Q. As a registered lobbyist, am I allowed to make a personal political contribution to a general assembly member whom I might eventually lobby? Does it make a difference whether I am a constituent of the general assembly member? Is such a contribution reportable?

A. As is customary in the nature of government affairs work, the answer depends upon the state in which you are making the contribution. That means you need to check the rules and regulations on political contributions for each state before you make the contribution. Also, whether such contributions are permitted or reported depends upon the amount of the contribution.

Here are some relevant examples:

• Personal political contributions by a lobbyist are reportable in Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. In some instances, the reporting requirement extends to a member of the lobbyist’s immediate family also making a contribution.
• In Pennsylvania, a registered lobbyist making a personal political contribution must register and report in the same manner required of PACs.
• There is an absolute prohibition on personal political contributions by registered lobbyists in Connecticut and North Carolina.
• In South Carolina, lobbyists are prohibited from making contributions to a candidate or anyone acting on behalf of a candidate if the lobbyist engages in lobbying the public office or public body for which the candidate is seeking election.
• In California, lobbyists may not contribute to state candidates or officeholders, or their controlled committees, if registered to lobby the candidate or officeholder’s agency.
• In Alaska, a lobbyist may not make a contribution to a candidate for office in a district outside the lobbyist’s own voting district. This prohibition continues for one year after a lobbyist’s registration or renewed registration date. A lobbyist who contributes to a legislative candidate must file a report within 30 days after making the contribution.

Political contributions not otherwise prohibited by a registered lobbyist could nonetheless be prohibited based on the particular state’s pay-to-play laws. Also, always make sure there are no restrictions on making the contribution during the legislative session.

Finally, it bears repeating to check the laws in the particular state before you make the contribution.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

In 1998, State and Federal Communications worked with Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic’s blue ribbon committee reviewing campaign contribution limits. Unfortunately, city voters approved very low contribution limits and it has taken 12+ years for a charter change to increase them.

On Monday, city council approved legislation increasing the limits for contributions from individuals for mayoral and at-large council candidates from $300 to $450 and ward council candidates from $100 to $200.

The city will continue to study other potential changes to Akron’s campaign finance guidelines.

Senate Bill 69 would prohibit any lobbyist, principal of a lobbyist, client of a lobbyist, agent of a lobbyist, or political action committee on which a lobbyist sits from making political campaign contributions to the governor, lieutenant governor, or a member of the legislature.

This prohibition would be in effect during any time in which the legislature is in regular or special session.

The measure also defines terms pertinent to the language of the bill, including ‘contribution,’ ‘political action committee,’ and ‘principal of a lobbyist.’

The bill aims to reduce situations where actual or perceived conflicts of interest may be raised.

Satellite photo of Hawaii by NASA, posted on Wikipedia.

New York Assembly Bill 04933, which is currently before the Assembly Election Law Committee, seeks to impose disclosure requirements upon lobbyists who act as political consultants.

The bill defines political consultants as any person receiving compensation for providing professional services relating to advising clients on political activities, political advertising, campaign strategies, campaign publicity, or campaign management.

Political consultants would be required to disclose the identities, telephone numbers, and addresses of all clients.

New York Coat of Arms by One Salient Oversight on Wikipedia.

In January, the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project released the results of a study showing 22% of people who are active on the internet were in some way engaged with political campaigns via social media in the 2010 election cycle. According to the study, people felt that connecting with candidates on Facebook and Twitter allowed them to be more in touch with the campaigns and said it gave them timely information.

The base of people involved in social media activity has grown since the 2008 elections:

“The social networking population as a whole has grown larger and demographically more diverse in recent years, and the same is true when it comes to political activity on social networking sites.” said Aaron Smith, Senior Researcher Specialist and author of the report. “These platforms are now utilized by politically active individuals of all ages and ideologies to get news, connect with others, and offer their thoughts on the issues that are important to them.”

You can find the synopsis of the Pew Center’s study here: “22% of online Americans used social networking or Twitter for politics in 2010 campaign” and the site also allows you to download the entire report.

Picture courtesy of VIA Gallery on Wikipedia.

According to an article in the Indianapolis Star News, Sarah Nagy has been fired as Executive Director of the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission. Nagy had been put on leave since January.

The article states the board voted unanimously and gave no reason for the action.

For the full story, read: “Lobby group fires executive director” from the February 11 edition.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer has asked the city council to end ‘wheeling’ in the city’s elections. Wheeling is a term used to describe the channeling of money through different political committees to avoid contribution limits.

The mayor also wants an ordinance to limit the amount of contributions an outside PAC may donate to a candidate in a city election and stressed how the former mayor Cammarano’s campaign received more than $100,000 in the last 11 days of his campaign from political committees not from Hoboken.

City councilman Ravinder Bhalla is a sponsor of the proposed legislation.

Last December, the U.S. Census Bureau released the results of the 2010 Census. Officially, there are 308,745, 538 people living in the United States. The number is quite important in deciding where federal and state funding will go and also in deciding U.S. congressional apportionment – the process of dividing the 435 congressional seats among the 50 states based on each states’ population as counted in the census.

Wondering how your state fared in the 2010 Census? The U.S. Census Bureau published an interactive map of the census data and the Apportionment data. Our state, Ohio, lost two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives this time around.

The apportionment process is mandated in the U.S. Constitution in Article I, Section 2 and then superseded in Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment. By the way, when they first began the apportionment process in 1790, there were 4 million people living in the U.S. and the ratio was 33,000 people per congressional district. Now it is estimated that there are 700,000 citizens per congressional district.

Lobby Comply reader Nancy Messmore pointed me in the direction of the U.S. Census Bureau and the 2010 Census results. As a librarian, she pointed out that the U.S. Census Bureau has a partnership program and the American Library Association (ALA) was one of the key partners. Thanks to this program, the 2010 Census became more of a grassroots effort and less of a top-down government task. Thanks to the partner organizations, the 2010 Census was able to boast of a 74% mail-back participation rate. The ALA offers a great fact sheet for educators (and one for communities) about the census and its importance.

If you are wondering how the U.S. congressional apportionment is calculated, it is easy, really. Here is the formula. Well, alright, maybe not so easy.

Instead, here is a video by the U.S. Census Bureau explaining the process:

Take care and have a good weekend!

As reported in today’s pressofatlanticcity.com, the Atlantic City City Council unanimously passed a pay-to-play ordinance mandated by an agreement with the state’s Department of Community Affairs. The law would prohibit granting contracts to individuals and businesses who contributed to a campaign or political action committee for the election of a council member.

The Department of Community Affairs gives financial assistance to local municipalities in exchange for measures such as instituting pay-to-play laws and giving the Department power to review and approve other city business, such as hiring and promoting. The only discussion about the ordinance was from Councilman Moisse Delgado, who asked, “Y’all ready for this?”

Those attending Amy Showalter’s Innovate to Motivate conference in San Antonio had the fortune to hear Herman Cain this morning. His program, Being CEO of Self, is exactly the professional development we expect from I2M.

He started by talking about the dreams/goals his parents had to change their lives and that of future generations. Cain emphasized that CEOs, who are successful, have dream and goals—and those two things are not the same. A goal he had was to graduate from college. The dream of his grandparents was to see him graduate from college. Faith connects goals and dreams.

And, following up on happiness, it is the key to success and not the other way around. Happiness is:

1.      Something to do;

2.      Someone to love; and

3.      Something to hope for.

Learn more about Herman Cain at www.hermancain.com. On top of his successes in the business and association industries, he is now exploring the possibility of running for president in 2012.

The state Ethics Commission has released its final promulgated amendments to the state’s ethics rules for 2011.

These amendments, available on the commission’s website, become law on July 1 if no action is taken by the state legislature.

One of the rules set forth this year will allow corporations to make independent expenditures and another will allow PACs to contribute to ballot measure committees.

Image of the Oklahoma flag by Denelson83 on Wikipedia.

The House and Senate have passed identical bills, House Bill 1284 and Senate Bill 194, aimed at delaying a legislator’s ability to become a lobbyist upon leaving the legislature.

The measures, often referred to as “revolving door legislation,” prohibit any former member of the legislature from registering as a lobbyist until one year after the expiration of the term the legislator was elected to serve.

Each chamber will now review the other’s bill. Governor Mike Beebe is expected to sign the legislation once passed.

Photo of the Arkansas State Capitol Building by Stuart Seeger on Wikipedia.

The Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance introduced new contribution limits for 2011-2012 to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index.

The new limits include a biennial aggregate limit of $113,700 on contributions to State and Local candidates and PACs. Individuals may contribute no more than $44,800 to State and Local candidates and no more than $68,900 to all PACs (including parties) during the two year cycle.

Lobbyist gift limits have increased to $55 per event and lobbyist employers are limited to gifts with a cumulative value of $110 during a calendar year.

Representative Rebecca Chaves-Houch introduced House Bill 0164 limiting political contributions to statewide candidates for office. Presently, there are no limits to the amounts one can contribute to candidates for state offices in Utah.

The bill’s provisions include caps on donations by individual contributors to $5,000 for legislative candidates, $10,000 for gubernatorial candidates, and $10,000 to state PACs.

The bill does not address corporate contributions to candidates, which Utah permits. If passed, the limits would take effect on January 1, 2013.

Photo of the Utah State Capitol Building by Sean Breazeal (Talshiarr) on Wikipedia.