PROGRAMMING NOTE. I’ll only have a few sets of political law links this week. Regular posts will appear starting next Tuesday.
FUNDING LANDSCAPE. CBS. “Between campaign committees, leadership PACs, super PACs and 527 committees, there’s a confusing collection of ways to collect funds that all come with different disclosure requirements, campaign limits, and spending restrictions, and that are being used in ways that test legal boundaries.”
ANOTHER PATH FOR IE’S. Perkins Coie. “An overlooked enforcement decision by the Federal Election Commission involving Senator John McCain’s 2010 campaign may put another type of player onto a campaign field that has become increasingly dominated by super PACs, nonprofits and non-candidate groups—other candidates’ campaigns.”
REGULATION OF NONPROFITS SUPPORTED. Politickernj.com. “It has now come to light that the IRS is drafting a regulation that will be more precise in defining what constitutes political activity.”
CO: FEEDBACK SOUGHT. Chieftain.com. “Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams is asking for feedback from the public concerning campaign and political finance rules.”
LA: NEW SUPER PAC. Theind.com. “There are no laws on the books whatsoever to guide super PACs in Louisiana. There is case law, however, allowing them to receive unlimited donations, but it relates only to the Fund For Louisiana’s Future. Technically, under state law, there are no super PACs — just independent political action committees.”
MN: REVOLVING DOOR. Chron.com. “Many states and the U.S. government have limits against quick moves for lawmakers to become lobbyists. Minnesota does not have a law, but the state House has a rule calling for a one-year cooling off period that’s often ignored. There’s no penalty for violating it.”
MT: CFR PASSED. MT Standard. “The House, on a 51-48 vote Saturday, passed a major campaign finance bill aimed at requiring so-called ‘dark money’ groups to report their donors and their expenses.”
NJ: PAY TO PLAY CHANGE. Covington. “A little-noticed sentence in a bill sitting on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s desk could, if it becomes law, threaten to curtail the ability of national party committees to raise money from Wall Street and financial industry executives.”
OH: FINES NOT COLLECTED. DDN. “State officials collect only a sliver of the millions of dollars in fines they levy against local and state candidates who fail to file campaign finance reports on time.”
TX: FUNDS RETURNED. ABC13. “Two Houston city councilmen returned campaign contributions received from finalists for lucrative airport concessions and another council member raised questions about the transparency and relationships connected to the airport deals — all in the wake of an ABC-13 investigation into perceived coziness between the contract’s winners and City Hall.”
TX: LOBBYISTS TARGETED. TX Tribune. “Texas lawmakers considered legislation Monday that could bar several elected officials from holding their posts in the future, including a moderate member of the ideologically divided State Board of Education.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.