[Political Activity Law] – Page 356 – Eric Brown's discussion of political activity law issues and practice.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 4/3

Post author By Eric Brown
Post date April 3, 2013
Categories In A.M. Report, FEC, HLOGA, House, Maryland, Michigan, New York City, North Carolina, Social Media, Texas

MEMBER SOCIAL MEDIA USE. Roll Call. “Although they are the smallest caucus on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans are the most prolific social media users in Congress, according to a study by the Congressional Research Service.”

BLT ON GAO. Here. “Most lobbyists abided by key reporting requirements between midyear 2011 and midyear 2012, with compliance generally consistent with the past, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office review released Monday.”

ETHICS COMPLAINT FILED. Story here. ”The state Republican party has filed an ethics complaint against US Representative Edward Markey, the leader in the race for the Democratic nomination in the US Senate special election, alleging he improperly used video recorded at a House committee hearing and in a government building, in two campaign ads.”

ROBOCALL CONTEST. Story here. “The Federal Trade Commission gets about 200,000 calls monthly from consumers complaining about robocalls, those illegal prerecorded messages hawking everything from timeshares in the Bahamas to free money.”

MD: REFORM UPDATE. Story here. “The Senate gave its preliminary approval Tuesday to a comprehensive campaign finance reform bill after refusing to strip out a provision letting counties set up their own public-financing systems.”

MI: BOARD APPOINTMENT. Story here. “Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has appointed Thomas C. Phillips of the law firm Miller Canfield to the State Board of Ethics for the State of Michigan.”

NYC: CHARGES IN BALLOT DEAL. The Times. “A top New York State lawmaker was arrested early Tuesday for what federal prosecutors said was his central role in a brazen series of bribery and corruption schemes, including an attempt to buy a spot on the ballot in this year’s race for New York City mayor.”

NC: LOBBYIST CASE UPDATE. Story here. ” A Wake County judge should reconsider throwing out a $30,000 fine against a former high-profile lobbyist who worked to change the state’s ‘Buy America’ law so that imported iron could be used on highway projects, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.”

TX: PANEL REFORMS. Story here. “Calls to give the Texas Ethics Commission some enforcement teeth went mostly unheeded on Monday as a state Senate committee recommended minor administrative tweaks in the agency but no sweeping reforms that were earlier debated.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

April 2, 2013 political law links

Post author By Eric Brown
Post date April 2, 2013
Categories In A.M. Report, California, Executive Branch, HLOGA, LDA, New York, Pennsylvania

LATEST GAO REPORT ON LOBBYIST COMPLIANCE. GAO.

OCE TENSION. Story here. “Congress founded the OCE in 2008, establishing an outside ethics review organization, good government activists say, because of a lack of confidence in the standing House ethics panel.”

DISAPPEARING LOBBYISTS. Roll Call. “Edward Newberry, a partner in Patton Boggs’ public policy and lobbying division, had an enviable book of business in 2011, based on his federal disclosure reports. The next year, Newberry vanished — at least from the public records used to track K Street. He hasn’t appeared on any client reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act since then.”

ALLEGED LATE REPORT. Sunlight. “Until the Menendez scandal erupted, Melgen’s lawyers had claimed he never hired a lobbyist. Only after the story gained traction did Arnold & Porter review its books and decide it needed to file the mandatory reports.”

FURLOUGHS AND ETHICS. The Post. “Federal employees who want to make up for the loss of income due to furloughs should bear in mind that restrictions on outside employment will continue to apply to them while on unpaid time off, the government’s central ethics agency has said.”

CA: LOBBYING FIGURES. Here. “Last year special interests reported spending $277.5 million on such advocacy, according to the Secretary of State’s office.”

NY: ONO HYDROFRACKING ISSUE. Story here. “The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York says Ono’s group is violating state lobbying laws because it has not registered as a lobbyist, and urges the state ethics commission to launch an investigation.”

PA: VENDOR GIFT ISSUE. Story here. “The state ethics law requiring public officials to annually disclose gifts above a monetary threshold has been on the books for three decades, but the recent state grand jury report on corruption at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission cites examples where two long-time powerbrokers in Harrisburg allegedly ignored the law.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are political law links for 4/1/13

Post author By Eric Brown
Post date April 1, 2013
Categories In A.M. Report, Executive Branch, FEC, Florida, Georgia, House, Nebraska, Voting

GREER SENTENCED. Story here. “An Orlando judge on Wednesday sentenced Jim Greer, former high-flying chairman of the Florida GOP, to 18 months in prison for stealing $125,000 from the party.”

TRAVEL COSTS. Roll Call. “World traveler Rep. John Garamendi is gaining on fellow Rep. Jim McDermott.”

CRAIG UPDATE. Story here. “A federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit in which former Sen. Larry E. Craig is accused of improperly using campaign funds in a quest to vacate his guilty plea in a Minnesota airport bathroom sting.”

COMMISSION FORMED. NPR. “President Obama has established a new bipartisan commission on election administration, something he promised to do in his Feb. 12 State of the Union address. He signed an executive order Thursday making it official.”

STOCK ACT UPDATE. Story here. “The much ballyhooed STOCK Act’s financial disclosure requirements for senior federal officials could endanger national security and individuals’ safety, a congressionally mandated report found.”

ENFORCEMENT BOLSTERED. After calls for stricter enforcement of campaign finance laws, a photo of what looks to be the display of a new drone has surfaced. This development may add to the controversy already surrounding their use and it’s not clear what policies have been developed regarding its deployment. UPDATE: April Fools!

FL: RENTAL ISSUE. Story here. “Sen. Maria Sachs, a Democrat whose district was reconfigured because of redistricting to stretch into Broward County, maintains a residence in Fort Lauderdale by renting a condo from a prominent political consultant and gaming lobbyist.”

FL: VIEWS ON CHANGES. Here. “The Florida Legislature is about to adopt the most sweeping changes to the government ethics law in 36 years, and yet the changes don’t go far enough.”

GA: HISTORIC ACTION. Story here. “Legislative leaders called the lobbying reforms passed Thursday night ‘historic,’ but questions were being raised about loopholes even before the final gavel fell on the 2013 session.”

NE: PROPOSAL PLANNED. Story here. “A Nebraska lawmaker is working to reverse a campaign finance measure he fought to get on the books more than 20 years ago because the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional last year.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.