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.
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.
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.
For full news coverage, read:
“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.
March 21, 2012 •
STOCK Act is Back
Will be voted on without amendments.
The U.S. Senate will proceed with the House version of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. The bill would bar lawmakers and staff from engaging in insider trading and has been stalled since February. The provision requiring the registration and reporting of “political intelligence consultants” has been removed, but U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) are working to have it restored.
According to Politico, “Reid filed a cloture petition on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act on Tuesday, setting up a Thursday vote to move forward on the bill.”
“Harry Reid to force vote on insider trading bill” by John Bresnahan and Anna Palmer in Politico.
Also: “Senate to vote on STOCK Act” by Paul Kane in The Washington Post.
March 21, 2012 •
South Dakota Bill to Recognize Electronic Filing for Lobbyists
Secretary of State’s online system already up and running
Governor Dennis Daugaard has signed House Bill 1196. The bill amends the lobbyist reporting requirements to reflect the secretary of state’s electronic filing capabilities.
The employer authorization and lobbyist expense report may be submitted in writing or electronically. The completed reports are open to public inspection and will no longer need to be notarized before filing.
Although the bill has an effective date of July 1, 2012, the EZ Lobby system is already accessible at the secretary of state’s website.
The site allows lobbyists and their employers to register, pay fees, update information, and report expenses electronically. Paper forms are still available for lobbyists who chose to register by mail.
March 21, 2012 •
SGAC Holds Its Annual Meeting
The conference for government affairs professionals promises to provide new tools, techniques, and best practices to help build skills and stay on top of the latest trends.
Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending the State Government Affairs Council’s (SGAC) Annual Meeting. Bartz is the president of the Board of Directors of SGAC, the national association for multi-state government affairs professionals.
The event runs from March 21-23 and is being held in Boston, Massachusetts.
You can follow the Twitter conversations from the conference with the hashtag #SGACAnnualMtg12.
March 21, 2012 •
Today’s Lobbying News Roundup
Revolving doors, spending on lobbying in Minnesota, and a new ethics bill in Missouri in the news:
“Revolving Door: Hill Staffers with Retiring Bosses Hit K Street” by Andrew Joseph in National Journal’s Influence Alley.
“Minnesota Capitol the recipient of $59 million lobbying effort” by Megan Boldt in the Grand Forks Herald.
“Business groups spent $14 million lobbying Minn. Legislators” by Rachel E. Stassen-Berger in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
“Democrats propose new Missouri ethics bill” by Elizabeth Crisp in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. According to the article, “the bill would restrict the amount lawmakers and their immediate family members could accept from lobbyists, prohibit lawmakers from working as paid political consultants while in office and limit the investment of campaign contributions to interest-bearing checking or savings accounts.”
“Utah’s revolving door keeps spinning out lobbyists” by Britny Mortensen in The Salt Lake Tribune.
March 21, 2012 •
Government Tech and Social Media News
A new Facebook app for tracking legislation, government social media skeptics, and California gets a new Director of the Office of Technology Services:
Federal: “New Facebook Open Graph App Makes Lawmaking Social, Brings House Bills To The Crowds” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident. Here is the link to the new Citizen Cosponsor app.
Federal: “Social media challenges federal oversight of agency communications” by Alice Lipowicz in Federal Computer Week.
State and Local: “Social Media Still Has Skeptics in Government” by Matt Williams in Government Technology.
California: “Y2K Expert to Lead California’s Technology Services” by Ashley Nelson in Government Technology.
New Jersey: “Morris County named a best case example of e-government” by The Independent Press on NJ.com.
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.
