[Political Activity Law]

HASSAN ON DISCLOSE ACT.   CM.  “I recently joined 45 of my colleagues in introducing the DISCLOSE Act of 2017, which would increase transparency in our campaign finance system.”

CA:  COMMISSION APPOINTMENT.   VOC.  “Orange County supervisors, without discussion, on Tuesday appointed the second member of the still-unformed countywide ethics commission.”

FL:  COREY WITHDRAWAL.   TAL.  “A Tallahassee lobbyist at the center of an FBI investigation into local redevelopment deals and a co-owner of the city-subsidized Edison restaurant abruptly withdrew from lobbying for all of his clients at the state level.”

MA:  TRAINING IN NEW BEFORD.   SCT.  “The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance will host a training seminar on the state’s filing and depository system for municipal candidates at 6 p.m. Aug. 31 on the 3rd floor of the New Bedford Free Public Library, 613 Pleasant St.”

ME:  FINE RECOMMENDED.  PH.  “A leading state Senate Republican is facing up to $16,500 in fines for violating state campaign finance rules – much less than the $105,000 penalty that could have been assessed under Maine Ethics Commission rules.”

MI:  TESLA WIN.   DN.  “A federal magistrate on Monday ordered two Michigan lawmakers to turn over lobbyist communications sought by Tesla as the electric automaker fights a state dealership law prohibiting it from selling directly to consumers here.”

NJ:  MENENDEZ REPLACEMENT TALK.   NJ.  “Menendez wouldn’t automatically have to resign or forfeit his office if he is convicted. And even though the Senate could hold a vote to expel him, Senate Democrats have enough votes to defeat a quick expulsion vote that would allow Gov. Chris Christie to pick Menendez’s replacement.”

NY:  DEBATE ACCESS.   NYDN.   “Longshot mayoral candidates are pushing to get into the primary debate this week against Mayor de Blasio, but Hizzoner says the field is just fine the way it is.”

NY:  RENT QUESTION.  DN.  “Incumbent Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal filed a complaint with the Campaign Finance Board accusing her challenger of not disclosing the fact that he isn’t paying rent for his campaign office.”

VAL  CROWDSOURCING LOBBYING.   WRIC.  “A group of University of Richmond law students is changing the face of lobbying in the commonwealth. They’ve created a portal to open up political access to the average Virginian.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

LIMITS AND WARREN.  FB.  “Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), who has positioned herself on the frontlines of campaign finance reform, can circumvent campaign finance limits with the use of a joint fundraising committee that was quietly established earlier this year.”

MENENDEZ TRIAL CHALLENGE.   POL.  “Defense attorney Abbe Lowell, who has emerged as a fixture in criminal cases involving high-profile Washington politicians, is staring down one of his toughest challenges yet: helping a sitting United States senator beat a slew of federal bribery charges.”

BANK FOCUS ON ETHICS.   WSJ.  “In January, Katie Lawler became the first person hired for the newly created position of global chief ethics officer at U.S. Bank.”

AZ:  FACING REPAYMENT.   SB.  “The director of the state’s public campaign financing commission is recommending that a Democratic lawmaker who resigned last month be ordered to repay more than $17,000 he received to run his campaign last year.”

DC:  ETHICS PROFESSOR.  WP.  “Former D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown, who recently finished serving time in prison for accepting bribes, is preparing to deliver a series of speeches about ethics to government employees.”

NJ:  SOFT CORRUPTION BOOK REVIEW.   NJS.  “The Garden State is known for many things. Unfortunately, soft corruption — legal influence peddling — is one of them.”

NY:  MISSING REPORT QUESTIONS.  RCT.  “The Democratic Party county executive candidate Porette’s legally required August 11 financial filings had not been posted on the New York State Board of Election financial disclosure site as of Sunday, August 20, so the Rockland County Times asked the campaign why that is so?”

NY:  EXAMINING CONTRIBUTIONS.   DC.  “One of the attorneys general who has sought probes against the Trump administration has accepted large individual campaign donations from an energy tycoon with connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SPEECH QUESTIONS.   NYT.  “Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, President Trump’s Supreme Court appointee, is scheduled to address a conservative group at the Trump International Hotel in Washington next month, less than two weeks before the court is set to hear arguments on Mr. Trump’s travel ban.”

ENTITIES PAID.   WP.  “The Republican National Committee paid the Trump International Hotel in Washington $122,000 last month after the party held a lavish fundraiser at the venue in June, the latest example of how GOP political committees are generating a steady income stream for President Trump’s private business, new Federal Election Commission records show.”

CA:  GOT A BREAK.   SB.   “The state’s campaign finance watchdog voted Thursday to flip its longstanding opinion on contribution limits and allow legislators and other candidates to give unlimited sums of money to help Democratic Sen. Josh Newman fight a recall election.”

CA:  GRAY FINED.   MSS.   “The Fair Political Practices Commission issued an $8,500 fine on Thursday to Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, for campaign violations during his race in the 2014 election.”

MT:  OUT OF JAIL.  BG.   “Former Montana legislator Wesley Prouse is out of jail after agreeing to release financial documents related to penalties from a political corruption lawsuit.”

NM:  CONSULTANTS PAID.   NMPR.  “All  of the candidates combined have spent more than a half-million dollars just on political staff and consultants.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.