E-News from State and Federal Communications, Inc.
AUGUST 2018

It’s Okay … He Is Still from Akron

Do you know the most common question I get these days? Are you upset because LeBron James
left Akron?

The simple answer is NO. He has to do what is best for his family and he made a decision, which I am sure was not easy to make. It is just a lot different than when he left the first time.

Here are the things we remember. We won a championship!!! That was awesome. The winning game was at Golden State but we had the parade of the century. And the best part was the first game of the next season. The audio system was blaring, “We Are the Champions” by Queen and the entire Q Arena was on fire. That is something I will never forget.

We started on this Cavs bandwagon the day after LeBron James signed with the team. Our daughter graduated a year ahead of him at St. Vincent/St. Mary, so we were very familiar with him. A side note—during his senior year, the high school had all of its basketball games at the University of Akron JAR Arena—named after former Governor James A. Rhodes. The school knew there would be a lot of people wanting to see our teen phenom.

Those early Cavs games were awesome. We saw some great players make their way through Cleveland. Then, LeBron was gone. But we stayed and continued going to all of the games for four long years.

LeBron’s time back has been unbelievable. And there is still a future for the team, Cleveland, the NBA, and basketball. Please note, Quicken Loans Arena is going through extensive renovation and we were convinced to renew our seats for another three years and at hefty 50 percent increase in price. Even when we knew there could be a change with our players. Now, we had the sense not to take a five- or seven-year plan…three is just fine.

And just when I am planning for a trip to Los Angeles next week to attend NCSL and thinking of asking anyone and everyone if they have seen LeBron, he is going to be in Akron opening his I Promise school to help students reach their full potential. Do you know what he plans to do after those students graduate from high school? He is paying full tuition for them to attend the University of Akron.

Now that is good Corporate Social Responsibility!!

Don’t be concerned about whether we are upset. Every one of us makes decisions that are the best for ourselves and our families. He is still just a kid from Akron.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

Colorado Rulemaking Affects Lobbying
and Campaign Finance

Katlin Newman, JD
Research Associate

Colorado’s Office of Secretary of State made several recent changes to state lobbying and campaign finance rules. Lobbyist rules adopted in May became effective June 30. Some campaign finance rules were adopted on a temporary emergency basis effective June 19, and others were adopted July 11.

The rules concerning lobbyist regulation were amended and recodified to ensure uniform and proper administration, implementation, and enforcement of current state lobbying laws. Rule changes include additional definitions meant to clarify existing statutory language, as well as additional rules clarifying registration and disclosure requirements for professional lobbyists and lobbying firms. Effective January 1, 2019, a new rule also requires a professional lobbyist to log by date all position changes (i.e., monitoring, oppose, or support) on a bill and to file a monthly log contemporaneously with each monthly disclosure statement.

The Office of Secretary of State temporarily adopted emergency campaign finance rules after U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore struck down provisions of state law allowing private citizens to file complaints. Until the June federal court ruling, all complaints received a hearing without review for merit. New enforcement mechanisms provide for initial review of complaints and an opportunity to cure violations prior to investigation and enforcement.

Additional campaign and political finance rule changes were adopted July 11. Such changes exclude from the definition of contribution time-based services volunteered by an individual if the individual receives no direct or indirect compensation for the time volunteered. They also permit committees to accept contributions in cryptocurrency up to the acceptable limits for cash or coin contributions. The amount of such contribution will be the value of the cryptocurrency  at the time the contribution is made. A committee must report any gain or loss thereafter as other income or receipt. Finally, changes require complaints concerning municipal campaign finance matters to be filed with the appropriate municipal clerk.

[The details for this article have been updated on our website in the Lobbying and Political Contribution Compliance Laws for Colorado].
 

Summary of Changes UPDATE
Note Recent Changes to Compliance Regulations 

Michael Beckett, Esq., Research Manager

FEDERAL: On July 16, the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS announced certain tax-exempt organizations will no longer be required to report the names and addresses of contributors on their annual reports. This exemption from reporting will apply to tax-exempt organizations generally not receiving tax-deductible contributions, such as labor unions, volunteer fire departments, issue-advocacy groups, local chambers of commerce, veterans’ groups, and community service clubs. These organizations are still required to continue to collect and keep the donor information and to make it available to the IRS upon request. This change does not affect the information required to be reported by charities primarily receiving tax-deductible contributions, such as 501(c)(3) organizations, certain nonexempt private foundations, or 527 political organizations. 

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Mayor Marty Walsh vetoed a City Council ordinance on lobbying reform. In 2016, Walsh proposed an overhaul to the city’s lobbying laws citing a need for increased transparency. His proposal would bring stricter lobbying laws by way of a home rule charter that requires approval by the Legislature. Council passed its own version of the ordinance in late June hoping it would go into effect immediately upon the mayor’s signature. In vetoing the ordinance, Walsh indicated the passed ordinance failed to define and regulate lobbying and did not create an adequate enforcement mechanism. Walsh stated his continued confidence in and preference for his proposals.

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA: City Council passed another bill related to pay-to-play practices. Similar to last year’s pay-to-play ordinance, City Council overrode Mayor Tom Henry’s veto in a 7-2 vote. The newly passed measure prohibits business entities from bidding on city contracts if any officer, partner, or principal with more than 10 percent ownership has donated more than $2,000 to a campaign of someone with ultimate responsibility for awarding city contracts.

NORTH CAROLINA: After receiving at least three-fifths of the vote in each chamber, the North Carolina Senate gave final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment to alter the way the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement is appointed. The proposal shifts power to make board appointments from the governor to the Legislature. Previously, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper sued Republican legislative leaders multiple times over legislation creating different versions of the joint board. The amendment requires a simple majority at the ballot box to become effective on January 1, 2019.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: City Council approved substantial changes to the campaign finance and ethics codes. The new ordinance requires additional campaign finance reports and disclosure of the name and title of anyone contributing $100 or more to a council member or mayoral campaign. In the same council meeting, an ordinance increasing campaign contribution limits by 50 percent did not pass. The new disclosure and reporting rules became effective at the beginning of the campaign cycle on July 1.
 

Legislation We Are Tracking

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.

ASK THE EXPERTS

State and Federal Communications’ Experts Answer Your Questions

Here is your chance to “Ask the Experts” at State and Federal Communications, Inc. Send your questions to experts@stateandfed.com. (Of course, we have always been available to answer questions from clients that are specific to your needs, and we encourage you to continue to call or email us with questions about your particular company or organization. As always, we will confidentially and directly provide answers or information you need.) Our replies are not legal advice, just our analysis of laws, rules, and regulations.

State and Federal Communications, Inc.
Scrapbook - July 2018

Plan to say hello at future events where State and Federal Communications, Inc.
will be attending and/or speaking regarding compliance issues.