Press coverage of the Democratic National Convention spotlights the convention parties in light of the new lobbying and ethics law, and it will likely be the same during the Republican convention. Many are quick to criticize and declare that in regards to the conventions, the new ethics rules were a failed attempt to weaken the connection between lawmakers and lobbyists, and were merely superficial changes.

The House Ethics Committee for example decided that events honoring a group of members such as a particular caucus or state delegation were allowable. The new law also has an exemption for events that benefit a charity. So the proceeds of the Poker Players Alliance tournament will benefit Paralyzed Veterans of America.

According to CQ ($$), groups are on the look out for convention parties that violate the new ethics rules. "Lobbyists beware: Watchdog groups are making the rounds to monitor convention-goers' compliance with new ethics rules and call attention to events where corporate sponsors wine and dine members of Congress and their aides."

The Sunlight Foundation has launched its "Party Time" project that will track parties at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and fund raising activities by all lawmakers. The Sunlight Foundation also released a list of 400 parties and other functions scheduled for the two party conventions.

And Public Citizen has released a report finding that corporate donors and lobbyists have contributed more than $112 million toward the national conventions. "This flood of unlimited soft money from special interests, and the lavish parties and wining and dining it pays for at the conventions, runs counter to the federal election law and congressional ethics rules."

However, an editorial in the Washington Post is a bit more pragmatic; "the new lobbying law has meant a decided change for the better in the nature of convention partying." It would be unrealistic to think that the ethics law that was put in place last year would completely end such activities. "But the new rules have brought with them a new and welcome caution for those on both sides of the partying transaction. The era of big gift bags is over."

The Alliance for Justice has released a new fact sheet, 501(c)(3)s at National Party Conventions.

BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports on some findings from the new database of lobbyist campaign contributions as required by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. "Lobbyists and the organizations they work for have disclosed nearly 100,000 contributions and other payments linked to members of Congress and other top officials under a new reporting system required by last year's lobbying and ethics reform law."

"Only a little more that 2,700 of the reported transactions involved 'honorary' payments, meeting expenses, and contributions to presidential library funds, which were not previously required to be disclosed. One researcher, Craig Holman of the watchdog group Public Citizen, said he has used the new database to calculate a total of $26 million just in direct campaign contributions by individual lobbyists to lawmakers over the first half of this year."

In doing a search on the House site, I found 97,662 disclosed contributions from both individual lobbyists and political action committees controlled by lobbyists or lobbying organizations, to candidates and political committees regulated under the Federal Election Campaign Act.

Attorney Kenneth Gross of the firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom said the reports being filed under the new law are "of mild interest but contain no great revelations." Particularly interesting are the reports regarding money contributed by political action committees controlled by lobbyists and lobbying organizations, Gross suggested. Although the contributions themselves were required to be reported before, the link between this PAC money and particular lobbying interests was not necessarily known.

"The confusion over requirements did lead some organizations to report large payments honoring members of Congress, which may have been misleading." The new Senate site is here and the House site is here.

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 requires lobbyists and all lobbying organizations to file forms to the Senate and House by July 30 and Jan. 30 reporting contributions to political action committees, federal campaigns, and expenditures for events that honor officials covered by the law. A Wall Street Journal article describes some new understanding into lobbyists' contributions and other activity because of the new lobbying disclosure report, LD-203. "While many candidates decry special interests' influence in Washington, new reports show campaigns received $140 million from lobbyists in the first half of 2008." The public can search the disclosure reports in the House and Senate.

As of July 28, before the filing deadline, CQ Politics reported that "nearly $1.2 million is listed as 'honorary expenses' and another $300,000 as meeting expenses — all of it associated directly with either legislative or political events tied to lawmakers or government officials."

And CongressDaily ($$) details the confusion surrounding the new reporting requirements. "Lawyers advising clients on the LD-203 forms said guidance issued two weeks before the July 30 deadline caused a scramble to understand the changes. And lingering confusion over changes in requirements for reporting contributions by PACs and expenses at social events for lawmakers appears to have led to inconsistencies in those areas." The guidance might be revised before the next reporting deadline in January. Pam Gavin, the Senate's superintendant of documents, said; "In terms of the forms, it's as paint-by-the-numbers as you can get."