April 22, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“Former Sen. Bob Kerrey joins government affairs firm” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.
“NRA spends record money on lobbying this year” by Dave Levinthal in The Center for Public Integrity.
Florida: “Sound Off: Most email group members think lobbyist limits a good idea” in the Florida Times Union.
Georgia: “Analysis: Lobbyists say the game is changing” by Walter C. Jones in the Savannah Morning News.
Texas: “Agenda Texas: The Twitter Lobby” by Ben Philpott in the Texas Tribune.
Washington: “Lobbying tab $12.9 million — and counting” by Brad Shannon in the News Tribune.
Campaign Finance
California: “Common Cause: Californians should vote for Congress to overturn Citizens United” by Derek Cressman in San Jose Mercury News.
Illinois: “Overturning ‘Citizen’s United’ Decision” by Claudia Johnson in the Alton Daily News.
New Jersey: “N.J. Senate Democrats to introduce major overhaul of campaign finance laws” by Christopher Baxter in the Star-Ledger.
New York: “Reform proposed for state Board of Elections” by Karen Dewitt on WBFO NPR.
New York: “Campaign Finance Reformers To Target Senate In New Ads” by Ken Lovett in the New York Daily News.
Pennsylvania: “Pa. Senate backs stricter rules on reporting campaign funds” by Mary Wilson in Newsworks.
Vermont: “Windham County senator blasts campaign-finance reform bill” by Mike Faher in the Brattleboro Reformer.
Ethics
Connecticut: “Man pleads guilty in campaign finance scheme” by The Associated Press in the Boston Globe.
Kentucky: “Richie Farmer indicted by federal grand jury” on WKYT News.
Minnesota: “Ex-aide to Bachmann prepares to give evidence on alleged payments” by Brett Neely in MPR News.
Tennessee: “Knox County Commission set to reconfigure ethics panel” by Mike Donila in the Knoxville News Sentinel.
From the State Legislatures
Featured speakers at the NCSL Legislative Summit, August 12-15 in Atlanta, GA.
April 20, 2013 •
NJ ELEC Makes Recommendations in Annual Report
2012 Annual Report
In the 2012 Annual report issued by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) on April 15, the Commission listed several recommendations and ideas to strengthen the state’s campaign finance and lobbying laws.
ELEC recommends requiring disclosure from super PACs and non-profit groups organized under Section 527 and Section 501(c) of the IRS code, requiring disclosure of lobbying activity by local vendors who are required to report pay-to-play contributions, and expanding the 48-hour notice requirement for continuing PAC expenditures to require the filing of notices for expenditures made in May municipal, runoff, school, and special elections.
Among its other recommendations, ELEC calls for the state to expand the regulation of “wheeling” to include contributions by county political party committees to other county political party committees during the entire year.
In the report, the Commission also lists general ideas to strengthen the laws, including requiring grassroots lobbying materials to list the name and address of the committee paying for the material, increasing penalties for public financing violations, and banning the use of partnership funds for the purpose of making contributions.
The annual report can be found here.
April 20, 2013 •
News You Can Use Digest – April 20, 2013
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
From the States and Municipalities:
California – Legislative Staffers Lavished with Gifts
Indiana – Indiana Speaker Pro Tem Turner Defends Supporting Company Daughter Represents as Lobbyist
Kentucky – Kentucky Group Is the PAC That Couldn’t Shoot Straight
Montana – Montana House Panel Kills Bill to Disclose ‘Dark Money’ in Campaigns
Nebraska – Golf Tops List of Gifts Dave Heineman Reported
New Jersey – Bergen County Freeholders Introduce Plan to Relax Pay-to-Play Restrictions
New Jersey – In N.J. Governor’s Race, Christie and Buono Choose to Keep Some Donors Secret
New York – Sandra Lee OK’d for Takeoff
Pennsylvania – Pennsylvania Turnpike Scandal Has Some Eyeing a Pay-to-Play Law
Pennsylvania – Senate Passes Three Bills to Strengthen Transparency and Efficiency in State Government
South Carolina – National GOP Campaign Arm Withdraws Sanford’s Financial Support
Tennessee – Bill Fails That Would Raise Campaign Contribution Limits, Allowing Direct Corporate Donations
Texas – Exotic Trips, Luxury Gifts Are Perks of Elective Office
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.
April 17, 2013 •
Wednesday Government Relations News
Here is our roundup of the latest articles on lobbying, campaign finance, ethics, and more!
Lobbying
“McCain roasts lobbyist at awards dinner” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
“OFA files lobbying registration in New York” by Reid J. Epstein in Politico.
Florida: “House advances ethics bill to ban ‘revolving door’ lobbying” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.
North Carolina: “Bill would allow legislators to receive gifts from lobbyists” by Claire Bennett in The Daily Tar Heel.
Ottawa, Ontario: “City lobbying registry due for upgrade, weeks behind schedule” by David Reevely in the Ottawa Citizen.
Wisconsin: “Lobby outlays drop in 2011-12” by Bill Lueders in WisconsinWatch.org.
Campaign Finance
Hawaii: “Bill boosts public campaign funds” by Sarah Zoellick in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Massachusetts: “DeLeo, Murray break Mass. campaign spending tally” by The Associated Press in the Boston Globe.
Ethics
“Congressional Travel Costs Questioned” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political Moneyline.
New York: Prosecutors: “Liu Aides Didn’t Count On Getting Caught In Campaign Finance Scheme” by The Associated Press in CBS New York.
South Carolina: “SC House panel revives ethics reform effort” by Adam Beam in The State.
Election Law
New York: “Tougher state elections rules” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.
New York: “Cuomo Adds Election Law Office to Anticorruption Proposals” by Thomas Kaplan in The New York Times.
From the State Legislatures
Nevada: “Senate OKs resolution seeking annual legislative sessions” by Sean Whaley in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Redistricting
North Carolina: “Bill would make N.C. redistricting nonpartisan” by Travis Fain in the News & Record.
April 16, 2013 •
Tuesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Keep up with the latest government relations news with these articles:
Lobbying
“Bottom Line” in The Hill.
New York: “Small business speaks up during Capitol lobbying day” by Adam Sichko in the Business Review.
Campaign Finance
“Senate Scrutiny of Nonprofits Spurring Disclosure: Taxes” by Jonathan D. Salant in Bloomberg.
California: “CA pushes to fine ‘independent’ campaign committee for supporting lawmaker” by Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee.
New Jersey: “ELEC outlines list of campaign finance priorities” by Darryl R. Isherwood in PolitickerNJ.
New York: “Overhauling campaign finance rules” opinion piece by Jeffrey D. Klein in the Albany Times Union.
Ethics
New York: “Campaign Finance Trial For Two Former Liu Associates Under Way” by The Associated Press on CBS New York.
Texas: “Bill would revise ethics oversight” by Chris Tomlinson (Associated Press) in the Austin American-Statesman.
From the State Legislatures
Minnesota: Senate: “Time to raise pay for Minnesota’s lawmakers” by Rachel E. Stassen-Berger in the Star Tribune.
New York: “Lawmakers return to Albany after bribery scandals” by Joseph Spector in the Star Gazette.
West Virginia: “Lawmakers push for special session to address bills” by Dave Boucher in the Charleston Daily Mail.
April 15, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“Former Rep. Connie Mack joins lobby firm” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
Washington: “66 Wash. lobbyists get warning letters for lack of transparency” by Austin Jenkins on KPLU.org.
Campaign Finance
“Proposal could drag political funding into the light” by Michael Kirkland in the United Press International.
“Influence of big-money ‘SuperPACs’ not so clear” by Aaron Delatte in the Orlando Sentinel.
“Members of Congress Fill War Chests for Next Campaign” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
California: “Universities Join Effort to Overturn Citizens United Decision” by Anjuli Sastry on ABC News.
Florida: “Lawmakers raking in contributions even as they debate campaign law changes” by Jim Saunders in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Maryland: “Massive Campaign Finance Revamping Awaits Gov. O’Malley’s Pen” by The Associated Press on WNEW.
Missouri: “Ethics rules changes considered for KC leaders, employees” by Mike Hendricks in the Kansas City Star.
Missouri: “Time running short for Mo. campaign finance issues” by The Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle.
New York: “Public financing of campaigns could be a key issue in Albany” by Tom Wrobleski in the Staten Island Advance.
New York: “Senator Carlucci Unveils New Campaign Finance Reform Proposal” by Michael Riconda in the Rockland County Times.
Texas: “$27 Million Republican Political Donor Dies” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
Vermont: “Vt. Senate passes campaign finance law” by The Associated Press in the Boston Globe.
Ethics
Connecticut: “Donovan Campaign Manager Pleads Guilty” by Dave Altimari in the Hartford Courant.
Pennsylvania: “Latest Pa. scandal has some eyeing pay-to-play law” by Marc Levy in the Beaver County Times.
Texas: “Ethics commission up for review at Legislature” by Chris Tomlinson (Associated Press) in the Houston Chronicle.
Texas: “Exotic Trips, Luxury Gifts Are Perks of Elective Office” by Emily Ramshaw in the Texas Tribune.
Texas: “A Slim Chance for Lawmakers to Self-Regulate” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.
From the State Legislatures
Nevada: “It’s roundup time for Nevada legislators, bills” by Sandra Chereb (Associated Press) in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Ohio: “Former Rep. Charlie Wilson of Ohio dies at 70 after suffering stroke” by Jonathan Easley in The Hill.
Elections
“Alaska Legislature passes elections bill” by Joshua Berlinger (Associated Press) in the Anchorage Daily News.
Social Media and Government Technology
“Top Phoenix lobbyists sound off on the impact of social media” by Dale Brown in the Phoenix Business Journal.
“TechPresident Podcast: ‘Open Government’” by Nick Judd on TechPresident.
Substitute bill includes only services currently taxed
House Speaker William G. Batchelder and Representative Ron Amstutz introduced a substitute for House Bill 59, Governor Kasich’s budget bill.
Governor Kasich’s version of the bill would have overhauled the state sales tax by subjecting most services, including lobbying and consulting services, to the tax.
The substitute version of the bill eliminates those changes, leaving the current sales tax on services unchanged. If the substitute bill passes, lobbying and consulting services will remain untaxed in Ohio.
April 9, 2013 •
Tuesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Keep up with the latest government relations news with these articles:
Lobbying
“Lobby Reports Expected To Show $750+ Million in First Quarter Lobbying” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
Indiana: “9-year-old lobbyist weighs in on school safety” by Maureen Hayden in the Tribune-Star News.
Kentucky: “Lawmakers treated to lavish parties in Frankfort” by The Associated Press in Kentucky New Era.
Missouri: “Loophole hides trail of lobbyists’ largesse” by Jason Hancock in the Kansas City Star.
Campaign Finance
“James Bopp Jr. among 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America” news release in the Tribune-Star News.
Florida: “Lights grow dim for campaign finance, ethics bills” by The Associated Press in WPEC News.
Maryland: “Maryland lawmakers approve campaign finance reform bill” by The Associated Press in the Washington Post.
New Jersey: “Group raising money for NJ races contests political donation limits” by Herb Jackson in the Bergen Record.
New Jersey: “Contributions from government contractors to New Jersey pols dropped to $7.5 million in 2012” by Anthony Campisi in the Bergen Record.
New York: “Eye on NY Spotlight: Bill Samuels on campaign finance reform and latest Albany scandals” by Robert Harding in the Auburn Citizen.
Texas: “Austin rep proposes restrictions for leftover campaign cash” by Tim Eaton in the Austin American-Statesman.
West Virginia: “House and Senate differ on campaign financing” by Phil Kabler in the Charleston Gazette.
Ethics
Colorado: “Scott Gessler’s discretionary spending not unique, investigator says” by Joey Bunch in the Denver Post.
Florida: “Lawmakers eye ‘blind trust’ in ethics reform bill” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Miami Herald.
New York: “Criticism of Cuomo Grows as the Problems in Albany Endure” by Danny Hakim in The New York Times.
New York: “Cuomo addresses ethics package” by Casey Seiler in the Albany Times Union.
Pennsylvania: “Bipartisan group of Pennsylvania state senators to introduce ethics bills” by Kate Giammarise in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Utah: “No Ethics Complaints Against Utah Legislators in Two Years” by Bob Bernick on UtahPolicy.com.
Elections
“Which Governors Are Most Vulnerable in 2014?” by Micah Cohen in the New York Times’ Five Thirty Eight blog.
Government Tech and Social Media
“Majority of Senate Standing Committees Still Aren’t Tweeting” by Joseph Marks in NextGov.
“New Tactics in Fight Against Corruption Include Crowdsourcing, Mobile Games and SMS” by Jessica McKenzie in TechPresident.
April 8, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“K Street Files: Former Obama Health Care Guru Heads to K Street” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“Rules of the Game: Lame-Duck FEC Invites Scofflaws” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.
“Top GOP House aide goes to K Street” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
California: “Charities are engaged in California political fights” by Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee.
Campaign Finance
Arkansas: “Ark. lawmakers OK proposal to put campaign finance constitutional amendment on the ballot” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
New Jersey: “Donors behind millions in N.J. political contributions kept secret, analysis finds” by Christopher Baxter in the Star-Ledger.
Ethics
“Why Washington is corrupt” by Lawrence Lessig on CNN News.
Arizona: “Panel on constitutional amendments endorses ethics proposal” by John Lyon in Arkansas News.
New York: “Lhota, at City Hall, Proposes Ways to Curb Corruption” by David M. Halbfinger in The New York Times.
Texas: “Texas ethics watchdog hardly ever barks” by Rick Casey in the Express-News.
Virginia: “Cuccinelli denies conflict of interest claims” by Julian Walker in The Virginian-Pilot.
Open Government
“Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin won’t budge on executive privilege claim concerning emails” by Zeke Campfield in The Oklahoman.
Social Media
“For pols, Tumblr is trending” by Kevin Cirilli in Politico.
April 8, 2013 •
Arkansas Widens Revolving Door Restrictions
Act 486 requires one-year wait to lobby
Governor Mike Beebe has approved a bill expanding restrictions on former public officials seeking to register as lobbyists. Senate Bill 331, now Act 486, prohibits statewide elected officers, certain state employees, and state agency executives from registering as a lobbyist for one year following expiration of employment.
Previously, only members of the General Assembly were subject to this revolving door restriction.
April 5, 2013 •
Legislation We Are Tracking
More than 1,000 legislative bills
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.
April 5, 2013 •
News You Can Use Digest – April 5, 2013
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Governors’ Groups Rely Increasingly on ‘Dark Money’ Affiliates
Federal:
Hanford Contractor Reaches $1.1 Million Settlement in Whistleblower Suit Involving Training Program
Most Lobbyists Following Disclosure Rules, Government Report Says
From the States and Municipalities:
Alaska – House Trips over Bad Jokes and a Representative’s Tongue
Arizona – Federal Judge Strikes Down 2 Arizona Anti-Union Statutes
Florida – Lawmaker Complains about Getting Out of Speeding Ticket; Trooper Fired
Florida – Lawmakers Seek Exceptions to Free Food and Drink Ban
Georgia – New Ga. Lobbying Rules Raise Fresh Issues
Iowa – Sex Offender Faces Charge after Lobbying Legislators
Maryland – Maryland Close to Raising Political Donation Limit to $24,000
New Jersey – Secret Recording Led to Criminal Case against N.J. Engineering Firm Birdsall Services Group
New York – Lawmakers in New York Tied to Bribery Plot in Mayor Race
North Carolina – NC Court of Appeals Sends Case against Lobbyist Back to Trial Court
Pennsylvania – Judge Throws Out All Campaign Finance Limits in Pittsburgh Mayoral Race
South Carolina – GOP Frets Mark Sanford Could Blow It
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.
Trial court to decide whether state can fine lobbyists for violations
A state appellate court has ruled that a trial court judge must reconsider the state’s large fine for lobbying law violations. Don Beason, once considered one of the state’s most influential lobbyists, was originally fined $111,000 for a violation of the state’s disclosure policy for lobbyists. This fine was eventually reduced to $30,000 after the court ruled it was too large. Beason was working on overturning the state’s “Buy America” law for Sigma Corporation, a New Jersey company who imports foreign-made iron and steel.
The state claims Beason was paid with money funneled from an Indian iron exporters’ trade association and other companies through Sigma and Beason knew of this arrangement and failed to disclose. The trial court ruled that state law defines a lobbyist as someone who communicates directly with legislators or their employees and there was no evidence Beason directly contacted anyone for these clients supposedly funneling money through Sigma.
The appellate court however found the trial court failed to consider a second aspect of Beason’s case; whether Beason’s activities for the client constituted lobbying. The trial court must rule on that issue and then can determine whether the state has the power to fine Beason.
There is no time frame on when the trial court will hear the second part of this case.
April 2, 2013 •
U.S. Government Accountability Office Releases Observations on Lobbyists’ Compliance
2012 Audit
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its audit of federal lobbying compliance for 2012. For the audit, the GAO reviewed a random sample of 100 quarterly disclosure reports filed for the third and fourth quarters of calendar year 2011 and the first and second quarters of calendar year 2012.
Among its findings, the GAO concluded 97 percent of filers of lobbying disclosure reports were able to provide documentation to support reported income and expenses, 85 percent filed the required federal political campaign reports, and 74 percent of the reported income and expenses were properly rounded to the nearest $10,000. The audit also found at least 15 percent of all lobbying disclosure reports did not properly disclose formerly held covered positions.
The 47 page report, released on April 1, 2013, is titled “2012 Lobbying Disclosure Observations on Lobbyists’ Compliance with Disclosure Requirements” and can be found here.
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.
