[Political Activity Law]

DEFENSE FUND UPDATE.   OGE.  “The U.S. Office of Government Ethics has quietly reversed its own internal policy prohibiting anonymous donations from lobbyists to White House staffers who have legal defense funds.”

AK:  STATE REP. ACCUSED.   USN.  “The committee says Wilson produced and sent a postcard about air quality issues to constituents outside her legislative district using state resources and included the return address of an official legislative office on the postcard.”

CA:  FELONY ETHICS CHARGES.   LAT.  “Los Angeles Unified School Board President Ref Rodriguez was charged Wednesday with three felony counts of conspiracy, perjury and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, the result of a months-long investigation by local authorities into donations to his successful first-time run for office in 2015.”

CO:  LOBBYIST EARNINGS.   KUNC.  “Colorado lobbyists reported earning 10 times as much as the lawmakers they worked to influence in 2017.”

MA:  GROUP FINED.   EDWEEK.  “One of the biggest backers of the effort last November to raise the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in Massachusetts has paid more than $425,000 to settle a campaign finance complaint.”

TX:  PROPOSALS FINALIZED.  RR.  “A package of recommended revisions to the City’s campaign finance code is on its way to the City Council Governance Committee. It will not, however, include one Council member’s proposal for a higher degree of disclosure on campaign contributions.”

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CAN:  BILL ON REFORM.  CTV.  ” British Columbia’s Opposition Liberals took the private member’s route to introduce a proposed law to reform campaign financing, including banning donations to political parties from unions and corporations.”  More on private member bills here.

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HAVE A GOOD DAY.

DEAR ZUCK LETTER.   CNBC.  “CNBC obtained an advance copy of a letter sent Tuesday to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg from CLC President Trevor Potter. The nonprofit watchdog group accuses Facebook of having been ‘used as an accomplice in a foreign government’s effort to undermine democratic self governance in the United States.'”

EVENTS ADVERTISED.   IND.  “Some of the ads bought by Russians on Facebook last year promoted events during the US presidential campaign, Facebook said on Tuesday, indicating that alleged meddling ahead of the 2016 election went beyond social media.”

AT THE FEC.   The agenda for tomorrow’s Federal Election Commission is here.

AT THE FEC.   TT.  “President Donald Trump is nominating Trey Trainor, an Austin lawyer well known in Texas politics, to serve on the Federal Election Commission.”

CA:  DEVELOPER ACCUSED.  SFG.  “A well-known East Bay developer was arraigned Tuesday in federal court on an indictment that accuses him of engaging in fraud to make illegal campaign contributions to Rep. Eric Swalwell, the U.S. Attorney and the FBI announced.”

DC:  REFORM ISSUES.   WAMU.  “D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine has made changing the city’s campaign finance laws one of his signature issues, but he’s also found himself entrapped by his own campaign finance problems.”

MO:  AIDE LEAVES.   STL.  “A top aide to Missouri’s treasurer has left the state payroll to become a lobbyist.”

SD:  LOW TURNOUT.   AL.  “Two people showed up Tuesday to urge lawmakers to limit the amount corporations and political action committees can give political candidates.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

MATTER EXTENDED.  WE.  “The House Ethics Committee is extending a probe into whether the non-voting delegate representing Guam ‘received profit’ from the Japanese government, used staff and resources for unauthorized purposes, and received free gifts and lodging in violation of House rules.”

STAFF DEPARTURE.   RC.  “California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter’s Chief of Staff Joe Kasper is leaving his office amid the investigation into the Republican’s use of campaign funds.”

CA:  FINE FOR REPORT.    OCR.  “California’s political watchdog agency plans to fine Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas $21,000 for failing to promptly file state-mandated forms that give details on some of his work to raise money for a nonprofit that prevents gang membership.”

MA:  LARGEST PENALTY.   BG.  “A wealthy New York organization that poured $15 million into last year’s unsuccessful ballot question to expand charter schools in Massachusetts was hit Monday with the largest fine in state campaign history after officials found the group was illegally hiding the identities of its donors.”

MA:  BAKER GOAL.   BG.  “Governor Charlie Baker’s political team told its top fundraisers in May that the goal for the summer was to have $10 million on hand come September — a deep warchest for his all-but-declared 2018 re-election bid.”

NY:  STAND BY YOUR AD.   NYDN.  “The 30-second television spot, which features the Staten Island assemblywoman and Republican mayoral candidate in a boxing gym, lacks a spoken disclosure saying who paid for the ad — required by the city’s campaign finance laws and regulations.”

NY:  DISCLOSURE IN MANHATTAN.   LD.  “The contentious campaign found its way onto the pages of the New York Post this past summer after a local activist with Grand Street Democrats filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections, asserting that the Truman Club has,’not registered with the state and has not submitted financial disclosure statements for at least 18 years.'”

SD:  MONEY VENTING.   AL.  “The Government Accountability Task Force is scheduled to accept testimony as it considers changing the laws that dictate how much candidates can take in and how they have to disclose it to the public.”

TX:  SOROS WARNING.  PF.  “If Soros, who also didn’t respond to requests for comment, is gearing up to sway the 2018 Texas elections, records suggest he’ll be doing so for the first time.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.