Political Activity Law/Political Law/Election Law

Category: Alabama

  • Political law links for 5-27

    SUIT ON DELEGATES.  Pillar of Law.  “The Pillar of Law Institute filed a lawsuit in Wyoming federal court today, challenging a law that prohibits delegates to political party conventions from accepting books, travel stipends, and legal assistance from non-profits.”

    SUPER PACS 101.  Venable.  “This memorandum summarizes the rules of the road for setting up and operating federal Super PACs, which are groups formed primarily to make ‘independent expenditures’ in connection with federal elections, and which register and file reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).”

    SUPER PAC PROFILE RISING.  WExaminer.  “A pro-Ben Carson super political action committee is fundraising off of the retired neurosurgeon’s ‘growing influence’ in Donald Trump’s campaign.”

    FREEDOM PARTNERS UP.  PoliticsPA.  “[Katie] McGinty is playing defense and addressing an ad that is being ran by Freedom Partners Action Fund, a free-market Super PAC started by the Koch Brothers.”

    REPLACING RUBIO.  CNN.  “A major Democratic super PAC is reserving more than $10 million to spend in Florida this fall in what is expected to be an expensive and hard-fought race to replace exiting Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.”

    HUCKABEE’S DEFENSE FUND ASK.  FEC.  His campaign asks about setting up a legal defense fund to pay attorney’s fees and other potential costs.

    AL:  LOBBYIST TESTIFIES.  Dothan Eagle.  “A lobbyist said Tuesday that his company handled what state prosecutors are calling illegal transactions between the Alabama Republican Party and indicted Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard on the first day of Hubbard’s felony ethics trial.”

    CA:  REFORM LATER.  MNews.  “Citing a conflict of interest involving two sitting members of the council running for election in November, Milpitas City Council last week delayed the decision to implement financial reform recommendations for elections to the next sitting city council.”

    ME:  PRIMARY SPENDING CONCERNS.  BDN.  “A meeting of the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices yesterday did not result in any sanction or finding of wrongdoing against Democratic state senate candidate (and current state representative) Ben Chipman, who is running in a contested primary in Portland. The proceedings did, however, highlight a potential loophole in Maine campaign finance laws.”

    MO:  CLEARING UP FILING.  CDT.  “House Bill 1474, which was approved by the General Assembly two weeks ago, would require electronic filing of financial disclosure records with the Missouri Ethics Commission.”

    HAVE A GOOD DAY.  I’ll send around the next set of links early next week.  Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

  • Wed. political law links

    RULES CHANGE HELPS R’S.  BM.com.  “Under the old rules, an individual could give up to $33,400 a year to the Republican or Democratic national committees. The new rule allows donors to give 10 times that amount.”

    SUPER PAC HAUL.  MW.  “A super PAC backing Jeb Bush is likely to fall short of collecting $100 million by the end of this month.”

    SUPER PAC HIRE.  Bloomberg.  “According to two people close to Kasich, his super-PAC, New Day for America, has hired Fred Davis to do its media work and strategy.”

    WAXMAN HIRED.  Hill.  “Former Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is now a registered lobbyist for T-Mobile and four other groups.”

    BONANZA.  NYT.  “Most lobbying compensation packages are closed to public view, but some – especially of top officials working for tax-exempt trade associations – are not.”

    LOBBYING RULE ISSUE.  Navy Times.  “POGO head Danielle Brian called the comments a violation of the 1913 Anti-Lobbying Act that ‘prohibits the use of taxpayer funds by federal agencies to conduct grassroots lobbying efforts to pressure Congress to support ‘any legislation or appropriation by Congress.””

    AL:  MORE ENFORCEMENT.  Dec. Daily.  “Legislation approved in the Alabama Statehouse gives more clarity and enforcement capabilities to the state’s campaign finance reporting laws, the bill’s sponsor and drafter said.”

    IA:  NEW REFORM.  DMR.  ” A new bipartisan group in Iowa is pushing for campaign finance reform in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.”

    HAVE A GOOD DAY.  I’ll send around the next set of links next week.  Have a great weekend.

  • 8.26 political law links

    APP FOR POLITICS.  LAT.  “Finding out where your favorite brands lie on the political spectrum is now as easy as scanning bar codes with your iPhone.”

    AL:  CONTRIBUTION ALLEGATIONS.  AL.com.  “The Democratic candidate for Alabama attorney general on Monday accused his Republican opponent of breaking state law by accepting a campaign donation from the campaign account of former U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile.”

    AZ:  COMPLAINT FILED.  InMaricopa.com.  “State Senate candidate Scott Bartle filed a complaint Friday with the Secretary of State and the Citizens Clean Elections Commission against his Legislative District 11 Republican primary opponent, Steve Smith.”

    CT:  DGA GIVES.  CTnewsjunkie.com.  “The Democratic Governors Association donated $1.25 million to Connecticut Forward, the Super PAC formed to help Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s re-election efforts.”

    FL:  SUPER PAC FORMED.  New Times.  “[Cheryl] Shuman has been scrambling to put together a super PAC in time for the elections. She says that plans for ‘Moms for Marijuana’ were finalized only last Thursday and that she plans to register with the Federal Elections Commission this week. Currently, there are only three other marijuana-themed super PACS registered, and none of them has raised any cash.”

    MA:  LOBBYING FIRM IN THE NEWS.  Boston Herald.  “A politically wired Beacon Hill lobbying firm let off with a light penalty by Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Martha Coakley for a possible violation of state law hosted a fundraiser for Coakley’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2009, the Herald has learned.”

    NY:  FREE SPEECH CONCERNS.  Fox.  “The New York State Board of Elections has enacted emergency regulations to keep a closer eye on political spending by special interest groups, but critics say the changes are over-reaching and will stifle free speech.”

    OH:  WHAT’S NEW?  Dispatch.com.  “Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ed FitzGerald’s campaign confirmed yesterday that it is diverting money back to the Ohio Democratic Party’s ‘field and voter turnout program’ in an apparent nod to what party leaders have been saying for a week.”

    TN:  A FIRST.  Leaf-Chronicle.  “For the first time in its history, the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance board has voted to audit a local candidate’s campaign finance reports, in this case a candidate from Montgomery County.”

    TX:  PAYING THE LAWYERS.  Bizjournals.com.  “Texas Gov. Rick Perry will pay for his own defense against two felony indictments, the Texas Tribune reported Wednesday night.”

    HAVE A GOOD DAY.