The special session of the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on Monday evening.

A joint resolution is expected to pass the House and Senate that would schedule a three-day special session on November 27.

It also sets special sessions in 2012 for February 16-18 and April 23-25 before the standard May 16 short sessions begins.

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

A three judge panel of the 4^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to uphold North Carolina’s ban on registered lobbyists making campaign contributions to candidates for the Legislature and the Council of State.

A lobbyist with the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the ban on contributions, saying it violated her right to freedom of speech and association.

The appeals court upheld a district court ruling by stating the ban was a “valid exercise of North Carolina’s legislative prerogative” to address potential corruption and the appearance of corruption.

State and Federal Communications, Inc. is proud to be the sponsor of the WASRG Award of Excellence Reception at the 2011 WASRG Summit. The event will be held at the Hall of States in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, November 9, 2011.

The reception will be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Regina Brett has delighted readers with her book, God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours. A cancer survivor with a terrific world view, Regina’s regular column in The Cleveland Plain Dealer has reached scores of people over the years.

Yesterday, I visited with Regina about “The Regina Brett Show,” a weekly call-in radio show she hosts on Northeast Ohio’s NPR affiliate station, WKSU 89.7 FM. On November 16, the topic of her show is Giving Thanks. State and Federal Communications is proud to be the sponsor of the show that evening. Don’t miss it!

For those readers who are new to your show, would you tell us about The Regina Brett Show?

I say it is a show that is more about the internal affairs, the inside things that people are concerned about – relationships, education, health, marriage, and children. We’re not a public affairs show. There are a lot of public affairs shows out there. This is more of an internal affairs kind of thing.

Your subjects range from large issues to personal ones, from the serious to the whimsical. How do you pick the subject matter for your shows?

You know, it’s kind of a group effort with the producer and the sound technician.  We brainstorm and we ask, “What are people concerned about?” And it’s a little tricky because you want to do something that is current events. So we ask, will it still be current a week, or two weeks from now? We try to think of things that are kind of evergreen, that are going to always matter.

The show on November 16 explores Giving Thanks. Can you tell us who your guests will be?

(more…)

A federal lawsuit concerning a Mississippi campaign finance law requiring registration and reporting upon spending at least $200 to support or oppose ballot initiatives was heard last week in U.S. District Court.

The case stems from the desire of five Lafayette County, Mississippi residents who would like to spend $1,000 to publicly support their views in favor of Mississippi Initiative 31, which limits the government’s use of eminent domain to take private land. The residents argued their First Amendment freedom of speech and association rights have been violated as a result of the campaign finance provisions and seek to have the law declared unconstitutional and unenforceable.

The case was heard by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock, but she did not immediately issue a ruling.

This week the Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether lawmakers acted illegally in a legislative attempt to increase ethics requirements. The case appeals a ruling by Circuit Judge Daniel Green finding Senate Bill 844 to be a violation of the constitution’s single subject requirement.

What began as a one-page bill allowing officials to use the Office of Administration for procurement decisions became a 69-page bill entitled “relating to ethics.” The bill changed campaign finance laws, gave greater authority to the Missouri Ethics Commission, created new crimes for ethics violations, and required Capitol dome keys be given to all lawmakers.

Judge Green’s ruling struck down all but the original procurement provision. The Attorney General believes the bill can be saved by striking only the provision regarding Capitol dome keys. Those challenging the bill argue the entire bill is unconstitutional.

Photo of the Missouri Supreme Court building by Americasroof on Wikipedia.

The Fair Political Practices Commission has issued notice of proposed amendments to the California Code of Regulations to be considered at a public hearing on December 8, 2011. The proposed regulations codify commission guidance instructing filers to treat an in-kind contribution of the services of salaried personnel to a committee and the expenditure by the person making the salary payment as a contribution made on the payroll date of the salaried personnel.

The commission will also consider regulations which differentiate a contribution from a donation. Under the proposed regulation, a contribution is a payment made for a political purpose and includes payments to a multi-purpose organization. By contrast, a payment to a multi-purpose organization that is not made or used for a political purpose is to be treated as a donation and not a contribution for the purposes of identifying reportable contributions.

Lastly, the commission will consider amendments to the provisions pertaining to primarily formed and general purpose committees to assist filers in determining which label fits the purpose and structure of their committee.

The regulations define a general purpose committee as an ongoing committee which supports multiple candidates and measures in successive elections. General purpose committees include associations, political action committees, political party committees, major donors, as well as entities and individuals making independent expenditures.

The regulation proposes a standard for determining whether a committee is a state, county, or city general purpose committee. A committee will be considered a city or county committee if more than 70 percent of their activity is at the city or county level. Classification as a state committee will be the default.

Pursuant to the proposed regulation, a primarily formed committee is a committee formed or existing to support a single candidate or measure in a specific election. A committee will be considered primarily formed if more than 70 percent of the committee’s contributions and expenditures are for specific candidates or measures during the 24 months preceding the date where the candidate or measure is on the ballot.

Image of the Seal of California by Zscout370 on Wikipedia.

The Federal Election Commission has received an advisory opinion request asking if an independent expenditure-only PAC may use incumbent members of congress in its advertisements.

Independent expenditure PAC American Crossroads has formally requested it be allowed to produce and distribute television and radio advertisements featuring on camera footage or voice-overs of incumbent members of congress up for re-election. Conceding the purpose of the ads would be to improve the public’s perception of the congress member, the advertisements would focus on policy and legislative issues.

American Crossroads is seeking confirmation and guidance as to whether the advertisements qualify as coordinated communications, are in-kind contributions, or may limit the PAC’s ability to independently expend funds in favor of the candidate.

The advisory opinion request can be found here.

National:

Largest U.S. Companies Increasingly Disclose Political Spending

Report Cites Growing Role of Interest Groups in State Judicial Elections

Federal:

Abramoff Divulges K Street Secrets

Cain Blames Perry as New Sexual Harassment Allegations Surface

FCC To Rule on On-line Political Advertisement Disclosure

Justice Amps Up Enforcement of Law on Foreign Advocacy

Lawmakers Demand FEC Documents, Threaten Subpoena

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

New Alabama Ethics Law Sweeps in Culture Shift for Capital Lobbyists

California

Passion, Politics Link Lobbyist Couples

California

State Lobby Spending on Pace to Set Records

Illinois

Illinois Powerbroker Convicted in Shakedown Trial

Maryland

County Ethics Bill Would Restrict Lobbying, Add Enforcement

Minnesota

Campaign Finance Board Temporarily Upholds Disclosure Requirements

Nebraska

Report: Nebraska OK at tracking lobbyists, could do better

New Hampshire

N.H. Official Sets Primary for Jan.10

Ohio

Amid Corruption Scandal, Local Races Framed by Honesty and Character Issues

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.

Politico published “FEC can’t explain secrecy” by Dave Levinthal.

The Hill posted “Lawmakers demand FEC documents, threaten subpoena” by Debbie Siegelbaum and Kevin Bogardus.

The FEC provided this press release and the text of the joint statement delivered to the oversight hearing.

California’s government transparency website, transparency.ca.gov, has been shut down. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar set up the site, and it is being closed by current Gov. Jerry Brown. In a note placed on the derelict site, Gov. Brown says much of the transparency information is available on other websites, like the FPPC. While remaining committed to government transparency, Brown says he is aiming for “eliminating inefficiencies and unnecessary costs.”

One concern has been raised in the news. The site offered easy access to travel expense claims from the Governor’s Office and now with the site gone, an inquirer must send a request for such information.

The Sacramento Bee published “Jerry Brown closes website for some public records” by David Siders.

Government Technology posted “Calif. Transparency Website Shuttered” by Sarah Rich.

He has appeared in a 60 Minutes interview, saying whatever ethics reform measures may be set in place to control the buying of influence, lobbyists will find new ways to get around it.

Here is the CBS interview, “Lobbyists can skirt ethics reform, says Abramoff.”

The Hill covers the story in “Abramoff divulges K Street secrets” by Kevin Bogardus.

If you would like a fun diversion, try Doug Wead’s Children of the Presidents. This site gives biographies and fascinating pictures of each United States president’ s children from George Washington’s two stepchildren, John and Martha Custis, to Barack Obama’s daughters Malia and Sasha.

Some of them died young; some of them lived to a ripe old age. Some were rich and powerful, while others were rather obscure. A number of the children worked in the White House with their fathers!

According to the site, Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert Todd Lincoln “was one of the wealthiest men in American, serving as president of the Pullman Palace Car Company, the Microsoft of its day.  He was the Secretary of War under James Garfield and was Ambassador to the Court of St. James.”

You will find links to video footage from an interview of Caroline Kennedy, and from the weddings of Jenna Bush and Chelsea Clinton.

Have fun with Children of the Presidents and have a great weekend!