WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Education has paid education advocacy groups to produce newspaper opinion pieces, advertisements, and other public materials that reached audiences all over the country without revealing that the government paid for their production and distribution, according to a report issued late last week by the Department’s Inspector General that concluded that such practices were improper.

The Internal Revenue Service Aug. 31 updated its electronic filing Web page for corporations and exempt organizations that must e-file in 2006. The long-awaited Web site updates will help the organizations comply with proposed and temporary regulations (REG-130671-04, T.D. 9175) on electronic filing and, according to practitioners, make the site more user-friendly. IRS in January issued the temporary and proposed regulations on requirements for e-filing of income tax returns by large corporations and annual information returns by certain tax-exempt organizations (8

The Alliance for Justice just released a new report on John Roberts. Check it out!

face="Arial">North Carolina lawmakers no longer would be able to leave public office and immediately become lobbyists under a bill (S.B. 612) approved by the state Legislature Aug. 24. Under S.B. 612, which has been sent to Gov. Mike Easley (D) for his consideration, a "cooling off" period would be imposed for the first time on public officials in North Carolina before they could become lobbyists. The bill would require that former lawmakers and state officials wait at least six months before working as a lobbyist. The pending lobbying reform bill also would extend lobbying restrictions