CHEAT SHEET. NJ. “A Democratic group is hoping to shine a light into an opaque corner of the conservative money machine, with a new searchable database of hundreds of right-leaning nonprofit groups, foundations, business leagues, wealthy individuals, and other political players whose actions are difficult to scrutinize.”
MOST PATHETIC. NRO. “Taken together, this level of corruption may have had a material influence on the outcome of the 2012 election.”
LATHAM REFUNDS. Des Moines Register. “The Federal Election Commission has strict rules about what federal candidates can and can’t do with leftover campaign balances when they lose an election or retire.”
HUSBAND OF POKE BUTTON PIONEER ACCUSED. WFB. “New York Republicans filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission last month alleging that Sean Eldridge, a Democratic candidate for a New York House seat, accepted an illegal contribution from a local business group.”
COMPLAINT FILED. Billings Gazette. “Two Washington, D.C.-based advocacy groups filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday accusing a U.S. House candidate in Montana of illegally coordinating with the political action committee he created.”
CA: GIFTS REPORTED. San Jose Mercury News. “California lawmakers, including two Democrats who are on leave after being charged with criminal offenses, have reported thousands of dollars in gifts and travel expenses they received from donors.”
CA: ALJ ON BERRYHILL. LAT. “A scheme by state Sen. Tom Berryhill (R-Modesto) to launder $40,000 in campaign funds through two county GOP committees to his brother Bill’s 2008 Assembly campaign was a ‘serious and deliberate’ violation of state regulations, an administrative law judge concluded in a report released Wednesday.”
NY: STUMPING FOR REFORM. TimesUnion.com. “An overwhelmingly XX-chromosome gathering of advocates and Democratic legislators argued for the gender impact of New York approving public financing of campaigns as part of the reform package that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has rolled into his executive budget proposal.”
WI: REFORM INTRODUCED. Daily Cardinal. “The bills would remove financial reporting requirements for political advertisements that do not explicitly advocate for the election or defeat of individual candidates or include the words ‘vote for,’ ‘elect,’ ‘support’ or five other similar terms.”
WI: BILLS NOT PRIORITY. Post Crescent. “Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that he’s not pushing for Republican-sponsored bills loosening campaign donation and spending regulations that are opposed by a variety of government watchdog groups and a major private-sector union.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.