[Political Activity Law]

TWITTER’S NEW AD POLICY.  REC. “Twitter is promising major changes to its advertising policies, including new special distinctions for political ads, after learning earlier this year that Russia used its platform and other digital services like Facebook to try and influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”

NEW POLICY.  TWITTER.  “In the coming weeks, we will launch an industry-leading transparency center that will offer everyone visibility into who is advertising on Twitter, details behind those ads, and tools to share your feedback with us.”

SKEPTICAL ON LAW.  HILL.  “Republicans and the advertising industry at a hearing Tuesday criticized proposals to expand disclosure rules on online political ads amid revelations Russian actors used social media platforms to influence the 2016 election.”

DISMISSAL SOUGHT.  IFS.  “Attorneys at the Center for Competitive Politics (CCP) and a former Federal Election Commission (FEC) chairman late yesterday asked a federal judge to dismiss the FEC’s case against John Swallow. The filing said Swallow broke no law and that the regulation cited in the complaint is illegal and violates the First Amendment.”  And congratulations to IFS on its new name and logo!

KID ROCK UPDATE.  BB.  “It’s official: Kid Rock is not running for Senate in Michigan.”

CA:  NOT GUILTY PLEA.  DN.  “Los Angeles Unified School District board member Ref Rodriguez pleaded not guilty today to criminal charges for allegedly reimbursing nearly $25,000 to donors he listed on a campaign finance form.”

MT:  LIMITS LEGAL.  FB.  “Under the new limits, individuals and political action committees will be allowed to donate a maximum of $1,320 to a gubernatorial candidate in Montana while political parties will be allowed to donate $47,700. Those numbers will be adjusted for inflation before the 2020 elections. Limits are smaller for statewide races and legislative races.”

PA:  CONSULTANTS CHARGED.  PL.  ” Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia said Kenneth Smukler and Donald Jones helped orchestrate an illegal $90,000 donation to the campaign of a rival candidate meant to induce him to drop out of the race.”

TX:  VIOLATION FOUND FOR ONLINE POSTS.  SM.  “Months after Lakeway Mayor Joe Bain misrepresented his identity online while supporting certain candidates for Lakeway City Council, the Texas Ethics Commission has found the mayor in violation of election code that requires transparency in political advertising and campaign communication.”

TX:  CHARGES DROPPED.  TT.  “Travis County prosecutors have dropped their criminal charges against state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, saying Monday that a felony case against the state lawmaker should never have been brought.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

HONEST ADS NEED TO KNOW.  NPR.  “What we’ve tried to do is a very light touch. We don’t want to slow down innovation.”

DIGITAL TRANSPARENCY.  BB.  “As a response to the Russian campaign to sow discord in the 2016 presidential election, the so-called Honest Ads Act is wholly inadequate. It is also entirely necessary.”

CABS AND PAY TO PLAY.  LEX.  “As a result of the new CAB rules, CABs will need to adopt pay-to-play policies. In addition, any investment adviser who engages a CAB for distribution or solicitation activities to a governmental entity should inquire as to the policies adopted by the CAB and obtain representations that the CAB has adopted such policies and is in compliance with the FINRA pay-to-play rules.”

PAC TIES.  POL.  “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has directed millions of dollars in political contributions since 2014 to a network of Washington operatives that prominent conservatives have accused of profiting by misleading donors.”

FL:  RESIGNATION AND PLEA.  L10.  “Grieco will enter a plea in connection to one misdemeanor count of accepting a political donation through a straw donor, which is in violation of state campaign finance law.”

HI:  REFORMS EYED.  TH.  “The county Board of Ethics is looking for a way to add teeth to what has historically been a paper tiger, almost a decade after the County Council gave it authority to fine public officials who violate the ethics code.”

MO:  CONFUSING LAW.  SPR.  “The Missouri Ethics Commission, charged with enforcing the new law, has had its hands full. The six-person panel has issued at least 15 different opinions addressing various provisions of Amendment 2. It’s also been caught in the middle of several lawsuits.”

NY:  VIEW ON ETHICS REFORM.  ATU.  “If lawmakers aren’t serious about reform, then it’s up to citizens to create a more-accountable government.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

HONEST ADS ACT TEXT.  BILL.   “A bill to enhance transparency and accountability for online political advertisements by requiring those who purchase and publish such ads to disclose information about the advertisements to the public, and for other purposes.” (As of this morning, the text of the bill isn’t at that link.  Another site (scroll down) has an uploaded PDF of the bill.)

NEW BILL ANALYSIS.  WIRED.  “The point is: organic posts can do just as much damage as ads, and the Honest Ads Act does very little address that fact. Not that it could. These open platforms now pervade our lives, and there’s likely no amount of legislation that could stop a malicious actor from exploiting them.”

IAB WEIGHS IN.  MP.  “The Interactive Advertising Bureau will testify this week that it supports efforts to strengthen disclosure requirements for online ads that expressly advocate for particular candidates.”

TAKE ON BILL.  NL.  “Surprise: Tech companies and political advertisers aren’t super excited.”

FINANCE SETUP.  POL.  “His work for multiple campaigns raises questions whether Pence’s gubernatorial reelection campaign was subsidizing, in part or in full, Ayers’ work for Trump — though the arrangement may have been perfectly legal, experts told POLITICO.”

SUPER PLAN.  HILL.  “A super PAC that supports President Trump plans to go over its fundraising strategy in Texas this week as it prepares to step up its efforts before the 2018 and 2020 elections, Politico reported Sunday.”

CONTRACTORS AND PAY TO PLAY.  NLR.  “The FEC had not previously addressed whether applying the federal contractor ban to super PAC contributions is consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions on the regulation of independent expenditures.”

CA:  MILLIONS IN ACCOUNTS.  LAT.  “When California Senate leader Kevin de León launched a run for the U.S. Senate last week, he had $3.8 million in campaign cash and a big problem: The money was raised for state contests and can’t just be rolled into his effort to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2018.”

ID:  TRYING TO IMPROVE.  IS.  “A bipartisan working group of Idaho lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously rejected a proposal to eliminate all of Idaho’s limits on campaign contributions, and instead endorsed changes in the state’s Sunshine Law to require more frequent and more detailed disclosures, including adding new reporting in local races and requiring information about who’s behind shadowy outside groups that run independent expenditure campaigns in the state.”

MD:  FUND BROKE.  MM.   “Maryland’s Fair Campaign Finance Fund (FCFF) has lived a long and tumultuous life since its creation in the 1970s, and members of the legislature, along with Gov. Larry Hogan (R), are looking to restore the fund to its former glory.”

MT: VIOLATION FOUND.  MIS.  “Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices has found that there is ‘sufficient evidence’ to show that Missoula mayoral candidate Lisa Triepke violated the state’s campaign practice laws for not disclosing certain expenditures and services from consultants, and that a fine is justified.”

PA:  RULING ON CANDIDATES.  TL.    “Pittsburgh’s Ethics Hearing Board has ruled that two primary election candidates for a City Council seat violated an ordinance requiring them to file campaign finance reports.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.