CONGRATS TO JASON ABEL. Jason Abel will be joining Steptoe as leader of their Campaign Finance and Political Law Practice. Tweet here.
AZ: SUIT ON LIMITS UPDATE. Here. “A federal lawsuit filed by a Fountain Hills resident challenging the state’s campaign-finance law finally may be coming to an end after two years.”
AZ: NONPROFIT COMPLIANCE ISSUE. News here. “An obscure non-profit corporation that faced accusations of skirting campaign-finance laws in the 2011 Phoenix elections for mayor and City Council, has re-emerged — and insiders say it has taken to old habits.”
AR: PERSONAL USE ALLEGATIONS. Here. “A veteran state senator spent thousands of dollars of campaign funds on personal purchases, including a home surround sound system, the state Ethics Commission found following a hearing Friday.”
LA: AUTOMATIC LATE FEE. Story here. “Capitano missed the Feb. 15 deadline to file campaign finance reports for 2012. That triggered an automatic late fee of $600 from the state Ethics Administration.”
MA: BUSINESS GOOD. Story here. “It’s one of Massachusetts’ boom industries — a recession-proof, $100 million-a-year enterprise that employs thousands of practitioners and support staff and shows no signs of waning.”
MI: PHOTO DRAWS COMPLAINT. Story here. “The Michigan Bureau of Elections will investigate whether Lansing City Council candidate Chong-Anna Canfora and Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth broke the state’s campaign finance laws.”
MI: PAYROLL DEDUCTION POSSIBLE LAW CHANGE. Story here. “Senate Bill 283 would eliminate Michigan’s annual recertification requirement for deducting political contributions on an automatic basis.”
OH: LOBBY LAW SUMMARY. Scott Stetson has added a state summary of Ohio lobbyist rules here.
SC: ETHICS ALLEGATIONS. Story here. “Days after Gov. Nikki Haley’s ethics charges became public, the executive director of the State Ethics Commission wrote Haley’s attorney to say ‘we can put this to bed quickly.'”
VA: FIRST LADY BOUGHT STOCK. The Post. “Maureen McDonnell, the first lady of Virginia, twice purchased thousands of shares of stock in Star Scientific, a spokesman for McDonnell’s legal team confirmed Friday night. The stock was bought and held in the same time frame that she and Gov. Robert F. McDonnell were taking steps to promote the dietary supplement company.”
VA: ETHICS REFORM NOW. Ken Cuccinelli’s plea for a special legislative session to tackle ethics reform is online here. “Change — especially when it is needed most — is never easy. But the General Assembly should act now to take on ethics reform. Virginians are legitimately looking for action, and the sooner they get solutions from their elected representatives, the sooner and more completely will trust will be restored in our state government.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.