The Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners has passed an ordinance requiring registered lobbyists to complete ethics training. The effective date of the ordinance is March 16, 2012.

Registered lobbyists must, within 60 days of registration, submit to the clerk of the board a certificate of completion of an ethics course offered by the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. Lobbyists must also complete a refresher course every two years. The cost of the ethics course will be $100.

Additionally, the requirement is not applicable to any municipal lobbyist in the county unless the municipality has adopted an ordinance requiring ethics training and an agreement with the county authorizes the county ethics commission to provide an ethics training course.

Finally, the executive director of the Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission may waive the ethics course requirement for a particular lobbyist when it is determined that the lobbyist has taken an initial or refresher ethics course offered by a municipality satisfying the requirements pertaining to the Miami-Dade County ethics course requirements.

The Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission has noted their intent to contact all registered lobbyists in regards to this course once the course is prepared and ready to be offered.

Campaign Finance

“The Super PAC Paradox” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“The year’s busiest day of campaign fundraising shows how Springfield really works” by Ray Long and Alissa Groeninger in the Chicago Tribune.

“Group to appeal Iowa campaign finance ruling” by The Associated Press in the Globe Gazette.

Lobbying

“Retiring lawmakers openly eye K Street” by Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman in Politico.

“Lobbying pays off big for business” by Toluse Olorunnipa in the Miami Herald.

“Facebook ‘friends’ a new lobby firm” by Rachel Leven in The Hill.

Federal:

FEC Moves on Outdated Rules

One Super PAC Takes Aim at Incumbents of Any Party

From the States and Municipalities:

Alabama

Jury Acquits All Defendants, Including Means, in Gambling Corruption Case

California

Ethics Panel Raises Donation Limits in Municipal Campaigns

California

Trutanich Paid for YouTube Views of D.A. Campaign Videos

Georgia

Some Priorities Fade as Lawmakers Favor Social Issues Ahead of Election Season

Maryland

Bereano’s 1994 Conviction Upheld

Maryland

Leopold Indicted on Charges of Using Police Detail for Political Gain

Missouri

Honor for Rush Limbaugh is Fracas for Missouri

Nevada

Ethics Case Back before Nevada Supreme Court

New Mexico

Newly Elected Sunland Park Mayor to Seek Court Order to Do Job

Oklahoma

Ex-Senator Convicted of Bribery; Co-Defendant Free

Utah

Special Interests Busy Providing Perks to Legislators

West Virginia

W.Va. Ethics Panel Clarifies Cohabitation Law

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

“FEC told to tread carefully with post-Citizens United rule” by Rachel Leven in The Hill.

“FEC moves on outdated rules” by Robin Bravender in Politico.

“DC mayor defends himself amid probe into campaign finance irregularities” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.

Super PACs

“Super PACs Outspent Candidates in Run-Up to Tuesday” by Brody Mullins and Alicia Mundy  in The Wall Street Journal.

“Super PACs Could Drive Total 2012 Election Spending to $9.8B” by Cotton Delo in Ad Age.

Lobbying

“Son of legendary lobbyist starts own firm” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Redistricting

“Between the Lines: The Last Two Redistricting Holdouts” by Shira Toeplitz, Abby Livingston, and Joshua Miller in Roll Call.

The State Integrity Investigation, a project by the Center for Public Integrity and other partners, is giving each state a grade in various areas of accountability and transparency. “Keep Government Honest” is their motto.

Lobbying is one of the categories they are measuring. The report considers a state’s definition of lobbying, its registration and reporting requirements, disclosure by lobbyist employers and principals, its citizen access to data, and the monitoring of lobbying requirements. The grades they are giving are “weak,” “fair,” or “strong”.

What is the corruption risk data for your state? It is easy to check by using this interactive map. (Some states’ grades are still being compiled.)

Take a look at “Michigan ‘weak’ in lobbying oversight,” where Peter Luke of Bridge Magazine discusses the mixed grades in Michigan’s report card.

California: “Teachers union leads in record year of lobbying lawmakers” by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

Michigan: “Report: As Michigan economy floundered, spending by Michigan lobbyists soared 86%” in the Detroit Free Press.

New Jersey: “N.J. lobbyist spending hits new high at $73M; teachers union tops list again” by Matt Friedman in the Star-Ledger.

New Jersey: “N.J. Teachers Union Spent Record $11.3 Million on Ads Criticizing Christie” by Terrence Dopp in Bloomberg.

Q.  As an organization employing in-house lobbyists, what expenditures am I required to capture for inclusion in the aggregate dollar amount reported on my quarterly Federal LD-2 report?

A. There are a variety of expenditures that Federal registrants are required to track and report in an effort to provide a good faith estimate of their activity.  These expenditures include:

• Compensation, expenses and overhead associated with “registered” lobbyist employee activity.  For Federal purposes, a “registered” lobbyist is an individual who meets the statutory definition of a lobbyist and is listed by name on the LD-2 report;
• Compensation, expenses and overhead associated with any non-lobbyist employee who engaged in lobbying activity during the quarter (even though they do not meet the statutory definition of lobbyist).  Their names are not listed on the report, but the value of their activity is included;
• Dues paid to an association or membership organization during the quarter that are attributable to lobbying.  This amount is typically a percentage of the overall payments made to the membership organization and is ascertained by speaking with the outside entity directly.  Importantly, dues payments for lobbying activities should be included in the estimate for the quarter in which they are paid and cannot be apportioned over a longer period of time;
• Retainers/fees incurred during the quarter to outside consultants/firms for lobbying activities.  These fees are required to be included during the quarter in which they are incurred regardless of whether billing or payment has been made.

If we can be of assistance in helping to identify reportable expenditures, please let us know.

You can directly submit questions for this feature, and we will select those most appropriate and answer them here. Send your questions to: marketing@stateandfed.com.

(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.

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.

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

Judge in Mike Morgan Trial Drops All of Case against Oklahoma Lobbyist, Part of Case against Attorney

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.