John Cozine, Research Manager for State and Federal Communications, shared a fun fact with me today. He told me he went to Junior High and High School with Reince Priebus, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

It is true; I saw the yearbook picture as proof. But I wouldn’t want anyone to put my Junior High picture on the internet, so I decided to opt for kindness and go with a more current photo.

Reince Priebus was elected Chairman of the RNC on January 14, 2011. You can find his blog here on the RNC website.

Photo of Reince Priebus courtesy of Wispolitics.com on Wikipedia.

The three reissued executive orders include a ban on political contributions to the mayor from the owners of companies that do business with the city, an order requiring city employees to comply with hiring oversight rules, and an order reaffirming that it is the duty of every city employee to report wrongdoing to the inspector general.

The first new executive order prohibits new appointees from lobbying city government for two years after leaving the administration, bars lower level employees from lobbying the departments or agencies in which they work, and bars appointees to boards and commissions from lobbying the board or commission on which they sit.

The second new executive order protects city employees from being pressured to give gifts or make political contributions to their superiors.

The third new executive order prohibits city lobbyists from making political contributions to the mayor.

Following a report by the Colorado Springs Gazette noting mayoral runoff candidate Steve Bach had failed to include the occupation and employer of his contributors, which is required by state law, Young informed the newspaper Bach would have to file the missing information.

Young reversed her decision the next day, however, by calling the disclosure of the information “optional” due to the fact Colorado Springs election law trumps state election law and there is no specific requirement for reporting the information on the reporting forms.

This is not the first time confusion has entered into the campaign finance requirements concerning the mayoral election. In February, candidates received conflicting information about the legality of direct corporate contributions. The Colorado Springs City Council eventually adopted a resolution permitting the contributions in order to clarify the issue.

Photo of the Colorado Springs City Hall by David Shankbone on Wikipedia.

The 8^th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision of the District Court which upheld a new Minnesota law that revealed political donations from several corporations. The law was enacted in May of 2010 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United freed businesses to spend corporate money on elections, overturning restrictions on corporate political spending in about half the states, including Minnesota. Minnesota lawmakers responded by enacting disclosure requirements to publicize corporate campaign spending.

In affirming the decision, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with claims that Minnesota’s disclosure requirements effectively prohibit corporate independent expenditures and impose burdensome regulations that inhibit free speech.  The Court continued that Minnesota’s regulations are similar to laws upheld by the Supreme Court and the regulations on corporate independent expenditures are less burdensome than federal regulations on PACs.

Roll Call published an article today for those who are interested in how technology is affecting government, campaign finance, and elections. In a piece called “Members launch personal apps,” Melanie Zanona discusses how Members of Congress are beginning to embrace the use of smartphone apps. What started out as a new communication opportunity could become an important fundraising tool in the upcoming elections.

According to the article, U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) was the first to come up with an app last year so that he could stay in touch with his constituents. It also says the past year has seen 16 Members now offering mobile apps, most of them being Republicans.

Apps are being used to give people quick access to news, voting records, to social media platforms, and to photos.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s campaign site has an app that allows people to donate to his campaign.

At the end of the article, they have a list showing the categories of apps and the names of the legislators who offer them.

Last year State and Federal Communications took part in The All-American Soap Box Derby and United Way of Summit County Corporate Derby. On a hot and sunny July day, we showed up with a fearless driver, a handy pit crew, and we built a car. I have to say it was a terrific car. Here is what happened:

Most of the staff from our office showed up at Derby Downs in Akron to cheer for Team State and Federal. We had an exciting time!

If any of our readers in the Summit County area are thinking about participating in this event, we encourage you to do it! It is a fun way to help out the United Way of Summit County and the All-American Soap Box Derby. And best of all, you get to keep the replica Soap Box car that you build! The big day will on Friday, July 15, 2011.

You can get your registration form for the event here.

The first regular session of Missouri’s 96th General Assembly adjourned the evening of May 13, 2011.

The General Assembly will reconvene for a technical session at 8:00 a.m., May 26, 2011 to last until May 30, 2011 in accordance with the constitution.

Governor Jay Nixon may sign or veto bills until July 14, 2011, and the veto session of the General Assembly is scheduled to convene on September 14, 2011.

Photo of the Missouri Capitol Building by RebelAt on Wikipedia.

This week’s Highlighted Site of the Week is the General Services Administration’s Dipity (yes, Dipity), or social timeline, for U.S. Government use of Social Media.

The first entry on the timeline, showing the very beginning of our government’s use of social media, is April 1st, 2002, when the White House Easter Egg Roll was streamed live on the internet. Other landmarks include the announcement that “Ask the White House” was first put online in April 2003, how iTunes first offered presidential speeches in July 2005, Apps for Democracy was launched in October 2008, and Data.gov was inaugurated offering the public 47 databases in May 2009.

What is the latest entry on the timeline? On April 11 the Smithsonian Institution livestreamed Ignite Smithsonian session through UStream. The broadcast was called “Citizen History: Making History with the Masses” and is archived here.

Here is an interesting article by Federal Computer Week. They reference the timeline and ask the question, “Is government adoption of social media slowing down?”

Have a terrific weekend!

The West Virginia Ethics Commission has concluded it cannot prevent an employee of the Legislature from avoiding the state’s newly passed “revolving door” ban if he changes his status from an employee to an independent contractor before the law takes effect on July 1, 2011.

Under the pending law, elected officials and certain high-ranking unelected employees will be forbidden from acting as lobbyists for one year after leaving public employment. The commission decided this law does not include independent contractors.

This decision comes after a request for an opinion by legislative counsel Donnie Adkins. The commission said it “is troubled” by the proposed maneuver but would be unable to bring him within the revolving door ban as an independent contractor.

The West Virginia Ethics Commission offers the opinion on their website.

Here is the Charleston Gazette’s coverage in the story, “Ethics loophole a cause of concern” by Phil Kabler.

RHODE ISLAND: The Providence Lobbying Disclosure Ordinance, which was to take effect May 16, will now take effect July 1. The City Council’s Committee on Finance amended the March 11 ordinance extending the time to begin the implementation of the regulations. The new ordinance requires lobbyist registration, reporting, ID badges, and penalties.

This report refers to the March 23 Lobby Comply post “Providence Creates Lobbying Registration Law” by George Ticoras.

Photo of the Providence, R.I. skyline by boliyou on Wikipedia.

Today at 1:30pm EDT, the hearing examining the proposed pay-to-play presidential executive order will be held by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Small Business Committee.

Here is a link to the live coverage on the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform website.

The SunFoundation will be liveblogging the hearing at:  http://bit.ly/mxIbFe

You can also follow the conversations on Twitter with the hashtag #opengov.

This post is a follow-up to Tuesday’s post “Hearings Set for Anticipated Executive Order on Pay-to-Play” by George Ticoras.

The office of the Secretary of State has released an amended version of the Rules Concerning Lobbyist Regulation, 8 CCR 1505-8. The newly amended rules now include an expanded definition of the term “bona fide personal emergency” to be used in conjunction with determining whether a professional lobbyist or lobbyist firm will be granted a waiver or reduction of an imposed fine, as well as provisions for the suspension, revocation, or other action concerning a lobbyist’s certificate of registration.

The amended rules also include additional guidance to be used by a professional lobbyist for a not-for-profit organization seeking a waiver of the filing fee for the professional lobbyist registration statement.

Finally, amendments were made concerning electronic filing of registration and disclosure statements, noting any statement presented for manual filing with the Secretary of State will not be accepted, but a computer terminal will now be made available in the main office to allow lobbyists to electronically file.

It was an honor being a participant and exhibitor at the annual Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) convention this year in Columbus, Ohio.  The convention was held at the Hyatt Regency on May 4 – May 6, 2011. This has been State and Federal Communications’ second year participating in the convention and we are looking forward to attend many, many more.

Congratulations to the OSBA team, who beautifully planned and orchestrated the three-day event.

Why does State and Federal Communications look forward to and enjoy the OSBA convention so much?

• We are always hiring to facilitate assistance across research and compliance departments in our expanding company. Since attorneys make up 50 percent of our staff, OSBA is a great place to recruit attorneys from different fields and levels of expertise.
• We love to “switch it up” when typically attending more “government relations/affairs” type conventions. We support our attorneys in continuing their education with CLE certifications. Also, it is refreshing to attend conventions where the subject matter is different, whether it be our neighboring booths in the exhibit hall or the topics of the CLE seminars.
• Attorneys have a unique perspective about consulting, campaign finance, and lobbying work – one of the many reasons we recruit at OSBA. The member attorneys are direct with their questions and sincerely try to learn about our company. Likewise, it is nice to hear their thoughts about recent news and issues regarding our line of work. We appreciate OSBA members’ professionalism and look forward to staying in touch.

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On Thursday, May 12, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Small Business Committee will hold a joint hearing to examine a proposed presidential executive order requiring disclosure of political contributions by governmental contractors.

The draft proposed executive order, which was leaked to the press, would require every entity submitting offers for federal contracts to disclose certain political contributions and expenditures made within the two years prior to submission of their offer. The disclosure requirement includes contributions made to federal candidates, parties, and committees, by the bidding entity, its officers, and any affiliates or subsidiaries within its control. Contributions made to parties for independent expenditures and electioneering communications would also have to be reported. These disclosures would be required whenever the aggregate amount of the contributions and expenditures by the bidding entity exceeds $5,000.

The hearing is scheduled to examine the proposed executive order, evaluate its impact and consequences on the federal acquisition system, and determine whether it introduces politics into the procurement process.