CONSERVATIVE NOTES SPENDING. The Times. “A new book from a conservative advocate of tighter campaign finance regulations seeks to draw attention to a number of questionable but legal fund-raising activities — some potentially damaging, others certainly embarrassing — that could prove uncomfortable for some on Capitol Hill.”
GA: OUTSIDE PROBE. Story here. “Key details of who will handle an outside investigation into the state ethics commission are close to being finalized, the panel’s chairman said Monday said Monday.”
GA: ETHICS BITE. Here. “It’s possible, if not probable, that Georgia could put teeth into its notoriously gummy ethics oversight system early next year. And under the right (or wrong, depending on one’s perspective) circumstances, some of those teeth might belong to Georgia voters.”
LA: CHARGES DROPPED. Story here. “The state Ethics Board has dropped its charges against former Jefferson Parish Council member Jennifer Sneed, a board staffer said Monday. The decision came after the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal found Oct. 7 that the charges were unconstitutional.”
NJ: SUPER PAC SPENDS. Here. “Its gubernatorial candidate may be on the ropes, but the New Jersey Education Association is not holding back in the upcoming New Jersey election and is already spending triple its previous totals in campaign efforts.”
VA: ETHICS CHANGES SOUGHT. Story here. “The General Assembly is preparing to add a little ethics to the Code of Virginia without first campaigning much on the specific changes or engaging voters in serious discussions of ethics rules.”
GER: BMW FAMILY GIVES. Story here. “Now, three living family members own nearly half of the German brand, and stand accused of buying votes with donations to the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, mere days ahead of a European Union vote that would cap vehicle emissions.”
UK: LOBBYING BILL ISSUES. Views here. “This bill is supposed to do two big things. The first is to tackle the unhealthily obscure network of connections between lobbyists, politicians and Whitehall officials. The bill does not advance this objective by an inch. Campaigners say that as little as 1% of lobbying activity will be affected by it. The second ostensible aim is to restrict third-party campaigning in election periods.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.