November 22, 2011 •
Texas Lobbying Software Updated
Activities Report
Lobbyists in Texas must update their filing software to the newest version in order to properly file reports.
Becky Levy, Director of the Disclosure Filings Division of the Texas Ethics Commission, issued a memorandum stating before filing lobby activities reports, the software used must be upgraded in order to have the latest enhancements to file properly. Lobbyist activity reports in Texas must be filed electronically unless qualifying for an exemption.
More information about the software, and how to download it, is located here.
November 21, 2011 •
D.C. Council to Consider Ethics Proposal
Draft Seeks to Consolidate and Streamline Other Pending Proposals
The Council of the District of Columbia will soon consider legislation that would establish an independent ethics panel and reduce the amount of money council members can raise to help constituents. Council member Muriel Bowser has crafted draft legislation that seeks to streamline 10 separate reform proposals that have been introduced by council members in the aftermath of several ethics controversies.
The proposal sets up a three-member Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, prohibits lobbyists from offering discounted legal advice to council members, sets limits on how much the mayor and council chairman can accept from donors for transition and inaugural committees, and cuts by half the amount that council members can raise for constituent service funds. The proposal does not impose term limits or prohibit lobbyists from making political contributions as sought by other reform proposals.
November 21, 2011 •
News You Can Use – November 21, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Poll: Americans divided on companies that hire lobbyists
Federal:
Administration Officials Double as Obama Campaign Speakers
Corporate Lobbying Is a Very Exclusive Club
Gingrich Said to Be Paid By Freddie Mac to Court Republicans
Obama Administration Extends Review of Lobbyist Gift Ban
From the States and Municipalities:
Alaska
FEC Rejects Miller’s Senate Race Complaint
Arizona
Former Fiesta Bowl Employee Indicted
California
FPPC Sticks with $30,000 Fine for Lobbyist Frank Molina
California
New Gift Rules Would Benefit Legislators Dating Lobbyists
Colorado
Judge Says Gessler’s Campaign Finance Change Unconstitutional
Michigan
No Such Thing as Free Lunch? There Is for State Lawmakers in Lansing
Missouri
Missouri High Court Hears Challenge to 2010 Ethics Law
Nevada
No Vote on Transparency Bill Lets Lobbyists Keep Paying Tab
New Mexico
Gov. Martinez Says Officials and Lobbyists Are Too Cozy
New York
Appeals Court Allows New Trial for Bruno
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.
November 18, 2011 •
CQ’s First Street Makes News
“First Street™ contains a wealth of information on the people and organizations influencing policy.”
Mashable posted the feature article “Lobbyists and Politicians Beware: First Street Reveals Your Hidden Connections” by Zachary Sniderman, detailing a new service Congressional Quarterly Press is offering. First Street is a database that can show the connections between lobbyists and political officials.
The article’s following description gives you an idea of the magnitude of First Street: “The database currently contains more than 660,000 lobbying forms, 240,000 congressional and federal staffers, 32,898 clients of registered lobbying organizations and 20,000 congressional and federal organizations. In total, First Street says it covers more than 2 million connections.”
First Street comes with a price tag of $3,000 for a single license, according to Sniderman. He points out there are other services like OpenSecrets.org, but First Street claims to have the most comprehensive database.
Here is the link to the First Street website.
November 18, 2011 •
Lobbyist Fined for Not Wearing Badge
Connecticut Working Families Organization’s Executive Director to Pay $10,000 Fine
Jon Green, the executive director of Connecticut Working Families has been fined $10,000 by the Connecticut Office of State Ethics for not wearing a badge while he lobbied on legislation in the 2010 election cycle.
You can find news coverage of the story here:
“Working Families Official To Pay $10,000 Ethics Fine” by Jon Lender in the Hartford Courant.
“WFP Director Fined For Lobbying Without Badge” by Christine Stuart in CT News Junkie.
“CT levies $10K fine against unsanctioned lobbyist” in the Hartford Business Journal.
November 16, 2011 •
Enactment of Philadelphia Lobbying Law Set for January 2012
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: The Board of Ethics has released an advisory alert stating lobbyist and principal registration will not be required prior to January 3, 2012.
The first reporting period will be the first quarter of 2012, and the first expense report is due April 30, 2012.
Regulation No. 9, regarding lobbying, will become effective January 3, 2012. The Board of Ethics intends to recommend amendments to Regulation No. 9 to bring it into conformity with amendments made to Philadelphia City Code Chapter 20-1200 by Bill No. 110556.
In the event an online filing system is not available by January 3, 2012, an interim registration method will be provided by the Board of Ethics.
November 15, 2011 •
Federal Lobbyists Gift Rules Comment Time Extended
O.G.E.
The Federal Office of Government Ethics (O.G.E.) is extending the comment period for its proposed regulations concerning gifts from lobbyists.
In September, the O.G.E. proposed rules which limit, for lobbyists, the exceptions of the ban on gifts for federal employees. The proposed rules arose because of a Presidential Executive Order which had called for the O.G.E. “to apply the lobbyist gift ban set forth [in the order] to all executive branch employees.”
The period for written comments ended yesterday, November 14. However, today the O.G.E. announced it is extending the comment period to December 14.
Today’s announcement may be found here. A copy of the of the original proposed rulemaking notice is available here.
This post follows an earlier LobbyComply post concerning this rule, O.G.E. Proposes New Rules on Lobbyist Gifts.
November 15, 2011 •
Lobbyist Compliance Changes in Allegany County, Maryland
ALLEGANY COUNTY, MARYLAND: A bill providing further regulation of public ethics became effective November 13, 2011.
Code Home Rule Bill 5-11 expands regulation regarding conflict of interest, lobbyist reporting, gift law, and enforcement of violations.
Changes include a lower registration threshold for lobbyists at $200 of food, entertainment, or gifts to public officials in a calendar year. The ethics commission will now be able to asses a late fee of $10 per day for failure to timely file lobbyist registrations and reports.
November 14, 2011 •
Lobbying Firms Seek Other Ways to Make Money
The Washington Post discusses how lobbying firms are turning to other forms of communications and consulting to make up for a drop in lobbying spending.
According to the article: “Now, with Congress gridlocked over the debt ceiling and an election year on the horizon — historically slower on the lobbying front until the last quarter — some firms are increasingly chasing work that doesn’t fall under the traditional definition of lobbying in order to boost their bottom line.”
Here is the full the article, “Firms look beyond lobbying,” by Catherine Ho.
November 14, 2011 •
Lobbyist Frank Molina Fined $30,000 by FPPC
Sacramento Bee reports
The Sacramento Bee reported last week that California’s Fair Political Practices Commission has opted for a $30,000 fine against lobbyist Frank Molina, instead of the higher $5o,000 fine it had considered.
You can read the whole story here: “FPPC sticks with $30,000 fine for lobbyist Frank Molina,” by Laurel Rosenhall and Torey Van Oot.
Seal of the State of California by Zscout370 on Wikipedia.
November 14, 2011 •
News You Can Use – November 14, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Special Sessions: A calculated risk
Federal:
Obama Administration Draft Memo Could Shed Light on ‘Lettermarking’
Sunlight Foundation Follows Lobbyist Tweets
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Alabama’s New Ethics Law Fails to Stop Exemption Requests from Lobbyists and Public Officials
California
California Legislators Head to Maui for Retreat Funded by Special Interests
California
Carrie Underwood Show Boosts Tribe’s Lobbying Expense
Colorado
Judge Warns Colorado Secretary of State Went Too Far in Raising Campaign Finance Threshold
Colorado
NBC News Can’t Pay for Colorado Governor’s Travel, Ethics Panel Says
Illinois
Clout, Corruption in Illinois to Take Other Forms
Kansas
Kansas’ Lobbyist Data Falls Far Short of Need, Watchdog Group Reports
Maryland
Maryland Sen. Currie Acquitted of Corruption Charges
Missouri
Missouri Lawmaking at Issue before High Court
North Carolina
N.C. Lobbyist Donations Ban Upheld By Federal Court
Wisconsin
First Recall Effort Launched against Walker, Triggering Unlimited Fundraising
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.
November 9, 2011 •
Alabama Has Its New Ethics Law, But Exemption Requests Keep Coming
The Birmingham News gives us another glimpse at the state of lobbying in Alabama.
For a detailed look at the type of exemptions being submitted, take a look at “Alabama’s new ethics law fails to stop exemption requests from lobbyists and public officials” by Kim Chandler.
According to the article: “The Alabama Ethics Commission has received nearly 200 requests to certify dinners, trips and conferences as allowable exemptions since Alabama 10 months ago adopted a new ethics law, which caps how much a lobbyist can spend on a public official.”
Affirms Lower Court Ruling
A three judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to uphold North Carolina’s ban on registered lobbyists making campaign contributions to candidates for the Legislature and the Council of State.
A lobbyist with the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the ban on contributions, saying it violated her right to freedom of speech and association.
The appeals court upheld a district court ruling by stating the ban was a “valid exercise of North Carolina’s legislative prerogative” to address potential corruption and the appearance of corruption.
November 7, 2011 •
News You Can Use Digest – November 7, 2011
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Largest U.S. Companies Increasingly Disclose Political Spending
Report Cites Growing Role of Interest Groups in State Judicial Elections
Federal:
Abramoff Divulges K Street Secrets
Cain Blames Perry as New Sexual Harassment Allegations Surface
FCC To Rule on On-line Political Advertisement Disclosure
Justice Amps Up Enforcement of Law on Foreign Advocacy
Lawmakers Demand FEC Documents, Threaten Subpoena
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
New Alabama Ethics Law Sweeps in Culture Shift for Capital Lobbyists
California
Passion, Politics Link Lobbyist Couples
California
State Lobby Spending on Pace to Set Records
Illinois
Illinois Powerbroker Convicted in Shakedown Trial
Maryland
County Ethics Bill Would Restrict Lobbying, Add Enforcement
Minnesota
Campaign Finance Board Temporarily Upholds Disclosure Requirements
Nebraska
Report: Nebraska OK at tracking lobbyists, could do better
New Hampshire
N.H. Official Sets Primary for Jan.10
Ohio
Amid Corruption Scandal, Local Races Framed by Honesty and Character Issues
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.
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.
