Political law links for Friday, Feb. 17, 2012

PERRY SEEKS PAC.  Story here.  “Perry’s campaign sent a request to the Federal Election Commission asking if he could turn his campaign into a political action committee or even possibly a so-called super PAC, a recently created type of political interest group.”

STOCK ACT CONFERENCE?  Roll Call.  “The two original authors of a House bill to codify a ban on insider trading by Members and staff are pressing House and Senate leaders to move forward on the bill, versions of which have now passed both chambers.”

SOLYNDRA INTERVIEWS.  The Hill.  “House Republicans canceled plans to subpoena executive branch officials over the Solyndra loan guarantee after reaching an agreement with the White House Thursday.”

LOBBYIST STATUS CHANGES.  Story here.  “More than 20 members of federal advisory committees canceled their registrations as lobbyists after the Obama administration banned K Street from the panels in 2009, according to a review by The Hill.”

SENATORS WRITE IRS ON NONPROFITS.  Politico.  “Seven Democratic senators Thursday called on the Internal Revenue Service to investigate — or acknowledge that it’s currently investigating — nonprofit, ‘social welfare’ organizations heavily engaged in political activities this election cycle, specifically citing a group run by Karl Rove.”

SANTORUM TAXES.  The Post.  “Much of Santorum’s income was earned from contracts with firms such as Pennsylvania-based Consol Energy, though Santorum never registered as a lobbyist, disclosure records show.”

COLBERT SHOW UPDATE.  Story here.  “The late-night comedy program hosted by Stephen Colbert has suspended production for at least two days this week, possibly due to an illness in his family.”

STRENGTHEN PARTIES.  Lindsay Mark Lewis in the Times.  “The best way to return to that is to loosen the rules that drove the two apart in the first place: in other words, repeal federal limits on party donations, the one important part of McCain-Feingold that Citizens United didn’t touch. Limits on transfers between party committees and candidates should also go.”

SUPER PAC PROXIMITY.  NPR. “President Obama’s decision to have White House officials and Cabinet secretaries help raise money for a pro-Obama superPAC is raising questions.”

CENSURE AND APOLOGY FOR CURRIE.  The Post.  “An ethics panel has recommended unanimously that Sen. Ulysses Currie be censured and apologize for failing to disclose more than $245,000 in payments from a grocery store chain between 2003 and 2008.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and an enjoyable Presidents’ Day.  I’ll be back with a set of links on Tues., Feb. 21. 

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