Lobbying

Arizona: “Lobbyist Tied to Phoenix VA Executive Fired over Gifts” by Dennis Wagner (Arizona Republic) for USA Today

California: “Foes and Fans of L.A. Economic-Justice Group Agree It Gets Things Done” by Emily Alpert Reyes for Los Angeles Times

Maryland: “Hogan’s Pick for Health Chief Says He’ll Avoid Conflicts” by Michael Dresser and Meredith Cohn for Baltimore Sun

Maryland: “Maryland Gov.-Elect Hogan Tries to Navigate Gifts Minefield” by Jenna Johnson for Washington Post

Missouri: “Publisher’s Parties Highlight Reporting Issues in Missouri Ethics Laws” by Rudi Keller for Columbia Daily Tribune

Rhode Island: “R.I. Secretary of State Mollis Ends Probe, Says Stokes Didn’t Have to Register as a Lobbyist for 38 Studios Meetings” by Kate Bramson for Providence Journal

Rhode Island: “Mollis’ Decision on Lynch Sets Bad Precedent, Says Leader of Common Cause” by Jennifer Bogdon for Providence Journal

Campaign Finance

“Judge Candidates’ Free-Speech Rights at Issue before the Supreme Court” by Robert Barnes for Washington Post

Ethics

New Jersey: “Dallas Owner Jerry Jones Paid for Chris Christie’s Trip to Root for Cowboys, Including Private Jet” by Matt Arco (NJ Advanced Media) for Newark Star Ledger

Procurement

Texas: “Audit: Texas Health Agency Mishandled AT&T Contract” by Aman Batheja for Texas Tribune

Lobbying

Missouri: “With Lobbyists, Missouri Lawmakers Golf and Dine Far from Jefferson City” by Eli Yokely for PoliticMo.com

Campaign Finance

“Jackson: Senate’s strict rule on donors used once” by Herb Jackson for Bergen Record

California: “Politicians Use ‘Ghost’ Campaigns to Fight Specter of Lost Funds” by John Wildermuth for San Francisco Chronicle

Kansas: “Judicial Retention Elections Becoming More High Profile in Kansas” by Brad Cooper (Kansas City Star) for Wichita Eagle

North Carolina: “Opinion Says Lawmakers Can Raise Money for Political Nonprofits” by Mark Binker for WRAL

Ethics

“GSA Loses Appeal in Firings of Top Officials; Appeals Board Orders Them Reinstated” by Lisa Rein for Washington Post

“Michael Grimm, in a Reversal, Will Resign From Congress” by Jason Horowitz for New York Times

“Republicans Try to Fix Damage Scalise’s 2002 Speech Could Do in 2016” by Jonathan Martin and Jackie Calmes  for New York Times

“U.S. Said to Investigate Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker, Over Payments” by William Rashbaum, Thomas, Kaplan, and Susanne Craig for New York Times

Procurement

Mississippi: “Task Force: Ban no-bid contracts in Mississippi prison system” by The Associated Press for Gulflive.com

Lobbying

“Dale Mallory Sentenced: ‘Nobody could ever buy my vote’” by Chrissie Thompson for Cincinnati Enquier

Campaign Finance

“The Special Powers of Super PACS, and Not Just for Federal Elections” by Derek Willis for New York Times

“Registration Rule for Political Groups Ruled Too Vague” by Howard Fischer (Capitol Media Services) for Arizona Daily Sun

“Koch-Backed Group Sues Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris Over Donor List” by Melanie Mason for Los Angeles Times

Ethics

“Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance with Attorneys General” by Eric Lipton for New York Times

“State Ethics Agency Faces More Changes” by Christina Cassidy (Associated Press) for Gainesville Sun

“Conviction of Kilpatrick Pal Beasley Likely End of an Era” by Tresa Baldas for Detroit Free Press

“Port Authority Board Debates Ethics Rules as Ex-Chairman David Samson Sues” by Shawn Boburg for Bergen Record

“After Ethics Panel’s Shutdown, Loopholes Live On in Albany” by Thomas Kaplan, William Rashbaum, and Susanne Craig for New York Times

“Rep. Sandra Williams Gets Suspended Jail Time, Fine for Misusing Campaign Funds” by Jeremy Pelzer (Northeast Ohio Media Group) for Cleveland Plain Dealer

“McAuliffe: No fundraising in special sessions” by Travis Fain for The Daily Press

Procurement

“Ex-Mayoral Aide Accused of Trying to Help Firm Get Camera Contract” by Luke Broadwater for Baltimore Sun

State and Federal Communications is pleased to announce the addition of 2015 legislative session and key dates information to its website.

In the Lobbying Laws publication, the key dates information addresses all of the reports and registrations due in 2015. In the Political Contributions publication, the key dates address the reports due, the scheduled statewide elections, and, where dictated by the state, scheduled local elections.

This information has been added for the federal government, the states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Continue to watch the website for updates to the 2014 and 2015 key dates and for the addition of key dates information for local jurisdictions and for Canada.

Lobbying

“Bottom Line” in The Hill.

“Mack IV joins lobbying firm” by Salem Solomon in the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Florida: “Search Broward lobbying database, if you find it” by Brittany Wallman in the Sun Sentinel.

Ohio: “2nd lobbyist guilty of unreported Bengals tix” by Chrissie Thompson in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Campaign Finance

“Greens take 2014 fight to states” by Darren Goode and Andrew Restuccia in Politico.

Minnesota: “Franken, McFadden complain about big money but still rake it in” by Catherine Richert on Minnesota Public Radio News.

Kentucky: “Special interests spend in Ky.” in The Courier-Journal.

Texas: “Panel weighs pros, cons of campaign donor reporting” by Joseph Basco in the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

Ethics

Georgia: “Georgia ethics commission dismisses complaint accusing Jason Carter of fundraising violation” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Hawaii: “Hawaii House leader fined a record $50,000 for ethics violations” by Malia Zimmerman in Watchdog.org.

Nevada: “Ex-employee alleges ethics director violated Nevada law” by Emerson Marcus in the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Tech and Social Media

“Contractors, Expect 72-hour Rule for Disclosing Corporate Hacks” by Aliya Sternstein in Nextgov.

The Internal Services Department in Miami-Dade County has combined the separate vendor enrollment and registration processes into one online vendor registration. The online vendor registration process can be accessed here.

Paper based registrations are no longer accepted.

All registered vendors whose status was “Active” prior to September 15, 2014 will be able to update their existing registration profiles through this portal. An email containing the login information will be sent to each firm currently registered or enrolled. These vendors will only be required to log-in to the portal to establish an online, secure profile. Thereafter, the existing registration records will be available to them online.

Vendors still must return a notarized business entity registration application by regular mail.

Q. Several employees from my organization engage in selling to the states.  Do they have any lobbyist registration or reporting requirements?

A. The answer to your inquiry depends on two things:  first, does the state regulate procurement lobbying, and second, is there an applicable bona fide salesperson exception to the registration requirement.  To determine whether a state regulates procurement lobbying, you can use our Executive Source Guide on Procurement Lobbying.  The regulation of individuals attempting to influence the selection of a vendor has increased significantly, and this trend is expected to continue.

In states where procurement lobbying is regulated, individuals engaging in sales activity may be exempt from the registration requirement where a bona fide salesperson exception exists.  For example, in Maryland, a regular full time employee of a vendor paid to engage primarily in sales activity on behalf of the vendor is exempt from lobbyist registration.  In New York, the exception even extends to sales agents with contracts to represent their clients for a period longer than six months.

Absent an exception, sales employees who meet the lobbyist registration threshold in a state regulating procurement lobbying will be required to register.

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.

On October 14, 2014, New Jersey will implement State of the Art Requisition Technology (NJSTART), a new eProcurement system designed to simplify the procurement process, drive efficiency, and promote competition. The system’s online business directory will be accessible by all state agencies, suppliers, and local governments. Vendors will be able to create individual profiles, receive email alerts for upcoming procurement opportunities, submit proposals, and access training manuals and reference guides.

NJSTART will replace the 25-year-old mainframe system and will allow vendors to access their profiles in real time at any time of day.

Early enrollment is available for vendors who would like to be properly registered when the new system goes live. Because vendors will only be paid if they are registered in the system, vendors on existing contracts are strongly encouraged to register in the system prior to October.

On May 21, the U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report describing the steps taken to improve the suspension and debarment programs of some agencies with federal contracts and grants. The report, prepared for the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, found “the number of suspension and debarment actions government-wide has more than doubled from 1,836 in fiscal year 2009 to 4,812 in fiscal year 2013.”

In 2011, the GAO had recommended strengthening federal agency suspension programs by implementing “dedicated staff, detailed policies and procedures, and an active referral process.” The six agencies reviewed for the report had all carried out some of the previous recommendations. The GAO did not make any new recommendations in its report. The report can be found here.

Elizabeth Bartz is the featured speaker in today’s Public Affairs Council State Procurement Strategies webinar. This presentation is the final installment of the four-part “Strengthening State Government Relations” series and will begin at 2:00 p.m.

You can find details of the webinar on the Public Affairs Council website.

Lawmakers are considering a bill to block one of the firms seeking to bid on a multibillion-dollar light rail project from winning its bid unless it agrees to pay reparations to Holocaust victims. Delegate Kirill Reznik co-sponsored House Bill 1326 to block Paris-based Keolis from winning a contract worth $6 billion for the state’s Purple Line project.

Keolis is a subsidiary of the government-owned French railway Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF), which has admitted transporting about 76,000 Holocaust victims to concentration camps in Nazi-occupied France.

The bill would expand a 2011 law requiring companies to disclose involvement in transporting victims during the Holocaust.

Lobbying

“K Street gears up for Hillary” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

“Groups Try to Mute the Comcast Lobby | K Street Files” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

Louisiana: “Former Jindal aide Rainwater looks to lobbying, consulting” by Michelle Millhollon in The Advocate.

New Jersey: “Lobbying expenditures climbed over $60 million in 2013, report finds” in PolitickerNJ.

Campaign Finance

“New Challenges to Campaign Finance Regulation” opinion piece by David Friedman in The Stanford Daily.

New York: “Women stump for campaign finance reform” by Casey Seiler in the Capitol Confidential.

Wisconsin: “Walker says he’s not focused on Republican bills affecting campaign donations, spending” by Scott Bauer (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Ethics

California: “Senate Democrats proposing revamp of campaign, gift laws” by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

Campaigns and Elections

“Thought the Senate map was set?” by Jessica Taylor in The Hill.

“2014 Governors Races: A Look at the Too-Close-to-Call Contests” by Louis Jacobson in Governing.

South Carolina: “Cheers! SC Bill Aims to Lift Booze Ban on Election Day” by Drew MacKenzie in Newsmax.

Procurement

“Bringing Innovation to Procurement” by Justin Brown in Government Technology.

SB12, signed into law September 2013, goes into effect today. The bill amends the state procurement code and makes changes to procurement preferences, contract awards, small purchase procedures and thresholds, minimum competition requirements, methods of bid submission, vendor registration requirements, and applicable definitions.

Vendors may contact Chief Procurement Officer Jason Soza with any questions concerning the bill. Additionally, a summary of all changes can be found on the Department of General Services website.

The State of Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget –Procurement is holding a seminar on Contracting with the State of Michigan. It will be held January 23, 2014 from 2:00pm—4:30pm at Constitution Hall, 525 West Allegan Street, Lansing MI 48933.

Topics to be addressed include finding bid opportunities, where to register as a vendor, researching upcoming solicitations, common mistakes made when writing a proposal, rules and guidelines for state contracts, purchasing preferences, and bid solicitation structures.

Interested parties can register here.