DONORS IN STATE ELECTIONS. Time.com. “Together, the two governors’ groups and other national political organizations gave significantly more than political parties, unions, multimillionaires or corporations that also contributed heavily to influence state-level campaigns.”
16 GUIDE TO COMMITTEES. WLKY. “What’s with this jumble of acronyms and numbers? Here’s a guide on the advantages and restrictions placed on each type of group.”
EVENT ON BRIGHT LINES. Am. Progress. “On Thursday, January 29, the Center for American Progress will co-host an event with Public Citizen, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and the Alliance Defending Freedom on the need for clearer Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, rules for nonprofit organizations. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will deliver the keynote address.”
NEED FOR COUNSEL NOTED. Lexology. “Because of the ever-increasing risk of enforcement actions, broadening shareholder scrutiny, and negative publicity that may cause adverse economic and reputational consequences, corporations in virtually every industry continue to develop and refine compliance programs to address laws regulating government affairs and government procurement activities. Common elements among these programs include implementing tailored policies, preclearing certain activities, providing protocols to ensure registration and ongoing reporting requirements are met, training programs for certain officers and employees, and procedures for keeping abreast of the latest developments in this area of law.”
REFORMER ANSWERS. Reps. Price and Van Hollen. “At a press conference earlier this week, we joined colleagues from the Senate to announce that we will be reintroducing legislation to require disclosure of contributions by outside spending groups and to tighten the rules that prohibit collaboration between candidates and super-PACs that support them.”
PARTY PAC MOVES. WP. “Mike Shields, the top aide at the Republican National Committee and a veteran political operative, is leaving the party committee to helm a super PAC dedicated to preserving and expanding the party’s House majority.”
IN: KOCH DROPS BILL. Indy Star. ”Rep. Eric Koch is backing off his push to prevent local governments from regulating oil and gas drilling after potential conflict-of-interest concerns emerged regarding his personal investments in more than two dozen oil and natural gas companies.”
NJ: TORRES RETURNS. Northjersey.com. “Recent campaign finance reports show that Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres has refunded $18,650 in political contributions that apparently exceeded state-imposed limits on such donations.”
UT: BILL HELD. UT Political Capitol. “After a lengthy discussion, the House Government Operations Committee decided to hold Representative Brian King’s (Democrat – Salt Lake City) Campaign Finance bill on Tuesday.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.