The Office of Government Ethics (O.G.E.) has issued proposed lobbyist gift ban rules, which would apply to all executive branch employees.

Most of the proposed rules deal with limiting, for lobbyists, the exceptions of the ban on gifts. For example, executive branch employees would not be permitted to accept invitations extended by lobbyists for free attendance at widely attended gatherings that would normally fall under the gift ban exception. Non-profit professional associations, scientific organizations, and learned societies, which are also sometimes registered lobbyists, would still be afforded the exception. The O.G.E. based much of its reasoning on the notion “the cultivation of familiarity and access that a lobbyist [gains]” may be used in the future by lobbyists to obtain more sympathetic hearings for clients.

Another change would preclude lobbyists from the gift ban exception of social invitations, such as invitations to cocktail parties and movie screenings, if the invitations were extended because of the employee’s official position, even if the lobbyist is not a prohibited source. The O.G.E. argues in its proposal that “the lobbyist could use social events as a way to build general good will with a class of employees in case access is needed for a future issue or client.”

The proposed rules arise because an earlier Presidential Executive Order regarding gifts to non-career political appointees, which had called for the O.G.E. “to apply the lobbyist gift ban set forth [in the order] to all executive branch employees.” Written comments about the rule must be received by the O.G.E. before November 14, 2011

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie renewed calls on the Legislature to pass ethics reform. In a press release, the governor stated, “New Jersey’s ethics laws remain a patchwork of ineffective half measures and loopholes that fail to apply a uniform standard of rules of conduct for all levels of government in our state.”

Highlighting a report issued last week by the State Comptroller which emphasized the failure of the state’s pay-to-play laws, the governor reiterated the need for the changes in his proposals, which include imposing a uniform standard for awarding contracts at all levels and branches of government in New Jersey. His proposals would also end ‘wheeling,’ a practice of transferring political donations to circumvent campaign financing laws.

Governor Christie has pushed pay-to-play reform in New Jersey by linking financial Transitional Aid to municipalities with the requirement the municipalities adopt local pay-to-play ordinances.

A post about the State Comptroller report can be found here.

Here is an interesting article on Law Technology News (Law.com) that surveys the landscape of government agencies and their use of Twitter.

You’ll find the Twitter handles of many government agencies and more than a dozen examples of government tweets.

The article is called “Your Government, on Twitter” by Jesse Londin.

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear the state’s appeal of the 2010 decision in Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. State of Montana finding the state’s ban on direct corporate spending for or against political candidates unconstitutional.

Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock found the Montana law unconstitutional.

Attorney General Steve Bullock, who has stated the overturned law guaranteed citizens the right to participate in elections without their interests being overshadowed by corporations, will argue the case.

Federal:

New Rule Would Expand Tight Obama Lobbying Rules to All Federal Workers

‘Revolving Door’ of Employment between Congress, Lobbying Firms, Study Shows

Without Scandal, Lobby Reform Stalls

From the States and Municipalities:

Colorado

Gessler to Help Raise Cash to Pay off GOP Fine

Delaware

Social Media Policy Rejected

Kentucky

Gubernatorial Candidates Back ‘No Cup of Coffee’ Rule

Massachusetts

Disgraced DiMasi Is Given Eight Years

Montana

Conservative Groups File New Lawsuit over Montana Election Laws

New Jersey

Report: Serious flaws in N.J. ‘pay-to-play’ law

New York

Former Hospital Chief Convicted of Offering Bribes to Albany Legislators

North Carolina

Groups Seek to Overturn N.C. Campaign Spending Law

South Dakota

Ethics Rules for State Workers Weak, Critics Say

Texas

Anita Perry’s Salary Comes Indirectly from Governor’s Backers

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.

Jim Sedor is editor of News You Can Use.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, will be attending the Greater Akron Chamber Inaugural InterCity Leadership Visit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Akron Chamber, she will be representing the business community.

The trip will be from September 18 – 22, with the aim of exchanging ideas and learning best practices for regional growth.

State and Federal Communications staff Jeff Roberts, Sarah Kovit, Zachary Hoying, and Ken Kelawae will be attending the Public Affairs Council’s State and Local Government Relations Seminar in Washington D.C. The seminar will be held September 18 – 20.

If you will also be there, be sure to say hello!

State and Federal Communications is also excited be sponsoring the Tuesday morning Networking Breakfast. “We are proud to assist the Public Affairs Council,” said Elizabeth Bartz, the company’s President and CEO.

This week’s Highlighted Site of the Week is the political contributions database on OpenSecrets.org. The Get local! tracker provides charts, lists, and interactive maps for searches by state or even down to the zip code level.

According to the site, “These profiles can show you who’s making the big political contributions in your state, as well as where the money’s coming from (by city, by zip code, and graphically with our “money maps”). You’ll also find links to a money profile of your senators and representative, with a detailed look at where their campaign warchest came from.”

Each search provides a summary of political contributions, from which you can drill down to top contributors, top recipients, and presidential campaign contributions. You can also search representatives from your own, or other Congressional  Districts. You can also find search results for previous election cycles.

A big thank you goes to State and Federal Communications Research Associate Sarah Kovit for finding this Highlighted Site.

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

Today the New Jersey State Comptroller A. Matthew Boxer and the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) Executive Director Jeff Brindle called for a simpler pay-to-play system, tighter contracting rules, and more complete disclosure of contractor contributions.

Comptroller Boxer issued a report finding the state’s pay-to-play laws contain “a series of fatal flaws [that] have essentially rendered New Jersey’s Pay-to-Play law meaningless in the effort to prevent local governments from steering contracts to politically favored vendors.” Director Brindle stated, “Unfortunately, New Jersey’s political history is littered with examples of private contractors securing lucrative public contracts through targeted contributions.”

The comptroller’s report suggests several changes, such as eliminating the fair-and-open exception which has different regulatory systems at the state and local levels, strengthening fair-and-open guidelines to require more competitive contracting, and reforming New Jersey’s contract laws to allow a more competitive vendor-selection process.

Drawing on earlier recommendations from ELEC, Director Brindle also made calls for changes, including for one state pay-to-play law to apply “across the board” for all jurisdictions, emphasizing “the current maze of local and state laws is terribly confusing.” Additionally, ELEC proposes that any public contractor receiving a contract over $17,500 file an annual report with the agency, listing the contractor’s contributions and public contracts. The current disclosure threshold is $50,000. Director Brindle also stated the contribution limits for contractors should be raised to help address fundraising concerns and not discourage participation in the political process.

“Combined with competitive bidding reform as suggested by the Comptroller, together these changes would, I believe, constitute the strongest pay-to-play law in the nation,” Director Brindle said.

Comptroller Boxer’s press release is here. Director Brindle’s press release is here.

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple has called a special legislative session to begin on November 7, 2011.

The session is expected to last five days and will address issues including legislative redistricting and disaster relief.

GovTech.com has published an interesting read about the relationship between technology and the elections industry.

The article, “Perspective: 5 Tech Trends in the Elections Industry“by Nicole Ciotti, lists trends to expect in the upcoming elections. Mobile phone optimized websites, mobile apps, and social media platforms will be prominent in voter outreach and in educating the public prior to the elections. Those tools will be an advantage in offering news and updates during and after the elections as well.

Photo of the vote sign by Tom Arthur on Wikipedia.

One measure limits gifts to the mayor and councilors to $50 or less. Another measure creates an ethics board to enforce the newly created gift limits.

The measures were somewhat controversial because many thought the gift restrictions were not strict enough.

In the face of sagging public perception of lobbyists, Van Scoyoc Associates will be employing an advertising campaign with the hope of improving the industry’s image. More than just a series of plain ads, the firm will be using questionnaires seeking honest opinions and a “two-way discussion.”

In Politico’s  “Ad: ‘Lobbyist’ is no 4-letter word,” Dave Levinthal speaks with the firm, and with Patton Boggs and The American League of Lobbyists about how the public views lobbying and what the industry can do.

What is needed? They say clearer definition of lobbying activity is needed, as well as greater disclosure. Educating people about the role of lobbying would also be helpful. They speak about how the needs of local governments can better be met by lobbying, and the need for lobbying for the less advantaged.

What do you think?

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors will be considering a proposal today which would make electronic filing mandatory for all campaign finance reports filed by candidates and PACs.

The county registrar of voters presently has a system that allows for electronic filing; however, use of the system is optional.

The move to mandatory electronic filing is being proposed as a mechanism to increase transparency.