June 6, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – June 6, 2011
Here are highlights from State and Federal Communications, Inc.’s latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal
Campaign Finance Experts See Few Implications of Virginia Ruling
The Influence Industry: The fine lines between a Palin vacation and Palin tour
When ‘Coordinate’ Is a Dirty Word
From the States:
California
Former Vernon Official Pleads Guilty to Illegally Using Public Money
Colorado
Gessler Rulemaking on Campaign Finance Raising Eyebrows
Florida
Legislature Fails to Add Stronger Ethics Laws
Illinois
Senator Wants Charges Filed against Colleague
Louisiana
Mark St. Pierre is Taken into Custody after Jury Finds Him Guilty of Bribery, Conspiracy
Massachusetts
Financial Disclosure Forms Still Outdated
Minnesota
Campaign Finance Board Fines Alleged Felon Who Can’t Be Found
New Jersey
Christie Refuses to Reimburse N.J. for Traveling By Helicopter to See Son’s Baseball Game
Ohio
Cuyahoga County Offers First Ethics Training for Businesses
Tennessee
Tennessee Opens Door to Corporate Political Donations
Washington
Port Fined after Failing to File Lobbying Expenses
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.
May 10, 2011 •
“Fantastic!” – 2011 Ohio State Bar Association Annual Convention
State and Federal Communications attended OSBA in Columbus, Ohio
It was an honor being a participant and exhibitor at the annual Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) convention this year in Columbus, Ohio. The convention was held at the Hyatt Regency on May 4 – May 6, 2011. This has been State and Federal Communications’ second year participating in the convention and we are looking forward to attend many, many more.
Congratulations to the OSBA team, who beautifully planned and orchestrated the three-day event.
Why does State and Federal Communications look forward to and enjoy the OSBA convention so much?
- We are always hiring to facilitate assistance across research and compliance departments in our expanding company. Since attorneys make up 50 percent of our staff, OSBA is a great place to recruit attorneys from different fields and levels of expertise.
- We love to “switch it up” when typically attending more “government relations/affairs” type conventions. We support our attorneys in continuing their education with CLE certifications. Also, it is refreshing to attend conventions where the subject matter is different, whether it be our neighboring booths in the exhibit hall or the topics of the CLE seminars.
- Attorneys have a unique perspective about consulting, campaign finance, and lobbying work – one of the many reasons we recruit at OSBA. The member attorneys are direct with their questions and sincerely try to learn about our company. Likewise, it is nice to hear their thoughts about recent news and issues regarding our line of work. We appreciate OSBA members’ professionalism and look forward to staying in touch.
March 31, 2011 •
News You Can Use from Rhode Island
ACLU Critiques the New Ordinance
News You Can Use Editor Jim Sedor pointed me in the direction of a news item from Providence, Rhode Island. A new ordinance there requires lobbyists to register with City Hall (including a fee), to get a photo ID, and to file quarterly reports. In response, the ACLU of Rhode Island offered a statement saying the ordinance could chill free speech. The issue may go to court.
The article offers the following quote:
“Despite the good and sincere intentions underlying this proposal, we believe it will deter and chill robust community advocacy,” said ACLU Executive Director Steven Brown. “We understand the City’s interest in promoting transparency in government, but this ordinance is not a proper way to achieve that goal.”
For the full article, read: “ACLU Says New City Law Has ‘Chilling Effect’ on Free Speech” by Stephen Beale, on GoLocalProv.com.
Here is the March 21 news release from the ACLU.
State and Federal Communications Research Associate George Ticoras reported on the new ordinance last week in “Providence Creates Lobbying Registration Law” on Lobby Comply.
Photo of Providence skyline by boliyou on Wikipedia.
March 16, 2011 •
Georgia Governor Signs House Bill 232
New Law Eases Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Requirements
Governor Deal signed House Bill 232 on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. The law, which is effective retroactively to January 10, 2011, redefines the term “lobbyist” to require a person to be compensated specifically for lobbying activities before being required to register and report as a lobbyist. Also, a person is now only deemed a “lobbyist” if more than 10 percent of his or her working hours are spent engaged in lobbying activities.
A “lookback” period is included for each calendar month, requiring lobbyist registration and an initial disclosure report within five days if at the end of any month a person has met the 10 percent test. Further, the expenditure triggers for lobbyist registration have been increased from $250 to $1,000.
Additionally, lobbyists are granted a grace period of three business days in filing all disclosure reports. Finally, persons who are employed as bona fide salespersons are exempt from regulation as vendor lobbyists.
Photo of the dome of the Georgia State Capitol by Connor.carey on Wikipedia.
March 10, 2011 •
Lobbyist Spending Increases in New Jersey
The state trend goes up while nationally it went down, largely thanks to the New Jersey Education Association.
Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law blog pointed me in the direction of a Philadelphia Inquirer-Daily News article that said lobbyist spending in New Jersey has increased 14% since Gov. Chris Christie took office. The grand total of spending was $66 million.
For the full story, read today’s article: “Christie’s tenure brings jump in lobbying” by Cynthia Burton.
Map of New Jersey by JimIrwin on Wikipedia.
March 3, 2011 •
Lobbying News You Can Use
Ex-Senator Lobbies for Hollywood
Lights, camera … action! According to a piece in the New York Times, former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) has been hired as top lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America.
The articles notes that according to the law Dodd cannot directly lobby on Capitol Hill until 2013, but can offer plenty of strategy. “I have no intention of violating either the letter or spirit of that law, which is one I support strongly,” said the former senator.
For the full story, be sure to read “Motion Picture Industry Group Names Ex-Senator Dodd as Its New Chief” by Brooks Barnes and Michael Cieply in the March 1 edition of the New York Times.
January 31, 2011 •
Hawaii Bills Propose Additional Reports and Disclosures for Lobbying Activity
The Hawaii Legislature will have the opportunity to debate changes in regards to the reporting and disclosure requirements for lobbyists and their clients during the 2011 session due to the filing of House Bill 637 and Senate Bill 671.
These bills would alter reporting and disclosure requirements to mandate reports be filed each month during the period from January through May of each year, as well as during any other month in which the legislature is in session. Further, an additional report would be filed on January 15 of each year to cover the period of June 1 to December 31.
Additionally, the bills would require lobbyists and their clients to make new disclosures, including campaign contributions made, the existence of any contractual relationships with legislators, and events attended wherein members of the legislature were in attendance and an average cost of $25 or more per person or total of $500 including gifts was expended. The bills also provide for definitions to pertinent terms, including ‘candidate,’ ‘candidate committee,’ ‘committee,’ and ‘contractual relationship.’
December 16, 2010 •
State and Federal Staff Attend 2010 COGEL Conference in D.C.
The attendees enjoyed a variety of informative break-out sessions which covered a number of topics including recent developments in lobbying and campaign finance regulation.
The President and CEO of State and Federal Communication, Inc., Elizabeth Bartz, together with research manager John Cozine and staff members: Jim Sedor, Joe May, Megan Huber, Sarah Gray, and David Dobo recently attended the 2010 Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL) conference in Washington, D.C. from December 5 to 8, 2010.
The attendees enjoyed a variety of informative break-out sessions which covered a number of topics including recent developments in lobbying and campaign finance regulation. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission loomed large at this year’s conference. Many of the panels covered the implications of the decision as it relates to federal and state campaign finance laws. Since the decision was announced in January of this year, many states have had to amend statutes which were partially or completely overturned by the ruling. It was interesting to see how representatives of the different jurisdictions explained their state’s or city’s legislative response to Citizens United. It was also interesting to see which of the dire predictions made by the media in the wake of the decision have come true and which have failed to manifest since the ruling was announced. Experts from the legal profession as well as the Federal Election Commission were on-hand to shed light on the fall-out from what may be the most important campaign finance legal decision of the decade.
On Tuesday, the attendees from State and Federal Communications met the other Ohio-based COGEL participants for lunch at the Westin Hotel on M Street. Tony Bledsoe, Legislative Inspector General for the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee and his assistant joined the table. Also, David Freel, Executive Director of the Ohio Ethics Commission and his senior deputies took the opportunity to break bread with their fellow Buckeyes. It’s something of a State and Federal Communications tradition to bring all the folks from back home together for a good meal and good fellowship. The next All-Ohio COGEL lunch will be held in December 2011 in an As-Yet-To-Be-Determined location somewhere in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
September 15, 2010 •
NYC Campaign Finance Board Issues Report
New York City campaign finance reforms alter nature of political contributions.
NEW YORK: A recent examination by New York City’s Campaign Finance Board shows that changes enacted before the 2009 mayoral election encouraged 34,000 New Yorkers to make campaign donations for the first time; drastically curtailed the role of businesses, political committees and lobbyists in campaigns; and caused a major drop in donations from those doing business with the city.
The Campaign Finance Board report found that New York City’s newly promulgated rules diminished the role of businesses, political committees and unions in campaign fund-raising. They now account for 7.2 percent of all funds available to candidates. In the last election for State Assembly and Senate candidates, such contributions accounted for 66.6 percent of all the money raised. New York City’s system has become a model for campaign finance reform based upon these results.
Photo of the New York City Hall by Momos on Wikipedia.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.