R’S AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE. HuffPo. “Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) on Thursday introduced legislation to provide tax credits and deductions for political donors making small contributions.”
FEC AND BITCOIN. The Verge. “The Federal Election Commission declined to approve the use of the virtual currency Bitcoin for political donations today. Despite an early advisory opinion that said the currency should be allowed as in-kind donations, the commission deadlocked when it came time to make the change official.”
DISCLOSURE ISSUE. Cleveland.com. “The Federal Election Commission on Thursday denied the request of a prominent Tea Party organization that argued it should not have to disclose its political donors because they might face harassment from the government or the public.”
STARK SUPER PAC? SFGate. “Former East Bay Rep. Pete Stark, ousted from office last year after 40 years in the House, said Thursday he may organize a SuperPAC — and go back to campaigning in his former district — to make good on his vow to to do ‘everything I can’ to defeat the fellow Democrat who beat him.”
AZ: LATEST ON LIMITS. AZ Daily Star. “Reversing his earlier stance, Secretary of State Ken Bennett now wants to keep caps in place for how much money candidates can take from individuals and special interests, at least for the time being.”
IL: SELF-FINANCING NEWS. Herlad-Review. “[Bruce] Rauner, a super-wealthy Winnetka businessman, blew the cap on campaign contributions earlier this month when he gave himself $500,000 to help pay for a new series of television ads.”
NY: PROBE MOTIVE QUESTIONED. Capital New York. “Legislative leaders amping up their rhetoric in a fight over subpoenas from the Cuomo-convened anti-corruption panel, saying the investigation into their finances amounts to simple coercion.”
NY: DE BLASIO PAYS. NYDN. “To clean the slate, de Blasio — in a move that is perfectly legal — made use of a quirk in the campaign finance laws that allowed donors to give to both his 2009 and 2013 campaigns, at the same time.”
PA: UNIVERSITY LOBBYING. TribLive.com. “Pennsylvania’s public research universities pour hundreds of thousands of dollars a year into lobbying elected officials.”
UT: SWALLOW RESIGNATION UPDATE. KSL.com. “A report released Friday says ex-attorney general John Swallow violated Utah election law on at least five different occasions. The report are the findings of a special counsel in the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, which was hired to investigate Swallow’s campaign disclosure forms.”
WA: AMENDED COMPLAINT. KOMONews.com. “An amended complaint against the Grocery Manufacturers Association increases from $7.2 million to $10.6 million the amount Washington says the organization collected from members to oppose Initiative 522 without complying with the state’s campaign finance laws.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.