Saskatchewan Energy and Resources Minister Tim McMillan is spearheading an effort to overhaul the disadvantageous procurement practices of other Canadian provinces. Specifically, McMillan wants to see the preference for local suppliers abolished, which he believes is in violation of trade obligations between provinces. In Ontario, for example, a local company would be awarded a contract even if its bid was slightly higher than the bid of a non-Ontario company.

A preliminary legal opinion exists on the issue. A final legal opinion is needed to resolve the issue, and before taking the concern to a final resolution panel, the accusing province must inform the offending province of its alleged violation and give an opportunity to correct the practice.

McMillan, along with about two dozen Saskatchewan companies, has asked for action from the government.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in State and Federal Communications’ digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying and can be found in the client portion of our website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly email updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regard to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Lobbying

“Earmark Ban Hits Lobbyists’ Influence on Spending Bills” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Capital gains: Spending on contracts and lobbying propels a wave of new wealth in D .C.” by Greg Jaffe and Jim Tankersley in The Washington Post.

“D.C. awash in contracts, lobbying wealth” by Greg Jaffe and Jim Tankersley in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Canada: “Don Cayo: A lobbyist’s job combines analysis and action” by Don Cayo in the Vancouver Sun.

Colorado: “Boulder to hire full-time state lobbyist” by Erica Meltzer in the Daily Camera.

Missouri: “Area lawmakers – except for one – take few lobbyists’ gifts” by Jonathan Shorman in the News-Leader.

Campaign Finance

“The Influencers 50: Enforcers” in Campaigns & Elections.

“‘Citizens United’ Ruling Helped Unions Win State Elections” by Alan Suderman in The Center for Public Integrity.

Massachusetts: “House calls for penalties on local campaign-finance violations” by Bob Katzen in the Lowell Sun.

Michigan: “Mich. Republicans split over disclosing ad funders” by The Associated Press in the Grand Haven Tribune.

Minnesota: “An accuracy challenge in election spending” by the Editorial Board of the Star Tribune.

Ethics

Hawaii: “What’s Going on Between Ethics Commission and Caldwell Administration?” by Nick Grube in the Honolulu Civil Beat.

South Carolina: “Government watchdog group insists Haley repays taxpayers for NC trip” by Seanna Adcox (Associated Press) in GoUpstate.

West Virginia: “W.Va. commission to hold ethics training session in Moorefield” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

Elections

“Parties focus on special election for Senate seat” by Catherine Lucey in the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.

Procurement

“5 New Approaches to Government Procurement” by Colin Wood in Government Technology.

Tech and Social Media

“How to Make Your Government Agency Cool Via Social Media” by Rachelle Chong in TechWire.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in State and Federal Communications’ digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of our website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly e-mail updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regard to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Lobbying

“Lobby shop hires former Obama campaign staffer” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Massachusetts: “Fmr Sen. Brian Lees to join lobbying firm of former rival” by Andy Metzger on WWLP News.

Campaign Finance

“EMILY’S List Raises Almost $10 Million For Women Candidates” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.

Missouri: “Significant campaign donor challenges proposed Mo. ballot measure seeking to cap contributions” by The Associated Press in the Daily Journal.

Virginia: “Pro-Cuccinelli PAC gets $500,000 donation from New York hedge fund executive” by Ben Pershing in The Washington Post.

Ethics

Illinois: “Jesse Jackson Jr. to be sentenced in D.C.” by The Associated Press on ABC7 News.

New York: “Ethics panel survey launched” by Rick Karlin in the Albany Times Union.

New York: “Cuomo real estate donors among Moreland subpoena targets” by Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times Union.

Texas: “Biggest Ethics Reforms Died on Governor’s Desk” by Ross Ramsey and Todd Wiseman in the Texas Tribune.

Utah: “House looks to hire investigators for Swallow probe” by Robert Gehrke in The Salt Lake Tribune.

Virginia: “Governor has returned ‘tangible’ gifts, legal team says” by Olympia Meola in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Elections

“E-Voting: It May Be a While” by Ed Smith in NCSL’s The Thicket.

Procurement

“Small Businesses Scrambling More for Federal Contracts” by Charles S. Clark in Government Executive.

Redistricting

Alabama: “Testimony concludes in lawsuit challenging legislative districts” by The Associated Press in The Birmingham News.

Alaska: “State Dem party sues over redistricting map” by The Associated Press in the Anchorage Daily News.

From the State Legislatures

Minnesota: “Dayton: No limits, no special session” by Baird Helgeson in the Star Tribune.

Campaign Finance

“Sandra Day O’Connor Tells NCSL Legislative Summit Money Poses Biggest Risk to Fair Courts” by Mary Winter on NCSL’s The Thicket.

Connecticut: “Donovan campaign aide asks for probation” by Michael P. Mayko in the Connecticut Post.

Delaware: “AG Biden won’t investigate donation of improper campaign contributions” by Jonathan Starkey in The News Journal.

District of Columbia: “Ex-Campaign Aide to D.C. Mayor Gray to Plead Guilty” by The Associated Press on WNEW CBS News.

District of Columbia: “Thies: Are Shadow Campaigns Stealing D.C. Elections?” by Churck Thies on NBC4 Washington News.

New York: “100 years ago, a NY governor was impeached” by Joseph Spector in the Star-Gazette.

Ethics

“FEC signs off on Progress Kentucky closing” by Byron Tau on Politico.

From the State Legislatures

“The coming war over voting rights” by Tal Kopan in Politico.

Oklahoma: “Governor orders special legislative session” in Tulsa World.

Procurement

“A New App Takes Government Contracting Mobile” by Joseph Marks in NextGov.

Redistricting

Arizona: “2020 Redistricting? The Arizona GOP Is ON IT” by Abby Livingston in Roll Call.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in the State and Federal Communications digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of the State and Federal Communications’ website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly e-mail updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regards to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

At any given time, more than 1,000 legislative bills, which can affect how you do business as a government affairs professional, are being discussed in federal, state, and local jurisdictions. These bills are summarized in the State and Federal Communications digital encyclopedias for lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying, and can be found in the client portion of the State and Federal Communications’ website.

Summaries of major bills are also included in monthly e-mail updates sent to all clients. The chart below shows the number of bills we are tracking in regards to lobbying laws, political contributions, and procurement lobbying.

Lobbying

“Lobbyists Snag Top Staff Positions on Capitol Hill” by Lee Fang in The Nation.

Tennessee: “Tom Ingram faces possible fine for failing to register as lobbyist” by Tom Humphrey in the Knoxville News.

Texas: “Lobbyist transparency bill sent to Perry” by The Associated Press in the Houston Chronicle.

Campaign Finance

FEC commissioners speak: “Hard truths of campaign finance” opinion piece by Donald F. McGahn, Caroline Hunter and Matthew Petersen in Politico.

“Why Big Money Still Won in 2012” by Jonathan Backer in the Huffington Post.

Alabama: “Bill before House today repeal state limit on corporate campaign contributions; Lawmaker says it’s a ‘pretend’ cap” by Kim Chandler in the Birmingham News.

New Jersey:  “Lawmakers Get Cold Feet About Campaign Finance” by Hank Kalet in NJ Spotlight.

New York: “Carlucci, other senators study plans for campaign finance reform” by Laura Incalcaterra in the Journal News.

Ethics

New York: “Ex-lawmaker to be sentenced in NYC in fraud case” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Daily Star.

Political Advertising

“House Backs Updating Rules on Political Ad Disclosures” by Becca Aaronson in the Texas Tribune.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Ohio City Deploys 2-in-1 Email and Social Media Archiving” by Sarah Rich in Government Technology.

Procurement

“Most Top Contractors Increased Business With Federal Government in 2012” by Eric Katz in Government Executive.

Perhaps the most talked-about piece of legislation this session, Senate Bill 2 was passed unanimously by both houses of the Florida Legislature.

The final ethics bill:

• Prohibits members of the legislature from acting as lobbyists for compensation before an executive branch agency, agency official, or employee for two years after leaving office. The version passed by the House eliminated an original provision preventing legislators from becoming lobbyists or principals of lobbying firms lobbying the legislature;
• Provides for a fine of up to $5,000 for executive branch lobbyists who fail to disclose required material facts as required or knowingly provide false information;
• Allows the Commission on Ethics to investigate whether a lobbyist has made a prohibited expenditure if a complaint is filed; and
• Prohibits vendors from providing gifts to a reporting individual or procurement employee for vendors doing business with the reporting individual’s or procurement employee’s agency.

The ethics bill was a top priority of Senate President Don Gaetz. He called the bill his “proudest moment as a senator.” The bill was sent immediately to Governor Rick Scott, who has seven days to sign or veto the bill.

Lobbying

“Howard Berman signs up for K Street job” by Tarini Parti in Politico.

“K Street Files: Under Attack, Gamers Add In-House Lobbyists” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“K Street lobbyists leap to the planet’s defense after asteroid scare” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Campaign Finance

Utah: “Legislature to change law on who probes campaign violations” by Robert Gehrke in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Vermont: “Vermont Senate panel delays vote on campaign finance” by Dave Gram in the Burlington Free Press.

Ethics

“Florida Official Resigns in Wake of Gambling Probe” by Cameron McWhirter and Ana Campoy in the Wall Street Journal.

“Fla. charity probe to next focus on campaign money” by Mike Schneider and Gary Fineout in the Miami Herald.

Open Government

“Oversight panel pushes for transparency” by Eric Martinson in Politico.

Kansas: “Senate committee discusses changes to ‘open records’ law” by Stevi Wilson in the Lawrence Journal-World.

North Carolina: “How to bring more sunshine to the NC legislature” by John Frank in the News & Observer.

Procurement

Iowa: “Panel told of revised process for equipment procurement” by Jason Noble in the Des Moines Register.

Legislative Issues

Kentucky: “Ky. lawmakers approve 107 bills during first 28 days of legislative session” by Jack Brammer in the Herald-Leader.

Montana: “Montana lawmakers consider longer term limits” by The Associated Press in the Billings Gazette.

Redistricting

Wisconsin: “New court filing: Documents were deleted from GOP redistricting computers” by Patrick Marley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is presenting the second installment of the Public Affairs Council’s State Procurement Webinar Series. The webinar, “Procurement Prospects: Learning to lobby for government contracts,” will take place today from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST.

Bartz will be speaking on state pay-to-play laws, the effective elements of a pay-to-play compliance program, and current trends in procurement.

According to the Public Affairs Council website:

Not adhering to the rules and regulations for acquiring government contracts could put your entire business at risk. Many of the laws for compliance in the procurement process differ from those commonly followed in other areas of government relations. Part two of this three-part series will cover how to build a sustainable state procurement compliance strategy and how to legally interact with government officials.

Lobbying

“Trade groups fear gift ban after the election” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

Florida: “Senate president scolds lobbyists who opposed his candidates” by Mary Ellen Klas in the Tampa Bay Times.

Campaign Finance, Campaigns and Elections

“How the presidential campaigns are spending money, in one chart” by Sean Sullivan in the Washington Post.

“‘Super PACs’ Finally a Draw for Democrats” by Nicholas Confessore in the New York Times.

“Money trouble: Barack Obama faces a cash gap in the final weeks of the campaign” in The Economist.

“Attentive.ly, a Tool to Mine Your Supporters’ Minds, Just Launched” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.

Pay-toPlay

“Goldman Sachs Will Pay $14.4 Million to Settle Pay-to-Play Cases” by Joshua Gallu, Michael McDonald, and Christine Harper in Bloomberg’s Businessweek.

Ethics

“Watchdog Groups Urge House Leaders to Fill Vacancies on Ethics Board” by Janie Lorber in Roll Call.

California: “After shoplifting plea, lawmaker seeks another office” by Michael J. Mishak in the Los Angeles Times.

Maryland: “Alston’s Maryland law license lifted for ethical violations” by David Hill in the Washington Times.

Procurement

“New federal contracting jobs site launches” by Kedar Pavgi in Government Executive.

President Obama has signed an Executive Order “to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not contribute to trafficking in persons.”

The Executive Order, “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking In Persons In Federal Contracts,” signed yesterday, orders the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council to amend its regulations and implement specific requirements of federal contractors.

For example:

• Vendors will be required to agree to cooperate fully in providing reasonable access to allow audits, investigations, or other actions to ensure compliance;
• Contractors will be prohibited from charging employees recruitment fees;
• Contractors will be prohibited from destroying, concealing, and confiscating an employee’s identity documents, such as passports or drivers’ licenses; and
• Contracting officers will have a duty to notify the government if they become aware of any activities concerning the use of forced labor, trafficking in persons, and other specified illegal activities.

While the order is effective immediately, it will apply to solicitations issued after the FAR Council makes its rules. FAR has six months to realize the regulations.