The National Archives and Records Administration has a great website for learning about the presidential libraries. Since 1939, the National Archives have been setting up libraries in order to preserve documents and historical materials of each president since Herbert Hoover.

There are 13 libraries in the NARA system, and other libraries that have been established under foundations or state governments. The National Archives site supplies information for visiting the presidential libraries and opportunities to research the presidential documents. You can even listen to the voices of the presidents in these podcasts.

Wikipedia offers the following list of links to the websites of the presidential libraries:

• Presidential Libraries at the National Archives & Records Administration site
• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum
• Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
• McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
• Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library
• Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum
• Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
• Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
• The Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum
• John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
• Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum
• Nixon Presidential Library
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
• Gerald Ford Library at the University of Michigan
• Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum
• Ronald Reagan Library and Museum
• George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
• Clinton Presidential Center
• George W. Bush Presidential Center and Library

I would be remiss if I did not mention the National Archives’ social media links for Twitter, Facebook, flickr, and YouTube.

Have a terrific weekend, everyone!

At its October 13, 2011 hearing, the Fair Political Practices Commission voted 3-0 to adopt Regulation 18421.31 regarding text message contributions. Per the new regulation candidates and committees are permitted to raise funds through low-dollar text message contributions.

For the purposes of the regulation, contributions are deemed to be received on the date that a mobile fundraising vendor, acting as an agent of the candidate or committee, obtains possession and control of the funds. Once received by the mobile fundraising vendor, contributions must be promptly reported to the candidate or committee’s treasurer or a designated agent thereof no later than the closing date of any campaign statement the candidate or committee is required to file.

For text message contributions of less than $25, candidates and committees will be required to maintain the dates and daily totals of contributions. For contributions exceeding $25 but less than $100, the regulation requires that candidates and committees record the full name and street address of the contributor, the cumulative amount received from each contribution, and any information regarding an intermediary where applicable.

When a contribution exceeding $100 is received, the regulation requires that the candidate or committee maintain a record of the contributor’s name and address, occupation, employer, the cumulative amount received from the contributor, and any information regarding an intermediary where applicable.

Under the regulation, a contribution made by text message will be attributed to the person who is subscribed to the cell phone number from which the contribution is received.

State and Federal Communications just wrapped up its 2012 United Way Campaign and it was a success. We are proud to say this is our twelfth campaign for the organization and we are believers in the work they do.

Each year United Way brings in a speaker from one of the agencies they support so that we can see how our contributions go to work in the community. This year we had the privilege of hearing a representative from the Salvation Army speak to us about the vital services they offer in the community and how United Way has been integral in supporting that work.

Each year year State and Federal Communications tries innovative ways to meet our fundraising goal. This year we set up two teams, the Stars and the Stripes. The team with the highest percentage of team members contributing what United Way calls “Fair Share Plus” would win a number of prizes.

The winning team was the Stripes, headed up by IT Business and Operations Analyst Dave McPeek. Congratulations team Stripes!

State and Federal Communications came up with 129% of the target goal that United Way had given us! We are thrilled. Thank you to everyone who so generously contributed.

Today’s scheduled House Subcommittee hearing with the FEC’s Commissioners has been postponed.

The Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Elections has not yet chosen a new date for the hearing.

The Missouri Legislature will consider legislation to cancel the state’s 2012 presidential primary. Here is an Associated Press article that appeared in the Columbia Missourian announcing the possible action: “Missouri to consider abolishing presidential primary.”

According to the article: “Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer says his chamber will convene Monday to consider legislation canceling Missouri’s 2012 presidential primary … repealing that law could save the state from spending millions of dollars on a purely symbolic election.”

All six Commissioners from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) are slated to appear before a House Subcommittee tomorrow at 3pm.

The Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Elections has designated the scheduled meeting “Federal Election Commission: Reviewing Policies, Processes and Procedures.”

Among its other election-related duties, the Subcommittee on Elections oversees the FEC.

You can now watch streaming video feed from the U.S. House floor on your mobile device. HouseLive.gov is beta testing the process, which uses Silverlight, Flash, and HTML5. It should be compatible with your Android device, or on an iPhone and iPad.

Alex Howard of Govfresh wrote a great blog about it in “HouseLive.gov embraces open format to bring live video to mobile devices” on October 11.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner’s blog made the announcement about it here: “House Floor Now Streams to Your Mobile Device via HouseLive.gov” by Don Seymour.

The Sunset Commission, a legislative body created by the Texas Legislature to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies, will seek public input during its scheduled review of the Texas Ethics Commission.

During the evaluation of the Ethics Commission’s mission and performance, submitted comments and suggestions will be accepted until the suggested date of November 21. The Sunset Commission then anticipates it will issue a report in March 2012 followed by a public hearing with testimony in April.

Based on the public input and the report, any recommendations to the legislature will be submitted at the start of its next session in January 2013.

Some of the duties the Texas Ethics Commission administers and enforces are the election code concerning political contributions, expenditures and political advertising, and lobbying registration, reports and activities.

The announcement of the review can be found here.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol by LoneStarMike on Wikipedia.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is soliciting comments for possible regulations concerning exceptions to its rules regarding disclaimers on internet communications, hoping to glean insights to keep pace with the rapidly evolving technological advances available to practitioners of campaign finance.

In its draft Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FEC invites comments addressing the ways that campaigns, political committees, and others use or may soon use the internet, mobile devices, and other technologies to disseminate and receive campaign and other electoral information. The Commission is also interested in possible modifications and technological alternatives to the current disclaimer requirements, and data or experiences “in purchasing, selling, or distributing small or character-limited advertisements online.”

The FEC anticipates any final rules would not become effective until after the 2011-2012 election cycle.

The Economist reported on a recent study by the analysis firm Strategas, which says companies that spend more on lobbying do better over time on the S&P 500.

Here is the article in the Economist: “Money and politics: Ask what your country can do for you” from October 1, 2011.

Brad Plumer also covered the story in “The outsized returns from lobbying” from yesterday’s Washington Post.

TechPresident’s article “How Campaigns’ Use of Facebook Data Might Change the 2012 Election” by Nick Judd explores the role Facebook may play in the 2012 presidential election.

The social media platform not only provides a good civic space for broadcasting political messages, but Judd discusses how services like NGP Van can use Facebook friend lists to find precisely targeted audiences for campaign messages.

Governor Nathan Deal has issued a Writ of Election setting Tuesday, November 8, 2011 as the date for a special election to fill the vacant seat in state senate district 28.

The seat became available upon the resignation of Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, who resigned the seat in order to accept his appointment to the position of deputy state treasurer by Governor Deal.

The runoff election, if necessary, will be held December 6, 2011.

The New Mexico Republican Party, represented by attorney James Bopp, Jr., has filed a lawsuit challenging New Mexico’s campaign finance law. The suit asks the federal district court in Albuquerque to declare unconstitutional part of a state law which sets a contribution limit of $5,000 to or by political parties. The law was passed in 2009, but did not become effective until after the 2010 election.

The lawsuit also contends that federal election law precludes New Mexico from restricting how much money a national political party can give to a state party organization for election work, such as registering voters and encouraging voter turnout.

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed senate bill 398 into law. The bill alters definitions and reporting requirements for those who do business with the board of a public pension or retirement system to manage securities or other assets and went into effect upon signature.

Specifically, the new law modifies the definition of external managers to mean a person who is seeking to be, or is, retained by a board or an investment vehicle to manage a portfolio of securities or other assets for compensation, or a person who manages an investment fund, and who offers or sells, or has offered or sold an ownership interest in the investment fund to a board or investment vehicle. The law also alters the definition of a placement agent to a person directly or indirectly hired, engaged, or retained by, or serving for the benefit of or on behalf of, an external manger and who acts or has acted for compensation as a finder, solicitor, marketer, consultant, broker, or other intermediary in connection with the offer or sale to a board or investment vehicle either the investment management services of the external manager or an ownership interest in an investment fund managed by the external manager.

Additional changes made as the result of the new law include the exemption of placement agents from any requirements imposed by a local government agency, including lobbyist registration and reporting, if the placement agent is an employee, officer, or director of an external manager, or of an affiliate of an external manager, and the external manager is registered as an investment adviser or a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities regulator. Further, placement agents are exempt from local requirements if the external manager is participating in a competitive bidding process, such as a request for proposal, or has been selected through a competitive bidding process and is providing services pursuant to a contract executed as a result of that bidding process, or when the external manager, if selected through competitive bidding, has agreed to a fiduciary standard of care for the contract.