Latest Developments:
- The United States Senate confirmed the nominations of three new Commissioners to the Federal Election Commission. The three Commissioners, approved on rollcall votes, are Shana M. Broussard (92-4), Sean J. Cooksey (50-46), and Allen Dickerson (49-47). Politico notes that the action restores “a quorum to the embattled agency and (gives) the government’s top campaign finance watchdog its first full slate of commissioners in years.”
- The Hawaii State Ethics Commission announced that its long-anticipated amended regulations are now in effect. The extensive revisions include new rules governing gifts to public officials and new regulations concerning registration of and reporting by lobbyists.
- Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices posted information (FAQ Question 3) that reflects the Commissioner’s increase of the lobbyist registration threshold from $2,600 to $2,650, effective January 1, 2021. Persons who make an agreement to receive $2,650 in annual compensation for lobbying must register.
- The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission announced the appointment of a long-time employee, David Tristan as the Commission’s new Executive Director. Tristan is a 29-year employee who most recently served as Deputy Executive Director of the Commission and replaces Heather Holt, who is termed-out.
In Case You Missed It:
- Florida Revolving Door: The Orlando Sentinel reports that notwithstanding a voter-approved constitutional amendment barring legislators from becoming lobbyists for six years after leaving office, four legislators have signed up to be lobbyists since last month’s election. A state department head also left her job in October to “lead a trade group for an industry she used to regulate.” The constitutional amendment, which was approved by 79% of the voters in 2018, does not take effect until the end of 2022.
- Nice Work if You can Get it: Fox News reports that the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee has paid her daughter over $240,000 from campaign funds during the last election cycle. According to the article, the “bulk of Karen Waters’ payments were for ‘slate mailer’ services that the daughter provided for the campaign.”
- Texas Trouble: The Dallas Morning News discloses that the Texas Ethics Commission has fined the Mayor of Arlington for accepting banned corporate contributions and other infractions. A campaign spokesperson “acknowledged oversights, with the campaign taking and reporting contributions ‘in the wrong format or by an incorrect entity.’”
- European Lobbyist Registration Expanded: The European Parliament, Council, and Commission have established a “joint mandatory lobby register.” However, Politico reports that the agreement gives “each institution the license to individually interpret what it means” and to define which activities require registration. The new agreement adds the Council; the EU Parliament and Council have operated a Transparency Registration since 2011.