TESTER SEEKS REFORM. Independent Record. “Tester said he, working with Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., has introduced a constitutional amendment stating that Congress has the power to make laws about spending in federal elections, while state legislatures have the power to make their own decisions about state elections.”
NOT GUILTY PLEA. Bristol Press. “Former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland pleaded not guilty Friday to conspiracy and other federal charges in an alleged pursuit of secret consulting roles with two congressional campaigns.”
KELNER AND LA RAJA ON CFR PAST AND FUTURE. WP. “Congress and the president could, however, begin the healing process by dramatically increasing the limits on contributions to political parties and giving them more flexibility to support candidates. Disclosure by tax-exempt outside groups could also be expanded, improving transparency.”
DIRECT MAIL AND GOLDWATER. The Republic. “Direct mail allowed the anti-establishment Goldwater and his conservative supporters to circumvent the wealthy benefactors who at the time were relied on to bankroll White House campaigns.”
CA: CASE SHAPING UP. Voice of SD. “A lot has happened in the three months since a campaign finance scandal first rocked San Diego politicos in January.”
FL: RULES IN SPOTLIGHT. Sun-Sentinel. “The proposed law would allow state senators and state representatives to continue working as lobbyists representing paying clients seeking favors from county commissions and city, town and village governments — a practice that’s good for two South Florida legislators.”
KS: GOV. VETO. Topeka Capital-Journal. “Gov. Sam Brownback on Friday vetoed a measure that lawmakers had said would update the standard spending cap for determining whether someone must register as a lobbyist.”
MD: MCUTCHEON IMPACT. WP. “Maryland will no longer enforce its law that limits donors to giving $10,000 to state candidates during a single election cycle, elections officials said Friday, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week.” The memo referred to is online here.
NY: ALBANY WHIFF. Newsday. “What do you call a state program that’s supposed to be created from scratch by a notoriously dysfunctional agency in just a few months and will be repealed at the end of the year?”
PA: SITE FIASCO. Unionville Times. “Having talked to a few elected officials, it appears this new and highly unusable search engine is actually the new and improved version — which means some sort of management type at DOS had to sign off on it.”
SC: SITE PROBLEMATIC. Charleston Gazette. “As of Friday afternoon, nearly a week past the reporting deadlines, dozens of candidate reports remain unposted, and many that are posted seem to have incorrect data.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.