ANTI-INCUMBENT SUPER PAC.  Roll Call.  “The political action committee’s recent decision to hire Mark Meckler, a high-profile tea party activist, raises further questions about its independence.”

APRIL EO UPDATE.  The April 2012 edition of IRS EO Update is online here.

ELECTION LAW NEWS.  The latest edition of Wiley Rein’s Election Law News is online here.  The newsletter includes some tips for those headed to Charlotte or Tampa in a few weeks.

FORMER LAWMAKERS AND ADVISING.  The Hill.  “Several former lawmakers are shying away from registering as lobbyists despite the end of a cooling-off period in the House that had barred them from soliciting their ex-colleagues.”

EVEN MONEY?  The Times.  “Mitt Romney almost matched President Obama in fund-raising during April after securing his party’s presidential nomination and joining forces with the Republican National Committee, the campaign will announce on Thursday.”

SUPER PAC PLANS.  The Times.  “A group of high-profile Republican strategists is working with a conservative billionaire on a proposal to mount one of the most provocative campaigns of the ‘super PAC’ era and attack President Obama in ways that Republicans have so far shied away from.”

SUPER PAC PERSONNEL.  Story here.  “Veteran Democratic strategist Mary Beth Cahill has been hired by the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA as a consultant.”

CLOSING SET FOR TODAY.  Story here.  “When prosecutors and defense lawyers in the John Edwards trial take their turns before jurors Thursday morning for closing arguments, each side will weave together testimony of witnesses with hundreds of pages of phone records, financial statements, political schedules, email and voicemail messages.”

GEORGIA LOBBYING.  The Post.  “The Washington lobbying effort is aimed at raising doubts about the pace of democratic reforms under Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has forged a close relationship with the United States.”

LOBBYIST SUES.  Story here.  “Former S.C. legislator Mark Kelley, now a lobbyist for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, is suing The Sun News, saying he was defamed in articles concerning the origins of tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.”

BAN ON LOBBYISTS IN THE NEWS.  Story here.  “The attorney general’s office is looking into a state community college trustee group’s alleged scheme to use student fees to pay a lobbyist to fight reforms.”

LOBBYIST DISCLOSURE IN PHILA.  Story here.  “Nearly two years after City Council and Mayor Nutter approved an ordinance requiring lobbyists to register and disclose their expenses, there’s still no computer software to make the program work the way it was intended.”

SUPER PAC WORK-AROUND?  Story here.  “House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, advanced legislation that would remove contribution limits once an outside group spends $100,000 on behalf of one candidate for the Legislature or local government. Lifting the restrictions would give an opponent a chance to ‘level the playing field,’ she said.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.  The next set of links will prepared on Monday, May 21, 2012.  Have a great weekend.