FILING FREQUENCY CHANGE IN THE NEWS. A super PAC changed its filing frequency recently and it made the paper here. “Restore Our Future announced a $3.1 million ad campaign backing Romney in Iowa this month, making the group obligated to file a disclosure report on Dec. 22, which is 12 days before the Iowa caucus. But Restore Our Future notified the Federal Election Commission Saturday that it was switching to a monthly schedule, therefore avoiding the requirement for a December report.”
LDA ALERT. Holland & Knight recently issued a client alert on a settlement involving the LDA and it’s online here. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has entered into a negotiated settlement under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as amended (LDA), that includes a $45,000 civil penalty.”
POLITICO. Here‘s a report on the FEC from POLITICO.
SUPER PACS, EVERYBODY IN THE POOL. A super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich is the topic of this report. “The independent expenditure committee Winning Our Future sent registration paperwork to the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, an individual associated with the committee told The Hill.”
SUPER PAC HAT TRICK. Story here. “A third super PAC (political action committee), the Committee to Elect an Effective Valley Congressman, has been formed to help Rep. Howard Berman’s re-election campaign, according to Politico.”
TRIAL DELAYED. Story here. “The federal trial of Natalie Wisneski, the Fiesta Bowl’s former chief operating officer, has been postponed from Jan. 3 to Feb. 7 so her attorneys will have more time to prepare.”
EQUAL TIME COMPLAINT. Story here. “Congressional candidate Doug Collins has asked Cox Media Group to offer him the same amount of air time Martha Zoller receives on WXKT-FM 103.7.”
PERSPECTIVE ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW. Forbes. “In short, more information—specifically, government-mandated information—isn’t necessarily better. Moreover, it comes at a cost.”
FUNDRAISER TARGETED. Roll Call. “Protesters plan to demonstrate at a fundraiser for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday night at Lincoln, a fashionable new restaurant just north of Washington’s downtown lobbying district.”
“SORRY.” The Hill. “A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Justice Department to apologize to the family of the late Sen. Ted Stevens and fire the attorneys accused of the withholding of evidence that contributed to his criminal conviction.”
LOBBYING VICTORIES OF 2011. The Hill.
REVIEWING THE GINGRICH ETHICS MATTER. Here. “In 1997, Gingrich became the only speaker in history to be reprimanded by the House of Representatives. He agreed to pay $300,000 to settle the matter, which involved using charitable groups to promote his political views and submitting misleading documents to the House ethics committee.”
THE SPENDING BILL AND PUBLIC FINANCING. Here. “It looks like a small throwaway line in a 2012 spending bill: no federal funds may be used to carry out chapters 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code. A little digging shows that those chapters happen to authorize the presidential election public financing system. A few House Republicans, who have long hated the system, thought they could get rid of it by inserting the line in a bill to keep the government from shutting down this weekend.”
REFORM IN NC? Recent events in North Carolina may prompt changes to campaign finance laws. More here. “In light of the illegal campaign payments that Peter Reichard is accused of funneling into Gov. Beverly Perdue’s 2008 campaign, State Democratic Party Chairman David Parker said he supports overhauling current laws which he said allow businesses, unions and others to hide political contributions.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.