RETHINK CAMPAIGN FINANCE. Daily World. “In a rare show of solidarity, the leaders of the Louisiana Democratic Party and the Louisiana Republican Party have joined forces in an effort to loosen restrictive campaign finance laws. And well they should.”
SMALL DONOR SOLUTION. HuffPo. “In the effort to sell solutions, [Public Campaign’s] Donnelly intends to focus on empowering small donors and diluting the power of big money.”
REID’S PLAN. Examiner. “Senate Democrats are ramping up efforts for a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at reversing recent Supreme Court decisions that loosened campaign finance restrictions.”
TRIP REVIEW SOUGHT. Houston Chronicle. “U.S. Rep. Ted Poe has asked the House Ethics Committee to review statements made by a group of nonprofits that the Texas Republican and nine other members of Congress relied upon before accepting all-expense paid trips to an energy conference last year in Baku, Azerbaijan.”
IA: REFORMER STRATEGY. Quad-City Times. “So Mayday is using the rules that allow super PACs to raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals and spend it to overtly advocate for or against political candidates, to test its message and strategy in a handful of races this year. Among them is the open seat Iowa 3rd Congressional District race where Mayday is backing Democrat Staci Appel.”
IN: INDOT AND ETHICS. Indystar.com. “At a press conference, Inspector General David Thomas said that even though no charges were filed against Woodruff, his case demonstrates why it’s important for government employees to openly and publicly declare potential conflicts of interest.”
MA: BILL PASSES. Country Gazette. “With the end of formal session, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a landmark campaign finance bill that once again puts the Commonwealth on the cutting edge of legislative reform.”
WI: LATEST ON DISCLOSURE. Madison.com. “Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board, the state agency that monitors elections, recently told a number of electioneering groups — conservative and liberal — that they are welcome to disclose their spending activity and donors, but are not required to.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.