered as a lobbyist and I would like to send a letter to all state legislators in support of pending legislation. Do I need to register as a lobbyist?

A. The act of sending a letter in support of or in opposition to legislation can be enough to trigger the lobbyist registration requirement in a state. Whether or not registration is required is dependent upon the lobbyist registration threshold in any given state.

Some states have thresholds based on the definition of lobbying whereby engaging in a lobbying activity will require lobbyist registration. For example, in a state where registration is required upon receipt of compensation to encourage the passage, defeat, approval, or modification of legislation by members of the legislature, lobbyist registration would be required prior to sending the letter. Iowa is an example of this type of state.

Other states have thresholds based on the amount of time spent lobbying or preparing to lobby. In Maine, an individual is permitted to spend eight hours lobbying before registration is required. In such a state, tracking your time while preparing the letter will be important in determining if registration is required.

Please consult the lobbyist registration threshold in your jurisdiction prior to sending any correspondence to a public official.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

Campaign Finance

California: “Txt 4 Ur Candidate” by By Ann Ravel, Jared DeMarinis and Hyla Wagner in The New York Times.

Louisiana: “La. lawmakers rework campaign finance enforcement” by The Associated Press in Real Clear Politics.

Lobbying

North Carolina: “State ethics panel to investigate lobbyists tied to Tillis aides” by J. Andrew Curliss and John Frank in the News & Observer.

Ethics

South Carolina: “House Ethics to refund former candidates’ fines” by the Associated Press in GoUpstate.com.

Gov 2.0

“New Website a One-Stop Shop for Colorado Data” by Sarah Rich in Govtech’s Public CIO.

Data.colorado.gov

Legislative Issues

“California voters OK changes to term limits for state legislators” by Phil Willon and Jean Merl in the Los Angeles Times.

Puerto Rico has continued its efforts to modernize and improve its campaign finance provisions by passing Project of the Senate 2674-2012. This project amends the Law for the Control of Financing of Political Campaign in Puerto Rico. This project has been referred to the Special Commission on Government Reform, and while not currently law, the Elections Commission has been working to update the campaign finance reporting requirements to reflect the project.

The project has several important elements. First, it elaborates on the definition of a coordinated expenditure by carving out a definition for specific expenditures made for the benefit of a party or candidate. Second, it modifies the campaign finance reporting dates for the 2012 general election. Lastly, the project addresses concerns with respect to state and federal PAC registration and reporting for entities wishing to participate in the electoral process without registering a PAC in Puerto Rico.

We will continue to track this project and provide updates as they become available.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists ask Congress for a mandate on ethics” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Campaign Finance

“Tammany businessman’s allegedly illegal campaign donations went to Gov. Jindal’s 2007 run” by Claire Galofaro in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Redistricting

Iowa: “Redistricting makes for tumultuous Iowa primary” by The Associated Press in the Quad-City Times.

New Hampshire: “Court to hear challenges to NH redistricting plan” by Holly Ramer (Associated Press) in the Boston Globe.

Social Media

“Political campaigns are in a constant technology arms race” by Scott Canon in the Kansas City Star.