On June 18, the Kansas Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint accusing a candidate of soliciting contributions from lobbyists through social media, according to the Kansas City Star. On May 1, while the Legislature was still in session, a Facebook page […]
On June 18, the Kansas Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint accusing a candidate of soliciting contributions from lobbyists through social media, according to the Kansas City Star.
On May 1, while the Legislature was still in session, a Facebook page for former state Sen. Jean Schodorf’s campaign was posted seeking help to raise money for her political campaign for secretary of state. Clay Barker, the state GOP executive director, made a complaint after a lobbyist “liked” the page. State law prohibits candidates from seeking contributions from lobbyists while the Legislature is in session.
Schodorf told the Star the commission informed her they found no probable cause to believe she violated the law and dismissed the complaint.
April 15, 2014 •
We’re a Proud Sponsor of YouToo Social Media Conference 2014
On April 11, Megan Huber, Joe May, Elliott Postlewait, and Jim Sedor from State and Federal Communications, Inc. attended the 2014 YouToo Social Media Conference at Kent State University. The event was co-hosted by the Akron Area Public Relations Society […]
On April 11, Megan Huber, Joe May, Elliott Postlewait, and Jim Sedor from State and Federal Communications, Inc. attended the 2014 YouToo Social Media Conference at Kent State University. The event was co-hosted by the Akron Area Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the Kent State Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).
State and Federal Communications was proud to be a sponsor of this great conference.
YouToo never fails to be an extraordinary place to learn about best practices and latest strategies in social media communications. Some of the top moments included the opening plenary with Andrea Weckerle, keynote speaker Danny Brown, and a lively panel with Brimfield Police Chief David Oliver and Cleveland City Councilperson Joe Cimperman.
You can see the lineup of speakers on the event page. I would highly recommend keeping a watchful eye on YouToo’s YouTube channel for videos from the 2014 conference!
Thank you, Akron Area PRSA and Kent PRSSA. We had a wonderful time.
September 26, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Here are some great articles for today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
Kentucky: “Ben Chandler moves into role as lobbyist in Ky.” by The Associated Press in WYMT TV News.
New Mexico: “Ex-New Mexico official takes job despite ban on lobbying” by The Associated Press in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Campaign Finance
“If You Thought Citizens United Was Bad, Wait for This Supreme Court Case” by Norm Ornstein in The Atlantic.
“GOP lawyer launches political donation refund group” by Michael Beckel in The Center for Public Integrity.
Arizona: “Donor fatigue: Higher contribution limits don’t translate into avalanche of cash” by Jeremy Duda and Luige del Puerto in Arizona Capitol Times.
Missouri: “Missouri campaign contributions have topped $6.7M this quarter” by Elizabeth Crisp in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Ohio: “Federal grand jury indictment charges North Canton businessman with funneling illegal campaign cash to candidates” by James F. McCarty in the Plain Dealer.
Ethics
Florida: “Florida Ethics Commission Asks For Power To Place Liens On Violators’ Property” by Jessica Palombo in WFSU News.
Ohio: “Ethics Commission finds possible conflicts of interest with JobsOhio employees” by Darrel Rowland in the Columbus Dispatch.
State Legislatures
South Dakota: “Legislature research leader resigns” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.
Social Media
“Twitter increases political contributions, but not from constituents, says paper” by Molly Bernhart Walker in FierceGovernmentIT.
May 23, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Here are some great articles for today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
“K Street looking forward to BRAC fights” by Byron Tau in Politico.
“When Can Federal Employees Legally Lobby Congress?” by John Mahoney on GovLoop.
North Carolina: “Democrats try to send message about moonlighting, lobbying” by Craig Jarvis in the News Observer.
Texas: “An Expensive Celebration, Courtesy of the Lobby” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.
Vermont: “Vermont Senate May Probe Publicly Funded Lobbying Organizations” by Anne Galloway in the Valley News.
Campaign Finance
New York: “Donors Urge Cuomo to Press for Public Financing of State Campaigns” by Thomas Kaplan in The New York Times.
Ethics
“Congressional Campaign Finance Director Guilty of Role in Illegal Contribution Scheme” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political Moneyline.
“Senate Personal Wealth Reports Disclosed to Public” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political Moneyline.
Government Tech and Social Media
“There’s an App for That State Service” by Melissa Maynard in Stateline.
May 14, 2013 •
Tuesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Keep up with the latest government relations news with these articles:
Lobbying
“Lobbying and Contributions by High Frequency Traders” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
“K Street worries over spread of IRS scandal amid push for tax reform” by Erik Wasson and Peter Schroeder in The Hill.
New York: “When Campaign Aides Are Lobbyists, Questions Mount” by Ross Barkan in City Limits.
Tennessee: “Tennessee Ethics Commission to meet on Ingram lobbying case” by Andy Sher in the Times Free Press.
Campaign Finance
“SEC nears decision on requiring businesses to disclose donations” by Ben Goad in The Hill.
“States’ Seek to Limit Undisclosed Political Donations” by Matea Gold, Chris Megerian and Mark Z. Barabak in Governing.
“IRS mess adds to campaign finance free-for-all” by Byron Tau, Tarini Parti and Kelsey Snell in Politico.
“Pelosi Injects Campaign Finance Debate Into IRS Scandal” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.
Nebraska: “Nebraska Attorney General fined $19,000 by FEC” by The Associated Press in the Beatrice Daily Sun.
Texas: “House set to send disclosure bill to Gov. Perry” by Will Weissert (Associated Press) in the Houston Chronicle.
Vermont: “Vt. lawmakers drop campaign finance reform” by The Associated Press in New England Cable News.
From the State Legislatures
Arizona: “Lawmakers to see cut in daily pay this week” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Capitol Times.
Utah: “Utah Lawmakers Back to Capitol to Prep for Next Year” by The Associated Press in KUTV News.
Washington: “Washington lawmakers return to Capitol for special session” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.
Washington: “Washington Gov. Inslee narrows priorities for legislative special session” by The Associated in The Oregonian.
Elections
“Which States Saw Voter Turnout Jump, Decline Most Last Year?” by Mike Maciag in Governing.
Social Media
“Social Advocacy & Politics: A Virtual Political Debate Via Twitter” by Alan Rosenblatt in Social Media Today.
May 2, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Here are some great articles for today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
California: “California lobbying firms make $40.1M in first quarter” by Kathy Robertson in the Sacramento Business Journal.
Illinois: “Evaluating Municipal Lobbying Data: Chicago” by Alisha Green in the Sunlight Foundation blog.
Campaign Finance
“Billionaire’s son pushes for campaign-finance overhaul” by Brian Tumulty in USA Today.
Arizona: “Horne campaign finance case puts contribution limits at risk” by Howard Fischer in the Arizona Daily Sun.
Florida: “Ramba: Campaign-finance reform will just shuffle paper work” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.
Missouri:
Missouri: “Senate bill would limit campaign contributions” by Jonathan Shorman in the News-Leader.
New York: “WATCH LIVE: Senate IDC hosts hearing on campaign-finance reform” by Jon Campbell in Politics on the Hudson.
Ethics
Connecticut: “Malloy’s trip on People Magazine’s dime raises questions” by Ken Dixon in the Connecticut Post.
North Carolina: “NC elections board gets new chair, exec director” in the Daily Dispatch.
New York: “Director leaving high-profile NY ethics commission” on CBS Albany News.
Pennsylvania: “Gov. Corbett discloses gifts, free travel for 2012” by The Associated Press in the Patriot-News.
Pennsylvania: “9 members of Congress from Pa. cited in nepotism report” by Melissa Daniels in The Reporter.
From the State Legislatures
“Elections—and Rules—Have Consequences” by Karen Shanton in NCSL’s The Thicket.
Indiana: “Indiana Governor Mike Pence doesn’t rule out vetoes of legislative bills” in the Courier-Journal.
Louisiana: “House committee shoots down effort at term limits for statewide elected officials” by Jeff Adelson in the Times-Picayune.
Government Tech and Social Media
“YouTube goes to Washington” by Seth Rosenblatt in CNET News.
April 29, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“Social media emerge as players in state capitols” by Brad Cooper in the Kansas City Star.
Hawaii: “Has Hawaii Given Up On Lobbying Congress?” by Kery Murakami in Honolulu Civil Beat.
Campaign Finance
California: “Interactive graphic lets voters follow the money in mayor’s race” by David Zahniser, Maloy Moore and Anthony Pesce in the Los Angeles Times.
California: “California declines to update campaign data online” by Jusy Lin (Associated Press) in the Redding Record Searchlight.
New York: “Public campaign finance debate heats up in Albany” by Jon Campbell in the Journal News.
Ethics
“Tuesday Discussion on the FEC-The Day The Terms of All Commissioners Will Have Expired” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call’s Political Moneyline.
South Carolina: “Bid to reform state ethics draws fire” by Tim Smith in the Greenville News.
South Dakota: “South Dakota lawmakers don’t see conflict of interest problems in the Legislature” by David Montgomery in the Argus Leader.
Government Tech and Social Media
“Open Source Tech is Driving Big Changes in Government” by Joseph Marks and Mark Micheli in Nextgov.
“San Francisco Hires New Chief Information Officer” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.
April 15, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“Former Rep. Connie Mack joins lobby firm” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
Washington: “66 Wash. lobbyists get warning letters for lack of transparency” by Austin Jenkins on KPLU.org.
Campaign Finance
“Proposal could drag political funding into the light” by Michael Kirkland in the United Press International.
“Influence of big-money ‘SuperPACs’ not so clear” by Aaron Delatte in the Orlando Sentinel.
“Members of Congress Fill War Chests for Next Campaign” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
California: “Universities Join Effort to Overturn Citizens United Decision” by Anjuli Sastry on ABC News.
Florida: “Lawmakers raking in contributions even as they debate campaign law changes” by Jim Saunders in the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Maryland: “Massive Campaign Finance Revamping Awaits Gov. O’Malley’s Pen” by The Associated Press on WNEW.
Missouri: “Ethics rules changes considered for KC leaders, employees” by Mike Hendricks in the Kansas City Star.
Missouri: “Time running short for Mo. campaign finance issues” by The Associated Press in the San Francisco Chronicle.
New York: “Public financing of campaigns could be a key issue in Albany” by Tom Wrobleski in the Staten Island Advance.
New York: “Senator Carlucci Unveils New Campaign Finance Reform Proposal” by Michael Riconda in the Rockland County Times.
Texas: “$27 Million Republican Political Donor Dies” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.
Vermont: “Vt. Senate passes campaign finance law” by The Associated Press in the Boston Globe.
Ethics
Connecticut: “Donovan Campaign Manager Pleads Guilty” by Dave Altimari in the Hartford Courant.
Pennsylvania: “Latest Pa. scandal has some eyeing pay-to-play law” by Marc Levy in the Beaver County Times.
Texas: “Ethics commission up for review at Legislature” by Chris Tomlinson (Associated Press) in the Houston Chronicle.
Texas: “Exotic Trips, Luxury Gifts Are Perks of Elective Office” by Emily Ramshaw in the Texas Tribune.
Texas: “A Slim Chance for Lawmakers to Self-Regulate” by Ross Ramsey in the Texas Tribune.
From the State Legislatures
Nevada: “It’s roundup time for Nevada legislators, bills” by Sandra Chereb (Associated Press) in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Ohio: “Former Rep. Charlie Wilson of Ohio dies at 70 after suffering stroke” by Jonathan Easley in The Hill.
Elections
“Alaska Legislature passes elections bill” by Joshua Berlinger (Associated Press) in the Anchorage Daily News.
Social Media and Government Technology
“Top Phoenix lobbyists sound off on the impact of social media” by Dale Brown in the Phoenix Business Journal.
“TechPresident Podcast: ‘Open Government’” by Nick Judd on TechPresident.
April 8, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
“K Street Files: Former Obama Health Care Guru Heads to K Street” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“Rules of the Game: Lame-Duck FEC Invites Scofflaws” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.
“Top GOP House aide goes to K Street” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
California: “Charities are engaged in California political fights” by Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee.
Campaign Finance
Arkansas: “Ark. lawmakers OK proposal to put campaign finance constitutional amendment on the ballot” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
New Jersey: “Donors behind millions in N.J. political contributions kept secret, analysis finds” by Christopher Baxter in the Star-Ledger.
Ethics
“Why Washington is corrupt” by Lawrence Lessig on CNN News.
Arizona: “Panel on constitutional amendments endorses ethics proposal” by John Lyon in Arkansas News.
New York: “Lhota, at City Hall, Proposes Ways to Curb Corruption” by David M. Halbfinger in The New York Times.
Texas: “Texas ethics watchdog hardly ever barks” by Rick Casey in the Express-News.
Virginia: “Cuccinelli denies conflict of interest claims” by Julian Walker in The Virginian-Pilot.
Open Government
“Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin won’t budge on executive privilege claim concerning emails” by Zeke Campfield in The Oklahoman.
Social Media
“For pols, Tumblr is trending” by Kevin Cirilli in Politico.
April 1, 2013 •
Monday News Roundup
Let’s start off the week with these lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics news articles:
Lobbying
Florida: “Florida lawmakers weigh bill to tweak lobbyist gift ban” by Jim Saunders in the Miami Herald.
Georgia: “New lobbyist law leaves possible loopholes” by Aaron Gould Sheinin, Chris Joyner and James Salzer in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Kentucky: “Ethics Commission reports $4.2M spent on lobbying in Frankfort in January, February” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
New York: “Lobbying spending in N.Y. dropped to $205M in 2012” by Jon Campbell in the Democrat and Chronicle.
New York: “Pro-Cuomo Group Repeats as Top Spender on Lobbying” by Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times.
Oregon: “State, colleges lobbying costs top $1M” by Raju Chebium in the Statesman Journal.
Campaign Finance
Connecticut: “Boosting public financing for campaigns is off the table” by Mark Pazniokas in the Connecticut Mirror.
Nebraska: “Measure repeals Neb. campaign finance law but seeks to put campaign spending reports online” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
New York: “New Ads to Press Albany on Campaign Financing” by Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times.
Vermont: “Campaign finance reform bill in jeopardy” in the Rutland Herald.
West Virginia: “W.Va. House seeks anti-Citizens United amendment” by The Associated Press in WTRF.com.
Ethics
“Larry Craig Loses Major Battle in Fight Against FEC” by Steven T. Dennis in Roll Call.
“STOCK Act Endangers National Security, Report Says” by Niels Lesniewski in Roll Call.
North Dakota: “Gov. Dalrymple’s energy stocks, contributions raise questions” by Amy Dalrymple in InForum.
Ohio: “Jimmy Dimora files federal appeal claiming innocence” by James F. McCarty in the Plain Dealer.
From the State Legislatures
Georgia: “Ga. lawmakers take flurry of votes on final day” by The Associated Press in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Redistricting
Texas: “Texas redistricting fight resumes” by Tim Eaton in the Austin American-Statesman.
Open Government
“Which States Aced the Spending Transparency Test?” in Government Technology.
Government Tech and Social Media
“Internal Website HouseNet Gets a Makeover” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.
“NASA Becomes The Most-Followed Government Twitter Account, Nominated For Second Shorty Award” by Benny Luo in NewMediaRockstars.com.
Hawaii: “Bill would require state to post more information online” by The Associated Press in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
March 19, 2013 •
Tuesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Keep up with the latest government relations news with these articles:
Lobbying
“K Street Files: FTI Consulting Snaps Up C2 Group” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
California: “California cities, counties find funds to hire Capitol lobbyists” by Anthony York in the Los Angeles Times.
Georgia: “Ga. senators to debate House plan to limit lobbyist spending; end-of-session drawing near” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
New York: “Artists Against Fracking May Not Be Registered As New York Lobbying Group, AP Reports” by Michael Gormley in the Huffington Post.
Campaign Finance
Connecticut: “The ‘Ernie Newton’ campaign finance ban moves forward” by Ken Dixon in the Connecticut Post.
Las Cruces, New Mexico: “Las Cruces council refines proposed campaign finance ordinance” by Steve Ramirez in the Las Cruces Sun-News.
Vermont: “Vermont Senate’s campaign finance bill: many find something to like” by Nancy Remsen in the Burlington Free Press.
Ethics
“Reps. Andrews, Young to be investigated by House Ethics panel” by Jordy Yager in The Hill.
Florida: “Coalition calls for ethics improvements” by Bill Cotterell in the Florida Current.
Kentucky: “Richie Farmer could be fined $210,000 over 42 ethics violations” by Tom Loftus in the Courier-Journal.
Rhode Island: “Common Cause web site counts days, hours since ethics vote quashed” by Katherine Gregg in the Providence Journal.
From the State Legislatures
“2012 Election Legislation: National Summary” on NCSL.org.
Social Media
New Mexico: “Social media plays a bigger role in leg session” by Julie Ann Grimm in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
February 22, 2013 •
A New LinkedIn Group for Compliance!
The Government Relations Compliance group
Good morning, everyone! We are excited to announce that we are launching a new LinkedIn group called Government Relations Compliance.
If you have a LinkedIn account, this is a great place to discover what your colleagues are talking about. Find out how they are solving the challenges in complying with government rules and regulations for lobbying, grassroots lobbying, political contributions, and procurement.
Join the conversation!
January 22, 2013 •
Tuesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Keep up with the latest government relations news with these articles:
Lobbying
“Washington Parties, K Street Pays” by Chris Frates in National Journal.
“Ben Nelson among ex-lawmakers to K Street” by Tarini Parti in Politico.
“Lobbyists of all stripes swarm President Obama’s gun-control proposals” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
Virginia: “Uranium backers gave gifts, donations to lawmakers” by Bob Lewis in the Winston-Salem Journal.
Wisconsin: “Former Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald lobbying” by The Associated Press in the News Times.
Campaign Finance
New Jersey: “Corporations face new rules on disclosing political donations” by Juliet Fletcher in the Bergen Record.
New York: “Lawmakers scrambling to raise funds ahead of Cuomo’s promised campaign reform” by Carl Campanile in the New York Post.
Ethics
New Mexico: “Democrat wants bill to ban use of state resources for political reasons” by Steve Terrell in the New Mexican.
Government Tech and Social Media
“Obama’s Inauguration Live-Tweeted by the White House” in Government Technology.
“Facebook Graph Search Announcement Inspires IT Leaders” by Colin Wood in Government Technology.
“Obama calls for new ideas and technology to ‘remake’ government” by Eric Katz and Kedar Pavgi in Government Executive.
January 10, 2013 •
Thursday News Roundup
Here are some great articles in today’s government relations news summary:
Lobbying
Delaware: “Kowalko introduces ‘revolving-door’ lobbying bill” by Doug Denison in the News Journal.
Florida: “Orange Mayor Jacobs proposes major texting, lobbying reforms” in the Orlando Sentinel.
Georgia: “Ga. Senate moves toward lobbying gift cap” by Ray Henry (Associated Press) in WSAV.com.
North Dakota: “Lobbyists gear up for 2013 ND legislative session” by The Associated Press in InForum.
Oregon: “Oregon Democratic legislators receive make-up donations” by Jeff Mapes in The Oregonian.
“K Street Files: TCH Group, Polaris Add Lobbyists” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
Campaign Finance
“Campaign Finance Reform In Congress Moves Forward With Little Hope For Passage” in the Huffington Post.
“Watchdog group criticizes Rep. Tim Ryan’s ‘campaign meals’ in congressional dining room” by Sabrina Eaton in the Plain Dealer.
Ethics
Idaho: “Idaho lawmakers get ethics training, a first” by The Associated Press in the Idaho Press-Tribune.
South Carolina: “SC lawmakers push more money for Ethics Commission” by Adam Beam in The State.
Legislative Issues
Kentuckey: “Kentucky House elects first woman to leadership post” by Jack Brammer and Beth Musgrave in the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Michigan: “Governor calls May special election to fill Flint-area state Senate seat vacated by John Gleason” by Kristin Longley in MLive.
Michigan: “5 things to watch today as the Michigan Legislature starts its 2013-14 session” by Tim Martin in MLive.
Redistricting
“Alaska redistricting board wants high court to reconsider” by The Associated Press in the Daily News-Miner.
Open Government
“House Republicans Release More Data Catnip for Developers” by Nick Judd in TechPresident.
Government Tech
“Technology’s Real Value for Government” by Jerry Mechling in Public CIO.
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.
