The Boston Globe’s Political Intelligence just published this article, “Transparency groups lash out at FEC, Obama” by Donovan Slack.

Here are some of the questions the article raises: “… [C]an foreign companies with some US operations legally contribute to US elections? In the past, foreign citizens and companies have been barred from spending money in the American political system. Also unanswered: Should American organizations who spend money to influence elections have to disclose the source of the money?”

Bruce Watson offers an opinion piece called “Really Want to Influence Politicians? Stop Donating to Campaigns” on AOL’s Daily Finance page. Watson puts particular focus on the increase in fundraising by the members of the Super Committee. He references a recent study by the Project On Government Oversight. As we recall, Politico offered a bit of a different view with “Supercommittee panelists don’t cash in” by Abby Phillip.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has called a special session to be held on November 13, 2011.

The purpose of the session will be to certify and declare the results of the October 4, 2011 special election.

Map of West Virginia by Jim Irwin on Wikipedia.

Tim Uppal, Canada’s Minister of State for Democratic Reform has proposed a law which would limit loans available to candidates and political parties.

Under the proposed legislation, loans, loan guarantees, and contributions from individuals would be prohibited from exceeding $1,100 in the aggregate per calendar year. Presently, loans are not treated as part of the annual aggregate limit.

The proposal would also ban loans by unions as well as corporations when the loans are not made in the regular course of business by a financial institution.

GEORGIA: A special election to fill the state House District 68 seat of Tim Bearden will be held December 6, according to an announcement by Georgia’s Secretary of State.

Bearden resigned his seat last month after being appointed director of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center by Governor Nathan Deal.

If a runoff is needed, it will be held January 3, 2012.

A Federal constitutional amendment allowing Congress and the states to regulate campaign finance is being introduced by U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Michael Bennett.

The amendment, a response to last year’s Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v FEC, grants Congress and the states the power to “regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents” in their laws for their respective elections.

The bill allows the government to set limits on both the amount of direct political contributions to candidates and the amount of independent expenditures that may be made in support of or in opposition to those candidates.

According to his press release, Senator Udall states, “With the Supreme Court striking down the sensible regulations Congress has passed, the only way to address the root cause of this problem is to give Congress clear authority to regulate the campaign finance system.”

The full text of the proposed amendment reads as follows:

SECTION 1. Congress shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents with respect to Federal elections, including through setting limits on:

(1) The amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, Federal office; and

(2) The amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates.

SECTION 2. A State shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents with respect to State elections, including through setting limits on:

(1) The amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, State office; and

(2) The amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates.

SECTION 3. Congress shall have power to implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

A different constitutional amendment addressing the Citizen’s United decision was introduced in September by Congressman John Conyers. Information about that amendment may be found in a prior LobbyComply post here.

A one-day special session of the Arizona Legislature was called by Governor Jan Brewer yesterday to impeach the chairwoman of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.

The Senate vote to impeach Chairwoman Colleen Coyle Mathis passed with the required two thirds majority. The chairwoman, a registered independent, was ousted with a party line vote of 21 Republican senators in favor of the removal and 6 Democratic senators opposed.

Governor Brewer alleges gross misconduct by Chairwoman Mathis in her role in the independent commission, which also has two democratic members and two republican members.

Photo of the Arizona State Capitol building by 2candle on Wikipedia.

Persons lobbying within any of Palm Beach County’s 38 cities and towns may soon have to register as lobbyists as part of a proposed countywide lobbyist registry and standardized set of rules.

If approved, the new rules would apply to all persons lobbying municipal personnel. Some concerns have been raised as to the definition of lobbyists and the potential inclusion in that definition of unpaid lobbyists.

If approved, a $25 registration fee per principal represented would be instituted and expenditures exceeding $25 in specified categories would be required to be reported.

The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion on November 1 suggesting a special legislative session may be necessary to remedy an accidental retroactive effective date of Initiated Constitutional Measure No. 2. The measure, which would eliminate property taxes, is scheduled to appear on the June 12, 2012 primary election ballot.

State Representative Dan Ruby argued that the intention was to have an effective date of January 1 following the passage of the measure, despite the clear and unambiguous effective date listed in the text of the measure: January 1, 2012.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem noted the possible difficulties for political subdivisions that rely on property taxes but declined to ignore the plain language of the measure. A special session could address the need for replacement revenues if the measure passes.

My #1 conference of choice is State Government Affairs Council Leaders Policy Conference. I first attended this in 2001 at the Wigwam in Scottsdale and I was hooked. I first met CSG’s Executive Director, David Adkins there and Stan Tretiak, then with Coors, was the conference chairperson and had the CEO of Coors address the group.

You could say I loved it so much, I not only joined the association; I ran for the board, and am now the president!

This year, David Christman, from the National Beer Wholesalers Association, is the conference chairperson. The program is outstanding. Speakers include:

1. Craig Karges—Nationally recognized speaker and author;
2. Margaret Anderson Kelliher—President and CEO of Minnesota High Tech Association;
3. Kevin McCarty—Florida Insurance Commissioner;
4. William Symonds—Director, Pathways to Prosperity Project,
   Harvard Graduate School;
5. Michael Sargeant—Executive Director of the DLCC;
6. Matt Walter—Political Director of RSLC;
7. Dana Perino—Political Commentator, and Former White House Press Secretary; and
8. Cincinnati’s own Johnny Bench—Baseball Legend.

In addition to this great cast of speakers are the exceptional legislators in the audience. SGAC invites the top six (6) legislators from every state. This gives everyone the opportunity to speak with state leaders and develop the important working relationships you will need in 2012. I don’t know where to start, but some of them include:

1. Kansas Senate President Stephen Morris;
2. Maryland Senate President Mike Miller;
3. Georgia Senator Don Balfour;
4. Ohio Representative Ted Celeste;
5. Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus; and
6. Massachusetts Senator Richard Moore.

There is still space available for you at SGAC’s LPC. You can obtain all the needed information at www.sgac.org.

Until next month, take the time to hone your skills, sharpen the saw, and awaken the giant within—okay, too much Covey and Robbins! The point is to stay on top of your game and be the best for your organization.

The Texas Ethics Commission has adopted amendments to its rules regarding reporting requirements under the campaign finance law.

The changes in administrative rules §§20.50, 20.62, 20.219, 20.279, 20.331, and 20.433 bring them in line with Senate Bill 1, passed earlier this year.

While the bill became effective September 28, the Ethics Commission’s adopted rules became effective today.

Anonymous and unsolicited text messages are being sent against democratic candidates in Virginia. Here is the Washington Post article “Anti-Democratic text messages in Northern Va. prompt lawsuit, complaints” by Anita Kumar.

Government Technology discusses the tension between the demands of government transparency and the realities of state bugdet constraints in “Transparency Demands Cost Governments Money” by Sarah Rich.

NCSL has updated their 2012 Legislative Session Calendar.

Judicial races are getting expensive. PoliticsPA.com posted “Pa. Rated as Second Costliest Judicial Elections; Candidates Weigh in” by Sari Heidenreich. Here is the recent study by the Brennan Center For Justice, “The New Politics of Judicial Elections: 2009-10” that ranks judicial elections in the states.

Photo of texting by Alton on Wikipedia.

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has approved ordinance number 913 which makes electronic campaign finance disclosure mandatory for candidates, candidate controlled committees, and independent committees which receive contributions or make expenditures of $5,000 or more.

Once the electronic reporting threshold has been met, all subsequent reports must be filed electronically.

The ordinance will take effect on November 28, 2011.

November 9, 2011 WASRG Summit, Washington, D.C.

November 16, 2011 American League of Lobbyists Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.

November 19-22, 2011 SGAC Foundation Leaders’ Policy Conference, Miami, Florida

November 29-December 2, 2011 NCSL 2011 Fall Forum, Tampa, Florida

December 4-7, 2011 Council on Governmental Ethics Laws, Nashville, Tennessee