National:

Poll: Americans divided on companies that hire lobbyists

Federal:

Administration Officials Double as Obama Campaign Speakers

Corporate Lobbying Is a Very Exclusive Club

Gingrich Said to Be Paid By Freddie Mac to Court Republicans

Obama Administration Extends Review of Lobbyist Gift Ban

From the States and Municipalities:

Alaska

FEC Rejects Miller’s Senate Race Complaint

Arizona

Former Fiesta Bowl Employee Indicted

California

FPPC Sticks with $30,000 Fine for Lobbyist Frank Molina

California

New Gift Rules Would Benefit Legislators Dating Lobbyists

Colorado

Judge Says Gessler’s Campaign Finance Change Unconstitutional

Michigan

No Such Thing as Free Lunch? There Is for State Lawmakers in Lansing

Missouri

Missouri High Court Hears Challenge to 2010 Ethics Law

Nevada

No Vote on Transparency Bill Lets Lobbyists Keep Paying Tab

New Mexico

Gov. Martinez Says Officials and Lobbyists Are Too Cozy

New York

Appeals Court Allows New Trial for Bruno

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.

The Federal Office of Government Ethics (O.G.E.) is extending the comment period for its proposed regulations concerning gifts from lobbyists.

In September, the O.G.E. proposed rules which limit, for lobbyists, the exceptions of the ban on gifts for federal employees. The proposed rules arose because of a Presidential Executive Order which had called for the O.G.E. “to apply the lobbyist gift ban set forth [in the order] to all executive branch employees.”

The period for written comments ended yesterday, November 14. However, today the O.G.E. announced it is extending the comment period to December 14.

Today’s announcement may be found here. A copy of the of the original proposed rulemaking notice is available here.

This post follows an earlier LobbyComply post concerning this rule, O.G.E. Proposes New Rules on Lobbyist Gifts.

On November 8, Detroit voters will consider a city charter proposed to reform the city government by bolstering ethics and reducing corruption. The proposed charter creates a board of ethics and the office of inspector general to investigate alleged ethical or criminal violations.

The charter seeks to improve transparency by requiring lobbyists and contractors to reveal financial connections with elected officials. Additionally, public servants are prohibited from accepting a gift, honoraria, or anything of value from individuals or companies seeking to do business with the city and a company can be barred from doing business with the city if found to be involved in contractual bribery or corruption.

Photo of the Detroit skyline by Shawn Wilson on Wikipedia.

Federal:

Company Shops for Campaign Cash

Former Lobbyist Sent to Jail for a Few Hours for Taking Hill Aides to 2003 World Series Game

‘Scarlet L’ for K Street Returns as Obama Sharpens 2012 Rhetoric on Lobbyists

‘Super PAC’ American Crossroads Seeks Permission to Feature Candidates in Ads

The Outsized Returns from Lobbying

From the States and Municipalities:

California

California OKs Donations via Text

California

L.A. Ethics Commission Slaps Developer with Maximum Campaign Fine

California

Proposed California Regulations Spell Out Gift-Reporting Requirements for Elected Officials

Massachusetts

DiMasi Friend Admits Breaking Massachusetts Lobbying Law

New Mexico

GOP Files Lawsuit against Newly Imposed Campaign Contribution Limits in New Mexico

Tennessee

Tennessee Lawmaker Arrested on DUI, Gun Charges

Vermont

Judge: Republican Governors Association violated Vermont campaign finance laws

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.

On Monday, the American League of Lobbyists (ALL)  made a statement against a new Obama administration proposal restricting lobbyists’ gifts to executive branch employees. It would also restrict those employees’ attendance to certain events sponsored by lobbyists, companies, and organizations.

Howard Marlowe, president of the organization, states: “The American League of Lobbyists strongly objects to this proposed rule and asks that it be withdrawn immediately. The Administration has offered no reports of even a single abuse of its current regulations to warrant the severe restrictions it has proposed on the mutual flow of information and expertise between lobbyists, their employers, and Federal workers.”

Here is a draft summary of the Obama administration’s proposed rule.

The “Lobbying in the News” page for ALL lists these three articles covering the news:

• “Lobbyists object to Obama proposal that would tighten rules for federal workers,” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.
• “Lobby league opposes Obama rule,” by Anna Palmer and Dave Levinthal on the Politico Influence page.
• “Lobbyists’ group objects to new rule banning gifts to all federal employees,” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

You can keep up with the latest discussions on the American League of Lobbyists Twitter feed (@LobbyistsLeague).

The Office of Government Ethics (O.G.E.) has issued proposed lobbyist gift ban rules, which would apply to all executive branch employees.

Most of the proposed rules deal with limiting, for lobbyists, the exceptions of the ban on gifts. For example, executive branch employees would not be permitted to accept invitations extended by lobbyists for free attendance at widely attended gatherings that would normally fall under the gift ban exception. Non-profit professional associations, scientific organizations, and learned societies, which are also sometimes registered lobbyists, would still be afforded the exception. The O.G.E. based much of its reasoning on the notion “the cultivation of familiarity and access that a lobbyist [gains]” may be used in the future by lobbyists to obtain more sympathetic hearings for clients.

Another change would preclude lobbyists from the gift ban exception of social invitations, such as invitations to cocktail parties and movie screenings, if the invitations were extended because of the employee’s official position, even if the lobbyist is not a prohibited source. The O.G.E. argues in its proposal that “the lobbyist could use social events as a way to build general good will with a class of employees in case access is needed for a future issue or client.”

The proposed rules arise because an earlier Presidential Executive Order regarding gifts to non-career political appointees, which had called for the O.G.E. “to apply the lobbyist gift ban set forth [in the order] to all executive branch employees.” Written comments about the rule must be received by the O.G.E. before November 14, 2011

North Carolina, which has a notoriously strict gift ban, permits lobbyists to provide meals and beverages at events held in conjunction with legislative conferences, provided certain conditions are met. In order for the gift exception to apply, either all members of the senate, house, recognized legislative caucus, or the entire general assembly must be invited, and at least 10 individuals associated with the lobbyist or the lobbyist’s organization must attend.

Kentucky does not have a strict ban against lobbyists providing meals to legislators, but there is a $100 annual limit. However, if there is an event where all members of the house or senate, or approved caucus are invited, the amount spent on food and beverages is not counted against the $100 limit.

Not only do many states have exceptions to their gift laws in relative to national legislative conferences, but some also have different reporting requirements. States like Missouri and Georgia allow for group reporting, rather than naming each legislator that attended. In South Dakota, lobbyists are not required to report their expenditures at national conferences at all, provided that the legislature is not in session at the time.