November 28, 2012 •
San Francisco Ethics Commission Announces Recommended Reforms
Discussion topics will consider following L.A.’s example
The Ethics Commission will conduct two interested persons meetings following a report comparing the city’s campaign finance, enforcement, and lobbying laws with the laws of the city of Los Angeles.
Discussion topics include whether or not the city should increase pay-to-play restrictions, prohibit political contributions from lobbyists, and whether to adopt more stringent enforcement policies.
The meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 408 of City Hall and for Monday, December 10, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 416 of City Hall.
Feedback may also be sent by email to ethics.commission@sfgov.org.
October 25, 2012 •
Pay-to-Play to Expand in Jersey City
Board of Education Candidates
Two separate pay-to-play ordinances were proposed at yesterday’s meeting of the Jersey City Council. While one proposal was not approved by the council, the remaining ordinance will be considered for a final vote on November 14, 2012.
The surviving ordinance expands the existing pay-to-play law by placing restrictions on vendors contracting with the city from contributing to Board of Education candidates.
Aerial photo of Jersey City courtesy of Creative Commons on Wikipedia.
September 28, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – September 28, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
National:
Aflac and Chubb Join Ranks of Companies Expanding Disclosure
Federal:
Judge Backs Obama Ban on Lobbyists Serving on Federal Advisory Panels
Super PACs Get New Use – As Lobbying Arms on Hill
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Judge Sentences Gambling Lobbyist Pouncy to 3 Years Probation
California
Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill to Modernize Campaign Disclosure Web Site
Georgia
Deal Lawyer Goes After Accuser for Legal Fees
Maryland
Bill Before City Council Aims to Close ‘Gaps’ in Ethics Code
Massachusetts
Goldman Sachs Will Pay $12 Million in SEC ‘Pay-to-Play’ Case
Minnesota
Catholics Asked to Pay for Marriage Vote Ads
North Carolina
Ethics Guidance on Legislative Staffers and Lobbyists
South Carolina
Harrell Offers No Details on Self-Reimbursement of $325,000 from Campaign Funds
Washington
Lobbyists, Staff Aided Lt. Gov. Owen’s Nonprofit
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.
September 17, 2012 •
Bergen County, NJ Freeholders Pay-to-Play Changes
Reporting Changes
The Bergen County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders will consider revising its pay-to-play ordinances on Wednesday, September 19.
Bergen County has only had its local pay-to-play ordinance since December. According to NorthJersey.com, proposed changes “would strip the requirement that contractors report their contributions to candidates on the municipal, state, and federal level, leaving only county campaigns on the mandatory reporting form.”
While the proposal was introduced on September 12 and is scheduled for an October 3 consideration, the Freeholder’s agenda lists the ordinance introduction for Wednesday.
September 5, 2012 •
A Pay-to-Play Warning for Municipal Securities Firms
MSRB Rule G-37
An alert for municipal securities dealers concerning pay-to-play rules has been issued by a department of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has released a National Examination Risk Alert summarizing observations and providing some guidance of pay-to-play compliance by firms engaged in municipal securities.
The alert identifies issues found “in the course of examinations regarding compliance by firms” subject to municipal securities pay-to-play prohibitions. Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) Rule G-37 prohibits certain political contributions for two years prior to engaging in a municipal securities business where a related official received contributions.
The alert details problems with recordkeeping, inaccurate filing of reports, and inadequate supervision by firms to ensure compliance with MSRB Rule G-37.
Additionally, the alert’s reporting staff “has observed facts that suggest that some firms may have engaged in municipal securities business with issuers within two years of their MFPs making [prohibited] contributions.”
The full report can be found at http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ocie/riskalert-munipaytoplay.pdf.
August 29, 2012 •
D.C. Mayor Proposes Campaign Finance Reform
Public comment to be open until September 17th
Mayor Vincent Gray and Attorney General Irvin Nathan have introduced a proposal for an overhaul of the city’s campaign finance laws. The proposal includes pay-to-pay provisions that will limit when contractors may contribute to public officials. It will also make electronic disclosure mandatory and increase the disclosures already in place. The proposal would also ban lobbyists from bundling political contributions.
These proposed reforms come at a time when the district has been inflicted with a rash of campaign scandals, including one involving Mayor Gray’s campaign.
The proposal will now go through a public comment period until September 17th. At that point, the proposal will be formally sent to the district council.
Photo of the John A. Wilson Building by Awiseman on Wikipedia.
June 18, 2012 •
SEC Delays Compliance Date for Pay-to-Play Rule
April 2013
The Securities and Exchange Commission has extended the date advisers and third-party solicitors must comply with new pay-to-play rules until April 2013.
The Commission is extending the compliance date for the ban on third-party solicitation under rule 206(4)-5 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 in order to ensure an orderly transition for third-party solicitors and advisers and as well as to provide additional time to adjust compliance policies and procedures after the transition.
Rule 206(4)-5, the “Pay to Play Rule,” prohibits an investment adviser from providing advisory services for compensation to a government client for two years after the adviser or certain of its executives or covered associates make a contribution to elected officials or candidates.
The rule also prohibits an adviser and its covered associates from providing or agreeing to provide, directly or indirectly, payment to any third-party for a solicitation of advisory business from any government entity on behalf of such adviser, unless such third-party was an SEC-registered investment adviser or a registered broker or dealer subject to pay to play restrictions adopted by a registered national securities association.
More information can be found here.
May 17, 2012 •
N.J. Pay-to-Play Time-Period Ruling
N.J.S.A. §19:44A-20.14
The 18 month time-limit prohibiting political contributions under New Jersey’s pay-to-play law starts from the time when bids for a request for proposals (RFP) are submitted, a court has ruled.
The Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey affirmed a decision prohibiting Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, Inc. from contracting with the New Jersey Schools Development Authority because of a political contribution given prior to Langan’s submission of its bid. Langan had submitted its bid on the due date for the RFP.
The Court examined the language in N.J.S.A. §19:44A-20.14, which describes the prohibition period as “within the 18 months immediately preceding the commencement of negotiations for the contract or agreement.”
The Court reasoned, “[W]e deem the point at which bids are submitted to be the time when ‘negotiations’ occur. Stated differently, because the submission of the bid is the triggering event culminating in the eventual award of a contract, and because the term ‘negotiations’ suggests a point in time at the beginning of the contracting process … the term ‘negotiations’ describes the point in time when bids are submitted. Consequently, we conclude that the agency’s receipt of bids constitutes the ‘commencement of negotiations’.” It rejected the appellant’s contention that a disqualification period begins on the day a political contribution is made, and continues for the next eighteen months.
AB 404 responds to pay-to-play in L.A. County
Assemblyman Mike Gatto is preparing legislation in response to the alleged pay-to-play scandal at the Los Angeles County Assessor’s office. The bill, AB 404, would require tax agents to register as lobbyists in counties already regulating lobbying.
Tax agents are hired by property owners to persuade appraisers and the assessor that property values are lower than listed. While the bill leaves it up to the counties to craft specific regulations, the draft regulations would require tax agents to register as lobbyists with the county, would forbid them from making campaign contributions to any county elected official, and would also bar them from giving gifts worth more than $50 to county employees.
The district attorney’s office is investigating allegations that one tax agent, Ramin Salari, used contributions to obtain favorable treatment from Assessor John Noguez. A former appraiser, Scott Schenter, claimed to have cut roll values with the expectation that affected property owners would be more likely to donate to Noguez’s campaign.
May 4, 2012 •
Bill Introduced to Apply NJ Pay-to-Play to Unions
Senator Kean
New Jersey Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, Jr. is introducing legislation applying the state’s pay-to-play laws to labor unions.
According to the Senator’s press release, his bill applies the same restrictions on campaign contributions and activities to labor unions under contract with state, county, and municipal governmental entities as are currently applied to government service providers.
“Pay to play reform was passed to limit the influence of big spending contractors over the public officials from whom they are trying to obtain work. That law missed one of the biggest recipients of public dollars and thus, must be fixed in the interest of fairness and honesty,” argues Senator Kean.
Photo of New Jersey Senator Tom Kean, Jr. courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
May 3, 2012 •
Bergen County Pay-to-Play Clarification
Memorandum
The Bergen County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders issued a memorandum clarifying its pay-to-play ordinance adopted last year.
In the section of the ordinance concerning the prohibition on awarding contracts to certain contributors, the phrase “any candidate for elective office in the County of Bergen or holder of elective office in the County of Bergen” is used.
The Board’s memorandum states the phrase is limited to persons “who run for, or are elected to” county offices. The phrase does not include candidates for a municipal office held in the county, statewide candidates for the Assembly or Senate, or federal candidates whose district includes Bergen County.
More information can be found at the Corporate Political Activity Law Blog.
February 6, 2012 •
News You Can Use Digest – February 6, 2012
Here are highlights from the latest edition of News You Can Use:
Federal:
Minor Senate Bill Transformed into Broad Reform Package
Records Show How Wealthy Shape Presidential Race
From the States and Municipalities:
Alabama
Trial Delayed One Week; Crosby Friend Talks About His Death
Arizona
Arizona City Council Candidate Barred for English Deficit Vows Appeal
California
California Campaign Disclosure Bill Rejected by Assembly
California
Defense Buoys State Campaign of McKeon’s Wife
Colorado
Colorado GOP Lawmaker Bradford Says She Might Leave Party
Colorado
Gov. John Hickenlooper Signs Law Delaying Campaign Finance Reporting until May
Florida
Broward Heads to Court to Defend Code of Ethics
Kansas
Two Kansas Judges Contributed to Anti-Abortion PAC
Kentucky
Ethics Watchdog Richard Beliles Has Few Friends in Kentucky Capitol
Massachusetts
Boston Developer Arthur Winn Fined $100,000 for Making Illegal Campaign Contributions
Michigan
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson Paid $1,325 for Failing to File Campaign Finance Reports
New Jersey
Freeholders Nix ‘Pay-to-Play’ Rules
New York
Ethics Commission Quietly Names New Director
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 3, 2012 •
Puerto Rico Updates Campaign Finance Provisions
Puerto Rico has passed the Law for the Control of Financing of Political Campaigns in Puerto Rico. This law is a complete overhaul of all previous campaign finance regulations and includes changes to the PAC reporting requirements, campaign contribution limits, and pay-to-play restrictions.
The law created new PAC reporting requirements. PACs must file quarterly reports on the 15th day of the month following the end of a calendar quarter. From July 1st of an election year until December 31st of that year, PACs must file monthly reports by the 15th day of the month following the reporting period. From October 1st of an election year until November 30th, reports must be submitted on the 15th and 30th day of each month. A final report covering transactions after the January 1st following the election must be filed 90 days after the election.
Because 2012 is an election year in Puerto Rico, the law makes provisions regarding contribution limits. A contribution of up to $2,500 may be given by a PAC to a candidate between January 1, 2012 and March 18, 2012. An additional contribution of up to $2,500 may be given to each candidate between March 19, 2012 and November 6, 2012. PACs may not give more than $12,500 in the aggregate per election in 2012.
Puerto Rico has also joined the growing list of jurisdictions with pay-to-play laws. Puerto Rico prohibits contributions while a corporation is in the process of obtaining a permit, franchise, or government contract. Once the process of obtaining the permit, franchise, or government contract is completed, a corporation may make a contribution from their PAC. At the municipal level, contributions to local candidates are prohibited if the corporation is seeking a permit, franchise, or contract with the local jurisdiction.
February 1, 2012 •
Monmouth County Rescinds County Pay-to-Play Rules
Will Follow State’s Laws
The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders has rescinded its three year old pay-to-play regulations.
County resolution 2012-0071 repeals resolution 08-397, which created pay-to-play and vendor disclosure rules that overlapped with the state’s law.
The Board determined the county’s pay-to-play resolution caused confusion among those seeking or performing business within the county.
Without its own ordinance, the county will now only follow New Jersey’s current pay-to-play laws.
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.
