On July 22, 2014, Gov. Jack Markell signed several bills amending Delaware’s campaign finance and lobbying laws. Senate Bill 187 allows political committees to donate prohibited contributions to certain charitable organizations. House Bill 300 protects whistleblowers from employer retaliation for reporting campaign finance violations or participating in the investigation of such violations.

Both Senate Bill 187 and House Bill 300 became effective upon the governor’s signature. House Bill 301 requires contributions given from a joint account, whether by check, debit card, or credit card, to be attributed to the signator of the contribution. Senate Bill 186 requires entities making contributions of more than $100 to disclose the name and address of one responsible party. A responsible party, as defined by the bill, is an individual who exercises control over the entity.

House Bill 301 and Senate Bill 186 are effective January 1, 2015. Also effective January 1, 2015, is House Bill 306, which imposes late filing fees on lobbyists who file late reports. A fee of $25 will be assessed for the first day and $10 for each subsequent day a lobbyist report is delinquent. The maximum late fee allowable is $100. The Public Integrity Commission may waive such late filing fees if it determines circumstances make imposition of the fee inappropriate.

Of the newly minted legislation, Gov. Markell said, “We must always look to improve our laws to strengthen the public’s confidence in the political process.”

Photo of Governor Jack Markell by John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV on Wikimedia Commons.

The 147th Delaware General Assembly adjourned sine die Tuesday, July 1, 2014. In keeping with longstanding Delaware tradition, legislators worked into the early hours of the morning attempting to pass dozens of bills before the end of the session. Noteworthy among those bills are measures to provide $10 million in relief to the state’s three ailing casinos and to toughen penalties on DUI offenders.

Two important campaign finance bills have passed the Delaware General Assembly and are on their way to Gov. Jack Markell’s desk.

House Substitute No. 1 to House Bill 302 consolidates the three existing county boards of election into one state board with 11 members. The bill also authorizes the state election commissioner to prepare and publish manuals explaining the state’s campaign finance requirements to individuals, political committees, and others affected by the law.

House Bill 301 requires contributions from joint accounts to be attributed to the person authorizing the payment and establishes procedures for reallocation of contributions from joint accounts.

If the governor signs these bills, House Substitute No. 1 to House BIll 302 becomes effective January 1, 2015, and House Bill 301 becomes effective July 1, 2015.

Delaware Lt. Gov. Matt Denn recently announced his candidacy for attorney general in 2014. If he is elected in November, the office of the lieutenant governor would be vacant until 2016.

Delaware law has no provision to address such a vacancy, so legislators in both houses have introduced bills for a constitutional amendment mandating a special election in these and similar circumstances.

Legislators can pass a constitutional amendment calling for a special election, but they must pass the bill twice. In order to accomplish this before the 2016 general election, the Legislature must pass the first part of the amendment by June 30, 2014.

The Dover City Council has set June 17, 2014, as the date of a mayoral special election following the resignation of Mayor Carleton E. Carey, Sr.

Dover’s city charter requires a special election be held no sooner than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the mayor’s office becomes vacant.

Vice Mayor David Bonar will serve as interim mayor until the new leader is chosen. The newly elected mayor will serve the remainder of Carey’s term, which expires on May 11, 2015.

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden and Elections Commissioner Elaine Manlove are appealing a federal district court ruling, enjoining enforcement of a Delaware campaign finance law.

Section 8031 of the Delaware Election Disclosures Act requires any person who makes an expenditure for a third-party advertisement exceeding $500 during an election period to file a report with the Elections Commission, including the names and addresses of each person who has made contributions exceeding $100. The district court found the disclosure provision to be too broad and likely unconstitutional.

Biden and Manlove are appealing the ruling.

The United States District Court for the District of Delaware granted a preliminary injunction sought by Delaware Strong Families, who challenged a new Delaware campaign finance law requiring sponsors of third-party advertisements to disclose the identities of their donors.

Specifically, Section 8031 of the Delaware Election Disclosures Act, which became effective January 1, 2012, requires any person who makes an expenditure for a third-party advertisement exceeding $500 during an election period to file a report with the Elections Commission, including the names and addresses of each person who has made contributions to the sponsor of the third-party advertisements exceeding $100.

Delaware Strong Families alleged such donor disclosure requirement was overbroad and therefore unconstitutional. The District Court agreed and enjoined further enforcement of this reporting requirement, noting that the Act is so broadly worded as to include virtually every communication made during an election period, no matter how indirect and unrelated it is to the electoral process.

The Delaware Department of Elections has begun construction on a new campaign finance reporting system, which will debut on December 17.

The new system will allow all contribution reports, both those filed online and via paper submission, to be searched with one system. It will allow the public to track all contributions by one donor, an action taking more than 40 hours using the current online system.

The system upgrade does not affect filing or reporting requirements.

Governor Jack Markell has announced that he plans to call a special session of the state senate on December 5 to consider various judicial nominations.

The senate will be considering and voting on seven judicial appointees nominated by the governor.

Governor Jack Markell signed Senate Bill 212 into law in an effort to improve the online presence and public notice capabilities of the state’s procurement office.

The bill mandates that the state create, by May 1, 2013, a one-stop website which will post all bids with an estimated value of more than $50,000.

This website must be accessible to all contractors and the general public. Further, the website will allow the state’s municipalities to advertise their bidding opportunities on the same site.

DELAWARE: The Delaware General Assembly adjourned sine die early in the morning on July 1, 2012.

NORTH CAROLINA: The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on July 3, 2012.

Campaign Finance

“GOP groups plan record $1 billion blitz” by Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei in Politico.

“Mark Kirk hit with FEC complaint by ex-wife” by John Bresnahan in Politico.

Lobbying

“DELAWARE: Lobbying reform bill met with debate” by Chris Barrish in Delmarvanow.com.

“Campaign finance board to investigate ALEC” by Catherine Richert on Minnesota Public Radio News.

Delaware is now a signature away from adding to its lobbyist reporting requirements. On Thursday, the House passed Senate Bill 185, leaving the bill only a governor’s signature away from becoming a law.

The bill requires lobbyists to report to the Public Integrity Commission the identity of each bill, resolution, or regulation they have lobbied for or against. These reports would be due within five days after the first direct communication a lobbyist makes. The Public Integrity Commission will make the reports available online so that the public will be able to see who is lobbying on each measure going through the legislature.

If the governor signs the bill, which he is expected to do, the law would become effective in 2013.

Photo of Legislative Hall in Dover courtesy of Joshua Daniel Franklin on Wikipedia.

“1,000 Independent Agents Lobbying Lawmakers in Washington” by Young Ha in Insurance Journal.

Alabama: “Lawmakers recommend reprimand for lobbyist” by Sebastian Kitchen in the Montgomery Advertiser.

California: The San Francisco Ethics Commission announced that their Lobbyist Electronic Filing System will experience down time for maintenance. For the schedule, see the Ethics Commission news update.

Delaware: “Bill would expand lobbyist disclosures” by Randall Chase (Associated Press) on WDEL.com.