Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem issued an opinion confirming the Ethics Commission is constitutionally authorized to create a rule expanding the definitions for “lobby” and “lobbyist” for purposes of the new gift rules.

The opinion was issued in response to a request for clarification from Ethics Commission Chairman Ron Goodman.

The definitions used by the commission in the new gift rules in the Administrative Code adopted in October are broader than those passed by the Legislature in House Bill 1521.

The Ethics Commission expanded the definition of lobby and lobbyist to include attempts to influence any public official, administrative rule, or regulation rather than just the Legislature and legislation.

The new rules are not intended to expand the definition of who should be required to be registered as a lobbyist.

Two Cincinnati Councilmembers, Greg Landsman and Betsy Sundermann held separate news conferences in front of City Hall today.

The two councilmembers announced a series of proposed reforms to restore the public’s trust in government after two members were charged with corruption just this year.

The proposed reforms include establishing an ethics commission, designating a chief ethics and good government officer, campaign finance reform, ongoing training, and a potential charter amendment that would allow for the recall of people in office.

At this time, there is no provision in the Cincinnati Charter addressing what happens in the event of public corruption allegations.

Tamaya Dennard resigned from council in February. Councilman Jeff Pastor, who was arrested Tuesday has not resigned despite calls for him to do so.

The North Dakota Ethics Commission announced it will hold a public hearing to address proposed rules.

The hearing will take place at 9:00 a.m. on September 15.

The proposed rules implement Article XIV of the North Dakota Constitution relating to allowable gifts between lobbyists and public officials and may be reviewed at  https://www.ethicscommission.nd.gov/.

Written or oral comments may be submitted to 101 Slate Drive, Suite #4, Bismarck, North Dakota, 58503, or via email to ethicscommmission@nd.gov.

All comments received by September 29 will be considered.

New Mexico’s new Ethics Commission opened its doors January 2 to complaints regarding campaign finance, government contracting, gifts from lobbyists, and more.

Voters approved the creation of the Ethics Commission in a November 2018 referendum.

The new Ethics Commission has the power to enforce the civil provisions of several governmental conduct and disclosure laws by imposing civil penalties and recommending disciplinary action, including impeachment.

Jeremy D. Farris is the first state Ethics Commission executive director.

Farris previously served as general counsel to New Mexico’s Department of Finance and Administration.

On January 2, Rochelle Ford became the acting director of the District of Columbia’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability.

Ford was the Board’s Senior Attorney Advisor and had served as Interim General Counsel.

Ford replaces Brent Wolfingbarger, who resigned following a council oversight hearing where Wolfingbarger’s office’s performance came under criticism, according to the Washington City Paper.

His resignation was effective on December 31, 2019.

The reconstituted State Ethics Commission has named Kathleen Edwards the interim director.

Edwards, who has been a commission attorney, will take the lead role until a permanent director is chosen.

The commission was merged with the State Board of Elections then was remade as a stand-alone entity again following the passage of House Bill 1029.

Edwards will have to hire a new staff and try to recover several positions the commission lost when it was merged.

Top North Dakota officials are working towards forming a new panel to oversee ethical standards in state government as a result of last year’s passage of Measure 1.

Gov. Doug Burgum’s office is accepting applications for the new ethics commission through May 24 and hopes to have members selected by July 1.

The five commissioners will be chosen by consensus agreement of the governor and the Senate’s majority and minority leaders.

The state constitution bars certain people from serving on the commission including lobbyists, political party officials, and those who hold statewide elected or appointed office.

The Maine Ethics Commission will be rolling out a new campaign finance reporting system for candidates, party committees, political action committees, and ballot question committees.

The lobbyist reporting system will remain the same. However, for those individuals who use the same login credentials to access both the campaign finance system and lobbyist system, the login will remain the same, but the reporting systems will be separate.

As a result of the upgrade, both the lobbyist reporting system and campaign finance system will be inaccessible starting at 6:00 p.m. June 28 until the morning of July 2.

On Tuesday, Phoenix City Council voted unanimously to move forward with creating a bipartisan ethics commission. The commission would screen allegations and recommend penalties for city officials who violate the city’s gift policies and other related rules.

Under a plan laid out by a City Council member, potential commissioners are screened by a city board and ultimately appointed by City Council. Phoenix’s current ethics rules are unenforceable as the city lacks a mechanism for investigating ethics complaints and recommending punishment.

This is not the first time Phoenix has attempted to create an ethics commission; previous attempts have been unsuccessful in part due to concerns about the commission becoming a political attack tool.

City Council will still need to approve a final ordinance in order to establish an ethics commission. A final vote on the matter is expected this spring.

Minutes after legislators finished work on a hurricane relief package in a two-day special session set by Gov. Pat McCrory, Republicans called a second special session Wednesday in an attempt to pass legislation to limit newly elected Democrats.

Most of the 21 bills introduced seek to limit the power of the executive branch. Senate Bill 4 would merge the State Board of Elections with the State Ethics Commission and create a new eight-member board split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. Current law gives a majority of the state elections board’s five members to the governor’s party.

Wisconsin state ethics commissioner Robert Kinney announced his resignation Monday. Kinney cited his disappointment in the agency as his reason for stepping down. He claims the relatively new Ethics Commission operates too secretly and does not adequately enforce ethics, campaign finance and lobbying rules.

Moreover, he contends several members of the commission demonstrate an obvious lack of commitment to the underlying purpose of the agency. In June, Gov. Scott Walker appointed Kinney from a pool of candidates provided by the Democratic Party.

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission recently approved a proposed rule amendment regarding due dates for lobbyist registration and reporting.

The intent is to make registration and reporting more convenient by providing more time between the end of the registration or reporting period and the due date for filing. Registration renewals would be required by January 15, and lobbying reports would be due on or before the 15^th in any month a report is required.

The amendment is still pending. If lawmakers do not disapprove the rule, the changes will go into effect when the Legislature adjourns in May.

See what’s happening in government relations this week in our News You Can Use Video Digest. Enjoy!

National:

Election Maps Are Telling You Big Lies About Small Things
Washington Post – Lazaro Gamio | Published: 11/1/2016

November 8 is the Super Bowl for election maps, when red-and-blue geographical representations of the U.S. fill the front pages of news websites by night and newspapers the next morning. This kind of map is common in almost every election: 50 states (and the District of Columbia), two colors, one winner. Despite its ubiquity, it is profoundly flawed. These maps say only one thing – some states are bigger than others. In a presidential election, how much bigger the state of Wyoming is than New Jersey is not relevant to the outcome, which is based on how electoral votes are apportioned. If you chart the states by electoral votes, a more accurate picture of which states will elect Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton emerges.

Why Sexual Harassment Persists in Politics
New York Times – Sheryl Gay Stolberg | Published: 11/2/2016

It has been 25 years since Anita Hill testified against Clarence Thomas before an all-male Senate Judiciary Committee, and propelled the term sexual harassment into the national spotlight. Once again, the nation is debating gender roles, amid a presidential campaign that features a woman, Hillary Clinton, who stands a chance of becoming America’s first female president, against a man, Donald Trump, who has been caught on a recording bragging about kissing and groping women whenever he wanted. Politics and Legislatures, like many other environments, remain rife with sexual harassment – and young people, including men, are particularly at risk, and still reluctant to speak out.

Federal:

Abedin Tells Colleagues She’s in Dark About New Email Trove
Politico – Josh Gerstein | Published: 10/31/2016

Top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin has told people she is unsure how her emails could have ended up on a device she viewed as her husband’s computer, the seizure of which has reignited the Clinton email investigation. A person familiar with the inquiry said Abedin was not a regular user of the computer, and when she agreed to turn over emails to the State Department for federal records purposes, her lawyers did not search it for materials, believing none of her messages to be there. That could be a significant oversight if Abedin’s work messages were indeed on the computer of her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, who is under investigation for allegedly exchanging lewd messages with a 15-year-old girl. So far, it is unclear what – if any – new, work-related messages were found by authorities.

Evan Bayh’s Private Schedule Details Ties with Donors, Lobbyists
CNN – Manu Raju | Published: 11/1/2016

Former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh is running to win back his seat in one of this year’s marquee races. His internal 2009 schedule obtained by CNN shows how he maneuvered behind the scenes during one of the most consequential periods of legislating on Capitol Hill. The schedule provides a rare account of how Bayh privately engaged with fundraisers, lobbyists, and donors who had a keen interest on issues. At times, his own campaign fundraiser was sitting in on his meetings with donors in his official Senate office, the schedule says, raising potential conflict-of-interest concerns. The schedule lays bare a reality of Washington, that well-connected donors often get a private audience with a powerful member of Congress, a luxury most Americans cannot afford.

For Democrats, Anthony Weiner Makes an Unwelcome Return
New York Times – Maggie Haberman and Alexander Burns | Published: 10/30/2016

Anthony Weiner – the name became almost a curse word among Democrats over the past few days as the disgraced former congressman unexpectedly surfaced in the final stretch of the presidential contest. Weiner, who lost his seat after repeated episodes in which he sent lewd messages to women, is now under federal investigation for allegedly sending sexual messages to a 15-year-old girl. In that inquiry, the FBI seized a laptop that contained thousands of messages belonging to Huma Abedin, Weiner’s estranged wife and a top aide to Hillary Clinton. FBI Director James Comey said investigators will now review those messages. “It’s like one of those ‘Damien’ movies – it’s like every time you think he’s dead, he keeps coming again,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton.

How Politicians Hide Their Spending from the Public
Politico – Shane Goldmacher | Published: 11/2/2016

Donald Trump has leveraged an increasingly popular loophole for politicians seeking to outmaneuver the campaign finance system: routing their spending through consulting firms to obscure the ultimate destination of their dollars, keeping the public in the dark about facts as basic as who they are paying and how much they are paying them. Hillary Clinton has paid her digital firm more than $55 million through payments from her campaign and joint committee with the party, and provided no specifics on the firm’s ad-buying or other activities. At its most extreme, a candidate could theoretically hire a single firm to run their entire campaign and only disclose that one payment.

Sleeping Like the Enemy
Politico – Shane Goldmacher and Annie Karni | Published: 11/1/2016

Since the debut of her official campaign plane on Labor Day, there have been full weeks when Hillary Clinton has campaigned every day in swing states and returned to her home every night in between. In total, she has spent a little over half a dozen nights on the road. Instead of more efficient campaign trips, Clinton has prioritized ending her days in either her farmhouse in New York or her mansion in Washington. In a campaign of contrasts, it is one of the most striking similarities between Clinton and Donald Trump – two well-to-do New Yorkers who add hours of travel to their schedules, and thousands of dollars to their campaign expenses, in order to avoid sleeping in hotels.

The Residents in the Nerdiest Group House in Washington Want to Shake Up Washington’s Oldest Trade
Washingtonian Magazine – Michael Gaylord | Published: 10/30/2016

Since its debut, Quorum has cranked out the political charts and graphics that websites and blogs feast on. At the same time, the company has signed up a passel of heavy-hitter clients who pay into the six figures per year, with Covington & Burling, the United Nations Foundation, Toyota, the Podesta Group, the Club for Growth, and U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy among them. Quorum produces political intelligence for lobbyists and companies that monitor minute changes in policy. Its platform features bill tracking, social-media alerts, a searchable Congressional Record, and tools to connect and set up meetings with staffers.

From the States and Municipalities:

California – A $72-Million Apartment Project. Top Politicians. Unlikely Donors.
Los Angeles Times – David Zahniser and Emily Alpert Reyes | Published: 10/30/2016

Dozens of donors with direct or indirect connections to real estate developer Samuel Leung gave more than $600,000 to Los Angeles-area politicians as his $72-million project was being reviewed. Of those who donated, 11 said they did not give or do not remember doing so, raising questions about whether they were the true source of the money. Several donors said they could not recall basic information about their contributions, including why they gave and to whom. One donor said she was reimbursed for at least one conrtribution, a practice that is not permitted under the city’s ethics law.

Kentucky – Lobbyist Donations Aid Candidates Despite Law
Louisville Courier-Journal – Tom Loftus | Published: 10/31/2016

Those who lobby the General Assembly are forbidden by state law from making campaign contributions to candidates for the Kentucky House or Senate. But they are allowed to donate to state political parties, which this year have no higher priority than electing their candidates in the high-stakes races that will decide control of the House. And most major lobbyists are taking advantage of the opportunity.

Massachusetts – Law Firm ‘Bonuses’ Tied to Political Donations
Boston Globe – Viveca Novak (Center for Responsive Politics) and Andrea Estes | Published: 10/30/2016

The Thornton Law Firm in Boston commonly reimbursed the firm’s partners for their campaign contributions by awarding them bonuses. From 2010 through 2014, three partners donated nearly $1.6 million to Democratic Party fundraising committees and a parade of politicians. Over the same span, the lawyers received $1.4 million listed as “bonuses” in the firm’s records. Thornton said its donation reimbursement program was reviewed by outside lawyers and complied with applicable laws. Campaign finance experts said without reviewing the firm’s records, they cannot say the payback system breaks the law, but it raises numerous red flags.

Montana – Federal Judge Upholds Montana Campaign Disclosure Law
Montana Public Radio – Matt Volz (Associated Press) | Published: 11/1/2016

A federal judge upheld Montana’s campaign finance reporting and disclosure laws, rejecting arguments it unconstitutionally interferes with the free speech of groups that want to influence elections without revealing where they get their money or how they spend it. Montanans for Community Development, which had previously sued the state over its campaign finance laws, amended its lawsuit last year to challenge the Disclose Act. U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen knocked down each of the group’s arguments. Besides ruling the law serves an important government interest, the judge also rejected arguments it was overly burdensome to political committees and unconstitutionally vague on what constitutes a committee, expenditure, and contribution.

New York – Behind Closed Doors, Measures to Reform City’s Campaign Laws Raise Concerns
New York Times – Jim Dwyer | Published: 11/1/2016

Three years after elections revealed flaws in New York City’s campaign finance laws, the city council may be moving to fix some of the worst problems, but not without including a few changes that would benefit individual council members. Up to a dozen new bills are being shaped behind closed doors, and although no drafts have been released yet, word coming from the council has alarmed some of the city’s advocates for better and fairer elections.

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 60 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.