Q:  I want to make political contributions to a candidate for state assembly.  The limits are per election.  How do I make certain the contribution is attributed to the correct election [primary or general]?  Does it matter when I give the contribution in relation to the election?

A:  In this situation it is important to have a “meeting of the minds” between the contributor and the candidate.  The contributor’s intent should be made clear by either indicating the name of the election on the memo line of the check [e.g., 2012 Primary Election], or including a cover letter with the check, or both.  The cover letter can contain language specifically earmarking the contribution for the intended election.  Using these precautions should prevent the candidate from allocating the contribution to an election different from the one intended by the contributor, thereby resulting in a violation of the per election contribution limits.   It is not unusual for a candidate to file his pre- or post- election reports disclosing aggregate contributions from a donor in violation of the per election limit.  The candidate allocated two or more checks to one election, but the contributor intended one check for the primary and one for the general.

Furthermore, a contributor must be aware of the timing of the contribution.  For instance, in New Jersey, you only have 17 days after an election to make a contribution for that particular election; otherwise the contribution is automatically applied toward the next election, regardless of the contributor’s intent.

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The overhaul split the commission staff into an administrative division, an investigative division, and a compliance-education division. In addition to these changes, a change in the reporting law has resulted in hundreds of delinquencies by local officials who are filing with the state for the first time. The agency has been required to devote time and resources to contact anyone in arrears by certified mail.

Meanwhile, larger investigations have stalled. Earlier this month the commission dismissed a case filed in 2004 because the statute of limitations had expired. A more recent complaint filed against a lobbyist who failed to timely file or register and who paid for a state official’s travel to Europe is now 10 months old and delayed.

Executive Secretary Holly LaBerge is expected to hire staff auditors and receive assistance from the attorney general’s office to aid prosecutorial efforts.

Political ads are not only optimized for mobile devices, now they target their markets precisely: “Political advertisements go mobile for 2012 elections” by Emily Shultheis from Politico.

The White House’s We the People online petition project has brought surprising results – more petitions were submitted about animal rights and legalizing marijuana and fewer were about education, the economy, and foreign affairs. Read Nextgov’s “We the People draws a curious crowd” by Joseph Marks. Here is Nextgov’s summary of the results.

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has received more grief than it was worth over a disparaging tweet: “Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback apologizes to teen after she refuses to apologize to him” by Melissa Bell in the Washington Post.

There are 32 political action committees and political party groups that owe campaign finance fines to the state of Rhode Island, according to a news item in GoLocalProv.com. The fines for the groups amount to more than $40,000, compared to political candidates who owe about one million dollars.

You can find the full story at “PACs & Political Parties Owe Tens of Thousands” by Dan McGowan in GoLocalProv.com. The article lists the groups that owe and details the steps the Rhode Island Board of Elections will be taking in order to collect the fines.

Secretary of State Scott Gessler has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in regards to the Colorado Secretary of State Rules Concerning Campaign and Political Finance, 8 CCR 1505-6. Gessler has proposed a recodification of the rules in their entirety in an effort to improve organization and readability, clarify existing laws and regulations, and address questions arising under Colorado campaign and political finance laws.

Among the more notable changes, the proposed rules would limit fines for late or incomplete campaign finance reports to no more than $50 a day for 180 days, maximized to $9,000. The rules would also continue to utilize the $5,000 threshold at which issue committees would need to register and report, created by Gessler’s adoption of Campaign and Political Finance Rule 4.27, despite a recent state district court ruling that Gessler did not have the authority to increase the threshold from the constitutionally-mandated figure of $200 despite a finding of the threshold to be too burdensome in the recent Colorado case of Sampson v. Buescher.

A hearing regarding these proposed changes is scheduled for December 15, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Blue Spruce Conference Room on the second floor of the Secretary of State’s Office.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy has issued a writ of special election setting January 10, 2012 as the date to fill the vacant seat in Connecticut’s 24th house district.

The seat became vacant after former state representative Timothy O’Brien left the position November 15, 2011. O’Brien, who had represented the district since 2003, resigned his seat after he was elected to the position of mayor in the city of New Britain, Connecticut during the 2011 general election held on November 8.

The Fair Lawn, New Jersey Borough Council passed an amendment to close a loophole in the borough’s pay-to-play ordinance.

The amendment, to receive a final vote in December, removes the “fair and open bidding process” exception to the pay-to-play rule. The exception allows vendors to make political contributions over $300 without being barred from borough contracts.

An additional modification to the ordinance would include limiting political donations to election cycles rather than calendar years.

Map of Bergen County, New Jersey by Arkyan on Wikipedia.

NORTH CAROLINA:  A special session of the North Carolina General Assembly convened Sunday evening.

The session is scheduled to adjourn on Tuesday, November 29, 2011.

The session was called to consider bills vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue, revise redistricting plans, and address election law bills.

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

Federal:

Democratic Groups Stalled on Launch Pad

FEC Permits Small Donor Channeling

Religious Lobbying Groups Multiply on Capitol Hill

South Jersey Congressman Spent $9,000 from Campaign Funds on Donor’s Wedding

From the States and Municipalities:

California

New Chair of Campaign Finance Watchdog Draws Strong Reactions

Connecticut

WFP Director Fined For Lobbying Without Badge

District of Columbia

D.C. Council to Consider Ethics Reform Bill

Illinois

Tony Rezko Sentenced to 10½ Years: Former Blagojevich fundraiser convicted of corruption

Massachusetts

Bump Knocked for Fundraising Letter

Mississippi

Campaigns Downplay Race, but Voters Don’t Follow Suit

Nevada

Trip to Brazil Raises Concerns about Lobbyists’ Access

Pennsylvania

City’s Lobbyist-Disclosure Program to Start in ’12

Washington

Right-Wing PAC Fights Campaign Disclosure

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.

The Arizona Republic  reports that the group  No Taxpayer Money for Politicians has brought a lawsuit against the Citizens Clean Elections Commission in Arizona.

Former state Sen. Jonathan Paton is quoted in the article as saying, “They’re using this [public money] for electioneering purposes and not for educating voters.”

The commission’s Executive Director Todd Lang called the suit a “wrong-headed” attempt to eliminate the agency’s education fund.

For the full story, read the article “Suit: Clean Elections agency misused tax dollars” by Mary Jo Pitzl.

The special session of the Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die on November 22, 2011.

The session, which began November 1, 2011, concerned the Keystone XL crude-oil pipeline project’s intended route through the state. The special session was called by Governor Dave Heinemen to focus on proposed bills intended to reroute the pipeline around a region of the state rich in groundwater. As a result of the session, two measures in relation to the pipeline were passed.

For more information about the measures passed and the special session, you can read the Legislature’s official news release, “Two pipeline measures approved; Legislature adjourns” on the Unicameral Update page.

Photo of the Nebraska Legislative Chamber by ensignbeedrill on Wikipedia.

GoLocalProv.com posted this article today: “RI Groups Have Spent Over $2.2 million on Washington Lobbyists in 2011” by Dan McGowan.

According to the article, “Rhode Island corporations, cities and towns, colleges and universities and non-profit organizations have spent more than $2.2 million this year on lobbyists in the nation’s capital, a GoLocalProv review of lobbyist reports shows.”

The U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois sentenced Tony Rezko to 10 1/2 years in prison, of which he has served three-and-a-half years.

For the full story:

“Judge sentences Blagojevich fundraiser Rezko to 10½ years, he will get credit for time served” from the Washington Post.

“Top Blagojevich adviser Tony Rezko gets 10½ years” from the Chicago Tribune.