Gov. Larry Hogan has signed 350 bills during a two part bill-signing ceremony on May 12, 2015. Among the bills signed are two bills clarifying and simplifying contribution disclosure requirements for lobbyist employers and persons doing public business.

Senate Bill 767 modifies the reporting threshold amount for lobbyist employers to include contributions in the aggregate amount of $500 or more, in order to match disclosure requirements of persons doing public business.

House Bill 769 clarifies that companies having a pre-2015 qualifying contract of $200,000 or more with the state are covered by the disclosure law, but not required to file an initial statement.

Both bills change semiannual reporting dates to May 31 and November 30, matching reporting dates for registered lobbyists. Since the bills are effective June 1, 2015, this year’s dates have been modified to August 31 and November 30.

On Monday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed bipartisan legislation designed to expand the state’s pay-to-play rules by requiring the state to disclose fees paid to outside investment managers. The decision was made while Christie’s administration faces a new investigation into New Jersey pension fees paid to financial firms contributing to Republican groups.

Christie argues the bill’s disclosure requirements would have had a chilling effect on the state’s ability to attract investment managers. Others criticize the governor’s decision and maintain he vetoed the bill because it would have complicated his ability to raise presidential campaign money from firms currently managing billions of dollars in the state’s public pension system.

Christie “removed the provisions that would prevent pay-to-play between state investors and national political organizations connected to state political figures, including the governor himself, and the changes he made to the disclosure requirements are far too weak” said state Sen. Sheila Turner, the Democrat who sponsored the bill.

Photo of Governor Christie by Bob Jagendorf on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Larry Hogan canceled the bill-signing ceremony scheduled for April 28, 2015, in response to rioting in Baltimore. Prior to the cancellation, Hogan released a list of over 180 bills he intends to sign, including a bill to change contribution disclosure reporting for lobbyist employers.

Senate Bill 767 modifies the threshold amount to include contributions in the aggregate amount of $500 or more, in order to match disclosure requirements of persons doing public business. The bill also changes semi-annual reporting dates to May 31 and November 30.

Since the bill goes into effect June 1, 2015, this year’s dates have been modified to August 31 and November 30. Previously, reports were due on February 5 and August 5.

House Bill 769, a bill making similar changes to contribution disclosure requirements for persons doing public business, is not listed as a bill to be signed. The final bill signing is currently scheduled for May 12, 2015.

Photo of Gov. Larry Hogan by Marrh2 on Wikimedia Commons.

While seeking $72,000 in fines and restitution from a former candidate for lieutenant governor for campaign finance violations, Attorney General Bill Sorrell is coming under fire for his own recent filings. A new report claims Sorrell failed to adequately report thousands of dollars of reimbursements he received from his campaign.

The newspaper Seven Days has pointed to 16 occasions in the last four years where it believes the campaign provided only a vague explanation of what Sorrell purchased and never disclosed who was paid.

Sorrell stated he has always tried to meet his disclosure obligations and he welcomes any input from the Secretary of State’s Office.

Gov. Peter Shumlin, when asked about the situation, said he does not plan to appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate.

Photo of Attorney General Bill Sorrell courtesy of the website for the Office of the Vermont Attorney General.

A bill, introduced this month, seeks to create greater transparency in campaign finance reporting for PACs. House Bill 112 eliminates a gap in PAC reporting following the seven-day pre-election report and election day, requiring disclosure of contributions of $1,000 or more during this time.

Introduced by Rep. Greg Chaney, the bill is intended to prevent circumstances where PACs are able to avoid disclosing large expenditures prior to elections.

The bill was reported out of the State Affairs Committee with a do-pass recommendation.

Photo of the Idaho State Capitol Rotunda by Kencf0618 on Wikimedia Commons.

Indiana House legislators unanimously approved a bipartisan ethics bill aimed at maximizing transparency in the General Assembly.

The reform bill broadens what legislators must disclose on financial interest statements and expands reporting requirements regarding lawmakers’ relationships with lobbyists. The bill also tightens the control over state employees seeking employment in the private sector with a company involved with the state.

The bill now heads to the Senate.

Photo of the Indiana Statehouse by HstryQT on Wikimedia Commons.

On February 3, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) published its price index adjustments for expenditure limitations and lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold in the Federal Register. The lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold has increased to $17,600 for 2015 from $17,300 in 2014. This threshold amount is adjusted annually.

Federal law requires authorized committees of federal candidates, leadership political action committees (PACs), and political party committees to disclose contributions bundled by lobbyists and lobbyists’ PACs.

A new web tool is available to follow the money in November’s mayoral election race. The Open Disclosure project is the product of a partnership between the Public Ethics Commission and OpenOakland, a civic innovation organization.

The project displays campaign finance data for the 15 mayoral candidates in a user friendly way, allowing the public to quickly see who is contributing, where they are contributing from, and in what amounts.  Developers hope to expand the contribution information to all elected races in Oakland.

The information is available here.

On August 21, the Texas Ethics Commission issued two advisory opinions and a proposed rule amendment.

Advisory Opinion 519 holds a state candidate is not prohibited from accepting an in-kind political contribution from an out-of-state political committee. The contribution to a candidate is allowed if made from a permissible source and the candidate properly complies with the applicable disclosure requirements.

In Advisory Opinion 518, the commission upheld that a group is not a political committee if not accepting or intending to accept political contributions and not using or intending to use more than 20 percent of its funds and other resources to make political expenditures.

The Ethics Commission also voted to propose a rule change by defining “principal purpose” in relation to a group making political contributions and expenditures. While a group can have more than one principal purpose, the definition would create a threshold triggering the disclosure of political contributions and expenditures. The commission also proposed other rule changes. The proposed rules are currently open for comment.

Photo of the Texas Capitol Rotunda dome interior by Ed Uthman on Wikimedia Commons.

Lucie Fiset, the chief electoral officer of Quebec, plans to set up a searchable online registry for accused violators of the province’s election laws. The database is slated to be operational by March 2015. This initiative is part of Fiset’s broader strategic plan to promote transparency and tighten surveillance of political contributions and election spending.

Recently, the province has been examining links between public construction contracts, organized crime, and provincial and municipal political contributions after investigators testified about a political financing scheme involving straw men contributing to political parties using money from a third party, thus skirting contribution limits, residency requirements, and the ban on contributions from entities.

With the new database, the public and the media will be able to search or cross-reference charges against individuals, companies, organizations, and parties accused of violating election laws.

Under New York ethics regulations, a registered lobbyist, under certain circumstances, must report the names of each source of funding of more than $5,000 from a single source used to fund the lobbying activity reported and the amounts received from each identified source. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) can grant an exemption to this disclosure requirement if such disclosure would put contributors at risk of harm, threats, harassment, or reprisals.

Recently, the JCOPE denied an exemption to Family Planning Advocates, the New York Women’s Equality Coalition, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, and the New York Civil Liberties Union. The groups appealed the ruling to an independent judicial hearing officer who must determine whether the denial of an exemption was clearly erroneous in view of the evidence of record.

On July 11, 2014, George C. Pratt, the presiding judicial hearing officer, reversed the JCOPE’s denial of the exemption, finding the commission’s decision to be clearly erroneous in light of the specific evidence presented. In his decision, Pratt stated the advocacy groups had experienced several incidents over a period of years showing a pattern of threats and manifestations of public hostility. As a result of Pratt’s ruling, all four groups will be granted an exemption from the donor disclosure requirement.

On July 3, the House Ethics Committee announced it would return to calling for House members to report privately sponsored travel in their annual financial disclosure forms – a requirement it had quietly removed earlier this year. However, when the removal of this requirement was revealed, it caught national attention and generated strong responses. Supporters of the change argued the reporting is merely duplicative because the travel must still be reported by members to the House Office of the Clerk.

The New York City Council has introduced legislation imposing increased independent expenditure disclosure requirements. Introduction No. 148-A requires any electioneering communications to include the phrase “paid for by,” whether typed or spoken, followed by the identity of the top five donors to the organization sponsoring the communication.

Campaign Finance Board Executive Director Amy Loprest testified before the council on April 25, 2014, supporting the legislation. In support of the bill, Loprest stated, “Providing voters with clear information about who is responsible for these campaign messages will reduce the likelihood of confusion among voters.”

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

A bill introduced yesterday in the Louisiana House would require political committees, candidates, and other persons who file campaign disclosure reports to include a detailed explanation of the purpose of each expenditure. The explanation would be required to contain sufficient information to relate the expenditure to an acceptable use.

According to the Times-Picayune, Reps. Tim Burn and Greg Miller, the sponsors of House Bill 1079, want “better, increased disclosure and less ambiguity about the political or campaign purpose of an expenditure.” If passed, the new reporting requirements would take effect on January 1, 2015.