DONOR SPOTLIGHT. WP. “Super PACs seeking to influence the 2016 elections have collected more than $1 billion, a record haul driven by jumbo-sized contributions from rich donors on both sides of the aisle.”
THREAT OF GOVERNMENT POWER. WE. “Ann Ravel, a former FEC chairwoman, joined other Democrats at a meeting this month to block Republican Lee Goodman’s proposal to explicitly expand the ‘press exemption’ from regulations to books, satellite radio and Internet-based news media.”
PAY TO PLAY FRAMEWORK. ClarkHill. “On September 20, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued two orders effectively completing the federal pay-to-play regulatory framework for investment advisers, municipal advisors, underwriters of municipal securities, other broker-dealers, municipal advisors and dealers in derivatives doing business with state and local governments (“governmental entities”) under rules of the SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”).”
CA: RENT PAID. VOC. “In what could be a violation of state law, Santa Ana City Council candidate Jose Solorio has been using campaign funds to pay part of the rent for the apartment he’s been living in.”
CO: FLYER MYSTERY. CI. “While disclosure is required on campaign material that advocates on behalf of a candidate or ballot issue, campaign finance experts say the fliers skirt the law because they do not specifically urge someone to vote for or against the candidates targeted.”
MO: AG ALLEGATIONS. STL. “In a complaint filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, Alderman Scott Ogilvie wants regulators to investigate whether Hawley’s campaign violated state campaign laws by accepting money from the Washington DC-based Republican Attorneys General Association that was funneled to Hawley through a separate state-level political action committee.”
MO: REGISTRATION NOT NEEDED. MT. “[Ron] Calzone argued that because he did not buy meals or gifts of any kind for legislators and was not compensated for his work in the Capitol, which meant he was a citizen advocate.”
NY: GETTING TO THE ROOT. TU. “New Yorkers can’t wait any longer for our leaders to fix the real root of the problem: our state’s badly broken campaign finance system.”
NY: CITY HALL SUBPOENA. NYT. “A state ethics panel investigating Mayor Bill de Blasio’s political nonprofit organization has served a sweeping subpoena on City Hall seeking communications among the mayor, his aides, the nonprofit, its donors and consulting firms that worked for it, people with knowledge of the matter said.”
TX: COMPLAINT FILED. LCS. “A left-leaning New Mexico nonprofit group has filed a complaint with the state Attorney General’s office against state Rep. Andy Nuñez, R-Hatch, alleging he improperly used campaign funds.”
TX: TEC GRILL. HC. “The Texas Ethics Commission, already facing scrutiny from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and several prominent tea party groups, came under fire Wednesday from Senate Republicans who grilled two of the agency’s top officials for more than an hour.”
VT: SETTLEMENT IN CASE. VB. “The Vermont House Republican PAC (“VHR PAC”) will pay a civil penalty of $2,000 for failing to register as a legislative leadership PAC and for soliciting contributions from lobbyist employers, according to Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell.”
WA: I-1464 VIEWS. FB. “Voters in Washington State will decide on the campaign finance rules in their state in November. The new rules are packaged in the Initiative 1464. Supporters of this action perceive this as the required step to slash big money donor influence in state politics. Opponents see the measure as a counter-productive one and an expensive misuse of scant state resources.”
WI: MOVE TO THWART. NBC. “Critics of Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt are upset over a two-month delay in a criminal case, charging him with campaign finance violations.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.