Governor Bob McDonnell has set a special election for December 18, 2012 to fill the 89th District House of Delegates seat.

The seat was held by Delegate Kenneth Alexander, who ran unopposed for the state senate seat previously held by the late Senator Yvonne Miller.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: Ogilvy Government Relations Nabs Two GOPers” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Does corporate lobbying benefit society?” by Moshe Silver in Fortune.

Kentucky:  “New spending record could be set for lobbying” by The Associated Press in the Bowling Green Daily News.

Campaign Finance

“Super PAC Assails Super PACs, Big Money” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Friend of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan pleads guilty to campaign violations” by Susan Taylor Martin in the Tampa Bay Times.

Washington:  “Owen is fined over his tardy campaign finance reports” by Mike Baker in the Seattle Times.

Elections

“8-time felon running for seat in Michigan House” by John Wisely in the Detroit Free Press.

Social Media

“Social media have big debate plans” by Steve Friess in Politico.

National:

Aflac and Chubb Join Ranks of Companies Expanding Disclosure

Federal:

Judge Backs Obama Ban on Lobbyists Serving on Federal Advisory Panels

Super PACs Get New Use – As Lobbying Arms on Hill

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Judge Sentences Gambling Lobbyist Pouncy to 3 Years Probation

California

Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill to Modernize Campaign Disclosure Web Site

Georgia

Deal Lawyer Goes After Accuser for Legal Fees

Maryland

Bill Before City Council Aims to Close ‘Gaps’ in Ethics Code

Massachusetts

Goldman Sachs Will Pay $12 Million in SEC ‘Pay-to-Play’ Case

Minnesota

Catholics Asked to Pay for Marriage Vote Ads

North Carolina

Ethics Guidance on Legislative Staffers and Lobbyists

South Carolina

Harrell Offers No Details on Self-Reimbursement of $325,000 from Campaign Funds

Washington

Lobbyists, Staff Aided Lt. Gov. Owen’s Nonprofit

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.

The secretary of state has issued amended rules regarding lobbyist registration.

The substantive changes include:

• Elimination of the requirement that the secretary of state provide notice and an opportunity to respond to lobbyists under investigation for violations of Colorado’s sunshine law;
• Providing that the secretary of state may admonish a lobbyist for failure to pay penalties within 45 days of assessment, as opposed to the previous rule of 90 days;
• Providing that the secretary of state will send a penalty to collections if a lobbyist or lobbyist firm fails to pay the penalty within 90 days;
• Amending the requirement that pertains to reporting of gifts to clarify that lobbyists are prohibited from giving gifts of any kind to covered officials; and
• Establishing definitions of rate and standard as those terms pertain to state agencies with rulemaking authority.

These rules will take effect 20 days after publication in the Colorado Register.

Lobbying

“Trade groups fear gift ban after the election” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Florida: “Senate president scolds lobbyists who opposed his candidates” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Tampa Bay Times.

Campaign Finance, Campaigns and Elections

“How the presidential campaigns are spending money, in one chart” by Sean Sullivan in the Washington Post.

“‘Super PACs’ Finally a Draw for Democrats” by Nicholas Confessore in the New York Times.

“Money trouble: Barack Obama faces a cash gap in the final weeks of the campaign” in The Economist.

“Attentive.ly, a Tool to Mine Your Supporters’ Minds, Just Launched” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.

Pay-toPlay

“Goldman Sachs Will Pay $14.4 Million to Settle Pay-to-Play Cases” by Joshua Gallu, Michael McDonald, and Christine Harper in Bloomberg’s Businessweek.

Ethics

“Watchdog Groups Urge House Leaders to Fill Vacancies on Ethics Board” by Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

California: “After shoplifting plea, lawmaker seeks another office” by Michael J. Mishak in the Los Angeles Times.

Maryland: “Alston’s Maryland law license lifted for ethical violations” by David Hill in the Washington Times.

Procurement

“New federal contracting jobs site launches” by Kedar Pavgi in Government Executive.

The 2012 electoral map continues to take shape and with 40 days until the election, both campaigns are working hard in swing states to gain as much ground as possible. A slew of polls have come out over the past couple of days that have painted a decidedly grim picture for Governor Romney’s chances of winning in November.

A Quinnipiac/CBS News/New York Times poll of three swing states (Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania) shows President Obama has crossed the 50 percent threshold in all three states. Obama leads Romney 53 percent to 44 percent in Florida, 53 percent to 43 percent  in Ohio, and 54 percent to 42 percent  in Pennsylvania. Similarly, a Washington Post poll shows the President breaking the 50 percent mark leading the race in Florida 51 percent to 47 percent and Ohio 52 percent to 44 percent. (The Washington Post and ABC News have also moved the state of Ohio from toss-up to leans Obama)

Much has been made over the past week about the larger sample size of democrats in a number of polls which could potentially affect results. (See: here, here, and here) A look at independents responses in these polls shows a much tighter race for the coveted votes of those not identifying with any particular base. Rasmussen, Gallup, Survey USA, and Pew polls all show Gov. Romney with either a slight advantage or tie with President Obama among independents.

While polling numbers are a gauge of where the race currently stands, only one number matters on election day; 270. With current polling showing Ohio in President Obama’s column, the Washington Post and ABC News project the President has 255 electoral votes either safely on his side, or leaning his way; while Gov. Romney has only 196. If the President were to win either Florida, or a combination of two or more of the remaining swing states, he would reach the necessary 270 electoral votes needed to win reelection. No republican has ever won the presidency without also winning the state of Ohio, and if Gov. Romney were to lose there, he would likely have to sweep all remaining swing states to have a chance.

Other notes from the trail:

• Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) is being accused by Justin Sternad for secretly running Sternad’s unsuccessful campaign during the democratic primary election for the seat currently held by Rivera. Among the accusations are claims that Rivera steered unreported money to Sternad to run against Joe Garcia who previously lost to Rivera in the general election.
• According to a new Washington Post poll, Senator Sherrod Brown (D) maintains a comfortable lead over State Treasurer Josh Mandel (R) for the Ohio Senate seat currently held by Brown. Brown leads among registered voters 51 percent to 39 percent and 53 percent to 41 percent among likely voters.
• Rep. Todd Akin will definitely appear on the ballot for the Missouri Senate seat after the passing of a September 25 deadline to withdraw from the race. Akin has struggled to raise money since his controversial remarks about “legitimate rape”; however, in recent days a number of conservatives have come to his aid including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and possibly South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint.

Lobbying

“K Street Follows Lawmakers Outside the Beltway” by Kate Ackley and Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

“Super PACs get new use — as lobbying arms on Hill” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“Report: D.C. lobbyist on ‘The Bachelor’” by Patrick Gavin in Politico.

“Federal court tosses out lawsuit challenging Obama’s lobbyist ban” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Judge sentences gambling lobbyist Jennifer Pouncy to 3 years probation” by Sebastian Kitchen in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Campaign Finance

“Report ranks corporate political openness” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

Ethics

“N.J. Democrats ask ethics commission to look into Christie’s use of GOP video at town hall” by Jenna Portnoy in the Star-Ledger.

Elections and Political Campaigns

“Secretaries of State Still Juggling Politics, Elections” by Louis Jacobson in Governing.

“New voter laws could delay outcome of close elections as states scrutinize provisional ballots” by The Associated Press in the Washington Post.

“U.S. Supreme Court Lets West Virginia Voting Maps Stand” in Governing.

Social Media

“Cities and Counties Try Facebook for Government” by Hilton Collins in Government Technology.

President Obama has signed an Executive Order “to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not contribute to trafficking in persons.”

The Executive Order, “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking In Persons In Federal Contracts,” signed yesterday, orders the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council to amend its regulations and implement specific requirements of federal contractors.

For example:

• Vendors will be required to agree to cooperate fully in providing reasonable access to allow audits, investigations, or other actions to ensure compliance;
• Contractors will be prohibited from charging employees recruitment fees;
• Contractors will be prohibited from destroying, concealing, and confiscating an employee’s identity documents, such as passports or drivers’ licenses; and
• Contracting officers will have a duty to notify the government if they become aware of any activities concerning the use of forced labor, trafficking in persons, and other specified illegal activities.

While the order is effective immediately, it will apply to solicitations issued after the FAR Council makes its rules. FAR has six months to realize the regulations.

Today the FEC posted an article answering some questions about political contributions made and received by text messaging.

The article can be found here.

Lobbying

“D.C.’s Riches: More Lobbying Over Less” by Matthew Yglesias in Slate.

Alabama: “Alabama gambling lobbyist seeks probation” by Phillip Rawls (Associated Press) in GoErie.com.

California: “California taps the lobbying crowd” in the Central Valley Business Times.

New York: “Court papers: Convicted NYC lobbyist cooperating with prosecutors in inquiry” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Washington: “Lobbyists, state staff helped Washington lawmaker’s charity, records show” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.

Campaign Finance

“Trevor Potter Talks Campaign Finance, Super PACs With Bill Moyers” by Tracy Bloom in Truthdig.

“Ben & Jerry’s co-founder talks campaign finance reform” by Tarini Parti in Politico.

New Mexico: “Albuquerque lawmaker spends campaign money on massages” by The Associated Press in KOB News.

Vermont: “Vt. GOP: Sorrell ad may violate campaign finance law” by WCAX News.

Ethics

“Rep. Waters formally cleared by Ethics panel” by Jordy Jager in The Hill.

“Ethics Committee Details ‘Lessons Learned’ From Maxine Waters Case” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

Florida: “State Rep. Mike Horner resigns after being linked to brothel in Orange County” by Toluse Olorunnipa, Steve Bousquet and Marc Caputo in the Miami Herald.

Social Media and Government Tech

“Report: States Should Switch to Digital Resources Within 5 Years” in Government Technology.

“Social Media Now A Must Have In The Political Campaign Toolbox” by Amanda Falcone in the Hartford Courant.

“More than 50 members of Congress just say no to Twitter’s 140 characters” by Alicia M. Cohn in The Hill.

“Facebook lets users announce voter registration” by Jennifer Martinez in The Hill.

Political Campaigns

“‘Trackers’ now a weapon in the modern campaign arsenal” by Ry Rivard in the Charleston Daily Mail.

Council President Jack Young has introduced legislation on behalf of city watchdog officials to close gaps in Baltimore’s ethics code after reviewing attempts to take advantage of loopholes.

The bill would prohibit council members from accepting gifts from anyone who has lobbied the city in the previous 12 months, even if the lobbyist is no longer registered.

Last January a prominent lobbyist attempted to give a gift, including tickets, to a council member during a short interlude between the expiration of the lobbyist’s 2011 registration and the eventual 2012 registration renewal.

A bill introduced by U.S. Representative Bill Posey hopes to curtail members of congress from becoming lobbyists.

The “End the Congressional Revolving Door Act,” H.R. §6424, would prohibit a former member of congress or former congressional employee, while employed as a lobbyist, from being eligible for certain federal benefits.

Those benefits are:

• The Civil Service Retirement System;

• The Federal Employees’ Retirement System;

• The Federal Employees’ Health Benefits Program; and

• The Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance Program.

The prohibition covers each month the individual is a compensated lobbyist.

In May, a similar bill was introduced by U.S. Representative Steve Israel. The “Congressional Double Dipping Pension Prevention Act,”  H.R. §5737, would prohibit a former member of congress receiving annual compensation exceeding $1,000,000 as a lobbyist from being eligible to concurrently receive federal retirement benefits for the period of time he or she is employed as a lobbyist and receiving such income.

Governor Scott Walker announced the dates of the special elections for a state Senate seat that was recently vacated. Rich Zipperer resigned his seat in 33rd senate district, which represents the Milwaukee area, to serve as Walker’s chief of staff.

The special primary election will take place on November 6 and the general election will take place on December 4. The primary elections will only take place if there are two or more candidates from the same party who declare for the seat.

Two republican candidates have already announced their intentions to run for the Senate seat.

A judge has set October 2, 2012 as the date for a runoff election for a state House primary race.

Two recounts were conducted in the democratic primary for the 5th assembly district between Brandon McGee and Leo Canty.

The second recount resulted in a tie between the two candidates.