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!

Did you know that 13 Presidents of the United States experienced debt problems? It is very easy to believe that once someone ascends to the post of President of the United States that they will never have to worry about their finances ever again, but this is not always the case. Some presidents-such as John F. Kennedy who was worth the equivalent of a billion dollars today-were born into money, but others like Bill Clinton were born poor and earned a modest income before becoming the leader of America.

This week’s Highlighted Site Of The Week, All The Presidents’ Money, shows both the amount of wealth each U.S. President possessed as well as the public debt that existed at the beginning and end of their presidency, each adjusted for inflation.

On this site you can see how the public debt has fluctuated, beginning at the equivalent of $939.8 million at the birth of America under George Washington, hitting its lowest point of the equivalent of $6.3 million under Andrew Jackson, and consistently creeping upward until it surpassed the equivalent of $1 trillion during WWII, and hitting its current mark of a record $14.1 trillion.

It might come as a surprise to some to see the actual worth of each president as opposed to grouping all U.S. Presidents into the category of wealthy elitists (although many would most certainly fit into that category). Nine presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, were worth less than the equivalent of $1 million. This chart also provides some facts relating to the personal finances of the Presidents such that Herbert Hoover donated his presidential salary to charity and that John Tyler inherited a 1,000 acre tobacco plantation, but eventually died in debt because of the Civil War.

With the current budget and national debt debates going on today, its fun to see how the debt has developed throughout American history.

Everyone have a great weekend!

By Labor Day, our clients will find 36 additional municipalities included on our website. As they are completed, we will update our postings so you can check out the additional resources.

Right now, we have provided information on lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying for Alexandria, Virginia (my former home) and Tacoma, Washington.

In the future look for additional cities in New York, Arizona, and Michigan.

The Philadelphia Board of Ethics has announced it will delay enforcement of the city’s lobbying law until 30 days after the effective date of proposed board regulations.

According to a board resolution, the earliest that enforcement of the lobbying law may begin is September 26, 2011. P.C.C. §20-1200, which created Philadelphia’s lobbying law, became effective July 1. The board has previously announced that lobbyist registration will not begin until July 18, 2011 because of delays in implementing the electronic registration system.

Additionally, the Philadelphia Bar Association has filed suit challenging Philadelphia’s new lobbying law as being too far reaching.   The Bar Association contends that the law’s definition of the term “lobbyist” unfairly targets lawyers who are not engaged in lobbying activities, and that only the state Supreme Court can regulate lawyers.

As the federal government is utilizing the internet in more and more ways to connect with the public, members of the U.S. House of Representatives are following suit by displaying official letters between themselves, President Obama, and other colleagues on Facebook.

Such House members such as Pete Olson from Texas, Cathy McMorris Rodgers from Washington, and Justin Amash from Michigan have posted letters sharing their concern about actions committed by Senator John Rockefeller of West Virginia, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, and President Obama.

More is said about these letters in this article called “U.S. House Members Share Letters on Facebook” posted yesterday by Jennifer Moire on allfacebook.com.