The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has published the 2013-2014 election cycle contribution limits indexed for inflation. As required by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, the FEC must adjust certain contribution limits every two years.

The individual and non-multicandidate PAC contribution limit to federal candidates has increased from $2,500 to $2,600 for both primary and general elections, allowing for a total of $5,200 for a federal candidate. The overall biennial limit for individuals has increased to $123,200, with a maximum of $48,600 for all candidates and $74,600 for all PACs and parties. Among the other adjustments is the increased contribution limit of $32,400 per year to national parties from individuals and non-multicandidate PACs.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: Defense, Tax Aides Join McBee” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Lobbying World” in The Hill.

California: “Former assemblyman registers as a lobbyist” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.

Georgia: “Georgia speaker unveils sweeping ethics legislation” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Missouri: “Lawmaker: Legislators should never become lobbyists” by Bob Watson in the News Tribune.

Campaign Finance

“FEC Increases Contribution Limits for 2014” by Kyle Trygstad in Roll Call.

Montana: “Montana legislators, groups at odds on campaign donation limits” by Mike Dennison in the Missoulian.

New York: “On Campaign Finance Reform, Senate Republicans Stand in Gov. Cuomo’s Way” opinion piece by John Petro in the Huffington Post.

Ethics

“Ethics Office Opened 32 Cases During 112th Congress” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

Hawaii: “Honolulu Ethics Commission Wants to Double Its Resources to Fight Public Corruption” in the Hawaii Reporter.

Illinois: “Former state ethics commissioner hit with $2,500 ethics violation” by Rafael Guerrero in the Chicago Tribune.

Maine: “Bill would bar state officials from quitting to immediately work for industries they regulated” by Naomi Schalit and John Christie in the Bangor Daily News.

New York: “NY ethics board talks conflicts in secret session” by The Associated Press in the Albany Times Union.

New York: “Ex-aide to City Controller John Liu snared in campaign finance fraud probe is granted immunity to testify in former treasurer’s trial” by Robert Gearty in the New York Daily News.

South Carolina: “SC Supreme Court to hear Nikki Haley ethics case” by Andrew Shain in The State.

Elections

Michigan: “Snyder nixes plan to split Michigan electoral votes” by Alexander Burns in Politico.

Ohio: “State Sen. Turner proposes election reform package” by Joe Hallett in the Columbus Dispatch.

Ohio: “Secretary of State Jon Husted and other Republicans say Electoral College changes not in store for Ohio” by Henry J. Gomez in the Plain Dealer.

Open Government

Mississippi: “Mississippi gets low grades for transparency on state, local websites” by Donna Harris in the Sun Herald.

South Dakota: “Legislature: Public records plan falls short” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: New Faces at Harlow Foundation, Thorn Run” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Abramoff lists 8 tips to overhaul lobbying laws” by Keith Matheny in USA Today.

“10 Strange Lobbying Groups That We Swear Are Real” by Elizabeth Flock in U.S. News & World Report.

Kentucky:  “Kentucky sets lobbying record in 2012” by Phil Impellizzeri in the Bluegrass Institute.

Nevada: “Former Nevada legislative director joins high profile public relations, lobbying firm” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Campaign Finance

Missouri: “Nixon makes pitch for Medicaid, campaign donation limits” by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Utah:  “Some ethics bills advance, while calls arise for more” by Lee Davidson in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Vermont: “Ben and Jerry push campaign finance ‘petition on steroids’” Dan D’Ambrosio in the Burlington Free Press.

Ethics

Arizona: “Arizona Democrats introduce trio of ethics bills” by AJ Vicens in Cronkite News.

Arizona: “Arizona Democrats introduce trio of ethics bills” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

New Jersey: “Christie make case for taking over independent agencies” by Matt Katz in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

South Carolina: “Gov.’s commission suggests ‘clean, honest’ ethics plan” by Andrew Shain in The State.

Texas: “Ethics Commission to Debate Fundraising Opinion” by Emily Ramshaw in the Texas Tribune.

Virginia: “Va. lawmakers’ gifts last year were padded with travel” by Bill Sizemore in the Virginian-Pilot.

Redistricting

North Carolina: “Judges to hear N.C. redistricting challenge” by Dale Gibson in the Triangle Business Journal.

Virginia: “Va. Senate OK’s constitutional amendments” by Laura Vozzella in the Washington Post.

Wisconsin: “Rep. Vos subpoenaed in Wisconsin redistricting case” by The Associated Press in the Post Crescent.

Representative Kurt Wright announced his intention to introduce campaign finance legislation that will enhance disclosures in an election year. Wright and 10 other legislators are working on legislation that would require campaign finance reports to be filed monthly after January 15 in an election year, and increase filing to biweekly leading up to a primary or general election.

Currently, filings are due monthly after July 15.

The bill will also contain provisions related to donor disclosure, requiring PACs to disclose a top contributor if he or she provides more than half of all contributions in a six-month period, and super PACs to disclose their top three donors if their combined contributions account for more than half of contributions received.

Photo of Vermont State House by Jared C. Benedict on Wikipedia.

Lobbying

“D.C. Circuit Upholds Conviction of Former Abramoff Lobbying Associate” by Tom Ruger in the Blog of the Legal Times.

Arizona: “Inquiry of Fiesta Bowl lobbyist drags on” by Craig Harris in the Arizona Republic.

Georgia:  “Lobbyist gifts decline amid citizen outcry” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hawaii: “Hawaii legislators push reforming ethics rules for lobbyists and public officials” by Anita Hofschneider (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Kentucky:  “Some notes on 2012 lobbying spending” by Tom Loftus in the Courier-Journal.

New Mexico: “Lobbyists haven’t reported all event expenses” by Steve Terrell in the Santa Fe New Mexican.

North Carolina:  “N.C. budget chairs change seats, start lobbying careers” by Rob Christensen in the Charlotte Observer.

Washington: “Spin Control: Lobbying season kicks off in Olympia” by Jim Camden in the Spokesman Review.

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Campaign finance violations targeted” by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez in the Arizona Republic.

Montana:  “Montana bill seeks cash to fight ‘dark money‘” by Matt Gouras (Associated Press) in the Great Falls Tribune.

Ethics

South Dakota: “Sunshine laws draw support, resistance” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.

Government Tech and Social Media

“6 Ways to Optimize Gov-to-Citizen Communication” by Colin Wood in Government Technology.

Legislative Issues

Arizona: “Arizona’s new Legislature not demographically representative of population” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

Federal:

Citizens United Third Anniversary Marked By Reformers with Push for Constitutional Amendment

From the States and Municipalities:

Arizona – Former Arizona Lawmaker Ben Arredondo Avoids Prison Time

Florida – Florida Group Wants to End Caps on Campaign Donations

Hawaii – Lobbying Reform Is a Tough Sell in Hawaii’s Legislature

Kansas – Business, Labor Clash over Bill Aimed at Restricting Union Politicking

Kentucky – Lobbyists Spend Record Amount in Kentucky

Nevada – Lawmakers Anxious in Wake of Alleged Threats to Assembly Speaker

North Dakota – North Dakota to Move Forward on Ethics Reform

Ohio – Ex-Legislator Sent to Prison for Corruption

Utah – New Utah Congressman Has Ties That Bind: Family

Washington – Bill Imposing a Lobbyist Fee Gets Mixed Reactions Lobbying

West Virginia – U.S. Appeals Court OKs Some W.Va. Election Ad Rules

Wisconsin – Contract Lobbying Still Under the Radar

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.

Lobbying

“Sandy adds a twist to some firms’ lobbying efforts” by Alex Guillen in Politico.

“Business Lobbying In 2012 Soared, Buoyed By Fiscal Cliff Crisis” by Christina Wilkie in the Huffington Post.

“K Street stumbles for the second straight year” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.

Georgia:  “Road contractors shower governor with campaign donations” by Greg Bluestein, Ariel Hart and James Salzer in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Wisconsin: “Contract lobbying still ‘under the radar’” by Bill Lueders in Wisconsin Watch.

Campaign Finance

Arizona:  “Jan Brewer taps lawyer for Clean Elections post” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Capitol Times.

Florida:  “Florida group wants to end caps on campaign donations” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.

Washington:  “Lawmaker wants to fix Public Disclosure Commission online system” by Brad Shannon in the News Tribune.

Ethics

“Ethics Panel Requires Added Disclosure of Funds, Accounts” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

Connecticut:  “Smoke shop owner pleads guilty in campaign finance case” by Mark Pazniokas in the Connecticut Mirror.

Iowa:  “Iowa Ethics and Campaign Finance Disclosure Board seeks complaint process change” by Rod Boshart in the Sioux City Journal.

Texas:  “Weak Disclosure Laws Keep Public in the Dark” by Ryan Murphy and Jay Root in the Texas Tribune.

Elections

“Missouri House passes elections bill” by Elizabeth Crisp in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Virginia: “Lawmakers move to change Va. electoral vote system” by Julian Walker in the Virginian-Pilot.

Washington:  “Washington state lawmakers press for speedier election results” by The Associated Press in the Oregonian.

From the State Legislatures

Idaho:  “Wednesday highlights in the Idaho Legislature” in the Idaho Statesman.

Redistricting

Virginia: “Va. House Speaker holds key to redistricting vote” by Errin Haines and Laura Vozzella in the Washington Post.

Virginia: “Stewart cheers Va. Senate redistricting” by Laura Vozella in the Washington Post.

The New York City Council overwhelmingly voted in favor of a campaign finance bill that has drawn sharp opposition from the city’s campaign finance board.

The bill will allow labor or other membership organizations and corporations to send communications to its members, executive and administrative personnel, and stockholders without having to disclose that information to the city. Currently, these types of expenditures would have to be disclosed, but the bill, if signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would eliminate that requirement.

The city council passed the measure by a vote of 47-1 ensuring that it has enough votes to survive a veto by the mayor. However, that has not stopped Mayor Bloomberg from expressing his displeasure with the bill. Bloomberg has not given a firm answer about whether he will veto the bill, but his spokesperson did say “the bill will only weaken the city’s strong campaign disclosure laws and he sees no reason why unions shouldn’t be held to the same standard as others who are advocating candidates for elective office.”

Earlier this month Amy Loprest, executive director of the city’s campaign finance board, spoke against the bill saying it would set the city’s landmark disclosure laws back and hurt the city’s voters. However, not everybody believes it is a bad thing.

Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, praised the council’s vote saying, “this is the way in which a representative democracy should function with the city council exerting oversight to clarify important sections of the law. Membership organizations must be allowed to communicate with their willing members about the issues they collectively care about.”

Photo of the New York City Hall by Momos on Wikipedia.

Two proposals for amendments to the U.S. Constitution regarding campaign finance were introduced yesterday by Representative Jim McGovern.

House Joint Resolution 20 calls for an amendment giving authority to the federal and state governments to regulate the raising and spending of money in elections.

House Joint Resolution 21 provides for an amendment preventing corporations, limited liability companies, and other corporate entities from being included under the terms people, person, or citizen as “used” in the constitution.

Representative McGovern states in his press release that his amendments “would overturn Citizens United and put a stop to the growing trend of corporations claiming first amendment rights,” and “allow Congress to pass campaign finance reform legislation that will withstand Constitutional challenges.”

Lobbying

“K Street says goodbye, good riddance to 2012, expects upturn this year” by Kevin Bogardus and Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“K Street Files: At Start of Second Term, Lobbyists Get Over Obama’s Cold Shoulder” by Kate Ackley and Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

“Interests’ Presence Felt In 2012, Filings Show” by Janie Lorber and Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“K Street sings the blues” by Byron Tau and Tarini Parti in Politico.

Campaign Finance

“Florida GOP donor Jay Odom indicted on campaign finance fraud charges” by Lucy Morgan in the Miami Herald.

Maine: “Maine lawmakers join effort to amend Constitution to allow campaign funding limits” by Robert Long in the Bangor Daily News.

Ethics

Colorado: “Ethics bill clears Senate committee hurdle” by Arek Sarkissian II in the Tallahassee Democrat.

Ohio: “Ex-legislator sent to prison for corruption” by Jim Siegel in the Columbus Dispatch.

Redistricting

“In quirk, some California residents have two state senators, others none” by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

“Va. Republicans’ redistricting maneuver draws criticism” by Laura Vozzella and Errin Haines in the Washington Post.

From the State Legislatures

“Top 10 legislative issues facing lawmakers in 2013” by Mark Wolfe from NCSL.

“In Michigan and Wisconsin, Some Lawmakers Want to Go Part-Time” by Jim Malewitz in Stateline.

Lobbying

“Washington Parties, K Street Pays” by Chris Frates in National Journal.

“Ben Nelson among ex-lawmakers to K Street” by Tarini Parti in Politico.

“Lobbyists of all stripes swarm President Obama’s gun-control proposals” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Virginia:  “Uranium backers gave gifts, donations to lawmakers” by Bob Lewis in the Winston-Salem Journal.

Wisconsin: “Former Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald lobbying” by The Associated Press in the News Times.

Campaign Finance

New Jersey: “Corporations face new rules on disclosing political donations” by Juliet Fletcher in the Bergen Record.

New York:  “Lawmakers scrambling to raise funds ahead of Cuomo’s promised campaign reform” by Carl Campanile in the New York Post.

Ethics

New Mexico: “Democrat wants bill to ban use of state resources for political reasons” by Steve Terrell in the New Mexican.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Obama’s Inauguration Live-Tweeted by the White House” in Government Technology.

“Facebook Graph Search Announcement Inspires IT Leaders” by Colin Wood in Government Technology.

“Obama calls for new ideas and technology to ‘remake’ government” by Eric Katz and Kedar Pavgi in Government Executive.

With Pennsylvania poised to outsource control of the state lottery, Representative Brandon Neuman plans to ensure political contributions do not muddy the waters. Neuman has announced plans to introduce legislation making it illegal for any company running the state lottery to make campaign contributions to elected officials and political candidates.

Corporate contributions are already banned in the commonwealth, but Neuman sees this prohibition extending to anyone involved in making profits from the lottery’s operation. Neuman is worried about the integrity of the contract process and said “We don’t even want the perception of doing things because of campaign donations.”

The lottery deal is still being reviewed and must ultimately be approved by the attorney general.

Lobbying

“Obama Expected to Ease Lobby Posture” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“K Street Files: Lieberman Aide to Artemis Strategies” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Canada: “Canada finance minister apologizes after reprimand for lobbying” by David Ljunggren in Reuters.

Texas:  “Lobbying groups maintain presence in state capitol during legislative session” by Enrique Rangel in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

Campaign Finance

“10 biggest beneficiaries of Citizens United” by Laura Gottesdiener in Salon.

Colorado:  “Denver rally calls for campaign finance changes” on ABC 7 News.

Colorado:  “Who is and isn’t obeying Colo. voters on campaign finance?” by Brandon Rittiman in NBC 9 News.

Indiana:  “Hoosiers Protest Citizens United In Indianapolis” by Brandon Smith in Indiana Public Media.

Ethics

“Obama’s Ethics Agenda Backfires” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

Florida:  “Major ethics bill unveiled in Tallahassee” in the St. Augustine Record.

Idaho: “House takes up push to revamp ethics commission” by The Associated Press in the Idaho Statesman.

Kentucky: “Metro Council to ask legislature to approve subpoena power for Ethics Commission” by Sheldon S. Shafer in the Courier-Journal.

Texas:  “The Texas Tribune launches interactive Lawmaker Explorer tool” by Ryan Lakich in CultureMap Austin.

National:

Revolving Door Swings Freely in America’s Statehouses

Federal:

Sandy Lobbying Hinged on Governors

From the States and Municipalities:

California – California’s Lobby Laws Keep Many Influence-Peddling Details Secret

Florida – Sweeping Ethics Bill Would Curtail Lobbying by Lawmakers

Georgia – Senate Passes Ethics Rule, Maintains Restriction on Public Complaints

Kansas – Ethics Commission Recommends Fee Increase

Missouri – Kander Puts an End to Accepting Gifts from Lobbyists

Nevada – Lobbyists Ready Themselves for Legislative Session

Ohio – Cuyahoga County Corruption Investigation Winds Down to the Finish as Bulk of Case Completed

Oklahoma – Oklahoma Ethics Commission Hires New Director

Oregon – Commission Says Kitzhaber Can Accept Payment for Health-Policy Speeches

South Carolina – Sanford Checked with Ex-Wife before Entering Race for SC House Seat

Texas – For Ethics Commission, Big Hurdles to Reform

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.