Q:  Can I change the method by which I am calculating my lobbying expenditures for purposes of filing my Federal  LD-2 reports?

A:  Yes, at the appropriate time.  Under the LDA, registrants have the option of electing the compilation method for quarterly expenditures – that is, whether they use the LDA definitions or the IRC definitions for lobbying.  A change in that method election can only take place, however, in the first quarter of each new year.  Once a report has been filed using one method then all subsequent reports for that reporting year must employ the same method.  That being the case, this is a very good time to consider whether it makes sense to change.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each method and the decision to change your method should be made after careful consideration.  Here are just a few important differences to keep in mind when considering a new method election for 2012:

• The IRC method allows an organization to employ only one tracking system for both tax and LDA purposes;
• The IRC method provides a greatly narrowed definition of communications with executive branch officials;
• Under the LDA method, neither grassroots nor state and local lobbying expenditures are included.

If you think it may make sense to consider a change in your calculating method, please let us know and we’d be happy to assist in a more thorough analysis.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

National:

Study Finds Compliance Officers Are Highly Stressed

Federal:

Ex-Gingrich Adviser Now Trying to Close Lobbying Loopholes

Gabrielle Giffords Bids an Emotional Farewell to Congress

Meet the ‘Super Super PAC’

From the States and Municipalities:

California

Campaign Donation Limits Lifted

Georgia

Ethics Bill Gets Cool Reception in Georgia House

Hawaii

Think Hawaii’s Tough on Ethics? Try Iowa

Massachusetts

Scott Brown, Elizabeth Warren Pledge to Curb Outside Campaign Spending

New Mexico

Protesters Scuffle with [Lawmakers]

Ohio

Cleveland Television Station Covering High-Profile Ohio Bribery Trial with On-Air Puppet Help

Ohio

Lobbyists Sponsor Party for Kasich

Oklahoma

Ethics Proposal Would Allow Lobbyists to Skirt Spending Limit, Buy Meals for Oklahoma Lawmakers

Pennsylvania

Limits Raised on Philly Campaign Contributions

Utah

Gym Fees? Utah Politicians Find Loophole in Ethics Law

Washington

Appeals Court: Top 2 Primary OK, but not recall contribution limits

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.

Senator Jeanette K. White has introduced Senate Bill 150, a bill concerning lobbyist registration and reporting. The bill proposes the removal of the ability to register within 48 hours of beginning to lobby and would require all lobbyists to register prior to lobbying, employers to register prior to engaging a lobbyist, and lobbying firms to file their lobbyist listings prior to the lobbyists commencing lobbying activities.

The bill also requires lobbying firms to update their listing of lobbyists before any new lobbyist commences lobbying activities and within 48 hours of a lobbyist’s termination. Finally, the threshold on reportable gifts to legislators would be decreased from $15 to $10.

If passed in present form, the changes would take effect July 1, 2012.

Our Highlighted Site of the Week is the Federal Election Commission’s 2012 Campaign Finance Maps page. You can play with interactive maps of the states for information about the 2012 Presidential Candidates, or the House and Senate elections.

With just a mouse-over you can view the amount of contributions by state, and with just a bit more work you can search the amount received by each candidate, and the amount given by a donor’s name.

For the presidential races, you can drill down in each state for data down to the zip code level. For the candidates in the congressional elections, you can view the campaign finance information by the congressional district of each state.

“Days After SOTU Are Full of Lobbyist Feedback” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Super PACs’ money could tip balance of power in Congress” by Martina Stewart in CNN Politics.

“Lobbying dips sharply in 2011” by Dan Eggen in the Washington Post.

“Lobbying spending falls for first time since 1999” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

The online filing system, Insight, will be offline today, January 26, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EST). Filers who attempt to access the system during this time risk losing data.

A separate notice will be sent by the Alaska Public Offices Commission if the fix takes longer than proposed.

Questions can be addressed to Joan Mize at (907) 465-4865.

Campaign Finance

“Obama says Congress should stop campaign bundling by lobbyists” by Kevin Bogardus on The Hill.

“Super PACs set sights on 2012 congressional races” by Fredreka Schouten in USAToday.

“Super PACs drive a near-doubling in federal election spending” by Jim Galloway in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Wis. governor fights recall with out-of-state cash” by The Associated Press on CBS Money Watch.

Lobbying

“Gingrich says $1.65M contract wasn’t for lobbying” by The Associated Press.

“Ex-Gingrich Adviser Now Trying to Close Lobbying Loopholes” by Eliza Newlin Carney and Kate Ackley on Roll Call.

“Ethics bill gets cool reception in Ga. House” by Chris Joyner and Christopher Quinn in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Clerk reports on lobbyist activity in Cook County” by The Associated Press in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Petitions with more than 100,000 signatures have been submitted to the White House urging the president to require federal contractors to disclose political contributions.

Last spring a leaked draft executive order requiring vendors submitting offers for federal contracts to disclose political contributions and expenditures resulted in both fervent support and opposition. A compromise amendment was inserted into the 565-page National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2012, which passed in December, precluding federal agencies from requiring vendors bidding on federal contracts to disclose political contributions.

In their press release arguing for full transparency of corporate political spending, Public Citizen and MoveOn.org explained its petitions are asking for disclosures after the contracts are awarded.

For previous articles on Lobby Comply by George Ticoras on this topic, you can read posts from May 10, May 12, May 20, June 1, July 28, 2011, and January 5, 2012.

Photo of the The White House by UpstateNYer on Wikipedia.

Bruce E. Bailey, an attorney from Westerville, Ohio, has been appointed to the Ohio Ethics Commission. Bailey will be taking the seat held previously by former commission chairman Ben Rose.

Rose had requested Governor John Kasich not reappoint him for another term.Bailey’s term will run through January 1, 2018.

State Senator Doug Stoner has proposed legislation that would remove control of ethics enforcement from the General Assembly by making the state’s ethics commission an independent agency.

Senate Bill 315 would also change the name of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission to the Georgia Ethics Commission.

The commission would be appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the chief judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals. Currently, members are appointed by legislators and the governor.

Lobbyist disclosure statements are now accessible by the public on the San Francisco Ethics Commission website. You can search lobbyists, lobbyist clients, lobbying firms, reported public officials, and lobbying subjects of concern.

According to the site:

This site contains information about lobbying activities for all lobbyist who are registered with the Commission. The Commission requires these lobbyists to submit monthly statements of their lobbying activities including: Activity Expenses, Political Contributions, Contacts of Public Officials, and Payments Promised by Clients.

The Ethics Commission is also offering an API (Application Programming Interface) for programmers to take the raw data from lobbyist reports and create mashups and aggregate reports of their own.

For news coverage, read “San Francisco Publishes New Tool To Interpret Local Lobbying Information” by Sarah Lai Stirland on techPresident.

The board of ethics has released new campaign contribution limits adjusted for changes in the cost of living.

The new limits for individual contributions have been raised from $2,600 to $2,900 and for political committees or businesses from $10,600 to $11,500.

When the campaign finance law was passed in 2008, a provision was included to increase the maximum contribution every four years based upon the board’s review of the consumer price index.

Photo of Philadelphia by Parent5446 on Wikipedia.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California has issued an opinion in Thalheimer v. City of San Diego. The court upheld the ban on corporate contributions made directly to candidates. Further, the court upheld San Diego’s $500 individual contribution limit to city candidates. Additionally, the court upheld the ban on contributions made to a city candidate more than 12 months before the election.

The court struck down the ban on political party contributions to candidates and the $1,000 limit on direct contributions to candidates by political parties, which was enacted after the district court granted a preliminary injunction. Lastly, the court struck down restrictions on how much individuals and corporations can give to PACs making independent expenditures.

The Oklahoma State Ethics Commission has approved a rule which creates an exception to the $100 annual gift limit. The rule allows lobbyists to provide a lunch or dinner for a group of legislators once a year, during the legislative session, at the state capitol, without counting the meal against the annual limit. Lobbyists would be required to report the amount spent.

The rule will go into effect on January 1, 2013 unless the legislature disapproves by the end of the 2012 session.