Campaign Finance

“FEC to Congress: Expand ban on personal use of political committee funds” by Rachel Leven in The Hill.

Ethics

Arkansas: “Group throws financial weight behind ethics reform initiative” by Rob Moritz in Arkansas News.

Florida: “Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff draws ethics complaint for using state staff to apply for a job” by May Ellen Klas in The Miami Herald.

Florida: “Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s Chief of Staff Resigns Amid Scrutiny of State Contracts Awarded Friends” by Mary Ellen Klas in Governing.

Redistricting

Alaska: “State redistricting board will meet Monday to address supreme court concerns in SE Alaska” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Arizona: “Clean Elections Commission weighs in on redistricting suit” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

Kansas:  “Kansas redistricting fight may navigate to the courts” in the Kansas City Business Journal.

The Legislature ended a two-week extraordinary apportionment session on Tuesday, March 27, 2012. Governor Rick Scott called the special session to redraw the map of new Senate districts. The redistricting plan now goes to the Florida Supreme Court to decide whether the upper chamber did enough to fix the flaws in the first map that provoked the court’s rebuke.

At least one campaign sent out a fundraising note the next day congratulating the Legislature for its hard work during an elongated session, and asking for donations to make up for lost time. State law prohibits lawmakers from accepting campaign contributions while the Legislature is in session.

Photo of the Old and New Florida Capitol buildings by Infrogmation on Wikipedia.

Alaska: “Alaska Redistricting Board says it has adopted new election districts” by Matt Buxton in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.

Arizona: “Brewer signs bill to keep Arizona redistricting commission going while new maps are pending” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Florida: “Redrawn Senate map passes House, scramble for seats begin” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Tampa Bay Times.

Florida: “Legislature ends redistricting session, new Senate map approved” by Mary Ellen Klas in The Miami Herald.

Idaho: “Redistricting will shake up Idaho Legislature” by Sean Ellis in the Capital Press.

Kansas: “Kan. House to debate congressional remap bill” by The Associated Press in the Salina Journal.

Maryland: “Group seeks referendum on new Md. congressional map” by Annie Linskey in The Baltimore Sun.

Missouri: “Missouri Supreme Court upholds House districts” by Elizabeth Crisp in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

West Virginia: “W.Va. lawmakers seek OK of congressional districts” by Eric Eyre in the Charleston Gazette.

Wisconsin: “Judges: Collaboration needed on Wis. voting maps” by The Associated Press on Madison.com.

Wisconsin: Opinion piece “Redistricting decision offers important lesson” by Christine Neumann-Ortiz in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Arizona: “Arizona lawmakers OK money for redistricting panel” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Sun.

Arizona: “Arizona redistrict panel to get more cash” by Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic.

Florida: “Down to the wire, Senators propose last-minute changes to new Senate map” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.

Florida: “Florida Senate panel approves redistricting plan” by The Associated Press in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Florida: “Fla. Senate panel approves redistricting plan” by Bill Kaczor in the Deseret News.

Kansas: “Kan. Senate delays vote on redistricting bill” by The Associated Press in the Salina Journal.

Kansas: “Kansas House votes down latest redistricting bill” by Fred Mann in the Wichita Eagle.

New York: “Between the Lines: Map Complete, Time to Sort Out Who’s Running” by Joshua Miller in Roll Call.

Florida: “Lawmakers ready to tackle redistricting during special session” by Bill Kaczor (Associated Press) in Florida Today.

Florida: “Legislators return for special session to redraw rejected Senate map” by Mary Ellen Klas The Miami Herald.

Florida: “Senate Re-Redistricting Plan Is Flawed, Says State Dem Chair” by Brandon Larrabee in Sunshine Slate.

Kansas: “Kansas lawmakers face votes on redistricting plans” by The Associated Press in the Wichita Eagle.

Minnesota: “Redistricting maps give DFL advantage in legislative races, but …” by Eric Black on MinnPost.com.

New York: “An Update on New York Redistricting” by Thomas Kaplan in The New York Times.

New York: “Silver bristles at Cuomo slap at NY Legislature” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.

New York: “New York: Redistricting End Is Nigh” by Joshua Miller in Roll Call.

The Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners has passed an ordinance requiring registered lobbyists to complete ethics training. The effective date of the ordinance is March 16, 2012.

Registered lobbyists must, within 60 days of registration, submit to the clerk of the board a certificate of completion of an ethics course offered by the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. Lobbyists must also complete a refresher course every two years. The cost of the ethics course will be $100.

Additionally, the requirement is not applicable to any municipal lobbyist in the county unless the municipality has adopted an ordinance requiring ethics training and an agreement with the county authorizes the county ethics commission to provide an ethics training course.

Finally, the executive director of the Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission may waive the ethics course requirement for a particular lobbyist when it is determined that the lobbyist has taken an initial or refresher ethics course offered by a municipality satisfying the requirements pertaining to the Miami-Dade County ethics course requirements.

The Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission has noted their intent to contact all registered lobbyists in regards to this course once the course is prepared and ready to be offered.

FLORIDA: The 2012 session of the Florida legislature adjourned on Friday, March 9th. Governor Rick Scott now has 15 days to sign or veto legislation, or the legislation will become law without his signature. Additionally, Governor Scott has called the legislature back to Tallahassee for a special session, set to begin Wednesday, March 14th. The session is slated to deal with the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the legislature’s redistricting plan for the state Senate.

INDIANA: Lawmakers concluded the 2012 legislative session at nearly 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 10th.

VIRGINIA: The General Assembly concluded the 2012 legislative session on Saturday, March 10, 2012. The assembly introduced 2,875 bills during the 60-day legislative session. Nearly 1,600 passed, and the Governor has already signed over 200 into law.

WEST VIRGINIA: The legislature of West Virginia adjourned sine die shortly before midnight on Saturday, March 10, 2012. The legislature then reconvened shortly thereafter on Sunday, March 11, 2012, to begin work on the 2012 extended budget session.

Arizona: “Arizona House Speaker wants June special election on redistricting” by Mary Jo Pitzl in The Arizona Republic.

Florida: “Gov. Rick Scott signs off on new congressional districts” by Brandon Larrabee in the Miami Herald.

“With redistricting lawsuit looming, legislators want immunity” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Tampa Bay Times.

“House redistricting tweaks quietly put U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams in her preferred district” by Mark K. Matthews and Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Maryland:  “Alternative redistricting plans stalled” by Danielle E. Gaines in the Gaithersburg Gazette.

Missouri: “Missouri Supreme Court examines new US House districts” by Chris Blank in the Kansas City Star.

New York: “Senate redistricting proposal comes under fire” by Aaron Besecker in The Buffalo News.

“Judge calls for ‘special master’ to redraw state legislative and congressional district boundaries” by Kenneth Lovette in the New York Daily News.

Washington: “Secretary of state asking justices to approve redistricting plan” byThe Associated Press  in The Seattle Times.

Wisconsin: “Court issues stern order in state redistricting” by Scott Bauer in the Green Bay Press Gazette.

“Federal judges slam GOP lawmakers over redistricting secrecy” by Patrick Marley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Arizona: “Arizona submits congressional map to US for review” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Capitol Times.

Colorado: “Political insiders in Colorado organized nonprofits to fund redistricting efforts” by Lois Beckett in the Denver Post.

Florida: “Redistricting maps will spur big changes in Central Florida” by Aaron Deslatte in The Orlando Sentinel.

Missouri: “Missouri Supreme Court to consider redistricting fight” by The Associated Press in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

New York: “Campaigns on hold awaiting remap” by Bob McCarthy in the Buffalo News.

Pennsylvania: “With Pa. redistricting plans up in the air, candidates use 2001 maps” by Jennifer Fitch in the The Herald-Mail.

Texas: “In Fight Over Redistricting Maps, Sometimes It’s Where They Play the Game” by Ross Ramsey in The New York Times.

Wyoming: “Wyoming redistricting expected to be contentious” by Joan Barron in the Casper Star-Tribune.

Broward County is expected to file suit in order to ensure the countywide ethics code remains in force countywide after residents of Wilton Manors, Hillsboro Beach, and Sea Ranch Lakes voted to undo portions of it during the January 31, 2012 election. Voters were asked whether local elected officials should be subjected to state law on issues relating to their side jobs, instead of the new county code of ethics, and voters in all three cities unanimously voted in favor.

Broward County Mayor John Rodstrom and Broward County Commissioners have all expressed their belief that the language used on the ballot was deceiving, as no mention of lobbying or the new county code of ethics, extended to all cities in Broward County on January 2, 2012, was contained in the language of the ballot questions.

The county is expected to pursue one of the following legal paths: suing on the ballot language as deceptive or acquiring a ruling concerning Broward County’s authority over the three cities in regards to the code of ethics.

Voters in three Broward County cities will be asked to undo part of the recently enacted countywide code of ethics. Residents of Wilton Manors, Hillsboro Beach, and Sea Ranch Lakes will all vote during the January 31, 2012 election as to whether local elected officials should be subjected to state law on issues relating to their side jobs instead of the new county code of ethics.

The effort to pass the referendum has been spearheaded in large part by Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick. Resnick, a telecommunications attorney who lobbies in other cities in Broward County, fears he will be unable to run for another term in office after his current term is complete due to the ban on elected officials also being employed as lobbyists or engaging in lobbying activities in Broward County.

The code of ethics became effective countywide on January 2, 2012.

Florida: “Senate committee finalizes redistricting maps as Democrats split” Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.

“Democrats prepare for partisan redistricting debate” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Kentucky: “Panel approves state House redistricting plan over Republican protests” by Jack Brammer in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

North Carolina: “N.C. lawyers want redistricting challenges dismissed“by The Associated Press in the Greensboro News & Record.

Texas:“Republicans say Texas may need to hold two primaries” by Aman Batheja in the Star-Telegram.

“More Confusion in Redistricting Case” by Richard Whittaker in The Austin Chronicle.

West Virginia: “W.Va. redistricting deadline lifted, but election calendar looms” by Lawrence Messina (Associated Press) in the Charleston Gazette.

The city of Pembroke Pines, Florida passed a lobbyist registration ordinance at the most recent city commission meeting. The ordinance requires lobbyists to register with the city clerk prior to engaging in lobbying activities.

Registration will be required annually and lobbyists must pay a registration fee of $50. Lobbyists will also be required to complete a contact log to document meetings with members of the city commission or members of other decision-making bodies under the jurisdiction of the city commission.

The ordinance was passed in response to Broward County’s new code of ethics, which extends the county’s code of ethics to all municipalities within the county. Lobbyists will be required to begin registering on January 2, 2012.

Map of Florida by Bastique on Wikipedia.

Persons lobbying within any of Palm Beach County’s 38 cities and towns may soon have to register as lobbyists as part of a proposed countywide lobbyist registry and standardized set of rules.

If approved, the new rules would apply to all persons lobbying municipal personnel. Some concerns have been raised as to the definition of lobbyists and the potential inclusion in that definition of unpaid lobbyists.

If approved, a $25 registration fee per principal represented would be instituted and expenditures exceeding $25 in specified categories would be required to be reported.