[Political Activity Law]

20 MONEY CHASE.   NYT.  “In interviews, more than three dozen leading Democratic donors, fund-raisers and operatives agreed that it was the earliest start they had ever seen to the jockeying that typically precedes the official kickoff to the campaign for the party’s presidential nomination.”

KID ROCK ACCUSED.   ML.  “Kid Rock might not have formally announced a run for U.S Senate last month when he released a ‘Kid Rock for Senate’ website, but one group is formally accusing him of violating campaign finance law by doing so.”

SCHOCK REQUEST.   LC.  “Federal prosecutors filed a flurry of motions this weekend blasting former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock’s attempts to have his federal corruption case thrown out, saying they are disingenuous and use previously rejected arguments.”

CO:  FORCING DISCLOSURE.   DP.  “Less than two years before the next municipal election, a Denver City Council proposal seeks to close transparency gaps that allow such spending to go unreported as long as the people behind it don’t coordinate directly with a candidate’s campaign.”

HI:  ETHICS VIOLATION FINE.   CB.  “The Hawaii State Ethics Commission announced Thursday that it has reached a $25,000 settlement agreement with Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Peter Apo, who admitted to using the state agency’s connections and resources to benefit his consulting firm, The Peter Apo Company.”

ID:  REFORM URGED.   MV.  “Many of the proposals originate with ethics advocates who tried unsuccessfully to force a voter initiative that would have curbed donation limits, banned gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers and increased penalties for violations.”

MI:  LAW NOT UPDATED.   DN.  ‘An “avalanche of campaign finance fines’ could be looming for corporations and labor groups over political spending in Michigan, according to warnings from a Republican attorney urging legislators to update state law.”

MI:  VIOLATIONS ALLEGED.   FREEP.  “Rep. Bettie Cook Scott, D-Detroit, who was returned to the state House in 2016 after a six-year absence, has not filed a single campaign finance report for the 2016 election cycle. She already has $3,000 in late penalties for three required reports on donations and expenditures that her committee never filed.”

NY:  SHEEHAN LOAN.   TU.  “In the days leading up to Albany’s Democratic Primary for mayor, incumbent Kathy Sheehan has loaned another six-figure sum to her campaign. The $150,000 loan boosts Sheehan’s total of personal loans to $387,000 since Jan. 1.”

WI:  ONE INVESTIGATION.   TU.  “The commission’s administrator, Brian Bell, said the panel fielded 39 complaints of alleged legal violations from July 2016 through June 2017. One led to an investigation into alleged use of public resources for private benefit. Further details of the investigation can’t be released because it’s ongoing, he said.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SEC AND ENHANCED DISCLOSURE.  COOLEY.  “Notwithstanding the deregulatory emphasis of the current administration, two campaigns are currently being waged to convince the SEC to adopt new regulations mandating more disclosure—one related to human capital management and the other related to a frequent target, corporate political spending. Are these just pipe dreams?”

CRYING FOUL ON BRIEF.   NJ.  “Prosecutors allege they have uncovered a bribery scheme between the men dating back to 2006, shortly after Menendez was appointed to his Senate seat. Prosecutors say they can prove the pair explicitly agreed to exchange specific favors — the essence of a bribery charge — by showing how the timing of official actions taken by Menendez lined up with the provision of gifts or contributions by Melgen.”

THE CASE AGAINST MENENDEZ.  CNN.  “Email correspondence, flight manifests, hotel bills, credit card statements and Federal Election Commission filings will all be deployed as evidence of an alleged bribery scheme carried out for seven years by Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and an associate, according to a new brief filed by prosecutors in federal court Wednesday.”

CU WON’T DIE AND WHY.   TIME.  “Obama knew how to work within the post-Citizens United framework, and he didn’t push for the reforms he championed on the campaign trail, said Holman and Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at the nonprofit Common Cause.”

HOW TO GET RICH.   NYT.  “There are about 10,000 registered lobbyists in Washington — roughly 20 for every member of Congress — and thousands more unregistered ones: consultants and ‘strategic advisers’ who are paid to help shape government policy but do not disclose their clients.”

REFORMERS DREAM IS DEAD.   GOVERNING.  “The old dream of completely eliminating big, private money from politics has been dashed by Citizens United and other court rulings.”

SPEECH ANALYSIS.   WP.  “The Republican National Committee or the Trump 2020 campaign — which has up and running since January — should cover part of the cost of Wednesday’s event.”

STATE CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM EFFORTS.   TIME.  “State lawmakers this year are engaging in full-throated debate on campaign finance proposals — with some surprising outcomes…  So far this year, lawmakers in at least 18 states have introduced legislation to change the amount of money people can give politicians, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of proposed legislation in the nation’s 50 statehouses.”

CA:  COMMITTEE MOVES BILL.   SCV.  “The bill will – among other requirements – mandate disclosure of the true names of political donors who give more than $50,000 for print, television, radio and electronic advertisements. Additionally, AB 249 requires advertisements to display donors’ names for a minimum length of time, in a legible font and in a size easily readable against a black background occupying no less than one third of the screen or advertisement.”

CA:  TAXPAYER MAILINGS.   AP.  “The correspondence is supposed to be ‘non-campaign,’ but Assembly spending data show members spent more during recent election years, and those with the highest tabs usually are in the most competitive races.”

MD:  EMAIL AND ICE CREAM.   WP.  “Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s re-election campaign could be slapped with a $250 fine for a minor violation of state election law, an inconvenience that has erupted into a messy partisan brawl.”

NM:  PUBLIC FUNDING FRAUD ACCUSATIONS.   KRQE.  “The complaint states that when Benavidez’s campaign reps were out seeking at least 381 people to contribute $5 on the spot, to qualify Benavidez for $38,000 in public financing, some of the reps may have broken city ordinance.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

OUT OF TIME.   MH.  “Federal prosecutors had half a decade to bring criminal charges against former U.S. Rep. David Rivera in an illegal campaign-finance scheme that landed two of his co-conspirators in jail.”

DISCLOSURE BACKLASH.   FOX.  “A Minneapolis developer and business owner is facing backlash for a political donation he made to notorious white nationalist David Duke.”

HAT STORY.   CNN.  “The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, points out that the president has been pictured wearing the hat, both in red and in white, in two official photos released by the White House.”

LOANS FROM SUPPORTERS.   PRI.  “A review of mandatory personal financial disclosure forms filed by all current members of the House and Senate reveals at least 19 have accepted loans from organizations or moneyed individuals instead of a bank or traditional financial institution.”

AK:  ETHICS TARGET.  ADN.  “A new Alaska ballot initiative is proposing new limits on state lawmakers’ travel, daily expense payments and lobbyist-paid meals.”

FL:  KOCH CHEER.  NT.  “‘We commend Speaker Corcoran for calling to end political welfare for political candidates,’ Americans for Prosperity Florida, the local chapter of the Koch’s huge lobbying operation, announced last week.”

LA:  STATUS OF FUNDS.   NOLA.  “Among the questions swirling around the early retirement of Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand is the destiny of his hefty campaign war chest.”

NM:  COMMENTS ON RULE.   SNM.  “The draft rules, which would require dark money groups to disclose some donors if their spending reaches certain thresholds, will get one last public hearing from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Aug. 30, at the state Capitol.”

SD:  LOWER LIMITS IMPACT.   SDPR.  “A state legislative committee is hoping to find the right balance in restricting the amount of money given to candidates running for state office.”

TX:  NEW ENFORCEMENT DIRECTOR.   TEC.  “The Texas Ethics Commission is pleased to announce Angela Goodwin has joined the Commission as its new Director of Enforcement. Ms. Goodwin recently served as Director of Investigations at Child Protective Services for the State of Texas.”

UT:  LOBBYIST REGISTRATION.   KUTV.  “A Utah state lawmaker named this week as president of a state organization that advocates for the technology industry doesn’t plan to register as a lobbyist, even though the man who had the job before him did.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.