A Montana Supreme Court’s decision upholding the state’s law prohibiting independent political expenditures by a corporation related to a candidate, in spite of Citizens United v. FEC, has been appealed to the US Supreme Court.

According to the SCOTUSblog, Justice Kennedy has called for a response from the state of Montana by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15.

For a detailed explanation of the appeal, see Lyle Denniston’s article on SCOTUSblog at http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/02/new-citizens-united-sequel-2.

In December of last year, the Montana Supreme Court found Citizens United v. FEC did not compel invalidating the state’s 1912 Corrupt Practices Act.

In the Court’s majority opinion in Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of the State of Montana, the Court wrote, “The corporate power that can be exerted with unlimited political spending is still a vital interest to the people of Montana.”

The Court concluded the state, because of its history and the history of the Act, has a compelling interest to impose statutory restrictions, emphasizing the Citizens United decision allows restrictions to be upheld if the government demonstrates a sufficiently strong interest.

In making its argument, the decision asserts that a “material factual distinction between the present case and Citizens United is the extent of the regulatory burden imposed by the challenged law.” The Court found in contrast to the “complexity and ambiguity” of restrictions for federal PACs, PACs formed and maintained in the state are “easily implemented” by the filing of “simple and straight-forward forms or reports.”

Attorney James Bopp, Jr., counsel of record for the petitioner, argues for the US Supreme Court to summarily reverse the Montana decision, writing, “The lower court’s refusal to follow Citizens United is such an obvious, blatant disregard of its duty to follow this Court’s decisions that summary reversal is proper.”

• Find out which state ethics commissions offer ethics training and what they are like in Natalie O’Donnell Wood’s brief, “Making the Most of Your Ethical Training” in the latest edition of LEGISBRIEF.

• NCSL is hosting this webinar: Putting Election Laws to the Test on Monday, February 13 at 2:00 PM ET.

Their site describes the session in this way: “This webinar will discuss the various election reforms being debated in legislatures, including whether to require citizens to show ID to register or to vote, whether to allow online and Election Day registrations, and how best to modernize aging voting machines.”

WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN:  County Executive Robert Ficano has issued a new executive ethics policy that contains lobbyist registration provisions, gift restrictions, and conflict of interest disclosure requirements for executive appointees.

The policy requires a lobbyist who lobbies any executive appointee to register with the State of Michigan and bars lobbyists not verified as registered from meeting with executive appointees.

Additionally, the policy prohibits lobbyists from providing executive appointees with food or beverage valued at more than $100 annually and prohibits all other monetary or non-monetary gifts or gratuities.

U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen has introduced a campaign finance bill in the House called DISCLOSE 2012 Act.

Like the similarly entitled bill introduced and defeated in 2010, House Resolution 4010, the Disclosure of Information on Spending on Campaigns Leads to Open and Secure Elections Act of 2012, aims to increase the reporting requirements of political expenditures and contributions by corporations and other outside groups.

Corporations, unions, and other groups, will be required to report certain campaign-related activity to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), to disclose their campaign-related expenditures to their shareholders and members, and to make their political spending available to the public, through a hyper-link to the FEC, on their websites.

In his press release, Congressman Van Hollen states, “I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation – if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear from the DISCLOSE 2012 Act.”

Additionally, the bill also requires lobbyists to disclose their political expenditures in their lobbying disclosure reports in conjunction with the report of their lobbying activities.

The National First Ladies’ Library website is a treasure of information about the fascinating lives of the wives of our nation’s presidents. The website is the online presence for a museum that resides in two buildings in Canton, Ohio: the former City National Bank Building and the Ida Saxton McKinley Historic Home.

According to the site: “As the first and only facility of its kind, the National First Ladies’ Library serves as a unique national resource for patrons from school children to serious scholars.  As a national archive devoted to educating people about the contributions of First Ladies and other notable women in history, the Library’s holdings fill an informational void that has long frustrated academicians and armchair history buffs alike.”

The National First Ladies’ Library website offers online videos, their library catalog, and all kinds of educational material for teachers and students.

If you wish to find fun trivia, you will love the Fascinating Facts page. Here are a few of the firsts that you’ll find: Martha Washington was the first to be given the title “lady” by the press. John Quincy Adams’ wife, Louisa, was the only first lady born in a foreign country (England). John Tyler’s first wife was a stroke victim and the first president’s wife to die in the White House. William Howard Taft’s wife was the first first lady to own and drive a car, and Warren G. Harding’s wife was first first lady to vote and fly in an airplane!

If it is pictures you want, try the Huffington Post’s “First Ladies in College” photo slideshow. How about this for a teaser: “Do you know where ‘Lou’ Hoover went to college? Curious to see Lucretia Garfield in her younger years? What are the names of Grace Coolidge’s two pet raccoons? Did Julia Grant have permanently crossed eyes? Look no further than HuffPost College’s ‘First Ladies In College’ slideshow!”

Have a great weekend everyone!

Photo of the First Ladies National Historic Site courtesy of Kralizec! on Wikipedia.

“Report: Some Super PAC Money Is Untraceable” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Who’s Financing the ‘Super PACs’” from the New York Times.

Take a look at the editorial “Will ‘super PACs’ ruin politics?” from the Los Angeles Times.

“Big donors return to the RNC” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.

“Obama’s PAC decision highlights inaction on FEC” by Susan Crabtree in the Washington Times.

“Deerfield Beach ‘PAC Man’ faces 2,052 counts of breaking election laws” by Jon Burstein in the Orlando Sentinel.

The Illinois State Board of Elections will be relocating its Springfield office beginning Friday, February 10, 2012.

The new address is 2329 S MacArthur Boulevard, Springfield, Illinois, 62704-4503.

All other contact information remains the same.

Last night the U.S. House removed all registration requirements by those conducting political intelligence activities from the Senate’s Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which passed the Senate last week with a bi-partisan vote of 96 to 3.

The original Senate Bill 2038, now in the house, expanded the Lobbyist Disclosure Act to include requiring registration and reporting from those conducting political intelligence activities, which was defined as “political intelligence contacts and efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation and planning activities, research, and other background work that is intended, at the time it is performed, for use in contacts, and coordination with such contacts and efforts of others.”

While the House also made other changes to the bill, the only reference to the removal of the reporting and registration requirements made by Congressman Eric Cantor in a press release issued last night stated, “Tonight, we will introduce a strengthened and expanded STOCK Act, and remove provisions that would have made the bill unworkable or raised more questions then they answered.”

If passed as changed in the House, the bill would have to return to the Senate for another vote. The current version of Senate Bill 2038 can be found here.

Photo of the U.S. Capitol by Florian Hirzinger on Wikipedia.

A New Jersey state appellate court has reaffirmed the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) has the authority to enforce the state’s campaign finance laws.

In Nordstorm v. Lyon, the Appellate Division reversed a lower court’s decision not to defer to ELEC’s jurisdiction for enforcement of campaign contributions and reporting violations.

In affirming the power of ELEC, the Appellate Division held, “We reach our conclusion that ELEC has exclusive jurisdiction regarding reporting violations because of the overarching legislative goals of (1) guaranteeing transparency of campaign contributions and expenditures, (2) ensuring that disclosures of the same be managed and controlled by a single agency, and (3) implementing remedies for violations of the Reporting Act through a uniform and predictable system of sanctions.”

The case arose following a close Republican Party primary election for Morris County Freeholder between William “Hank” Lyon and Margaret Nordstrom. In its press release, ELEC Executive Director Jeff Brindle said if the lower court ruling had not been overturned, “it would have subjected candidates and committees to inconsistent application of the Campaign Reporting Act in enforcement actions.’’

Connecticut

“GOP makes long-shot pitch for new congressional map” by Mark Pazniokas on CTMirror.org

“Court hears pleas on Ct. redistricting plan” by Ken Dixon on the Connecticut Post.

Florida

“House passes Florida redistricting maps in party line vote” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Tampa Bay Times.

Kansas

“Panel endorses Kansas House redistricting plan” by John Milburn (Associated Press) in the Kansas City Star.

Kentucky

“Judge weighs constitutionality of redistricting” by The Associated Press.

“Judge hopes to rule on redistricting dispute by Tuesday” by Tom Loftus in the Courier-Journal.

North Carolina

“Lawsuits challenging GOP-drawn boundaries can move forward” by The Associated Press in the Winston-Salem Journal.

Texas

“Rejected compromise in Texas redistricting case leaves state’s primary date in limbo” by The Associated Press in the Washington Post.

Wisconsin

“Lawmakers were made to pledge secrecy over redistricting” by Patrick Marley, Daniel Bice and Jason Stein in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Indiana’s former Secretary of State Charlie White, who was convicted of six felonies and consequently lost his job, is pointing the finger at others. White is now saying Gov. Mitch Daniels and U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) are also guilty of voter fraud because they voted from Indiana addresses while residing elsewhere.

For the full story read “White isn’t going quietly” by Dan Carden in the Times of Northwest Indiana.

Georgia Senator Josh McKoon has introduced Senate Bill 391, which could put limits on gifts lobbyists give to lawmakers in the state, as wells as other requirements.

For the full story read “With House bill stalled, senator targets lobbyist gifts” by Kristina Torres in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Photo of the Georgia State Capitol Building by AUtiger on Wikipedia.

Alabama: “Alabama lawmakers return for 2012 regular session” by Bob Johnson (Associated Press) in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Arizona: “Monday is deadline to introduce bills in AZ House” by The Associated Press in the Arizon Capitol Times.

California: “Initiative would make Legislature part time, slash its pay” by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

“California Legislators Turn in Keys to their Cars” by Karl Kurtz on NCSL’s blog The Thicket.

Oklahoma: “Okla. State Legislature Begins 2012 Session” by Homa Quazilbash on KTUL.com

Oregon: “Oregon Politics: Legislative session starts with big concepts and some lawmakers under scrutiny” by Jeff Mapes in The Oregonian

Virginia: “Va. legislators accepted $246,000 in gifts last year” by Anita Kumar in the Washington Post.

Jim Murry has been chosen as the next Montana Commissioner of Political Practices.

According to the Great Falls Tribune, Governor Brian Schweitzer made the decision yesterday after meeting with Mr. Murry, who begins working as the Commissioner today.

The previous Commissioner, David Gallik, abruptly left the position after questions arose concerning whether Mr. Gallik was conducting his private law practice while at the government office.

Among its other duties, the Commissioner’s office monitors and enforces lobbyist registration and disclosure, campaign finance practices, and ethics standards among state officials.