Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, and John Cozine, Research Manager for the company, contributed to a publication by the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO). The white paper, “Effective Communication between State Procurement and Industry,” was presented at NAPSO’s recent national meeting.

The How to Market to State Governments Meeting was held April 15-17 in Orlando, Florida.

State and Federal Communications’ contribution can be found in the “Vendor Reporting and Disclosure” section, which covers compliance issues regarding lobbying, vendor disclosure, and pay-to-play.

“We felt it was important that we participate to make sure the paper included information about compliance,” said Bartz.

The North Carolina General Assembly convened as scheduled for a special session on April 23, 2012.

Both the Senate and the House will meet again on April 25, at which time they are expected to adjourn until the scheduled regular legislative session begins on May 16, 2012.

Photo of North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

“Redistricting takes some of the ‘swing’ out of House fights” by Susan Davis in USA Today.

Alaska: “It may be too late for another legislative redistricting plan” by Becky Bohrer in the Anchorage Daily News.

Arizona: “State Supreme Court reaffirms that governor shouldn’t have fired redistricting chair” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Kansas: “Kobach warns of redistricting crisis” by John Hanna (Associated Press) in the Lawrence Journal-World.

Mississippi: “Mississippi lawmakers tackle redistricting” by Phil West in The Commercial Appeal.

Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania’s new map pits incumbent Democrats in primary” by Sean Lengell in The Washington Times.

Vermont: “Vermont Senate endorses redistricting plans” by Nancy Remsen in the Burlington Free Press.

Wyoming: “State: Redistricting plaintiffs have no standing to file suit” by Trevor Brown in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

“This Week in Tech: House boots up ‘cyber week’” by Brendan Sasso and Andrew Feinberg in The Hill.

NCSL is hosting its “Social Media Policies for State Legislatures” webinar on April 27.

Nextgov gives us a sneak preview of their forthcoming new website!

Here is a link to The New York Times Election 2012 App for iPhone and Android. Their site gives this description:

“News, opinion, polls and live election night results. From The Times and other top sources around the Web. It’s the best campaign coverage anywhere, all in one app.”

District of Columbia: “Hackers Shut Down District of Columbia Government Website” by Nikita Stewart in The Washington Post.

Iowa: “Iowa lawmakers go on camera to deliver updates” by James Q. Lynch in the Quad-City Times.

“Big lobbying spending dips” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.

“U.S. Chamber of Commerce Continues to Spend Heavily on Lobbying, Filings Show” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“K Streeters Adjusting to Loss of Earmarks” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Fears of lame-duck session in Congress could boost K Street’s bottom line” by Kevin Bogardus and Rachel Leven in The Hill.

California: “How to wire a state capital” by Charles Mahtesian in Politico.

California: “AT&T wields enormous power in Sacramento” by Shane Goldmacher and Anthony York in The Los Angeles Times.

Minnesota: “Not all laws come from high-powered lobbying campaigns” by John Reinan in the MinnPost.

Federal: “How to Beat Citizens United” by E.J. Dionne, Jr. in The Washington Post.

Arkansas: “Arkansas attorney general certifies ballot wording for item on lobbying, campaign finance” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

California: “State political watchdog chair wants bloggers to reveal payments” by Brian Joseph in the Orange County Register.

California: “California ethics czar urges disclosure of payments to Web pundits” by Patrick McGreevey in the Los Angeles Times.

California: “California looks to crack down on political bloggers paid by campaigns” by Jim Sanders in The Sacramento Bee.

Virginia: “New Electronic Campaign Filing Lauded in Virginia” by The Associated Press in Governing.

National:

WellPoint Is Focus of Aggressive Effort to Force Political Spending Disclosures

Federal:

Federal Judge Rules for FEC in Contractor Donation Dispute

Mystery Donor Gives $10 Million to Crossroads GPS Group to Run Anti-Obama Ads

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Ethics Law Curveball

Arizona

Arizona Senate Rejects New Bans on Meals, Donations

California

Corruption Can Leave Cities with Enormous Legal Bills

California

S.B. County Seeks to Bring in Political Watchdogs

Florida

Authorities Call for Tougher Campaign Finance Laws Following Rivera Probe

Illinois

Small Town Rocked by $30 Million Theft Case

New Jersey

How N.J. PACs Are Skirting the Law on ‘Pay-to-Play’

South Carolina

State Ethics Agency Pinched by Staff Shortage

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.

“Rules of the Game: Dissecting Super PAC Consulting” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“One Donor Gave One-Third of Pro-Republican Group’s Funds” by Heidi Przybyla and Jonathan D. Salant in Bloomberg.

“What happens to funds in defunct super PACs?” by Jeremy Roebuck in the Boston Herald.

“Secretive ‘Grassroots’ political group — vehicle for the very rich” by Joel Connelly in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

“Big donors diversify Super PAC donations” by Alexander Cohen and Alina Selyukh in Reuters.

“Billionaires fall in line” by Kenneth P. Vogel in Politico.

Campaign Finance

“Rep. Ted Deutch Holds Summit on Overturning Citizens United” via a press release on Rep. Ted Deutsch’s website. The meeting is set for tomorrow.

Alabama: “Campaign finance, PAC-to-PAC transfer law needs teeth, grand jury says” by Brian Lyman in the Montgomery Advertiser.

“Fundraising Numbers Tip Scales of Power” by Joshua Miller in Roll Call.

ALEC

“Midwest Democracy | Study accuses ALEC of ‘secretive influence’ in Missouri Capitol” by Jason Hancock in The Kansas City Star.

Government Ethics

“Figure at center of D.C. campaign finance probe resigns from health-care company” by Mike DeBonis in The Washington Post.

“U.S. congressman under fire for campaign expenses turns to high-powered law firm” by Matt Friedman in the Star-Ledger.

A Federal District Court denied a preliminary injunction request demanding the Federal Election Commission (FEC) not enforce a law prohibiting individuals with federal contracts from making political contributions to federal candidates or political parties.

In Wagner v. Federal Election Commission, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the Court rejected challenges to the constitutionality of section 441c of Title 2 of the U.S. Code, which prohibits any vendors with contracts with the federal government from making such contributions.

The case, brought by the ACLU, asked the Court to declare the law unconstitutional as applied to individuals who have personal services contracts with federal agencies. Because federal workers who are not contractors may make federal political contributions, while contractors performing the same work may not, the suit argued section 441c violates both the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and the First Amendment.

In denying the preliminary injunction request, the Court concluded the plaintiffs do not have a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be a founding member of the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network (YPN).

As a consistent supporter of the city of Akron and the economic growth of the region, State and Federal Communications is strengthening its commitment by becoming a part of the Chamber’s re-launch of this valuable program.

According to the chambers website, “The Greater Akron Chamber is committed to making an impact on the retention and attraction of talent in the greater Akron area. We believe that by connecting our region’s YPs to each other and to our community, we will be better able to accomplish that goal. The mission of the YPN is to attract and retain talent to the Greater Akron region by connecting the next generation of leaders to each other and to the community.”

The YPN hosts quarterly networking events as well as programs geared towards personal and professional development. By offering benefits available exclusively to YPN members and opportunities to take ownership in the community, the program will support a new crop of leaders and strengthen the economic development of the greater Akron area.

State and Federal Communications is proud to be a part of the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, and a founding member of the Young Professionals Network.

Jon Spontarelli is a member of the Young Professional Network and the primary contact from State and Federal Communications.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, was a presenter at the National Summit on Strategic Communications in Washington, D.C. yesterday.

The session was “Lobbying and Advocacy: Winning Strategies for Changing Times.” According to the conference agenda, the discussion consisted of the following:

“Thousands of political players, representing various causes, lobby on issues through diverse and fluid factions. Some research suggests that these factions often cancel each other out and prevent disruptive swings in public policy. Yet, this is no reason for organizations to step away from political involvement. As agencies and governments struggle with growing needs for services and large budget cuts, companies will be expected to play an even greater role in addressing society’s problems and advocating for solutions.”

The panel featured Elizabeth Bartz and Story Partners Chairperson Gloria Story Dittus, and was moderated by Tim Flaherty, Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Campaign Finance

Federal: “Md. lawmakers take on political spending spree” by John Fritze in the Baltimore Sun.

Vermont: “Vermont lawmakers work to unravel Citizens United ruling” by Nicole Gaudiano in the Burlington Free Press.

Missouri: “St. Louis attorney pleads guilty in campaign donation scheme” by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Lobbying

“Courting the White House: Don’t call it lobbying” by Anna Palmer and Abby Phillip in Politico.

“White House Opens Door to Big Donors, and Lobbyists Slip In” by Mike Mcintire and Michael Luo in The New York Times.

“Is dialoguing lobbying?” by Donovan Slack in Politico.

California:  “The lobbyists’ bumbles and foibles” by Ray LeBov in Capitol Weekly.

Federal:

Democrats Give Special Interests a Role at Convention

Lobbyists Push Congress to Toughen Rules for Their Industry

White House Abandons Push for Federal Contractors to Disclose Political Giving

From the States and Municipalities:

Alaska

Commission Nominee Withdraws after Racism Accusation Revived

Arkansas

Ethics, Campaign Finance Reform Measure Inspired by Occupy Movement

California

L.A. County Supervisors Campaign for Funds in Lightly Contested Races

Georgia

Gifts Continue to Rain on Lawmakers

Indiana

Union Says Right-to-Work Law Violates Free Speech

Massachusetts

House May Pull PR, CEOs, Communications Specialists into Lobbying Definition

Michigan

Wayne Co. Ethics Rules Get Mixed Welcome

Missouri

Former Missouri Governor Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering

New Mexico

New Charges Filed against NM Town’s Mayor-Elect

Ohio

Josh Mandel, Ohio Treasurer, Sent Top Aide to Beginner’s Course

South Carolina

Ethics Commission Probes Haley’s Campaign Finances

Washington

Ex-Evergreen Instructor Who Owes $119,000 for Ethics Violations Has Disappeared

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.