As part if its Weekly Historical Highlights, the website of the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk remembers the very first presidential inauguration at Federal Hall in New York City. On April 30, 1789, the inauguration ceremony for George Washington was held in Federal Hall, where Federal Congress first met before moving to Philadelphia. The Office of the Clerk site gives an account of the event and says Washington was very humbled by the occasion.

The original building was located on Wall Street. It was built in 1700 and originally served as the New York City Hall. From 1785-1789, it served as the capitol where Congress met. According to the U.S. Senate website: “When Congress convened for the first time on March 4, 1789, the old building had been converted into a splendid capitol, optimistically renamed Federal Hall.”

The National Park Service (NPS.gov) gives us a great picture of the landmark events that Federal Hall has witnessed: “After the American Revolution, the Continental Congress met at City Hall and, in 1787, adopted the Northwest Ordinance, establishing procedures for creating new states.When the Constitution was ratified in 1788, New York remained the national capital. Pierre L’Enfant [who designed the city plan for the District of Columbia] was commissioned to remodel the City Hall for the new federal government. The First Congress met in the now Federal Hall and wrote the Bill of Rights.”

The NPS goes on to say that when the nation’s capital was moved to Philadelphia, the building went back to being New York’s city hall. In 1812 the building was torn down and a new one was opened in 1842, functioning first as the Customs House, then as a Treasury, and finally as a national memorial to Federal Hall.

If you are in New York City, there is tour information for Federal Hall here and here. You might wish to follow the New Amsterdam trail that starts at Castle Clinton and ends with Federal Hall.

Have a great weekend!

This law, taking effect on July 1, 2011, requires lobbyist registration and reporting only with the legislative branch.

Lobbyists will indicate on this registration whether they will also engage in lobbying executive officials.

Employer reports will still be due each July 31^st.

Photo of Governor Branstad courtesy of the official website for the Office of the Governor.

House File 126 has passed both houses of the Iowa Legislature and now awaits approval from Governor Terry Branstad.

This bill would change the state’s law to require lobbyists to register and report with the legislative branch only; currently there is separate registration and reporting for the legislative and executive branches.

Lobbyists would indicate on the registrations whether they will lobby executive officials in addition to lawmakers. Lobbyists would have a combined annual report due each July 31st and registration would open in December for the following calendar year.

The U.S. House of Representatives has debuted a beta version of its new website.

The Hill reports the U.S. State Department has shut down its website America.gov and will put its communications work into social media.

ExecutiveGov.com reports that Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) is seeking more information from White House Chief Information Officer about which open government websites are at risk of being cut.

House Bill 139, a bill aimed at limiting pay-to-play activities in the state, began moving through committees last week.

The bill seeks to limit vendors who have a state contract of greater than $25,000 from contributing in excess of $500 per election to a candidate or candidate committee for a public servant if the public servant would have authority over the contract with the vendor.

House Bill 139 is similar to a bill introduced during the prior legislative session; however, that bill was left out of a series of ethics reforms eventually approved by the legislature.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has signed into law Senate Bill 1227, which revises the filing dates for lobbyist employer disclosure reports.

The bill requires that employer disclosure reports be filed within 45 days of June 30 and December 31.

The new law takes effect July 1, 2011, with the first employer disclosure report under the new law covering the time period from April 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 having a filing deadline of February 14, 2012.

Photo of Governor Bill Haslam courtesy of the Tennessee Governor’s website.

This week our Highlighted Site of the Week is Women in Government Relations (WGR). The site was referred to me by Rebecca South, who is a Federal Compliance Associate at State and Federal Communications. Rebecca has been a member of Women in Government Relations  for seven years.

The group is doing amazing work that deserves attention. Spend some time on the their website and you’ll see how active they are. The group was founded in 1975 and boasts a membership of over 750 women and men from many places in the profession. According to the site, there are 65 U.S. Representatives and seven U.S. Senators who are WGR Emeritus members.

The organization’s goal: “WGR is committed to the advancement and empowerment of women at all career levels of government relations. By offering leadership opportunities, mentoring, partnerships, networking and educational programming, WGR cultivates our members’ personal and professional growth.”

Women in Government Relations offers programs and workshops, as well as a mentoring program and professional internships. They also have a WGR Toastmasters group where members are given the opportunity to improve their public speaking skills. Their website has a career center where job seekers can meet employers online.

The WGR calendar is full with their Signature Events like the Charity Golf Tournament, the Emeritus Member Tea, the Charity Scavenger Hunt (sending members all over Washington, D.C. looking for clues), the Spring Gala, and much more!

Another great resource for members is the WGR Task Forces and Working Groups: “In addition to annual events, WGR hosts regular briefings, roundtables, and panel discussions as well as brown bag luncheons with policymakers and other government affairs professionals.”

WGR’s website is rich with information, but if you want the latest news, I suggest connecting with them via social media. You can find their Facebook here and you can join their LinkedIn Group here.

U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen has filed both a lawsuit against the FEC and a petition at the FEC seeking to challenge regulations of disclosure requirements of contributions for “electioneering communications” and “independent expenditures”. In Van Hollen v. FEC, he claims the FEC regulation 11 CFR §104.20(c)(9), which requires disclosure only of those making contributions over $1,000 to an entity for the purpose of furthering electioneering communications, contradicts the statute which requires disclosure of all donors making contributions over $1,000.

The separately filed petition with the FEC requests they revise and amend regulations currently allowing independent expenditure groups to not reveal donors giving over $200 except for those contributors who gave for the purpose of furthering the reported independent expenditure. Representative Van Hollen alleges this contradicts the statute, which requires disclosure of all donors who gave over $200 to the entity.

Assembly Bill 860 would prohibit corporations or labor unions from making contributions to a candidate for elected office. Additionally, this legislation would strengthen the state pay-to-play laws.

The bill would prohibit government contractors from making contributions to an official or candidate who is or would be elected to a position responsible for awarding a government contract to the contributor.

Finally, this bill would also prohibit any employer from using payroll deduction to fund any political activity.

Photo of the California State Capitol by Nikopoley on Wikipedia.

House Bill 3653, a bill concerning lobbyist registration fees, was brought before the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, April 18, 2011, as the bill moves closer to a vote before the full House.

The bill would provide for lobbyist registration fees of up to $1,000; however, lobbyist registration fees of up to $200 would be assessed if the lobbyist is employed by a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organization.

If passed, the bill provides for an effective date of September 1, 2011.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol by LoneStarMike on Wikipedia.

The Alaska Legislature was adjourned on its scheduled date, but not in its usual manner.

Because the House and Senate could not agree on the time of the adjournment, which is on the 90th and last day authorized by law, Governor Parnell himself invoked state constitutional authority and adjourned the 27th session of the legislature on April 17. He then immediately called a special session to begin April 18.

The special session is limited by law to a maximum of 30 days.

The Cole County Circuit Court has stayed the court’s previous judgment holding the portion of Senate Bill 844 relating to campaign finance unconstitutional.

The stay does not apply to Missouri Revised Statutes section 130.031(13), covering who may contribute to a political action committee.

The stay order allows all provisions of law, including those enacted into law by Senate Bill 844 (except for section 130.031(13)), to remain in effect until a final resolution of the case on appeal.

The Georgia General Assembly adjourned late Thursday, April 14, 2011. Among the measures passed on the final legislative day was Senate Bill 160, requiring lobbyist reporting of expenditures made on behalf or for the benefit of a public employee for the purpose of influencing a public officer. The measure will now be sent to the desk of Governor Nathan Deal for his signature.

Senate Bill 160 was amended earlier in the week to close a loophole in state ethics law made public after Advisory Opinion 2011-03, released by the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, concluded state law did not require the reporting of such expenditures.

The final semi-monthly disclosure report for state level lobbyists will be due May 1, 2011. Further, the first monthly disclosure report for state level lobbyists will be due June 5, 2011.

Photo of the Georgia State Capitol dome by Connor.carey on Wikipedia.

Well, it is April 15th, and I couldn’t resist the temptation. This week’s Highlighted Site of the Week is the Library of Congress’ History of the US Income Tax website, as well as a few other great pages.

The site opens with the line: “If, in the midst of sorting receipts and studying the latest changes in the US income tax laws, you suddenly wonder ‘What is the origin of this annual ritual in the weeks leading up to April 15th?’ here are some places you can go for answers.”

What you get on the Library of Congress site is a brief history of the laws that have regulated the taxation of personal income (on and off) since the time of the Civil War. They offer a bibliography of printed material for further reading, but where they really shine is in their links to other sites.

Among the links, you will find the U.S. Department of the Treasury, its history of the Treasury and its history of taxes. The Library of Congress also points us in the direction of the IRS’ Brief History of the IRS page.

By far the most fun will be found at the Tax History Project, where you can wander around the Tax History Museum with its interactive time line. The museum covers topics from our origins of colonial commerce circa 1650, up until today. You can visit an image gallery of Cartoons and Posters from the History of U.S. Taxation, or study the tax returns of  President Barack Obama, former presidents like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and former presidential candidates at the Presidential Tax Returns page. You can also find many papers and speeches on taxation, like Ronald Reagan’s 1986 speech on Tax Reform.

Best wishes to you for your tax filing and if you need a lift of spirit, here is an article about all the freebies companies are offering on Tax Day!