Lifting the Fog Over Lobbying Compliance - updated with impact of COVID-19 on NYS lobbying community
[WEBINAR] "Walking the Line" - Public Agencies', Officials' and Employees' Roles in Local Elections
[WEBINAR] Who Does What? Defining Proper Roles for Staff and Elected Officials
Bribery & Corruption in the Military. A Front-Line View (Part II)
Ethics Laws and the Importance of Transparency for Public Officials
Blogging for Lawyers
Per recent updates to various sections of Ohio law, all employees and elected officials of public entities in Ohio are required to report alleged fraud, theft in office, or misuse or misappropriation of public money....more
There is not a public servant, employee, or trustee who doesn’t have a war story regarding an unruly public meeting or hearing gone wild. Perhaps it was just a quirky public comment. Maybe it’s a viral comment from a public...more
In November 2021, for the first time in Ohio history, a public school superintendent and four elected board of education members were criminally charged for activities related to a levy campaign designed to financially...more
Calif. Supreme Court: San Diegans for Open Government v. Public Facilities Financing Authority of the City of San Diego - Only a party to a contract may bring a legal action under Government Code section 1092 to invalidate...more
A recent federal appeals court decision, Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump, concluded that action taken by the President through the use of his personal, not just official White House, Twitter account was considered...more
The court concluded its opinion with an observation that at this time in history, “wide-open, robust debate” is the best assurance of good government. The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled last week that public...more
As technology and social media continue to develop, so do legal questions surrounding their use by public entities and employees. On July 9, 2019, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Knight First Amendment Institute v....more
Under the RTKL (Sections 708(b)(12), 708(b)(17), Attorney-Client Privilege/Attorney-Work Product Doctrine) – Responding to Requests. Requesters, instead of seeking specific records, occasionally ask for a collection of...more
After last week’s municipal elections in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins, both mayors kept their seats in both cities while one of the city council races in Fort Collins is still too close to call. In addition, voters...more
There’s a fine line public agencies, officials and employees walk between legally disseminating information and illegally advocating for or against a ballot measure or candidate. Originally published in PublicCEO - October...more
Recent decision points to the original intent of the California Public Records Act in the evolving debate over government transparency. Key Points: ..California Supreme Court rules that emails and text messages sent...more
The California Supreme Court has finally decided a question that has, for years, vexed courts, public officials, the media and citizen watchdogs: Are electronic communications — emails, voicemails and texts — on private...more
In a major development impacting all public entities subject to the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 6250 et seq., hereafter “CPRA”), on March 2, 2017, the California Supreme Court unanimously held that public...more
On March 2, 2017, the California Supreme Court ruled in City of San Jose v. Superior Court that where a public employee uses a personal email account or texts to communicate about the conduct of public business, those...more
Decision Expected Soon from California Supreme Court - Public agencies in California should prepare for the likelihood that communications on officials’ and employees’ private devices related to the agency’s “conduct of...more
During this election season, we thought it would be timely to bring up what are commonly referred to as “resign to run” laws. So-called “resign to run” laws require that before an elected official may run for a different...more
Pursuant to the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, public officials and employees are required to file a Statement of Financial Interests before May 1 of each year to report, among other things, gifts, transportation,...more
On April 23, 2014, Virginia adopted Senate Bill 649 amending the state's ethics laws. Effective July 1, 2014, the amendments, among other things, impose a gift limit on certain government officers and employees from...more
AB 1090 Will Take Effect January 1, 2014 - AB 1090, signed by Governor Brown this week, authorizes the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to investigate or initiate an administrative or civil action (including...more
Overview: A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge recently ruled that the California Public Records Act (PRA) required government agencies to disclose communications relayed through the privately-owned personal devices of...more
BB&K Attorney Brooke Miller Explains Why Training is So Important and What Is At Stake - Reading news accounts of violations of the California’s ethics laws, one might wonder “How could a public official or government...more