Common Cause Rhode Island released a statement asking the state to stop the redrawing of congressional districts.

For news coverage read “Common Cause calls for R.I. to stop redistricting process / Poll” by Philip Marcelo in the Providence Journal on December 13.

For more background information, read “New maps for Congress and state House of Representatives draw criticism” by Randal Edgar in the Providence Journal from December 12.

You can find Common Cause’s statement in “Common Cause calls for pause to redistricting process” on the Common Cause Rhode Island blog. Video coverage of the Rhode Island Redistricting Project meetings this week can be found here.

The Baltimore Sun reported that lobbyist Bruce Bereano has settled the ethics case with the Maryland State Ethics Commission by agreeing to pay a $2,750 fine.

For the full story read “Bereano settles ethics charges for $2,750” by Michael Dresser.

In June, Stacey Kalberman had raised questions about the timing of the commission’s plan to cut her salary and eliminate her chief deputy’s position. In the weeks before her resignation, Kalberman said the two prepared draft subpoenas for Deal and his aides to further their investigation.

The subpoenas were never executed because commissioners would not sign off. The commission did ask Deal’s campaign to voluntarily turn over records, but commissioners have refused to say whether that’s happened.

Some are concerned about how an inspector general appointed by the governor can fairly investigate the governor.

The American League of Lobbyists recently posted two videos on their YouTube channel from an October event where they invited Tim Farnum and Peter Overby to speak about Citizens United and soft money in the 2012 elections. ALL President Howard Marlowe was the moderator.

According to the site, “On Friday, October 28th, 2011 the American League of Lobbyists hosted two award winning journalists, Tim Farnum of the Washington Post and Peter Overby of NPR, for a discussion about the role that ‘soft money’ will play in the 2012 elections.”

Part 1

Part 2

The Ohio House of Representatives has approved House Bill 326, a bill setting criminal penalties for using taxpayer money for political activity. While it is currently illegal in the state to use taxpayer funds for campaign finance purposes, there is no penalty associated with such an action.

The bill calls for a $1,000 penalty and up to six months in jail for violators. The measure now proceeds to the Ohio Senate.

For those of you who may have missed some of today’s relevant social media articles, here are a few for you to check out!

President Barack Obama, who has been characterized as anti-business by his political opponents, has received more in campaign contributions from business executives this year than any Republican presidential candidate. Obama Backers Make President Top Fundraiser From Business.

The Facebook political team commend Newt Gingrich for using WayIn, a polling application, as well as providing a tab that enables potential volunteers to find campaign-related events. Gingrich Savvy On Facebook, Says Company’s Political Team.

The pros and cons of apps vs. mobile-enabled websites are discussed. It’s apps vs. mobile-enabled websites in GSA smackdown

Enjoy!

Soon after the successful overturning of Senate Bill 5, the controversial collective bargaining law, advocates of fair elections in Ohio are looking to overturn a second piece of legislation that they have called a “voter suppression” bill.

Supporters of this bill, HB 194, believe that this bill will create a more efficient electoral process in Ohio, decrease incidences of fraud due to absentee and provisional ballots, and effectively utilize technology in elections.

The opponents of the bill, largely Democrats and voting rights activists, collected 307,358 signatures achieving their goal of allowing voters to decide on the fate of the bill. They are opposed to several provisions in the bill, most notably those that shorten the time frame for early voting from five weeks to three weeks, eliminate most weekend voting hours, and drop a requirement that poll workers tell voters when they are in the wrong precinct in a multi-precinct voting location.

Voters will decide on HB 194 in November of 2012, preserving the existing election rules through the 2012 presidential elections which gave Democrats the edge in the 2008 elections when Obama won Ohio by only 4 points.

Read more in this article on Cleveland.com.

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will hear arguments on January 9 regarding Congressional and State Legislature districts in Texas. This has put Texas campaigning and fundraising in a state of confusion.

You can find the news coverage here:

“Redistricting Orders Throw Texas Politics Into Disarray” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.

“Texas Elections Are in Limbo Over Redistricting Issue” by Manny Fernandez in the New York Times.

“Judges to offer guidance to party leaders after Supreme Court blocks maps” by Tim Eaton in the American-Statesman.

State lawmakers in Louisiana will be going through what has been called a “crash course” in the craft of lawmaking.

Be sure to read “Newest Louisiana legislators will get crash course in their new roles” by Ed Anderson in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The article says, “[House Clerk Alfred] Speer said the House’s agenda will include mock committee meeting and floor sessions, as well as discussions of ethics laws, parliamentary procedure, introduction to legislative staff, key dates for filing bills, and one called ‘Norms of Behavior or How to Operate within the House and Keep Your Integrity and Sanity.'”

You can find the Web Portal for the Louisiana State Legislature here.

Photo of the Louisiana State Capitol by Bluepoint951 on Wikipedia.

NEW YORK:  Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders announced the appointment of 14 members to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.  Governor Cuomo chose Janet DiFiore, the District Attorney of Westchester County, to chair the commission.

The new agency replaces the Commission on Public Integrity, which was created in 2007 by the merger of the ethics and lobbying commissions.  Under a law signed on August 15, the new commission came into existence yesterday.

The creation of the joint commission put operations of the prior agency on hold, except for collecting lobbying expenditure reports, financial disclosure reports by state employees, and conducting on-line ethical training courses. Any allegations of unethical conduct it has received will be transferred to the new commission.

Approximately 30 employees remain with the commission, about half the work force when the Commission on Public Integrity was formed in 2007.

Thanks to Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law Blog for bringing this news item to our attention.

Gallup.com just published a poll placing lobbyists and lawmakers at the bottom of their list in the areas of honesty and ethics. For the full story read “Record 64% Rate Honesty, Ethics of Members of Congress Low” by Jeffrey M. Jones.

According to the article: “Gallup has asked Americans to rate the honesty and ethics of numerous professions since 1976, including annually since 1990. Lobbyists also received a 64% low honesty and ethics rating in 2008.”

Photo of the Gallup Organization window by Kate Mereand on Wikipedia.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Wisconsin law that set limits on contributions to groups that independently spend on political speech and permanently enjoined enforcement of the law.

The appeal was brought by the political action committee of Wisconsin Right to Life, which previously won a temporary injunction against enforcing the law during recall elections earlier this year.

The court found that after Citizens United v. FEC, W.S. §§ 11.26(4) is unconstitutional to the extent that it limits contributions to committees engaged solely in independent spending for political speech.

Federal House and Senate resolutions meant to blunt the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision have recently been submitted to Congress.

Senate Joint Resolution 33, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders, and House Joint Resolution 90, introduced by Representative Theodore E. Deutch, both expressly exclude for-profit corporations from “the rights given to natural persons” and prohibit corporation spending in all elections, including ballot issues.

Additionally, the resolutions allow the government “to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own spending, and to authorize the establishment of political committees to receive, spend, and publicly disclose the sources of those contributions and expenditures.’’

The amendment proposed reads as follows:

Section 1. The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons and do not extend to for-profit corporations, limited liability companies, or other private entities established for business purposes or to promote business interests under the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state.

Section 2. Such corporate and other private entities established under law are subject to regulation by the people through the legislative process so long as such regulations are consistent with the powers of Congress and the States and do not limit the freedom of the press.

Section 3. Such corporate and other private entities shall be prohibited from making contributions or expenditures in any election of any candidate for public office or the vote upon any ballot measure submitted to the people.

Section 4. Congress and the States shall have the power to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own spending, and to authorize the establishment of political committees to receive, spend, and publicly disclose the sources of those contributions and expenditures.

Other constitutional amendments introduced related to campaign finance can be found in our prior blog posts, including Constitutional Amendment to Control Campaign Financing and Constitutional Amendment to Reverse Citizens United.

The West Virginia Legislature convened a special session on Sunday, December 11, 2011.

The session has been called to discuss the regulation of oil and gas wells.