A Federal District Court judge has issued an injunction preventing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from enforcing some campaign contribution limits against a political action committee planning to solicit and accept unlimited contributions.

As a single committee, the National Defense Political Action Committee (NDPAC) intends to contribute directly to candidates and political committees, and to make independent expenditures, separating the funds by using two separate bank accounts. It would maintain the statutory limits on the solicitation of funds used for direct contributions while simultaneously seeking unlimited funds for use in their independent expenditures.

The FEC had been unable to issue a binding resolution to an earlier NDPAC advisory opinion request.

In Carey v. FEC, United States District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer ruled the FEC may not enforce 2 U.S.C. §§ 441a(a)(1)(C) and 441a(a)(3), which outline contribution limits for political committees and candidates, against NDPAC with regard to independent expenditures as long as NDPAC maintains separate bank accounts, proportionally pays related administrative costs, and complies with the applicable monetary limits of each type of contribution.

The FEC maintained NDPAC should establish a second formal committee.

Lobbyists and lobbyist’s principals can no longer register, reregister, or continue to be registered in South Carolina if they have outstanding late filing penalties.

House Bill 3183, which Governor Nikki Haley recently signed into law, prohibits the State Ethics Commission from allowing delinquent lobbyists and lobbyist’s principals to participate in lobbying until the fines and filing have been remedied.

The bill also delineates what the fines and penalties are for late filing. Persons filing late are first fined $100 if a report is not filed within 10 days of the due date. After receiving notice by certified or registered mail that a required report has not been filed, there is a $10 a day fine for the first 10 days after receiving the notice. The fine increases to $100 a day for each additional day the required report is not filed, capping at $5,000.

If the report is still not filed, the offender faces an additional misdemeanor conviction with imprisonment or fines.

Flag of South Carolina courtesy of mapsof.net.

A bill which establishes a cap of $5,000 per calendar month on civil penalties for failure to file statements or include required information has passed the Oregon House Committee on Rules.

Senate Bill 270 removes “unfulfilled pledge, subscription, agreement or promise to make contribution” from the definition of contribution.

Additionally, the bill, which passed the Senate in March, also changes the period for assessing civil penalties for violations of campaign finance reporting requirements.

The bill leaves the committee for a full house vote.

Pursuant to the city of San Diego’s Election Campaign Control Ordinance, the San Diego Ethics Commission has released the final version of the 2012 Committee Manual.

The manual addresses the recent changes to San Diego’s campaign finance laws and how they will impact each type of committee required to make a report in the 2012 election year.

Colorado Common Cause and Colorado Ethics Watch have filed a complaint against Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler alleging Gessler illegally “exceeded his authority to administer and enforce campaign finance laws by dramatically increasing the constitutional threshold for regulation of issue committees.”

At issue is Gessler’s recent adoption of Campaign and Political Finance Rule 4.27, which increased from $200 to $5,000 the threshold at which an issue committee must register and report. The $200 threshold, set by the Colorado Constitution, was found to be too burdensome in the recent Colorado case of Sampson v. Buescher. However, the issue of whether the court determined the $200 threshold to be unconstitutional, as Gessler contended to be the case in a statement released concerning the increased threshold, is central to this action.

“The Secretary is under the mistaken impression that he has authority to rewrite campaign finance laws, not merely make rules to enforce those laws,” said Luis Toro, Executive Director of Colorado Ethics Watch. “Disclosure thresholds are clearly not within the authority of the Secretary of State to change.”

The week of June 14 each year is designated as “National Flag Week.” This year, President Obama is expected to issue a proclamation encouraging citizens to fly the American flag. Usually, the flag is also displayed inside and/or outside all government buildings for the duration of National Flag Week. Some organizations and cities hold parades and events in celebration of our flag and what it represents.

Today, it seems more appropriate to quote others in our nation’s history to show how they have been inspired by our national flag. Our flag gives a sense of promise, hope, and pride—something that the below quotes exemplify.

I am whatever you make me, nothing more.  I am your belief in yourself, your dream of what a people may become…. I am the clutch of an idea, and the reasoned purpose of resolution.  I am no more than you believe me to be and I am all that you believe I can be.  I am whatever you make me, nothing more.

~Franklin Knight Lane

We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so we dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents.

~Justice William J. Brennan, Majority U.S. Supreme Court Decision, July 3, 1989

That piece of red, white and blue bunting means five thousand years of struggle upwards.  It is the full-grown flower of ages of fighting for liberty.  It is the century plant of human hope in bloom.

~Alvin Owsley

The flag of the United States has not been created by rhetorical sentences in declarations of independence and in bills of rights.  It has been created by the experience of a great people, and nothing is written upon it that has not been written by their life.  It is the embodiment, not of a sentiment, but of a history.

~Woodrow Wilson

You’re the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
~George M. Cohan

Cheers for the sailors that fought on the wave for it,
Cheers for the soldiers that always were brave for it,
Tears for the men that went down to the grave for it,
Here comes the flag!
~Arthur Macy, The Flag

I name thee Old Glory.

~Captain William Driver, said upon the hoisting of a large American flag

The union of hearts—the union of hands—and the flag of our Union forever.

~George Pope Morris

Quotes from: Quotegarden.com and Freerepublic.com

The Alabama Legislature adjourned on June 9, 2011.

Before adjourning, the legislature passed House Bill 0058 which requires public officials, spouses of public officials, candidates for public office, and spouses of candidates for public office to disclose employment or contracts with the state and federal government.

The bill has been sent to the governor for signature.

Photo of the Alabama State Capitol by Jim Bowen on Wikipedia.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued an opinion in Thalheimer v. City of San Diego. The Court upheld San Diego’s prohibition on political contributions to candidates, political parties, and political action committees by non-individual entities such as corporations and labor unions.

The district court’s injunction of the prohibition on non-individual entity contributions as it applies to political party contributions to candidates was affirmed.

The Ninth Circuit further upheld San Diego’s law prohibiting contributions to candidates outside of a 12 month pre-election window.

The district court’s decision to preliminarily enjoin a $500 limit on contributions to political committees that make only independent expenditures, which includes contributions by individual and non-individual entities was affirmed.

The law repeals Puerto Rico’s previous election code and is effective immediately. The new election code creates a State Commission of Elections which will oversee all election and campaign finance rules and regulations.

The legislature has indicated that they are currently working on updating the campaign finance provisions which will create the Law for the Financing of Political Campaigns in Puerto Rico.

Photo of the Capitol of Puerto Rico by Mtmelendez on Wikipedia.

As part of the Governor’s Entrepreneurial Business Conference, Governor Jack Markell unveiled a new website to expedite the process of doing business with the state.

The new website http://mymarketplace.delaware.gov, serves as a single information source for the entire procurement process.

The website was developed by Delaware’s Office of Management and Budget to combine information from different sources regarding vendor registration, bidding procedure, and bid solicitation.

Federal:

A Weiner Ethics Case Would Cover Uncharted Ground

Virginia Federal Judge Rejects Government Request to Reconsider on Donations

Democrat or Republican, National Party Committees Reap Campaign Riches from Registered Lobbyists

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Big Names in Alabama Politics Set for Bingo Trial Opening

District of Columbia

D.C. Attorney General: Council’s Thomas diverted public funds

Michigan

Koch-Backed Group’s Fake Eviction Notices Rile up Detroit

Nevada

Rory Reid to Pay $25,000 Fine in PAC Case

New York

Bill Not a Feast but Lunch is OK

Cuomo and Legislative Leaders Strike Deal on New Ethics Rules

N.Y. Finds a Growth Industry in Ethics Enforcement

Ohio

House Cozy with Charter School Lobby

Texas

Dallas City Council Rolls Back Some Changes to Ethics Ordinance

Washington

Former Evergreen Professor Fined $120,000 in Largest-Ever Ethics Penalty

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.

State and Federal Communications is sponsoring a Women in Government Relations (WGR) breakfast on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

The event will feature Catherine Hunter, Vice Chair of the Federal Election Commission, and will be presented by the WGR’s PACs, Politics and Grassroots Task Force.

State and Federal Communications President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz and Federal Compliance Associate Rebecca South will be attending.

Registration information is available on the Women in Government Relations event page.

For this week’s Highlighted Site of the Week, we visit the online exhibit for “The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden” at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.

The museum’s website describes the actual “in-real-life” exhibit with these words: “This exhibition explores the personal, public, ceremonial and executive actions of the 43 men who have had a huge impact on the course of history in the past 200 years. More than 900 objects, including national treasures from the Smithsonian’s vast presidential collections, bring to life the role of the presidency in American culture.”

Fascinating Facts – Trivia abounds on The American Presidency site. Did you know Rutherford B. Hayes’ (1877-1881)wife Lucy was the first president’s wife to be called “first lady?” Did you know John Tyler (1841-1845) was the first president to use “Hail to the Chief” at official and diplomatic occasions to mark the chief executive’s arrival?

Life and Death in the White House – With the online exhibit, you can have fun exploring pictures of many of the historic items, like the hat President Lincoln was wearing the night he was shot. You’ll also find lighthearted items like President Warren G. Harding’s silk pajamas and the red “Flapper” evening dress worn by First Lady Grace Coolidge.

Communicating the Presidency – The American Presidency shows us the ways the office of the presidency communicated with the people before Facebook and Twitter – from horseback to telegraph, newspaper, radio, and television.

This site will even help you plan a visit to the actual museum.

Treasures in The American Presidency include campaign memorabilia; a list of the military service of the presidents, a long list of presidential biographies, and a little game called “All the President’s Children,” where you must match the picture of a president’s child with the correct description.

They have done a nice job with this exhibit.

Have a terrific weekend everyone!

Governor Jan Brewer has called the Legislature to begin a special session on Friday, June 9, 2011.

The purpose of the special session is to extend unemployment benefits for the state’s jobless.