March 6, 2012 •
Lobbying News Today
Vice President Biden, Jack Abramoff, and other latest lobbying news from around the country:
Federal: “Biden hires former lobbyist” by T.W. Farnam in The Washington Post.
Federal: “Abramoff says his corrupting influence reached into the media” by Jordy Yager in The Hill.
California: “Record $287M paid to Calif. lobbyists in 2010” by The Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Georgia: “Yarbrough: Lawmakers just don’t see need for lobbying reform,” an opinion piece by Dick Yarbrough in the Athens Banner-Herald.
Michigan: “Lobbying in Capitol’s hallways is one business flourishing in Michigan” by Peter Luke in Michigan Live.
March 5, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – March 5, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Wealthier People More Likely To Lie or Cheat, Study Says
Federal:
K Street Democrats Warn Clients
Romney and Obama Super-PAC Backers Also Spent Big Dollars on Lobbying
Two Ads Sired Five Years Apart Spark Fight over Election Rules
From the States and Municipalities:
District of Columbia
Elections Board Backs Initiative to Ban Corporate Campaign Giving
Florida
Ethics Commission Votes to Restrict Doling Out of Free Tickets to Politicians
Florida
State Rep. Richard Steinberg Resigns over Stalker-Like Text Messages
Illinois
Relatives of Lobbyists, Campaign Donors Got Lawmakers’ Help to Enter U of I
Maine
Justices Shun Appeal of Group that Fought Maine Gay Marriage
Maryland
Baltimore Co. Public Ethics Law Falls Short of State Standards
Maryland
Garagiola’s Lobbying Work Wasn’t Included on Maryland Ethics Forms from 2001 to 2003
Montana
Judge Blocks More Montana Campaign Finance Laws
New Mexico
Lap-Dance Extortion Details Revealed
Oklahoma
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.
February 24, 2012 •
New York Bill Would Forbid Lobbying by Convicted Lobbyists
JCOPE Would Have Authority to Remove or Extend Suspension after Mandatory Period
New York Senator Gustavo Rivera has introduced Senate Bill 6533 that would forbid lobbyists convicted of class D felonies or more serious offenses from lobbying in the state for three years.
The barred person may seek to re-register as a lobbyist with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics after three years.
The commission may determine if the suspension should be lifted or extended for a maximum of an additional two years.
February 24, 2012 •
Arizona Lobbying Disclosure Bill Passes
Without the ALEC disclosure measure
The Arizona House of Representatives passed House Bill 2642, which will require more disclosure for local governments who lobby the state lawmakers. Two amendments were not added to the bill – one requiring American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) disclosure and another that would remove the one year “revolving door” waiting period for lawmakers to become lobbyists.
To find out more about the details of the new lobbying law (and what did not pass with it), be sure to read:
“Insider: Lobbyist bill passes without extras” by Mary Jo Pitzl in The Arizona Republic.
“Lawmakers OK more disclosure on lobbying” by Howard Fischer in the Arizona Daily Sun.
Photo of the Arizona House of Representatives Chamber by Willem van Bergen on Wikipedia.
February 22, 2012 •
Federal Lobbyist Bundling Disclosure Threshold Increased
$16,700
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) released its annual adjustment of the threshold limit for lobbyist bundling disclosure.
The federal lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold has been increased from $16,200 for 2011 to $16,700 for 2012.
The FEC is required to adjust the threshold amount annually to account for inflation, rounding to the nearest multiple of $100.
February 22, 2012 •
Lobbying News in the States
Here is a look at news items in four states:
Massachusetts: “Casinos industry spent millions lobbying in Mass.” by The Associated Press in the Boston Herald.
Oklahoma: “Lobbyist: Lawmaker Morgan sought help for ‘friends’” by Nolan Clay in the Tulsa World.
South Carolina: “Senators hold moment of silence for missing lobbyist, search continues” by Noelle Phillips in The State.
Wisconsin: “Union lobbying plummets in last half of 2011” by Bill Lueders in Wisconsin Watch.
February 15, 2012 •
Latest News in Ethics Oversight
Here is a look at what has appeared in the last few days from the state ethics commissions:
Arizona: “Ariz. lawmakers want elected officials to disclose use of public funds” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.
Georgia: “Advocates push for ethics funding” by Charles Edwards on WABE News.
“Watchdog groups demand more money for ethics board” by in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Maryland: “Maryland Ethics Panel Suggests Reducing Local Disclosure” by Brian Witte (Associated Press) on NBC Washington.
“Bill would require online disclosure” by Michael Dresser in the Baltimore Sun.
Minnesota: “Lobbying violations vex understaffed Minnesota regulator” by Brad Schrade in the Star Tribune.
North Carolina: “Dome: Few ethics complaints probed, report shows” by John Frank in The News & Observer.
February 15, 2012 •
Wisconsin Bill Targets Special Interest Organizations that Craft Bills for Legislators
Bill Requires Increased Disclosure for American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Activities
Democratic legislators have submitted a bill for introduction that restricts the activity of special interest organizations that write bills for legislators.
The bill titled the ALEC Accountability Act applies existing lobbying laws to any organization or person who advocates for the introduction of model legislation. The bill also requires the reporting of any “scholarships” organizations pay to legislators and prohibits state taxpayer funds from being used to pay for attendance at the organization’s conventions.
The bill is currently awaiting a bill number and committee referral.
Photo of the Wisconsin State Capitol building by Darin ten Bruggencate onWikipedia.
February 13, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – February 13, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Ethics Reform Bill to Ban Insider Trading by Congress Members, Executive Branch by House
Obama Yields in Marshaling of Super PAC
From the States and Municipalities:
Arizona
Arizona Supreme Court Bars Candidate with Limited English
California
High-Speed Rail Tapped State Fund for Unusual Lobbying Contract
Connecticut
For Donovan, Lobbyist Bucks Seep Through Loophole
Georgia
With House Bill Stalled, Senator Targets Lobbyist Gifts
Michigan
Critics Worry Senate Ad Will Revive Asian-Bashing
Montana
Schweitzer Appoints Former Labor Leader to Head Political Ethics Office
Oklahoma
FBI Created Fake Company during Investigation of Oklahoma Legislature
Texas
New Rules Would Target ‘Bundlers’ Who Raise Big Sums for Austin Races
West Virginia
W.Va. Lawmakers Navigate Lobby Ban, Social Media
Wisconsin
Wisconsin GOP Leader Admits He’s Packing Heat in State Assembly
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.
February 10, 2012 •
Wayne County Executive Releases New Executive Ethics Policy
Policy Addresses Lobbying, Gifts, and Conflicts of Interest
WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: County Executive Robert Ficano has issued a new executive ethics policy that contains lobbyist registration provisions, gift restrictions, and conflict of interest disclosure requirements for executive appointees.
The policy requires a lobbyist who lobbies any executive appointee to register with the State of Michigan and bars lobbyists not verified as registered from meeting with executive appointees.
Additionally, the policy prohibits lobbyists from providing executive appointees with food or beverage valued at more than $100 annually and prohibits all other monetary or non-monetary gifts or gratuities.
February 10, 2012 •
DISCLOSE Act Returns for 2012
Also Affects Lobbyist Reporting
U.S. Congressman Chris Van Hollen has introduced a campaign finance bill in the House called DISCLOSE 2012 Act.
Like the similarly entitled bill introduced and defeated in 2010, House Resolution 4010, the Disclosure of Information on Spending on Campaigns Leads to Open and Secure Elections Act of 2012, aims to increase the reporting requirements of political expenditures and contributions by corporations and other outside groups.
Corporations, unions, and other groups, will be required to report certain campaign-related activity to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), to disclose their campaign-related expenditures to their shareholders and members, and to make their political spending available to the public, through a hyper-link to the FEC, on their websites.
In his press release, Congressman Van Hollen states, “I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation – if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear from the DISCLOSE 2012 Act.”
Additionally, the bill also requires lobbyists to disclose their political expenditures in their lobbying disclosure reports in conjunction with the report of their lobbying activities.
February 8, 2012 •
US House Removes LDA Reporting and Registration Requirements from Senate STOCK Bill
Political Intelligence
Last night the U.S. House removed all registration requirements by those conducting political intelligence activities from the Senate’s Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which passed the Senate last week with a bi-partisan vote of 96 to 3.
The original Senate Bill 2038, now in the house, expanded the Lobbyist Disclosure Act to include requiring registration and reporting from those conducting political intelligence activities, which was defined as “political intelligence contacts and efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation and planning activities, research, and other background work that is intended, at the time it is performed, for use in contacts, and coordination with such contacts and efforts of others.”
While the House also made other changes to the bill, the only reference to the removal of the reporting and registration requirements made by Congressman Eric Cantor in a press release issued last night stated, “Tonight, we will introduce a strengthened and expanded STOCK Act, and remove provisions that would have made the bill unworkable or raised more questions then they answered.”
If passed as changed in the House, the bill would have to return to the Senate for another vote. The current version of Senate Bill 2038 can be found here.
Photo of the U.S. Capitol by Florian Hirzinger on Wikipedia.
February 6, 2012 •
Broward County, Fla. Expected to Sue to Enforce Code of Ethics
Voters in Three Cities Undo Portions of Countywide Ethics Law
Broward County is expected to file suit in order to ensure the countywide ethics code remains in force countywide after residents of Wilton Manors, Hillsboro Beach, and Sea Ranch Lakes voted to undo portions of it during the January 31, 2012 election. Voters were asked 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, and voters in all three cities unanimously voted in favor.
Broward County Mayor John Rodstrom and Broward County Commissioners have all expressed their belief that the language used on the ballot was deceiving, as no mention of lobbying or the new county code of ethics, extended to all cities in Broward County on January 2, 2012, was contained in the language of the ballot questions.
The county is expected to pursue one of the following legal paths: suing on the ballot language as deceptive or acquiring a ruling concerning Broward County’s authority over the three cities in regards to the code of ethics.
February 6, 2012 •
West Virginia Legislature Gives Reminder about Use of Social Media
Because of the social media capabilities of the latest mobile devices, the West Virginia Legislature is putting out a reminder to lawmakers about the ban on electronic communications during floor sessions.
For full news coverage, read:
“W.Va. lawmakers navigate lobby ban, social media” by The Associated Press in the Washington Examiner.
“W.Va. lawmakers seek buffer from e-lobbying but not blockade with public in social media age” by Lawrence Messina (Associated Press) in The Republic.
Photo of the West Virginia State Capitol Building by Analogue Kid on Wikipedia.
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