State and Federal Communications, and its predecessor State and Federal Associates, have been involved with lobbying compliance since 1976. You can imagine many others might try to duplicate our program but never have the resources or staff to implement the platinum type of service you currently receive from my highly trained in-house staff of 11 attorneys.

When I purchased my area of business from State and Federal Associates in 1993 and formed State and Federal Communications, Inc., we really were the only gig in town. As time goes on and as technology is easier, there are others—who have been clients or former employees—that feel a similar URL and a toll free number makes it easy to replicate. But don’t be fooled. There is only one true compliance company in Ohio and in this country and our reputation and our list of clients speak for themselves.

In government relations I have everyone down to two degrees of separation. In the case of competitors, it is only one because each has seen success and yearns for it. I don’t take it personally…it’s business. And, I assure you I take my business seriously and my relationship with my clients even more seriously. Your compliance needs have always been our absolute priority.

Thank you for the confidence you have in our services.  We look forward to many, many more years together.

Governor Dave Heinemen has called for a special session of the Nebraska Legislature to focus on proposed bills intended to reroute the Keystone XL crude-oil pipeline around a region of the state rich in groundwater. The session is scheduled to begin November 1, 2011, and is expected to last at least two weeks.

The call for a special session comes after weeks of debate as to whether such a session was necessary, as well as whether passing legislation pertaining to the pipeline would be constitutional and legal at this point in the process of planning the project.

For more information, you can read “Gov. calls for pipeline session”  by Paul Hammel in the Omaha World-Herald.

Photo of the Nebraska Legislature Chamber by ensignbeedrill on Wikipedia.

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK:  The Suffolk County Legislature has approved two bills that would overhaul the county’s ethics rules. One bill would create a five-member board of ethics, to replace the three-member commission. The county executive would appoint two members, and the legislature’s presiding officer, majority leader, and minority leader would each appoint one member. All appointees would require confirmation by the legislature.

The other bill consolidates disclosure and ethics requirements into one section of the county code. The bills are awaiting action by the County Executive.

The Suffolk County Ethics Commission is currently under investigation as a grand jury determines if the County Executive attempted to influence actions of the commission, and if the commission disclosed confidential information.

Montana Commissioner of Political Practices David Gallik is now working on clarifying the rules for using social media in political campaigns. A few complaints have emerged in Montana over  the use of email and social media in campaigns, and the commissioner  recognizes the existing laws were crafted primarily for campaigns using print media, television, and radio.

In the Missoulian article “Montana political practices office to address social media campaign complaints,” journalist Keila Szpaller spoke with Gallik about what comes next for the state. The article also explores how the use of social media in political campaigns, and its regulation, can bring into focus the tension between personal privacy and the demands of an open democratic process.

Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 318 into law the evening of Friday, October 21, 2011. House Bill 318 creates two separate primary elections in the state during 2012. The first primary election, for county partisan offices, the state legislature, and the available U.S. Senate seat, will be held on March 6, 2012, while the second primary date, for the President and U.S. House of Representatives, will be June 12, 2012.

The bill is intended to give state lawmakers more time to settle differences concerning Ohio’s recently passed map for legislative redistricting, as a Democrat-backed coalition seeks to place the redistricting measure before Ohio’s voters for a possible repeal in 2012 if a compromise cannot be reached.

Political contribution limit changes proposed this summer by the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices take effect today.

The adjustments affect the amount of contributions individuals, political parties, and political committees may make to candidates for the office of governor and other statewide positions.

Additionally, as also proposed this summer by the Commissioner’s office, electronic filing of reports is scheduled to begin in January.

The San Francisco Ethics Commission has approved amendments to the campaign finance reform ordinance. The language of the amendments is forthcoming and will be approved by the commission at the November 14, 2011 meeting.

Amendments that were proposed and approved at the October 19, 2011 commission meeting include disclaimer, disclosure, and reporting requirements for communications that are paid for by third parties concerning candidates for city elective office, an affirmation of the $500 per person contribution limit to candidates, and permission for campaign funds to be used by a candidate to attend a fundraiser for a charitable organization. The commission also approved a provision which will allow the commission to modify the $500 limit to reflect the consumer price index for future elections.

The commission further clarified that a candidate may transfer funds from the candidate’s committee only before the funds become surplus.

MARYLAND: The Maryland General Assembly adjourned the special session to approve a congressional redistricting plan on October 20.

SOUTH DAKOTA: State lawmakers convened a special session on Monday, October 24. The purpose of the special session was to redraw the boundaries of the state’s voting districts.

A federal lawsuit has been filed claiming a burden upon First Amendment free speech rights due to a state of Mississippi requirement that people or groups must file a campaign finance report upon spending at least $200 to support or oppose ballot initiatives.

The group of five citizens filing the suit claims the reporting requirement could scare people away from political participation. The group supports Mississippi Initiative 31, which limits the government’s use of eminent domain to take private land.

The citizens are represented by the Institute for Justice, a group that has also filed similar lawsuits concerning disclosure requirements in Colorado and Florida in recent years.

National:

Deep Sea Burial Forms First Corporate ‘Super PAC’

Federal:

ACLU Challenge to Small Piece of Campaign Finance Law May Lead to a Slippery Slope

Judge Sends Abramoff Deputy to Halfway House

K Street Suffers from Twitter Jitters

From the States and Municipalities:

Alaska

APOC Busy as Redistricting Raises Legislators’ Questions

California

California’s Center for Governmental Studies to Close

California

San Jose Eases Campaign Limits, Focuses Economic Efforts

Florida

To Interview Mayor, Reporters Must Register as Lobbyists

Kentucky

Judge Bars Group’s Ads Supporting David Williams from Airing

Massachusetts

Lally, DiMasi Conspirator Who Cooperated with Prosecutors, Sentenced to 18 Months

Montana

Group Asks Judge to Toss Campaign Finance Ruling

Pennsylvania

Nutter, Green Unlikely Allies in Same-Sex Ethics Bill

Tennessee

Corporations Signing Up to Donate Under New State Law

Texas

HISD Tightens Ethics 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.

In the New York Times, Nicholas Confessore examines the dilemma of reporting about presidential candidate filings and campaign finance figures minus the “super-PAC” dollars in the third quarter.

Here is the article on NYTimes.com: “Without ‘Super PAC’ Numbers, Campaign Filings Present an Incomplete Picture”

Yesterday, techPresident published “New Obama for America Page is a Jungle Gym for Donation Data” by Nick Judd.

Everyone has been talking about the new role social media is playing in the 2012 presidential campaigns. But I think Judd brings up an often missed point: The importance of social media’s role is not so much to be found in the social networks themselves, but in the vast amount of information the campaigns have about each of us, and how they are using that information on social media. Judd writes about campaigns “micro-targeting” potential political campaign donors with personalized messages geared toward attracting the most money.

The article showcases the Obama 2012 campaign website, which boasts its one million donors. The site allows you to drill down into a great deal of information about the contributions. The aim of the site is that the visitor will come to the conclusion that the donors are broad-based and grassroots.

Have any of our readers seen any similar examples on other campaign websites? Please share it on Lobby Comply!

I saw a pattern on Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law Blog entry for today – articles talking about lobbying spending. Each one comes to us from The Hill and each one tells of dropping numbers. I thought they were significant, so here they are:

Staff article: “Lobbying Revenue – Third Quarter 2011”

“Influence industry officially in a funk” by Kevin Bogardus and Rachel Leven

“Chamber of Commerce and legal affiliate report spending $45.8M on lobbying” by Kevin Bogardus

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

Who can possibly top New York City? This week’s Highlighted Site of the Week is the city government’s NYC Digital. Their statistics are staggering: a four million digital audience, 202 million pageviews of NYC.gov in 2010, 52 agencies represented, 4000 points of engagement, 98% residential broadband access, 200 social media channels, and – as they are proud to say – it is all because they have one plan for New York City’s digital future.

According to the site: “New York City is one of the world’s leading digital metropolises. As Part I: State of the Digital City illustrates, New York City government engages over 25 million people a year through more than 200 digital channels including NYC.gov, mobile applications, and social media.”

They work hard to promote civic engagement, encourage new business startups with their Business Solutions Centers, and host hackathons where they provide city data to programmers so they can write cutting edge web and mobile applications to help the city. For those involved in government relations, their Lobbying Bureau page has many links in its helpful FAQ list.

The hundreds of NYC Social Media Sites range from the mayor’s office Twitter feed and Children’s Services’ Facebook, to the Departments of Aging,  Buildings, Business, Community Affairs, Education, and many more. Take a look at their 21 Mobile Apps, where you can have information about the road conditions, sports events, Department of Health updates, directions for getting around the city, sanitation department info, and the latest news from the mayor’s office sent directly to your mobile phone.

NYC Digital is as big as the city itself and just as humbling, I must say. Have a terrific weekend, everyone!

Photo of the New York City skyline at night by Francisco Diez on Wikipedia.