Governor Susana Martinez has endorsed legislative efforts to impose a two-year ban on lobbying for lawmakers. The forthcoming bill may also include civil or criminal penalties if legislators took lobbying jobs sooner than prescribed. All appointees of Governor Martinez have agreed to two-year bans on becoming lobbyists after leaving the position, but she wants formal legislation to hold state lawmakers to the same standard.

State Senator Dede Feldman has proposed Senate Bill 103, which would bar former legislators from lobbying for a shorter one-year period after leaving office. Currently, New Mexico’s lawmakers can quit their office and immediately begin lobbying, just as former state senator Kent Cravens did in September.

Photo of Governor Susana Martinez courtesy of the New Mexico State Government.

“On K Street, 2011 was year to forget” by Kevin Bogardus and Rachel Leven in The Hill.

“K Street’s boom goes bust” by Anna Palmer on Politico.

“K Street’s Largest Firms Saw Some Dips in 2011 Business” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Many lobbying firms saw dropoff in revenue in 2011” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.

“Lobbying outlays bounce back in 4th quarter” by Dave Levinthal on Politico.

“Chamber cuts lobbying spending in half for 2011” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Chamber’s lobbying spend fell sharply in 2011” by David Ingram on Reuters.

 In the States:

“Lobbyists’ largesse at Capitol: $87,248” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (This article discusses spending in the first two weeks of 2012.)

“Business lobby outspends all others, nears all-time record” by Adam Sichko in the Albany Business Review.

“Top 35 Biggest Spenders on Smith Hill” by Dan McGowan on GoLocalProv.com.

“’Occupy Courts’ to hit Citizens United” by MJ Lee on Politico.

“Lobbying for just a nod, a mention” by Abby Phillip on Politico.

“Perry’s K Street Allies Jump to Romney, Not Gingrich” by Eliza Newlin Carney and Kate Ackley on Roll Call.

“Google Protest of Anti-Piracy Bills Upends Traditional Lobbying” by Eric Engleman in Bloomberg News.

“One early winner in SOPA protest: Wikipedia” by Charles Cooper on CBS News.

“Silicon Valley learns fast in game of lobbying” by April Dembosky in Financial Times.

Voters in three Broward County cities will be asked to undo part of the recently enacted countywide code of ethics. Residents of Wilton Manors, Hillsboro Beach, and Sea Ranch Lakes will all vote during the January 31, 2012 election as to whether local elected officials should be subjected to state law on issues relating to their side jobs instead of the new county code of ethics.

The effort to pass the referendum has been spearheaded in large part by Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick. Resnick, a telecommunications attorney who lobbies in other cities in Broward County, fears he will be unable to run for another term in office after his current term is complete due to the ban on elected officials also being employed as lobbyists or engaging in lobbying activities in Broward County.

The code of ethics became effective countywide on January 2, 2012.

Senate Bill 244 proposes adding the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses and the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders Association to a statutory list of lobbyist exemptions. If the bill passes, the groups will be exempt from the gift disclosures and paid travel bans imposed on lobbyists, regardless of whether lobbying occurs at their events. This is the latest attempt at carving out exceptions to the 2010 ethics reform bill which banned lobbyist-funded, out-of-state travel for legislators.

Although lobbyists cannot directly pay for a state legislator’s trip, by simply paying for membership in an exempt group like the American Legislative Exchange Council, the lobbyists gain access to legislators. Giving a group an exemption allows legislators to travel to the group’s conferences and hunting trips, at the group’s expense, without violating the lobbying rules or having to disclose the trips.

Exempt groups claim to be established for the education and support of legislators.

Photo of the Indiana State Senate Chamber by Charles Edward on Wikipedia.

Federal:

Democratic National Convention Rules Set off K St. Scramble

GOP Uses Citizens United to Challenge Corporate Donation Ban

What Donors? Super PACs Buy Time to Keep Secret the Names of Donors Ahead of GOP Primaries

From the States and Municipalities:

Arizona

State Sen. Scott Bundgaard Resigns from Legislature

California

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi’s Shoplifting Incident Raises Medical Questions

Georgia

Wild Hog: Lobbyists’ trough?

Idaho

Idaho Leaders Ready to Strengthen Ethics Laws

Illinois

Lobbying Disclosure Rules Spotty

Massachusetts

Ex-Avon Worker’s Revenge Attempt Brings $5,000 Fine

Mississippi

Mississippi Court Halts Quick Release of Some Pardoned

Montana

SCOTUS Expected to Weigh Montana Campaign Finance Appeal

New Jersey

Bill to Prohibit Political Fundraising at Government Facilities Wins Legislature’s Approval

New Mexico

Judge Puts Parts of Contribution-Limits Law on Hold

North Carolina

Judge Clears Former Lobbyist

Oregon

Campaign Finance Regulations Go Before High Court

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 Georgia Alliance for Ethics Reform, which includes members of Common Cause and Georgia Tea Party Patriots, is pushing for gift limits that would cap lobbyist spending on lawmakers at $100 in the hopes of curbing lobbyist influence of elected officials. The group’s reforms would also ban public officials and their family members from serving on the state ethics board or holding government contracts.

State Representative Tommy Smith says he is willing to sponsor the bill this session and is looking for other lawmakers to join him.

However, House Speaker David Ralston downplayed the need for more ethics legislation. Speaker Ralston believes the existing reporting requirements sufficiently limit lobbyist influence by keeping the public informed.

Photo of the Georgia State Capitol dome by connor.carey on Wikipedia.

Lobbying:

“Group pushes ethics reform in hopes of curbing lobbyist influence at Georgia Legislature” by Errin Haines (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Campaign Finance:

“Late Night: Stephen Colbert drops ‘super PAC’ to run for president” by Meredith Blake in the Los Angeles Times. (with a wink…)

“Super PACs are making their rich presence felt in 2012 campaigns” David Goldstein in the Sacramento Bee.

“Summary of Kansas Senate Campaign Finance Reports” in the Missouri News Horizon.

“The 20 Largest Campaign Donors in Rhode Island” by Dan McGowan on golocalProv.com.

“No action taken on Oklahoma’s campaign disclosure laws” by Michael McNutt in the Daily Oklahoman.

Ethics:

“John Edwards trial: Lawyers request for delay will be considered by judge” by The Associated Press on Politico.

“Prison for ex-Rep. Siljander: He aided terrorist-linked charity” by Matt Pearce in the Los Angeles Times.

Electronic filing for lobbyist reports will be available beginning with the report due February 15, 2012 covering the month of January 2012.

You can read the press release from the Office of the Secretary of State here.

The Washington House of Representatives, Committee on State Government and Tribal Affairs, has scheduled a public hearing for January 11, 2012 and a possible executive session for January 12, 2012 to discuss House Bill 1474 which would make electronic filing of lobbying reports mandatory.

It would also create new fees associated with electronic filings by lobbyists, lobbyist employers, and PACs.

If passed by both chambers and signed by the governor, changes will be effective July 1, 2012.

Photo of the Washington House of Representatives Chamber by Cacophony on Wikipedia.

NORTH CAROLINA: Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway has cleared former lobbyist Don Beason of misconduct, finding parts of North Carolina’s lobbying reform law are ambiguous as applied and the secretary of state overreached in fining Beason.

The court held that Beason does not have to pay the $30,000 fine imposed on him. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall fined Beason a record-setting $111,000 in 2010, an amount that was later reduced, for failing to make required disclosures about companies he was representing.

Judge Ridgeway stated North Carolina law defines a lobbyist as someone who communicates directly with legislators or their employees, but there was no evidence Beason directly contacted anyone on behalf of the companies he represented. Additionally, because the law gave the state ethics commission the authority to interpret the act and the secretary of state the power to administer it, Marshall overstepped her authority in interpreting the act and fining Beason.

Thank you to Political Activity Law blog for bringing this to our attention. As part of its series about lobbying and U.S. politics on Morning Edition, NPR broadcast a story about how a study calculated what money corporations saved through a tax break from the American Jobs Creation Act versus what they spent lobbying on the legislation.

You can listen to the podcast and read the summary of the story at “Forget Stocks or Bonds, Invest in a Lobbyist” by Alex Blumberg on NPR. Here is the link to the previous podcast “Inside Washington’s Money Machine” from November 1, 2011.

Here is the original study conducted by Raquel Alexander, Stephen Mazza, and Susan Scholz.

“Lobbyist Is Expected to Plead Guilty in Corruption Case” by Benjamin Weiser in The New York Times .

“Why Would a Lobbyist Need Social Media?” by John Hall on Social Media Today.

“Too many lobbyists? There’s an app for that” by Anthony Man and Larry Barszewski in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. (Thank you George Ticoras for seeing this one!)