POLITICALACTIVITYLAW.COM IN 2015. Happy New Year! I hope you’re sufficiently tanned, rested, and ready to tackle 2015 and the new political law challenges ahead. I’ll be continuing the never-ending excitement here by linking to news and developments related to local, state, and federal campaign finance, lobbying, government travel and ethics, foreign agents registration, foreign corrupt practices, election law, broker/dealer obligations related to political contributions, and just about every other connected topic. Have a link? Email or DM me on Twitter and I’m sure to add it. Thanks for reading and your interest.
YEAR’S HOTTEST BOOK. State and Federal. The 2015 Guidebook is out and on its way to all of their clients.
15 ETHICS OUTLOOK. RC. “The congressional ethics docket has been extraordinarily quiet the past two years. Given that human nature hasn’t changed, and that money’s potential to poison public service has only been permitted to expand, there’s no reason to believe lawmakers have suddenly and collectively decided to start behaving better.”
GROUP RECOMMENDATION ON CAP. Insurance News Net. “NAMA suggested to instead raise the limit to $250 and incorporate the exemptions, which would ‘strike the appropriate balance’ governing municipal market participants behavior without raising questions of impropriety.”
BREW OF DISCHORD. WSJ. “A Securities and Exchange Commission rule designed to limit conflicts of interest in state contracting is becoming less effective amid the rise of super PACs and should be broadened, groups that track campaign finance say.”
LITTLE GUYS TRAPPED. WSJ. “Campaign-finance reformers claim to oppose ‘big money’ in politics, but more often small citizen groups get caught in the webs that regulate political speech.”
HOW INAUGURALS ARE FUNDED. SFGate.com. A list of inaugural “plans and how they will be funded in the states swearing in new and re-elected governors, and for the new mayor of the District of Columbia.”
CA: FOUR YEAR MYSTERY. Appeal Democrat. “Just before the November 2010 election, a mass mailer, followed by robocalls to voters, disparaged then-Mayor Kash Gill and urged he not be re-elected. The mailer said it had been paid for by Concerned Citizens for a Strong Yuba City and lacked any other identifying information.”
CA: SEEKING APPLICANTS. Mercury News. “City of Milpitas is currently taking applications for membership of a newly created campaign finance reform committee to review and potentially change the city’s existing campaign finance ordinance.”
MA: IN EFFECT. Masslive.com. “Several significant changes to the state’s campaign finance law are set to go into effect in 2015.”
MA: NEW DISCLOSURE CONSIDERED. Gloucester Times. “Requiring similar disclosures for other kinds of political advertising was one of several proposed changes to state campaign finance laws approved by a seven-member task force headed by Michael Sullivan, director of the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance.”
MO: ETHICS AGENDA. KMOV. “Missouri’s legislative leaders say 2015 is the year they’ll rein in lavish gifts from lobbyists and unchecked campaign donations.”
MT: PARTIAL WIN. Missoulian. “A Billings Republican legislator has won a partial victory in his political practices complaint against the Montana Democratic Party.”
VA: WHAT REFORM ISN’T. Roanoke.com. “The test for state officeholders will be their willingness to do that which political leaders are most loath to do: Give authority to an independent body to uphold and enforce the higher standards legislators presumably will set for themselves in the upcoming General Assembly session.”
WI: GET ME REWRITE. Chippewa.com. “Republicans, in firm control of state government when they take office Monday, are poised to make the most sweeping revisions to state campaign finance law in decades.”
WI: CONTRIBUTIONS ISSUE. GB Press Gazette. “Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt said he plans to spend the next several days amending documents that appear to show he accepted nearly $10,000 in illegal campaign donations.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.