November 3, 2011 •
Canada to Consider Campaign Finance Restrictions
Loan Prohibition Proposed
Tim Uppal, Canada’s Minister of State for Democratic Reform has proposed a law which would limit loans available to candidates and political parties.
Under the proposed legislation, loans, loan guarantees, and contributions from individuals would be prohibited from exceeding $1,100 in the aggregate per calendar year. Presently, loans are not treated as part of the annual aggregate limit.
The proposal would also ban loans by unions as well as corporations when the loans are not made in the regular course of business by a financial institution.
November 1, 2011 •
Texas Ethics Commission Adopts Amendments to Campaign Finance Rules
Track Senate Bill 1
The Texas Ethics Commission has adopted amendments to its rules regarding reporting requirements under the campaign finance law.
The changes in administrative rules §§20.50, 20.62, 20.219, 20.279, 20.331, and 20.433 bring them in line with Senate Bill 1, passed earlier this year.
While the bill became effective September 28, the Ethics Commission’s adopted rules became effective today.
October 24, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – October 24, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Deep Sea Burial Forms First Corporate ‘Super PAC’
Federal:
ACLU Challenge to Small Piece of Campaign Finance Law May Lead to a Slippery Slope
Judge Sends Abramoff Deputy to Halfway House
K Street Suffers from Twitter Jitters
From the States and Municipalities:
Alaska
APOC Busy as Redistricting Raises Legislators’ Questions
California
California’s Center for Governmental Studies to Close
California
San Jose Eases Campaign Limits, Focuses Economic Efforts
Florida
To Interview Mayor, Reporters Must Register as Lobbyists
Kentucky
Judge Bars Group’s Ads Supporting David Williams from Airing
Massachusetts
Lally, DiMasi Conspirator Who Cooperated with Prosecutors, Sentenced to 18 Months
Montana
Group Asks Judge to Toss Campaign Finance Ruling
Pennsylvania
Nutter, Green Unlikely Allies in Same-Sex Ethics Bill
Tennessee
Corporations Signing Up to Donate Under New State Law
Texas
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.
October 21, 2011 •
Super PAC-less Campaign Finance Filings
The 2012 presidential campaign meets the new rules for outside groups.
In the New York Times, Nicholas Confessore examines the dilemma of reporting about presidential candidate filings and campaign finance figures minus the “super-PAC” dollars in the third quarter.
Here is the article on NYTimes.com: “Without ‘Super PAC’ Numbers, Campaign Filings Present an Incomplete Picture”
October 21, 2011 •
The Power of Data in Political Campaigns
The power of micro-targeting
Yesterday, techPresident published “New Obama for America Page is a Jungle Gym for Donation Data” by Nick Judd.
Everyone has been talking about the new role social media is playing in the 2012 presidential campaigns. But I think Judd brings up an often missed point: The importance of social media’s role is not so much to be found in the social networks themselves, but in the vast amount of information the campaigns have about each of us, and how they are using that information on social media. Judd writes about campaigns “micro-targeting” potential political campaign donors with personalized messages geared toward attracting the most money.
The article showcases the Obama 2012 campaign website, which boasts its one million donors. The site allows you to drill down into a great deal of information about the contributions. The aim of the site is that the visitor will come to the conclusion that the donors are broad-based and grassroots.
Have any of our readers seen any similar examples on other campaign websites? Please share it on Lobby Comply!
October 20, 2011 •
Court Upholds Ruling Allowing Pre-Campaign Election Spending in British Columbia
60 days
A court in British Columbia has ruled the province cannot restrict election spending in the 60 days leading up to an official election call.
In British Columbia Teachers’ Federation v. British Columbia (Attorney General), the British Columbia Court of Appeal panel upheld a lower court ruling finding portions of Election Act sections 235.1 and 228 are unconstitutional, and are of no force and effect insofar as they relate to the pre-campaign period as defined in the Act. Therefore, the court affirmed the British Columbia Attorney General cannot restrict election spending in the pre-campaign period 60 days before the election period begins.
Election advertising preceding a 28-day campaign period is considered a “pre-campaign” period. In the decision Justice Catherine Anne Ryan wrote, “[R]estricting third-party advertising during the pre-campaign period would unjustifiably interfere with third parties’ issue advocacy, lobbying activity, and other advertising endeavours unrelated to the election.”
October 19, 2011 •
San Jose Passes Campaign Finance Law
Modifies voluntary campaign expenditure limits and blackout periods
The San Jose City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, October 18 to change the city’s campaign finance laws. Changes approved include the elimination of the city’s blackout periods which prohibit campaign contributions within 17 days of a regular election and within seven days of a special election.
Per the new law, the voluntary candidate campaign expenditure limits will increase from $1.00 per resident per election to $1.25. The rate for mayoral elections will remain the same at $0.75 per resident per election.
Further changes implemented by the new law eliminate an increase in the voluntary expenditure cap triggered by the fundraising efforts of other candidates and independent committees who do not choose to accept the limit.
October 17, 2011 •
Wisconsin Campaign Finance Law Highlighted in Recall Elections
Bill Introduced Limiting Recall Contributions
A campaign finance law passed decades ago has recently come under fire in light of a possible gubernatorial recall. The law effectively allows public officials subject to a recall to collect unlimited contributions during the period when petitioners are collecting signatures to force a recall.
The law has recently been criticized because it would allow Governor Scott Walker to raise millions of dollars in unlimited contributions, but his eventual opponent would not have the same opportunity.
Democratic Rep. Kelda Helen Roys of Madison introduced Assembly Bill 296 last week to repeal the law and institute campaign contribution limits on a public official subject to a recall.
October 11, 2011 •
Texas Ethics Commission To Be Evaluated
Sunset Advisory Commission Assessment
The Sunset Commission, a legislative body created by the Texas Legislature to identify and eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies, will seek public input during its scheduled review of the Texas Ethics Commission.
During the evaluation of the Ethics Commission’s mission and performance, submitted comments and suggestions will be accepted until the suggested date of November 21. The Sunset Commission then anticipates it will issue a report in March 2012 followed by a public hearing with testimony in April.
Based on the public input and the report, any recommendations to the legislature will be submitted at the start of its next session in January 2013.
Some of the duties the Texas Ethics Commission administers and enforces are the election code concerning political contributions, expenditures and political advertising, and lobbying registration, reports and activities.
The announcement of the review can be found here.
Photo of the Texas State Capitol by LoneStarMike on Wikipedia.
October 10, 2011 •
New Mexico Republican Party Challenges State’s Campaign Finance Law
Suit Seeks Political Party Contribution Limits
The New Mexico Republican Party, represented by attorney James Bopp, Jr., has filed a lawsuit challenging New Mexico’s campaign finance law. The suit asks the federal district court in Albuquerque to declare unconstitutional part of a state law which sets a contribution limit of $5,000 to or by political parties. The law was passed in 2009, but did not become effective until after the 2010 election.
The lawsuit also contends that federal election law precludes New Mexico from restricting how much money a national political party can give to a state party organization for election work, such as registering voters and encouraging voter turnout.
October 3, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – October 3, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Business Executives Call for End to Anonymous Cash
In Turn to Politics, Facebook Starts a PAC
Political Embezzlement Rises as U.S. Campaign Accounts Swell
Solyndra’s Lobbying Not Disclosed by Energy under Stimulus Guidelines
From the States and Municipalities:
Colorado
Campaign Finance Law Argued Before Colorado Supreme Court
Florida
After ‘Wild West,’ Palm Beach County Lobbyists Face New Rules
Indiana
Federal Judge Strikes Down Portion of Indiana ‘Robo-Call’ Ban
Maryland
State Senator’s Future Hangs in the Balance at Corruption Trial
Minnesota
Campaign Finance Board Releases Guidelines on Ballot Initiatives
Pennsylvania
Ex-Judge Gets 17 1/2 Years in Pa. Kickbacks Case
Rhode Island
Arrested Rhode Island Representative Won’t Resign, Will Run Again
Tennessee
Tennessee Lawmakers’ Ethics Panel Has Own Critics
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.
September 28, 2011 •
San Bernardino County Supervisors Approve Campaign Finance Plan
Ordinance to be Drafted.
The San Bernardino County supervisors voted to endorse a plan to limit campaign contributions at their September 27, 2011 meeting. The supervisors further voted to direct the county counsel’s office to draft an ordinance to be voted on by the supervisors at a future meeting.
The current plan would allow individuals to donate up to $3,900 per election cycle. Small contributor committees would be permitted to donate $7,800 per election cycle.
September 28, 2011 •
E-X-P-A-N-D-I-N-G Our Online Guides
Dear Clients:
We are always looking to add value to our services. You may have noticed in the past three months we have added 36 new jurisdictions to our online website.
Now that we are starting the last quarter of the year, we are going to increase the amount of information in each section.
Executive Sourcebook on Lobbying Laws:
-
We are separating the penalties so you will see what they are for registration, reporting, and gift violations.
-
Does the jurisdiction have a document retention policy?
-
Is gift splitting allowed?
-
We are also separating the gift restrictions for lobbyists and non-lobbyists.
Executive’s Sourcebook on Political Contributions:
-
What is the jurisdiction’s document retention policy?
-
What restrictions are there on fundraising, as applied both to corporations attending a political event and as applied to corporations holding its own fundraiser?
Executive’s Sourcebook on Procurement Lobbying:
-
Restrictions on pre-RFP communications between a bidder and the procurement department?
-
Are there any post-RFP “cone of silence” restrictions?
-
Difference between “bidder” and “contractor.”
It continues to be our goal to be your #1 online resource for lobbying, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.
Until next month, let your fingers do the walking at www.stateandfed.com and see the amount of information available to you and your organization.
Elizabeth Z. Bartz
President and CEO
September 26, 2011 •
San Bernardino Supervisors to Introduce Campaign Finance Proposal
Proposal to set limits for individuals, businesses, and PACs
Two San Bernardino County supervisors will introduce a proposal at the Board of Supervisors meeting on September 27, 2011 which would create a law regulating political contributions for county elections.
The supervisors hope to impose and enforce limits on contributions from individuals, businesses, and political action committees contributing to county elections.
The image of the San Bernardino County Seal by Jetijones on Wikipedia.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.