Lobbying

“Scott Brown joins law and lobby firm” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Bottom Line” in The Hill.

“Former US Rep. Jerry Costello opens lobbying firm” in the Pantagraph.

Florida: “Senator backing lobbyist restrictions is lobbyist himself” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Campaign Finance

“What it costs to win a Congressional election” by Jon Terbush in The Week.

Florida: “Senate’s campaign finance compromise creates mega PACs” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.

Nevada: “Bill seeks tighter Nevada campaign reporting laws” by The Associated Press in the Las Vegas Sun.

Wisconsin: “Campaign spending in Wisconsin more than triples” by Jason Stein in the Journal Sentinel.

Ethics

“FEC: Larry Craig Misused Campaign Funds for Personal Legal Expenses” by Mike Scarcella in The Blog of Legal Times.

Utah: “Executive branch ethics bill advances in Utah” by Lee Davidson in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Open Government

Thank you, Eric Brown and the Political Activity Law blog for reminding us that this week is Sunshine Week!

Legislative Issues

“Report: Members of Congress Happy With Their Jobs” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.

Alaska: “Alaska Legislature Celebrates its Centennial, Creates Commission to Recognize First Territorial Legislature” by  Morgan Cullen in NCSL’s The Thicket.

A bill to allow lobbyist expenditures on legislators is pending before the Florida Senate. Currently, almost all expenditures by lobbyists and principals on members and employees of the legislature are prohibited.

Senate Bill 1634 provides exceptions to the ban on lobbyist expenditures, permitting:

• Individual servings of nonalcoholic beverages provided by a lobbyist or a principal as a courtesy to the attendees of a meeting;

• A single meal not solicited by the member or employee of the legislature, served as part of a scheduled meeting of an established membership organization that is also a principal, and attended by the member or employee as a featured speaker, moderator, or participant of a panel discussion; and

• Food and beverages provided as part of a widely attended event hosted by a membership organization or governmental body that is also a principal if the cost per attendee does not exceed $25.

Widely attended event is defined as one reasonably expected to be attended by at least 25 persons other than members or employees of the legislature, open to persons from throughout a given industry or profession, or to a wide range of persons interested in a given issue presented at the event.

The bill requires the houses of the legislature to establish a rule regarding registration and approval of events at which such expenditures may be made.

The new exceptions would take effect on July 1, 2013, and would expire June 30, 2015.

Lobbying

“Critics hold the line on pro-Obama lobbying group: ‘Shut it down’” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“K Street Files: Cassidy Lands Recurring Role in ‘House of Cards’” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Connecticut: “Ritter’s Lobbying Raises Questions” by Jon Lender in the Hartford Courant.

Delaware: “Groups advise citizens on lobbying lawmakers” in the News Journal.

Florida: “Ethics bill passed without lobbying exemption for sitting legislators” by Tom McLaughlin in the Northwest Florida Daily News.

New Jersey: “Expenses for lobbying in Trenton drop to lowest level in 5 years” by Michael Linhorst and Anthony Campisi in the Bergen Record.

Toronto, Canada: “Lobbying boom in Toronto may be fueled by hot topics — and a less predictable council” by Robyn Doolittle in the Toronto Star.

Utah: “Bill to curb lobbyist contracts paid by governmental entities stalls in committee” by Marjorie Cortex in the Deseret News.

Washington: “Inside The World Of Business Lobbying In Olympia” by Austin Jenkins in Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Campaign Finance

“Senate bill pushes online campaign-finance filings” by Malia Rulon in USA Today.

“Ethics Panel: Members Can’t Use Campaign Accounts to Soften Sequester Cuts” in Roll Call.

California: “California lawmakers avoid campaign contribution limits with ballot measure accounts” by Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee.

District of Columbia:  “D.C. campaign finance office hires full-time investigator” by Tim Craig in the Washington Post.

Florida: “House Speaker: $10,000 contribution limit isn’t happening” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Michigan: “More transparency sought in elections” by Alanna Durkin (Associated Press) in the Lansing State Journal.

Mississippi: “Miss. cities handle law regarding campaign finance inconsistently” by Laura Tillman (Associated Press) in the Clarion-Ledger.

New York: “Cuomo to discuss campaign finance reform in telephone town hall” by Michelle Breidenbach in the Post-Standard.

Oregon: “Oregon legislators reap big post-election donations — much of it ‘makeup money’” by Jeff Mapes in the Oregonian.

Ethics

Palm Beach County, Florida: “Nine finalists remain for Ethics Commission chief’s job” by Jennifer Sorentrue in the Palm Beach Post.

Open Government

“Open Data Has Been a Boon for City Governments” by Eric Jaffe in Nextgov.

New York City, New York: “The Big Apple Enhances Financial Transparency” by Hilton Collins in Government Technology.

Texas: “Open meetings law faces another test” by Erik Schelzig (Associated Press) in the Tennessean.

Federal:

Are Hashtags a Political #Wasteoftime?

Pro-Obama Group Reverses Stance on Corporate Cash

From the States and Municipalities:

California – LA Mayor’s Race Heads to Runoff between Democratic Rivals Who Share Much Common Ground

California – Oakland City Council Approves Campaign Sunlight Ordinance

Colorado – Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge to Colorado Campaign Finance Law

Florida – Florida Legislators Work to Regain Voter Trust

Massachusetts – Cahill to Pay $100,000 to Settle Case

New Mexico – House Approves Bill for State Ethics Commission

Tennessee – Rep. Curry Todd Lived Rent-Free in Lobbyist’s Home

Texas – Watchdogs: Ethics loopholes obscure lobby perks

Vermont – New Twist on Campaign Finance Debate

Wyoming – Wyoming Legislative Leaders Decry Lobbying Tactics

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.

In a Texas bill introduced predominantly dealing with the ethics of public servants, the requirement for registering as a lobbyist in the state would be expanded.

House Bill 2737 amends the state’s lobbying law to include goodwill lobbying.

Specifically, the following definition is added: “Communicates directly with a member of the legislative or executive branch to influence legislation or administrative action” or any variation of the phrase includes establishing goodwill with the member for the purpose of later communicating with the member to influence legislation or administrative action.

A person would not be required to register if he or she spends 26 hours or less during the calendar quarter engaging in the communication. Additionally, the other current thresholds for determining whether registering as a lobbyist is required would remain.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Dennis Bonnen, also make changes concerning the regulations of political contributions and expenditures, political advertising, the conduct of public servants, and the reporting of personal financial information by public servants.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol courtesy of Kumar Appaiah on Wikipedia.

State Representative Scott Drury has recently introduced two bills that would change the way lobbyists operate within the state. House Bill 2957 would change the definition of lobbying, thus causing more people to register as a lobbyist.

The bill would add communicating with a local government to influence action to the definition of lobbying. Therefore, all people who lobby a local government without a lobbying ordinance, the cities of Rockford and Springfield for example, would have to register as a lobbyist with the state. Also, those who lobby in a city with a lobbying ordinance, such as Chicago, would have to register with the state, in addition to their current city registration.

House Bill 2964 is a bill aimed at the state’s current prohibition on gifts. It would prohibit the relatives of a state officer, legislator, or employee from receiving prohibited gifts from a prohibited source (under state law, a lobbyist is considered a prohibited source). The bill also adds a new exception to the ban, adjusts one of the current exceptions, and abolishes another of the exceptions.

If the bill passes, a state officer, legislator, or employee would be allowed to accept admission to and the cost of food and beverages consumed at a reception, meal, or meeting by an organization before whom the recipient appears to speak or answer questions as part of a scheduled program where all members of the General Assembly were invited. This would replace the current exception for food and beverage, which allows for those to be provided if catered or consumed on the premises.

The bill would also limit the amount of travel expenses provided to $111 per day and the travel must be on a carrier available to the general public.

It remains to be seen whether either one of the bills will pass, but should they pass in their current form, it will change how lobbyists do business in the state.

Photo of the Illinois State Capitol by Daniel Schwen on Wikipedia.

Lobbying

“K St. ready for cybersercurity cash grab” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Under Contract” in The Hill.

Illinois: “Lobbying push at Capitol as gun issue looms” by Rafael Guerrero in the Chicago Tribune.

Pennsylvania: “Gov. Tom Corbett may be open to a gift ban, spokeswoman suggests” by Jan Murphy in the Patriot-News.

Texas: “Watchdogs: Ethics Loopholes Obscure Lobby Perks” by Jay Root in the Texas Tribune.

Campaign Finance

Colorado: “David Sirota Moderates Discussion On Campaign Finance Reform, Democracy In Colorado” by Matt Ferner in the Huffington Post.

Ethics

California: “STATE LEGISLATURE: Area lawmakers given gifts, trips in 2012” by Jim Miller in the Press-Enterprise.

Florida: “Florida House bridles at Senate’s proposed ethics reforms” by Dara Kam in the Palm Beach Post.

Florida: “Matt Reed: Something to cheer, for a change, as Legislature opens” by Matt Reed in Florida Today.

Hawaii: “Hawaii Legislators Exempt Themselves from State Ethics Code” by Barbara Polk in the Hawaii Reporter.

On the first day of the 2013 legislative session the Florida Senate unanimously passed ethics reform bills.

The bills add revolving door provisions, increase the responsibilities of the ethics commission, and require financial disclosure reports to be posted online.

The reform package now moves to the House, where somewhat different versions of the legislation are already under consideration.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: Both Sides Rev Up for Wage War” by Elizabeth Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“K Street’s gravy train runs dry as Georgian leaders move past election” by Kevin Bogardus and Julian Pecquet in The Hill.

“Former Sen. Jon Kyl joins lobby shop at Covington” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.

New York: “Best-paid lobbyists, spenders unveiled” by Chris Bragg in Crain’s New York.

Pennsylvania: “Pa.’s Corbett and wife disclose gifts from lobbyists and businesses” by The Associated Press in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pennsylvania: “Corbett’s acceptance of gifts give rise to calls for laws on gift bans” by Jan Murphy in the Patriot-News.

Campaign Finance

“Study shows Super PACs made mockery of campaign law” by Taylor Lincoln in The Hill.

Arizona: “Arizona senate approves contribution limits to recall campaigns” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Kentucky: “Ky. House passes bill to publicly finance state SC races” by Jessica M. Karmasek in Legal Newsline.

Ethics

Florida: “Florida lawmakers vote for ethics and early voting changes” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Tampa Bay Times.

Legislative Issues

Missouri: “Mo. House endorses change to term limits” by The Associated Press in the News Tribune.

South Dakota: “SD Senate approves boost in expenses for lawmakers” in the Rapid City Journal.

Open Government

“Sen. Del Marsh says GOP committee members did not violate Open Meetings Act” by Mike Cason in the Birmingham News.

Redistricting

Kentucky: “House redistricting plan would create new Lexington district” by Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists predict rebound in 2013” by Kevin Bogardus and Ben Goad in The Hill.

Minnesota: “Minnesota lobbyists spent $65.2M in 2011, report says” by Bill Salisbury in the Pioneer Press.

Campaign Finance

California: “New Campaign Finance Tracker Helps You Follow the Money in L.A. Elections” on Community Television of Southern California.

Texas: “Bill Would Double Campaign Finance Disclosures” by Ryan Murphy in the Texas Tribune.

Ethics

“Ethics commission agrees to seek outside investigator in Gessler case” by Tim Hoover in the Denver Post.

Florida: “Will lawmakers pass campaign reform or just face-lift?” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida: “Ethics legislation could be passed on opening day” by The Associated Press in the Miami Herald.

Social Media

“Are hashtags a political #wasteoftime?” by Steve Friess in Politico.

A bill to change lobbying regulations has passed the House and is currently in the Senate Committee on Public Policy.

House Bill 1222 expands the definition of lobbying to include communications with any legislative employee and requires lobbyists to file registration statements and activity reports electronically.

The bill also increases the annual lobbyist registration fee from $100 to $200 and makes the lobbyist registration year match the current lobbyist reporting period.

The bill passed the House 94-0 on February 25, 2013.

Lobbying

“Home Sweet K Street” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Campaign Finance

“Political campaign finance reform advocates to hold ‘K Street 5K’ in DC, Apr 13” by Karen Ruben in The Examiner.

Arizona: “Arizona House legislation would allow for campaign finance changes” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Georgia: “Florida’s ethics reforms offer glimpse of Georgia’s future” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

New York: “NYC public advocate: State, local governments must lead efforts to regulate dark money” by Michael Beckel in the Center for Public Integrity.

Vermont: “New twist on campaign finance debate” by Peter Hirschfeld in the Times Argus.

West Virginia: “Senate President supports public campaign finance bill” on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Ethics

“Suit Over How Larry Craig Paid Legal Bills Heads To Court” by Jessica Robinson in Boise State Public Radio.

Florida: “Bill would strengthen Florida Commission on Ethics enforcement” by Jeff Marcu in First Coast News.

Tennessee: “Rep. Curry Todd lived rent-free in lobbyist’s home” by Nate Rau in The Tennessean.

Utah: “Senate panel advances bill for executive branch ethics commission” by Dennis Romboy in the Deseret News.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in the State and Federal Communications digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of the State and Federal Communications’ website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly e-mail updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regards to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

This year’s push for ethics reform in several state legislatures could not happen fast enough for some elected officials. Georgia’s Senate and Missouri’s Secretary of State, Jason Kander, decided on day one to take matters into their own hands by adopting new gift rules for their respective offices.

The Georgia Senate imposed a $100 limit on gifts from lobbyists. Senators approved the gift cap on the opening day of the 2013 General Assembly session as part of new rules governing the chamber’s operations for the current two-year term. The new rule does not apply to travel costs or to gifts provided to groups of senators, including committees. The rule does allow lobbyists to give $100 gifts on multiple occasions. Meanwhile, House Speaker David Ralston has unveiled an ethics reform bill aimed at expanding the definition of a lobbyist and restricting lobbyist gifts. House Bill 142 would ban even the smallest expenditure of a lobbyist if for the benefit of a single member of the General Assembly. Lobbyists would still be permitted to spend on committees, caucuses, and expenses to public officers for trips to conferences and meetings.

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, sworn in on January 14, 2013, announced a new ethics policy as part of his “Day 1 Achievements.” The new policy prohibits the staff in his office from accepting gifts from lobbyists. State administrative policy already curtails what state employees may accept from lobbyists, but agencies are free to adopt stricter guidelines. Additionally, Missouri’s House and Senate are both considering bills to curb lobbyist spending. House Bill 139 would prohibit General Assembly members, family, and staff from accepting more than $1,000 per calendar year from lobbyists. Senate Bill 181 would prohibit statewide elected officials, legislators, staff, employees, and family from accepting gifts over $50 from a lobbyist.