DONATION BAN FAILS. TW. “The Democratic National Committee on Saturday voted down a resolution that would have revived a ban on corporate lobbyist donations first instituted by President Obama.”
COMMISSION DEPARTURE NOTED. WSJ. “Amid the sharp ups and downs of the Trump presidency these days, it is easy to overlook good news, notably the real change inside Washington’s vast bureaucracy. The latest example is the loud departure of Ann Ravel from the Federal Election Commission.”
WATCHDOG WATCH. Poliltico. “The ethics vetting team is being run by an army of attorneys including four in the White House counsel’s office and several more at the Trump Organization in New York.”
AL: OTHER PROBLEMS. AL. “A campaign account is not like any other bank account. Spending is restricted. Deposits, too. They are meant to be used for just what the name implies, but too often officials just don’t treat them that way, but use them as slush funds, instead.”
MI: LAW LIVES ON. NLR. “Several other states (e.g. Pennsylvania, Texas) have begun attempts to pass similar laws restricting automatic payroll deductions for political contributions. The impact on political campaigning, if such laws became commonplace in many states, could be significant. Stay tuned.”
NH: DISCLOSURE AND NH VALUES. SCO. “New Hampshire has consistently allowed for flexibility in campaign financing, depending upon disclosure to keep the electorate informed of who was investing in our elections.”
NY: PROBE SOUGHT. NYP. “Government watchdogs on Friday urged the state ethics agency to investigate whether Keith Wright is violating New York’s conflict-of-interest-law by working for a high-powered lobbying firm while continuing to serve as the Manhattan Democratic leader.”
OK: ETHICS INVESTIGATES. KFOR. “Documents obtained by NewsChannel 4 show the commission is looking into a number of ethics violations, including 21 donations from political action committees totaling nearly $30,000 that were not reported by Sen. Loveless’ 2016 campaign fund.”
PA: REFORM URGED. LP. “One of the problems is that Pennsylvania is one of 12 states that have no limits on donations to PACs or individual candidates.”
TX: NEW RULES COMING. AM. “Two City Council members, Ellen Troxclair and Jimmy Flannigan, are collecting campaign funds in anticipation of re-election campaigns that seem far in the future. Troxclair is likely to run for re-election in November 2018 for her District 8 seat, but Flannigan will not be up for re-election until November 2020.”
TX: COMMISSION APPOINTMENT. TI. “Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced the appointment of Chris Flood to the Texas Ethics Commission today.“
HAVE A GOOD DAY.