A proposed ordinance setting a dollar limit for gifts has advanced out of committee. On February 24, the City Council’s Committee on Law and Government voted to submit the bill for Council action.

The proposed ordinance prohibits gifts exceeding $99 per calendar year to any city officials or employees, and bans all cash gifts.

The ordinance could pass as early as next week.

Two proposals in Philadelphia could finally establish a dollar limit on gifts to city employees. The city’s Board of Ethics again revised its proposed gift limit to $50 with an outright ban on cash gifts.

The initial proposals allowed for some measure of cash gifts based on interpretation of city law allowing some cash gifts, enraging ethics watchdogs. After a reinterpretation by the city law department allowing the Board to ban cash gifts, the ban was included in the latest proposal. A final vote on the gift regulation is expected at the Board’s February 19 meeting.

The Philadelphia City Council is also considering a gift measure, allowing city officials and employees to accept gifts up to $99. The Council’s proposal also bans all cash gifts.

If the Council passes the gift law, the Board of Ethics will need to restart work on its gift regulation, as it can only pass regulations interpreting city law and may not impose a stricter limit than established by statute. Either way, the city appears to be on track in providing much needed clarification of its gift law.

The Philadelphia Board of Ethics staff has released a revised gift proposal following claims its initial proposed limits were too lax. The new suggested limits are a ban on gifts of more than $100, with a limit of $25 on cash gifts, per calendar year from any source not a family member of the recipient. The initial limits proposed were $200 per year, with a cap of $50 for cash gifts, resulting in outcry from watchdogs.

The new proposed limits were greeted with skepticism, however, because the provision allowing for cash gifts remained. Executive Director Shane Creamer insisted the Board cannot ban cash gifts altogether because the city code permits cash gifts, prompting the Board to decide on formally requesting the City Council to consider amending the code.

The suggested limits could drop yet again before the Board votes, as a number of Board members suggested a $50 annual limit was preferable. The Board could potentially vote on the rules at its January meeting.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly has launched a new and improved website. The new site makes it easier to track general assembly activities, with scheduled committee meetings listed right on the home page. The site also includes an improved legislative search feature, with a new email tracking system allowing users to sign up for email alerts when legislation of interest changes status.

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said the change was designed to bring greater transparency to the General Assembly’s activities and make it easier for citizens to track legislative activities.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly website can be found at www.legis.state.pa.us.

The city Board of Ethics has proposed new gift regulations designed to clarify what is and is not permitted under the city code. The proposed limits would allow city officers and employees to accept gifts of up to $200 per year from a single source, including cash gifts up to $50. Currently, only gifts of substantial economic value given with the expectation of influencing the public official or employee are prohibited.

City watchdogs have criticized the proposed limits as being too lenient, but ethics board member Sanjuanita Gonzales suggested those limits could be subject to change after public input.

A hearing on the proposed regulations is scheduled for November 20.

January 28, 2014 has been set as the date of a special election for the vacant 78th House District seat.

Local committee members from each party will select the nominees in conjunction with the state party.

As a result, there will be no primary election.

The contributions limits in the upcoming Pittsburgh mayoral election have been removed by the courts. Judge Joseph James voided the city’s contribution limits because of one candidate’s decision to contribute his own money to his campaign.

Under city law, candidates may only accept $2,000 from individuals and $4,000 from PACs per covered election. However, if a candidate decides to use personal resources in excess of $50,000 for his or her campaign, then the contribution limitations are thrown out for all candidates in that specific race.

In this situation, Councilman Bill Peduto requested an injunction barring former state Auditor General Jack Wagner from using nearly $300,000 in contributions collected during previous campaigns. The judge ruled the use of the previous campaign funds to be a contribution, which would have exceeded the city’s contribution limits.

Wagner’s lawyers then turned their attention to Michael Lamb, the city controller who withdrew from the race earlier in the week. Lamb had given his campaign $53,000 of his own money, which voided the contribution limits and allowed Wagner to use the $300,000 in question. Lamb attempted to give $3,000 from the campaign back to himself in order to undo the contribution, but the judge ruled that the refund did not repair the breach.

The primary election for the mayoral office takes place on May 21, 2013 and the general election on November 5, 2013.

Photo of downtown Pittsburgh by Theeditor93 on Wikipedia.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has introduced a bill with ramifications on the way lobbyists do business in the commonwealth. Currently, lobbyists may give gifts to anyone, provided there is no understanding the recipient will take an official action as a result of the gift. House Bill 855, however, would do away with this practice and limit the ability of lobbyists to give gifts.

The bill, introduced by representatives from both sides of the aisle, would prohibit public officers and candidates from receiving gifts from lobbyists and principals exceeding $50 in a calendar year. The bill would also limit the hospitality received by public officers and candidates from lobbyists and principals to $500 in a calendar year.

Gifts to public officials has become a hot topic in the commonwealth after reports surfaced saying Governor Tom Corbett has accepted gifts in the past.

When asked whether the governor would support a gift ban, spokeswoman Kelli Roberts said, “Governor Corbett has a tremendous record of transparency and enacting state government reforms, therefore, of course, he would be open to discussing any measures that help to further those goals.”

Bills of this nature usually have a tough time gaining legislative approval, but with the current climate in the commonwealth, House Bill 855 may have a better chance to survive than most.

Seal of the State of Pennsylvania art by Henrik on Wikipedia.

Philadelphia Councilman James Kenney has proposed an amendment to the city’s contribution limits to close a loophole in the law. Currently, individuals may not contribute more than $2,900 per year to a candidate and PACs are limited to $11,500 per year to a candidate.

It was recently uncovered by NewsWorks, through campaign finance reports for 2012, that Councilman Bill Green received $35,000 in contributions from one person. This would appear to violate the city’s contribution limits. However, it is perfectly legal under the current law.

According to the city’s Board of Ethics director, Shane Creamer, a person could accept as much money as they wanted until they became an official candidate. The funds would have to be kept separate and it would be difficult to legally do, but it is not illegal.

Kenny’s proposed amendment would help to shut this loophole down. Under the proposed ordinance, the contribution limits would include incumbents, which the proposed ordinance defines as any individual who currently holds elective city office. With this new law in effect, Green’s actions in accepting the large contributions would have been illegal.

With Pennsylvania poised to outsource control of the state lottery, Representative Brandon Neuman plans to ensure political contributions do not muddy the waters. Neuman has announced plans to introduce legislation making it illegal for any company running the state lottery to make campaign contributions to elected officials and political candidates.

Corporate contributions are already banned in the commonwealth, but Neuman sees this prohibition extending to anyone involved in making profits from the lottery’s operation. Neuman is worried about the integrity of the contract process and said “We don’t even want the perception of doing things because of campaign donations.”

The lottery deal is still being reviewed and must ultimately be approved by the attorney general.

The state has announced that two special elections will be held on May 21 to replace two outgoing state representatives. In district 42, voters will be looking for Matt Smith’s replacement after he ran and won for both a seat in the state house and state senate.

The voters in district 95 will be replacing Eugene DePasquale, who left his position to become the state’s auditor general.

Primary elections will not be held for either of these seats, as the parties will be choosing their nominees.

“Redistricting takes some of the ‘swing’ out of House fights” by Susan Davis in USA Today.

Alaska: “It may be too late for another legislative redistricting plan” by Becky Bohrer in the Anchorage Daily News.

Arizona: “State Supreme Court reaffirms that governor shouldn’t have fired redistricting chair” by Howard Fischer in the East Valley Tribune.

Kansas: “Kobach warns of redistricting crisis” by John Hanna (Associated Press) in the Lawrence Journal-World.

Mississippi: “Mississippi lawmakers tackle redistricting” by Phil West in The Commercial Appeal.

Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania’s new map pits incumbent Democrats in primary” by Sean Lengell in The Washington Times.

Vermont: “Vermont Senate endorses redistricting plans” by Nancy Remsen in the Burlington Free Press.

Wyoming: “State: Redistricting plaintiffs have no standing to file suit” by Trevor Brown in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

Arizona: “Arizona submits congressional map to US for review” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Capitol Times.

Colorado: “Political insiders in Colorado organized nonprofits to fund redistricting efforts” by Lois Beckett in the Denver Post.

Florida: “Redistricting maps will spur big changes in Central Florida” by Aaron Deslatte in The Orlando Sentinel.

Missouri: “Missouri Supreme Court to consider redistricting fight” by The Associated Press in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

New York: “Campaigns on hold awaiting remap” by Bob McCarthy in the Buffalo News.

Pennsylvania: “With Pa. redistricting plans up in the air, candidates use 2001 maps” by Jennifer Fitch in the The Herald-Mail.

Texas: “In Fight Over Redistricting Maps, Sometimes It’s Where They Play the Game” by Ross Ramsey in The New York Times.

Wyoming: “Wyoming redistricting expected to be contentious” by Joan Barron in the Casper Star-Tribune.

The City of Philadelphia Board of Ethics has provided interim paper registration forms and instructions for lobbyists, lobbying firms, and principals to be used until an online registration and reporting system is completed.  The registration forms allow filers to fill-in information before printing.

The board reminds filers that registration is not complete until a form is printed, signed, and mailed or delivered to the board of ethics with the registration fee.

Registration must occur within ten days after both the commencement of lobbying and the exceeding of thresholds.  However, no event occurring prior to January 3, 2012 is relevant to determining the thresholds, registration date, or expense reporting.