[Political Activity Law]

PUSH TO REVIVE. BGOV. “Advocates of stricter campaign finance law enforcement fear a Senate Republican push to restore a quorum on the Federal Election Commission could thwart their ability to pursue alleged violations in court.”

PAC ATTACK. MC. “A Democratic political-action committee has made the first major independent media buy in Montana’s U.S. Senate race, spending almost $700,000 for an ad attacking Republican Sen. Steve Daines.”

WATCHDOG FILES. DES. “A watchdog group has filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against a GOP congressional candidate for allegedly accepting an in-kind contribution by coordinating with a nonprofit organization to attack Utah Rep. Chris Stewart.”

DRAFT COMMITTEE UP. HILL. “A new committee is pushing for former first lady Michelle Obama to join the ticket of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as his vice president.”

MONEY DROP. SAL. “A dark-money group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is dropping more than half a million dollars on an advertisement shielding Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, an embattled Republican incumbent, from criticism of her response to the coronavirus outbreak.”

MD: COMPLAINT FILED. BSUN. “A nonprofit advocacy group has filed an ethics complaint with the Maryland elections board, alleging campaign finance violations by a super PAC that is backing Baltimore mayoral candidate Mary Miller.”

OR: TAKING THE LEAD. BB. “Gov. Kate Brown is using her well-funded political action committee to back a November ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to allow limits on money in politics.”

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MD: UNDER REVIEW. FB. “The second round of campaign finance reports for Baltimore’s mayoral race are in and the filings reveal major spending among the top candidates.”

NY: OFFICE SHUTTERED. LN. “In February, staffers for businessman Mike Bloomberg’s bid for president confidently said his office in the Penndel Shopping Center in Penndel Borough would remain open through the November election no matter if he was the Democrat’s nominee or not.”

OR: DISMISSAL SOUGHT. PM. “Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s reelection campaign committee will move to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of violating campaign contribution limits, which the City Auditor’s Office has never required candidates to follow.”

OR: LIMITS LEGAL. OL. “The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday said limits do not violate the state constitution, a major ruling that clears the way for controls on campaign donations in metro-area races and potentially signals an end to Oregon’s distinction as one of the biggest money states in American politics.”

OR: RULING IMPACT. MT. “That leaves 2020 election candidates facing even more uncertainty. Already forced to campaign under the stay-at-home restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, office-seekers might be holding campaign contributions that exceed what are suddenly valid limits.”

PA: ALLEGATIONS LODGED. ABC. “Allegations of campaign finance violations have been lodged against current Pennsylvania Auditor General, Eugene DePasquale (D).”

TN: FINDING CHALLENGED. TNSN. “First reported by The Tennessean, the board — prompted by Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Executive Director Bill Young — voted via email earlier this month to reduce Towns’ fines to $22,000.”

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FINAL BILL. POL. “Mike Bloomberg ended his ill-fated presidential bid on March 4, but his campaign still shelled out nine figures last month anyway, taking his total spending over $1 billion in a losing run for the Democratic nomination.”

CASH ALLEGATION. TI. “Detroit City Council President and former U.S. Rep. Brenda Jones accepted campaign contributions that violate state rules against pay-to-play activity, according to a review of campaign finance records and interviews with ethics experts.”

OR: MORE COMPLAINTS. PM. “Campaign finance reform activists have accused Mayor Ted Wheeler of not complying with new disclosure requirements in his reelection advertising.”

WA: COURT REVIVES. IEG. “The Washington State Supreme Court last week reinstated a record $18 million fine against the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) for hiding the names of companies who contributed to the food industry group’s effort to defeat the state’s GMO labeling initiative.”

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