SUPREME REVIEW. CBS. “Five years after the Supreme Court freed corporations and labor unions to spend freely in federal elections, the justices will hear arguments Tuesday in Williams-Yulee’s challenge to the Florida rules, which she says violate her right to speak freely.”
PROBE SOUGHT. Newsleader.com. “The Republican Party of Virginia filed a formal ethics complaint Friday against Democratic Sen. Mark Warner for ‘brainstorming’ about jobs for a state senator’s daughter as he tried to dissuade the legislator from quitting in the middle of a bitterly partisan Medicaid battle.”
AZ: SUPERBOWL ETHICS. KPHO. “Phoenix residents were promised ethics reform in the city of Phoenix nearly three years ago. Now, just weeks before the biggest sporting event in the world is played in the Valley, some city leaders are asking what happened.”
CT: WHAT’S NEXT. CT Mirror. “Needless to say, prescriptions for fixing Connecticut’s system of publicly financing campaigns vary wildly.”
FL: LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Naplesnews.com. “Roughly $1.6 billion was spent in Florida on lobbying in the five years from 2008-13, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. Since Florida lists lobbyist compensation in ranges, that dollar amount is more of a median, said Pete Quist, the institute’s research director.”
MT: CHANGE AFOOT. Missoulian. “The first-time registration of a Missoula law firm as a political action committee appears to indicate a shift in the political landscape since the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.”
VA: GIFTS DOWN. WP. “Year to year, Republicans accepted about 35 percent fewer gifts and Democrats accepted about 15 percent fewer gifts, the data shows.”
WI: SOURCE OF FUNDS. DC. “A report released Monday found that an influential Wisconsin progressive group quietly changed its tune on union contributions only after Scott Walker became governor.”
AUS: EXPLAINING DONATIONS. The Australian. “Rex has been unable to explain why it made unprecedented, massive donations to political parties two years ago, at the same time as an investigation into the crash of one of its aircraft was being conducted. ”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.