The Secretary of State has approved a summary for a proposed ballot measure to limit campaign contributions to candidates in Missouri.

The proposal would prohibit candidates from accepting more than $5,000 per donor for each election.

The Secretary of State’s action clears the way for supporters to begin collecting the more than 91,000 signatures needed to put the question to voters in 2012.

Photo of Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan courtesy of the Secretary of State website.

April 3-5, 2011 – NASPO, Boston, Massachusetts

April 14-16, 2011 – NCSL Spring Forum, Washington, D.C.

April 20, 2011 – DiversityBusiness.com Award, Washington, D.C.

May 5-6, 2011 – Ohio State Bar Association Annual Convention, Booth 5, Columbus, Ohio

May 5-7, 2011 – NCSL Spring Executive Committee Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report stating that, with a small percentage of exceptions, most lobbyists comply with the federal lobbying disclosure laws.

Here is the full text of the report from the GAO.

For a good summary of the report, read Roll Call’s article “GAO: K Street Largely Complying With Disclosure Rules” by Alex Knott.

The Roll Call article noted that the annual report to Congress is required as part of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. The scope of the results included analysis of disclosure reports for the fourth quarter 2009 and the first three quarters of 2010.

Federal News Radio reported yesterday that the Office of Management and Budget may take down seven open government websites by May 31 because of a measure in the House spending bill that would eliminate funding. These would include data.gov, paymentaccuracy.gov, and Fedspace – the site for government employees and contractors. The article also said two more sites, USASpending.gov and Apps.gov/now, could be gone after June.

These sites are the result of the Open Government Initiative from the Obama administration. The raw data they provide have been the source of creativity for many app writers who have set out to improve transparency, to solve problems, and to change the way people interact with their government.

The Hill reported that the Sunlight Foundation has criticized the sites for lacking important data sets from government agencies and thus hindering transparency. But the article said the group went to bat with the House leadership to keep them funded.

We’ll see what happens.

A great deal of attention is being paid these days to mobile phones, mobile apps, and how these things will change political campaigns, elections, and the interaction between government and citizens. So when I saw this item on KStreetCafe blog, I thought I ought to share it this week as our Highlighted Site of the Week: The Mobile Citizen Summit.

On April 16, Mobile Citizen Summit will be held in Washington, D.C. According to their site, it is “a one-day learning laboratory for those interested in applying mobile technologies to empower, fuel and drive citizen engagement in the public good.” It promises to enlighten attendees on the possibilities that mobile technology opens up, to show the latest gadgets and apps, and to give existing case studies of businesses that are successfully using mobile apps.

Registration appears to be free and as of right now there are 156 available tickets. The Planning Committee of Mobile Citizen Summit are even open to receiving input on what topics should be covered in the all-day event and are taking suggestions for adding speakers to their agenda.

If you cannot attend, you may wish to follow them on Twitter (@mCitizenSummit) and their hashtag #mCitizen.

Have a terrific weekend!

Smart phone photo by John Karakatsanis on Wikipedia.

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green ruled that Senate Bill 844, which became effective August 28, 2010, is unconstitutional because it covers multiple subjects.   The Missouri constitution requires that bills contain only one subject.

The bill sharply restricted transfers between campaign committees, boosted the enforcement powers of the Missouri Ethics Commission, and created measures aimed at reducing situations in which candidates channeled money through several committees to obscure their source.   The court found that the procurement measures in the bill were the “original controlling purpose,” and thus should be upheld while all other measures relating to campaign finance are void.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office and the Missouri Ethics Commission are currently reviewing the decision to examine both enforcement procedures and further legal action.

News You Can Use Editor Jim Sedor pointed me in the direction of a news item from Providence, Rhode Island. A new ordinance there requires lobbyists to register with City Hall (including a fee), to get a photo ID, and to file quarterly reports. In response, the ACLU of Rhode Island offered a statement saying the ordinance could chill free speech. The issue may go to court.

The article offers the following quote:

“Despite the good and sincere intentions underlying this proposal, we believe it will deter and chill robust community advocacy,” said ACLU Executive Director Steven Brown. “We understand the City’s interest in promoting transparency in government, but this ordinance is not a proper way to achieve that goal.”

For the full article, read: “ACLU Says New City Law Has ‘Chilling Effect’ on Free Speech” by Stephen Beale, on GoLocalProv.com.

Here is the March 21 news release from the ACLU.

State and Federal Communications Research Associate George Ticoras reported on the new ordinance last week in “Providence Creates Lobbying Registration Law” on Lobby Comply.

Photo of Providence skyline by boliyou on Wikipedia.

Here are a few news items:

• Govtech.com’s Matt Williams writes about the growing group of government workers using iPads and what apps  they like to use in their agencies.

• The 2011 Federal Media and Marketing Study is out and Govexec.com reports that 54% of management level government workers use Facebook, 34% use YouTube, 18% use LinkedIn, and 9% use Twitter.
• Meredith Shiner in Politico writes about how U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor and U.S. Senator Chuck Shumer are using Twitter to volley their competing messages about.
• The State Column reports that Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker has won the coveted “Shorty” Award for best government Twitter feed. Mayor Booker had to give his acceptance speech in 140 characters or less.

Two bills were introduced before the Council of the District of Columbia as part of a series of measures to enhance transparency in the District government.

The first bill seeks to enact the Sunshine in Procurement Act of 2011 which requires the Council to post contract information, including the contract, solicitation, purchase orders, invoices, and change orders on its website. Additionally, sole-source and emergency procurement information would need to be posted, including the determination and findings supporting those procurements.

The second bill, referred to as the Open Government Act of 2011, expands the responsibilities of the newly created Open Government Office, improves the District’s Freedom of Information Act, requires agencies to prepare biennial transparency plans, and improves the transparency of the District’s budget information.

Photo of the John A. Wilson Building, home of the city government of Washington, D.C., by Awiseman on Wikipedia.

Representative Anna Fairclough introduced a bill concerning small procurements with the state, which includes the requirement of vendors to provide proof of an Alaska business license.

House Bill 204 also contains other mandates for vendors, including the registration of construction contract bidders and offerers, the establishment and maintenance of lists of person who want to contract with the state or state agencies, and small procurement provisions for certain amounts of leased space.

The legislation increases the maximum ceiling amounts of what constitutes a small procurement from $50,000 to $100,000 for supplies, services, or professional services; $100,000 to $200,000 for a construction, and from 3000 to 7000 square feet for a lease.

Photo of the Alaska State Capitol by Kevin Lam on Wikipedia.

Senate Bill 39 has been signed by Governor Daugaard and will take effect July 1, 2011.

This law will allow corporations to make contributions to political action committees, contributions previously banned by state campaign finance law.

Under this bill, however, corporate contributions to candidates, candidate committees, or political parties are still prohibited.

Photo of Governor Daugaard courtesy of the South Dakota Governor website.

LB 606 would require any person who makes an electioneering communication in the amount of more than $250 to file a report of the electioneering communication with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, similar to the requirements for those making independent expenditures.

Further, the measure would require a corporation, labor organization, or business association making an electioneering communication with a value of more than $250 to file a report with the Commission including the nature, date, and value of the electioneering communication, as well as the name of the candidate identified in the electioneering communication.

Finally, the term ‘electioneering communication’ would be defined to mean any communication referring to a clearly identified candidate, is publicly distributed in the 30 days before an election, and is directed to the electorate of the office sought by the clearly identified candidate, while also noting ‘electioneering communication’ would not include a contribution or expenditure, a communication by media, a candidate debate, or a communication by a membership organization to the organization’s members.

Photo of the Nebraska State Capitol by Decumanus on Wikipedia.

House Bill 89 has been signed into law by Governor Brian Schweitzer. The bill removes the requirement that political committees, organized to support a state district candidate or issue, file reports of contributions of $100 or more with the county election administrator.

These contribution reports will only be filed with the Commissioner of Political Practices.

The new law becomes effective October 1, 2011.

Last September we highlighted GovLoop.com and talked about some great Gov 2.0 features they offer like the lists of government social media contacts and their many discussion groups. I find myself taking in a quick scan of their network almost daily, and I am always delighted by the new and powerful Gov 2.0 things they offer. So today we highlight GovLoop.com revisited.

Here is a grab bag of GovLoop pages where you could lose a few hours exploring and come away smarter for it. (It sure beats losing a few hours playing Angry Birds!)

Mobile Apps for Gov’t lists 36 mobile phone apps by the name of the app, the organization behind it, and the smart phone platform that can use it. Among the apps listed, you will find the White House, iCongress, FDA recalls, FBI Most Wanted, Library of Congress, and state portals like California, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.

Are you new to government contracting and procurement? GovLoop has a Terms Every Government Contractor Must Know list.

Are you doing a story on Open Government? GovLoop has 358 programs listed on its List of Open Government Projects.

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