Federal:

American Bridge Super PAC Uses Unique Research, Tracking Strategy to Hold Republicans Accountable

Lobbyists Ready for a Comeback under Romney

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

91-Year-Old Alabama Mayor Admits to $201,000 Theft

California

Campaign Watchdogs Say Arizona Group’s $11 Million Donation Exploits Loophole in California Law

Florida

Legislature’s New Leaders Back Tough Ethics Reform

Georgia

Loopholes Abound in Some Lobbyist Gift Bans

Illinois

City Axes Speed Camera Firm’s Bid, Citing Delay in Reporting Ethics Case

Montana

Montana Contribution Limits in Place through Election

New Jersey

Bergen Executive’s Veto of Changes to Political-Contributions Law Draws No Challenge

Ohio

Ohio Early Voting Cleared by High Court in Obama Victory

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ethics Commission Will Lose Three Key Workers on Same Day

Pennsylvania

Lobbyists’ Checks Buy Lawmaker Access

Washington

Seattle City Council Revamps Campaign Finance Rules

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.

City Council has passed the resident-driven Sunshine Ordinance with the intention to make city government more transparent. The ordinance requires builders to hold community meetings in connection with certain developments and calls for online posting of additional information regarding requests for proposals.

Although advocates originally proposed registration requirements for lobbyists, the new law provides only online access to city officials’ scheduled meetings with lobbyists and to information on forms already required to be filed by campaign committees and public officials.

The measure’s effective date will be November 14, 2012, 30 days from Monday’s final vote.

Photo of the Santa Ana City Hall courtesy of Eli Pousson on Wikipedia.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists ready for a comeback under Mitt Romney” by Anna Palmer in Politico.

“Lobbyists Might Join Romney’s Team” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Hill Climbers: Long Hill Career Leads to K Street” by Molly C. Braswell in Roll Call.

Wyoming:  “ALEC Model Bill Group Triggers Calls for Transparency” by Greg Nickerson in WyoFile.

Campaign Finance

“The IRS’s ‘feeble’ grip on big political cash” by Kenneth P. Vogel and Tarini Parti in Politico.

Ethics

Florida: “Gaetz unveils massive ethics overhaul proposal” in the Orlando Sentinel.

Campaign Finance

“PACs attack: N.Y. seeing a flood of outside money” by The Associated Press in Pressconnects.com.

Florida: “Meet Florida’s big-time donors to super PACs” by Alex Leary in the Miami Herald.

“Md. referendum campaigns raise $53 million” by John Wagner and Aaron C. Davis in The Washington Post.

Lobbying

“Loopholes abound in some lobbyist gift bans” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Patton Boggs moves to reinvent itself” by Catherine Ho in The Washington Post.

“Lobbying Efforts From Tech Companies Surge On Capitol Hill” in Fast Company.

Kentucky: “Ellen Williams joins McBrayer lobbying team” by Tom Lotus in the Courier-Journal.

Pennsylvania: “Lobbyists could be subject to open-records law” by Dan Miller in the Patriot-News.

Pennsylvania: “Lobbyists’ checks buy lawmaker access” by John L. Micek in the Morning Call.

Ethics

“Jackson Jr. probe focuses on house” by Kevin Robillard in Politico.

Campaigns and Elections

“Candidates turn to geo-targeting in ads” by Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

“For politically playful news orgs, the 2012 election means social interactivity” by Adrienne LaFrance in Nieman Journalism Lab.

“Campaigns Mine Personal Lives to Get Out the Vote” by Charles Duhigg in The New York Times.

Tomorrow at a public hearing at its offices at 11:00am, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) will consider proposed changes to the administrative code allowing for electronic filing for lobbyists’ annual reports.

Electronic filing would be mandatory through ELEC’s website and would replace the requirement to file paper copies. Copies of what a lobbyist files electronically must be retained by the lobbyist. The proposed amendments cover governmental affairs agents, represented entities, and representatives of “persons communicating with the general public.” The proposals also make technical changes, such as substituting “represented entity” for “lobbyist” throughout the relevant sections.

Other issues to be addressed at the meeting include proposed amendments concerning campaign cost index adjustments and personal financial disclosure statements by candidates.

Lobbying

“Lawmaker Sues State Bar Over Lobbying” by Joe Harris in the Courthouse News Service.

“Long-time lobbyist to retire” by Bill Rankin in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Campaign Finance

“Changing campaign-finance laws might not deter corruption” by Lydia Coutré in the Columbus Dispatch.

“Top donors go all in on state ballot measures” by Will Evans in the Bay Citizen.

Ethics

“State Ethics Commission clears Sen. Gary Siplin in newsletter complaint”  in the Miami Herald.

Social Media and Technology

“The Rise of Mobile in Election 2012” by Matt Petronzio in Mashable.

“Online, Next Presidential Debate Will Feature a Moderator that Wasn’t” by Micah L. Sifry in TechPresident.

“Code for America Accelerator Program Takes Shape” by Sarah Rich in Government Technology.

Legislative Issues

“Bill limits N.J. legislators’ unexcused absences” by The Associated Press in NorthJersey.com.

National:

Are Voter ID Opponents Winning the Battle but Losing the War?

Federal:

House, Senate Campaigns Welcome Lobbyists Shunned by Team Obama

Obama, Romney Face Most Narrow Electoral Map in Recent History

From the States and Municipalities:

Arizona

State Lawmaker Ben Arredondo Pleads Guilty to Two Felonies

Florida

Butterworth Skirts State Lobbying Laws to Land $44 Million-a-Year Contract in Broward

Illinois

Federal Judge Upholds Limits on Contributions to State Candidates

Maryland

Del. Tiffany Alston Suspended from Office, General Assembly Lawyer Says

Montana

Appeals Court Reinstates Campaign Finance Limits

Nevada

Ross Miller Pursues Campaign Finance Law Violations against AFP

Ohio

Ohio Republican Party Reaches Settlement to Resolve Complaint That it Lied in Campaign Literature against Redistricting Issue

Texas

DeLay Attorneys: Ex-GOP Star Didn’t Launder Money

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.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs is calling for measures to monitor and prevent lobbyists from texting county commissioners during meetings. The county commission voted in September to delay putting a measure requiring employers to provide employees with sick time on the ballot. Three of the four commissioners who voted to delay the measure acknowledged that they were texting with lobbyists opposed to the measure during the meeting, and later deleted a number of those texts.

Mayor Jacobs released a memo stating that she ordered a system to be set up to archive text messages from county phones. She is also calling for the county to study how other governments address electronic lobbying during meetings, in consideration of a potential ban on such discussions.

Advocates for the proposed sick time ballot initiative have filed suit claiming that the county commissioners violated state public record and open meetings laws, and asking the court to set aside the vote on the measure.

Campaign Finance

“How Citizens United has transformed campaigns: An introduction to Big Sky, Big Money” by Kai Ryssdal on Marketplace.

“Celebrities Recruited to Make Case on Campaign-Finance Reform” by Thomas Kaplan in The New York Times.

Lobbying

“Nats fever sweeps Congress, K Street” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Government Tech and Social Media

“New App Opens Up Presidential Documents” in Government Technology.

National:

Selling Votes is Common Type of Election Fraud

Federal:

For Election Losers, Many Paths through the Political Wilderness

Medical Research Funding Tied to Advocacy, Study Finds

From the States and Municipalities:

Arkansas

Americans for Prosperity Puts Big Money on Legislative Races in Arkansas

Illinois

Emanuel Replaces Ethics Board

Maine

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal by Anti-Gay Marriage in Maine Case

Massachusetts

Native Americans Chafe at Brown-Warren Race

Minnesota

Campaign Finance Board Rules Minnesota Majority’s Dan McGrath Did Not Break Lobbying Rules

Montana

Judge Tosses Montana Campaign Finance Limits

Nevada

Nevada Secretary of State Seeks More Campaign Disclosure, Restrictions in Aurora Act

Oregon

Oregon Supreme Court Refuses to Limit Campaign Spending

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Shouldn’t Be Enforced This Time, Judge Rules

Rhode Island

Ethics Commission Sets Hearing on Disclosure of Paid Trips for Officials

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.

Campaign Finance

“Campaign Fundraisers in D.C. Continue Despite Recess” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

New York: “Campaign finance reform uncertain” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

Lobbying

“US Rep. Frank: No paid lobbying after Congress” by The Associated Press in the Boston Globe.

Ethics

“SC lawmakers vow ethics reform” by Andrew Shain in The State.

Campaigns and Elections

“5 takeaways from the Denver debate” by Maggie Haberman in Politico.

Q. I am interested in making contributions to state candidates in the upcoming elections. Does the fact that I’m a registered lobbyist affect my ability to contribute?

A. In certain states, being a registered lobbyist does impact your ability to give to a political candidate, ranging from a total ban on political activity, to simply having to report the contributions on your periodic reports.

In Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, lobbyists may not make contributions to lawmakers while the state legislature is in session. Fortunately, in the context of the upcoming elections, most states have adjourned sine die. In California, a lobbyist may not make a contribution to a candidate for any office for which the person is registered to lobby. Because most lobbyists are registered to communicate with the legislature, this ends up being nearly a total ban on contributions to legislators. Similarly, in Kentucky, a lobbyist registered with the legislative branch may not make a contribution to a lawmaker. In Alaska, a lobbyist is only allowed to contribute to candidates for office within his or her voting district.

There are several states in which lobbyists are allowed to make contributions, but must disclose the donations on their lobbyist reports. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Washington are examples.

Some states have unique provisions for politically-active lobbyists. In Pennsylvania, for instance, a lobbyist who makes political contributions must register and report in the same manner as PACs. Minnesota lobbyists must include their registration numbers in the memo section of campaign contribution checks.

If you or a member of your team would like to make a campaign contribution in a state in which you are registered, please contact a member of the State and Federal Communications Compliance Department for fact-specific guidance.

(We are always available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or e-mail us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies to your questions are not legal advice. Instead, these replies represent our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

Campaign Finance

“Freshmen rake in cash through PACs” by Kevin Bogardus and Megan R. Wilson in The Hill.

Connecticut: “When a candidate’s spouse is powerful, the goal of a campaign donation can be … complicated” by Ana Radelot in the CT Mirror.

Minnesota: “Campaign finance board rules Minnesota Majority’s Dan McGrath did not break lobbying rules” by Paul Demko in Politics in Minnesota.

New York: “NY progressives push for public campaign finances” by Michael Gormley in Bloomberg News.

New York: “Campaign finance firepower gathers” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Capitol Confidential.

Lobbying

“Activists Press Corporations to Cut Ties With Presidential Debate Commission” by Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

“Wis. lawmakers sued over emails with conservative group” by The Associated Press in the Chicago Tribune.

Ethics

California: “L.A. Councilman Richard Alarcon and wife ordered to stand trial” by Catherine Saillant in the Los Angeles Times.

Illinois: “Emanuel Revamps City Hall Ethics Board” by Hal Dardick in the Chicago Tribune.

Campaigns and elections

“Obama, on track to raise $1 billion, came close to that in 2008”  by Matea Gold in the Los Angeles Times.

“Jim Lehrer on criticism of his recurring debate-moderator role: ‘It’s a rough, rough world’” by Andrew Beaujon in Poynter.org.

“Daily Ad Track” by Abby Livingston in Roll Call.

“Zac Efron, Leonardo DiCaprio and Selena Gomez all want you to vote for stuff” by Jen Chaney in the Washington Post.

Government Tech and Social Media

“For the Campaigns, Online Debate Response is All About Mobile” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.

“Social media: On the outside looking in at presidential debates” in Politics in Minnesota.

“Code for America Reveals 2013 Partner Cities and Counties” by Sarah Rich in Government Technology.

Lobbying

Via Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law blog – Missouri:“Mo. Sen. candidate wants ban on all lobbyist gifts to state lawmakers” by Marshall Griffin in St. Louis Public Radio.

Wisconsin: “Former Assembly speaker now a lobbyist” by Jason Stein in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Campaign Finance

“Rules of the Game: Shining a Light on Political ‘Dark Money‘” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

Arizona: “Probe into Horne’s campaign finances leads to report over alleged hit-and-run” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Social Media

“Mashable Special Report: How Digital Is Transforming Politics” by Josh Catone in Mashable.

“How the Internet will Change the Government” by Henry Brown in Govloop.