The city attorney for Boynton Beach, Jim Cherof, has proposed ceasing enforcement of the city’s lobbying ordinance and turning over enforcement to the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics. The lobbying ordinance, in effect since 2007, has come under fire recently due to a perceived vagueness in the law.

This past May, the city levied the first fines ever under the ordinance and has also taken steps to open an investigation against former city commissioner David Katz, all concerning failure to register as a lobbyist. Each fine is being appealed and Katz maintains he was never required to register under the law because he was performing consulting work and not lobbying.

It seems that following Obama’s Twitter Town Hall, politicians across the nation are following suit and making the effort to use social media to connect to their followers more than ever. Hopeful Republican presidential nominee Newt Gingrich, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont are three examples of such politicians.

Being one of the first politicians to utilize the new Google+, Newt Gingrich hosted his first Hangout, posting the 13 minute long video of him having a conversation with up to 10 regular Americans at a time onto YouTube. TechPresident published an article written by Nick Judd providing the video and more information here.

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U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan has issued a preliminary injunction barring the state from enforcing campaign contribution limits with respect to an effort to recall the Pierce County assessor. Washington restricts contributions to recall campaigns to $800 or less, though political parties and their official committees may contribute more.

In his decision Judge Bryan stated “the public interest in upholding free speech and association rights outweighs the interest in continued enforcement of these campaign finance provisions.”

Enforcement of the recall campaign contribution limits is enjoined pending a trial over whether the limits are constitutional.

An advisory opinion request seeking to lift the requirement of the 24- and 48-hour reporting of independent expenditures for bulk e-mailing during the 2012 presidential primaries has been filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Western Representation PAC (WRPAC), which has 140,000 e-mail addresses, and estimates it will have 500,000 by the end of the year, intends to send the entire list an indeterminate number of e-mail messages during the more than 24 president primaries in 2012. The frequency of messages would range “from as few as four a month to as many as thirty, depending on the unpredictable political developments of the day and the fluctuating urgencies of the primary season.”

Because WRPAC will be paying a fixed monthly price for the e-mail service, and because the number of e-mails is unpredictable, WRPAC is asking the FEC to grant an exemption from the 24- and 48-hour reporting requirement, stressing the difficulty in determining what share of the fixed monthly price would apply in order to determine whether a reporting requirement would be triggered across the various different primary dates. WRPAC’s request includes several scenarios to illustrate the burdens on WRPAC’s planned independent expenditures, arguing “that they rise to the level of an infringement on WRPAC’s First Amendment rights.”

You can find the press release here.

 
National:

State Legislative Bills Raise Conservative Group’s Profile

Federal:

Key Senator Urges Federal Investigation of Murdoch Media Company

The Influence Industry: Coming soon to a screen near you – a lobbying campaign

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Legislature’s Ethics Chairs Say Referral Fees Are ‘Unquestionably Illegal’

Arizona

Arizona Lawmaker Says Pointing Gun at Reporter Wasn’t Deliberate

California

Gays Gaining Ground in State Political District Boundary Talks

Connecticut

Agency Head: Malloy’s undermining watchdogs’ fiscal autonomy

Idaho

Watchdog Group Says Idaho Should Have Stricter Lobbyist Reporting

Indiana

City Ponders Campaign-Gift Curbs

Minnesota

Full Eighth Circuit to Hear Minnesota Disclosure Law Case

Montana

High Court Sets Oral Arguments in Campaign Lawsuit

South Carolina

Campaign Reports, Fines Dog Son of Late S.C. Gov. Campbell

Tennessee

Haslam’s Office Cuts Off Hundreds from Clip Service

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.

Thomas H. Dooley, Chairman of the Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board, will be selecting at random 10 lobbyists to be audited by the Office of State Ethics during an audit selection ceremony on Thursday, July 21, 2011.

The ceremony will be a part of the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting, scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.

Lobbyists to be audited will be selected from a pool of all registered client lobbyists.

During audits of these selected client lobbyists, the Office of State Ethics will audit all associated communicator lobbyists.

A list of those selected to be audited will be made available on the website of the Office of State Ethics following the ceremony.

After governor’s move out of their governor’s mansions, how is all this valuable and beautiful real estate utilized? 

This week’s Highlighted Site Of The Week, Homes of Governors, is an article posted on CNBC. It provides pictures and descriptions of the amazing  homes of 10 former heads of state, ranging from the New Jersey mansion that once housed Charles Edison (son of Thomas Edison) to the former home of Arnold Schwarzenegger currently valued at $23.5 million.

When governors move on from their often multi-million dollar residences, these historical buildings are used for a variety of things. Of course some are bought and go on to become homes for other families, but sometimes they are turned into bed and breakfast guest houses, events venues, and historical landmarks.

The houses shown by this slideshow have housed anywhere from 1 up to 17 governors. Homes of Governors provides a great much needed break to the work-day.

Everyone have a great weekend!

NORTH CAROLINA: The North Carolina General Assembly has convened in special session today, July 13, 2011.

 Issues concerning redistricting are the primary focus of the session, while gubernatorial vetoes are also expected to be considered.

A monthly lobbyist and principal report will be due on August 12, 2011.

ALABAMA: The Alabama Democratic Conference has filed a lawsuit against Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange and two district attorneys alleging that a new Alabama law violates the Conference’s first amendment rights by placing restrictions on political contributions.

The new law bans the transfer of money from PACs, 527 groups, and private foundations to other PACs, 527 groups, and private foundations.

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN: The Green Bay City Council has approved General Ordinance No. 10-11, which requires lobbyists to register if they attempt to influence legislative or administrative action by a city official.

The ordinance requires lobbyists to register before engaging in lobbying by completing a registration form and paying a $20 registration fee.

Lobbyists must disclose their contact information, the name of their client, and any compensation paid by the client.

The ordinance is effective immediately and the City Clerk’s Office will be making a lobbyist registration form available in the next month.

The Internal Revenue Service will not pursue its proposed check on the applicability of gift tax contributions to 501(c)(4) organizations. Acknowledging it has limited history or guidance on this issue, the IRS announced it “will not use resources to pursue examinations on this issue. Any future action we take will be prospective and after notice to the public.”

In recent years, 501(c)(4) organizations, which allow for limited disclosure requirements, have taken a more prominent role in the campaign finance landscape.

The Palm Beach County Ethics Commission has voted to limit the public’s ability to speak on items during final hearings prior to a vote or comment at closed-door sessions where decisions on the pursuit of ethics complaints are made.

The limits are intended to limit decisions being made by members of the commission to the guidance of the ethics code and avoid allowing influence from outside the code to be taken into consideration at a final vote.

Public comment will still be allowed concerning commission policies and on other issues being considered.

Federal:

IRS Drops Audits of Political Donors

New Breed of ‘Super PACs,’ Other Independent Groups Could Define 2012 Campaign

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Alabama Democratic Conference Files Lawsuit to Stop New Alabama Law Banning Political Fund Transfers

Arizona

Arizona Conservatives Scramble after Campaign Finance Law’s Defeat

California

Marijuana Lobbyist’s Fundraiser for DA Raises Questions

Veil Drawn on Donors to Latino Caucus-Controlled California Nonprofit

Connecticut

Agent Who Arrested Politicians Now Seeks House Seat

Georgia

Lobby Late Fees Add Up

Illinois

Mayor Rahm Emanuel Proposing New Round of Ethics Reforms

Iowa

Judge Upholds New Iowa Campaign Disclosure Rules

Massachusetts

House Leader Apologizes for Holocaust Remarks

Michigan

Justices Stop Political Gifts Taken at Work

Minnesota

Campaign Board Rejects NOM’s Efforts to Shield Donors in Marriage Battle

Pennsylvania

Lobbying Law on Hold

South Carolina

Lt. Gov. Ard Paying $48,000 Fine

Washington

Ex-Prisons Chief Eldon Vail Says He Resigned Because of an Affair with Subordinate

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.

We are happy to announce Elizabeth Bartz has been nominated president of the State Government Affairs Council.

The official election will be on August 10, during SGAC’s member business lunch at the National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Summit 2011. It is a one-year term.

In addition to owning and operating State and Federal Communications, Elizabeth participates in many professional organizations including:

State Government Affairs Council, Public Affairs Council, Council on Government Ethics Laws, Washington Area State Relations Group, Diversity Business, Innovate to Motivate, American League of Lobbyists, Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, US Chamber of Commerce, Society of Professional Journalists, and many local organizations.

Congratulations to you, Elizabeth!