[Political Activity Law]

TRUMP FREE SPEECH EO IMPACT.   Venable.  “The Executive Order calls for IRS restraint in enforcing the Johnson Amendment against houses of worship, religious organizations, or other individuals or groups that speak out on ‘moral or political issues from a religious perspective.'”

CONTRIBUTION QUESTIONS.   CC.  “Former Amaya Inc. CEO David Baazov has some more explaining to do. Already facing what is considered the biggest insider trading scandal in Canadian history, the businessman now could have to answer questions about an alleged illegal foreign contribution to an American political campaign.”

PARTY OVER FOR PARTIES.   Smith.  “It makes no sense to send state and local parties to the back of the bus when it comes to political campaigns. The court can strike a blow for fairness and good government by ruling for the Louisiana Republicans.”

LAMM:  SCOTCH THE FEC.   DP.  “By cosponsoring HR 2034, Reps. Buck and Polis joined 10 other Representatives in the U.S. House — five Republicans and five Democrats — in putting the American people and campaign accountability above party loyalty.”

IL:  NOT TOO TOUGH.   CST.  “Chicago’s reinvigorated Board of Ethics has been flexing its muscle plenty against lobbyists who emailed Mayor Rahm Emanuel on the mayor’s private accounts and failed either to register or report their lobbying activities.”

PA:  CALL FOR ETHICS.  MC.  “Siegel’s proposal, which he announced outside Allentown City Hall with a small group of supporters, calls for stricter limits on how much can be donated to a candidate for city office from individuals or political action committees. Siegel pledged to tackle the issue in his first 100 days in office.”

PA:  USE OF FUNDS ISSUE.   PL.  “Now [Williams] also is charged with using campaign funds to support a lifestyle that included expensive dinners, facials and massages and health club costs.”

TN:  RANDOM AUDIT BILL MOVES.   TN.  “A bill to increase the number of random campaign finance audits received unanimous support in the Senate on Tuesday, sending the measure to the governor.”

WA:   SUIT AGAINST PROSECUTOR.  KOMO.  “The lawsuit alleges Moberg and Greene intentionally concealed the fact they were behind a political mailer attacking candidate Garth Dano in the 2014 prosecutor election in Grant County.”

WA:  UNKNOWN FUTURE FOR CASH.   Q13.  “Ed Murray’s personal lawyers want the city to approve a legal defense fund for people to donate to pay off the mayor’s legal bills stemming from accusations of child rape and prostitution.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SEC SETTLEMENT.   LR.  “Robert Crowe, a partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, has agreed to pay $95,000 to settle a lawsuit issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).”

FINE DELAY SOUGHT.   BNA.  “Former Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell, who along with her campaign committee was ordered pay more than $30,000 for violating laws barring personal use of campaign money, has asked a federal judge for more time to decide whether to appeal or file additional motions.”

NM:  RULES NARROWED.   SFNM.  “New Mexico’s top election official says candidates for state offices, such as House and Senate seats, governor and attorney general, are now prohibited from contributing funds from their own campaigns to people running for local offices. The policy, coming about one year before a mayoral election in Santa Fe, is not a change in state law but a new interpretation of existing law.”

NY:  LIMIT FUND USE.   LI.  “Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine (D – Glen Cove) has introduced legislation (A5832) that will prevent the use of campaign funds to pay for any costs associated with a criminal defense in a federal indictment case including attorney fees.”

PA:  ERIE ISSUE.   GE.  “Republican candidate for Erie mayor Jon Whaley failed to file campaign finance reports at the Erie County Courthouse by the Friday deadline, opening himself up to a small fine and preventing members of the public from scrutinizing how he has spent campaign funds.”

PA:  POTENTIAL INVESTIGATION.   PL.  “State Rep. Brian Sims, the outspoken Philadelphia Democrat who’s made headlines for his high-profile tangles with House conservatives, is reportedly the target of an investigation by the state Ethics Commission for speaking fees and the travel costs he’s been reimbursed during his time in office.”

VA:  CALL FOR REFORM.  RTD.  “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph S. Northam called Monday for a major tightening of Virginia’s lax campaign finance laws that would ban all donations from corporations and businesses and impose a $10,000 cap on all donors except party committees.”

WA:  CALL FOR REFORM ON SURPLUS FUNDS.  TCH.  “We’d like to see the rule changed to allow the money to only be used for subsequent campaigns or donated to charity. That would keep things neat and tidy, and remove questions about restaurant tabs and laundry from the equation.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

NRA REPORTS.   TTO.  “The National Rifle Association has acknowledged that it made multiple errors in the accounting of its 2016 election campaign expenditures, causing it to overreport amounts it spent trying to influence the presidential race and highly competitive Senate contests in eight states, according to a series of letters it sent to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday.”

CA:  BURDEN OF LAW.  OCR.  “At some point, excessive burdens on political speech and activity have a chilling effect and are unconstitutional. The Supreme Court said in 2010, ‘The First Amendment does not permit laws that force speakers to retain a campaign finance attorney.'”

GA:  HEADED TO COURT.   AJC.  “The court ruling that stopped ethics oversight of DeKalb County’s government is being appealed to Georgia’s highest court.”

MO:  LAW UPDATE.   STL.  “New limits on campaign donations in Missouri will stay in place for now, but other parts of a law approved by voters in November are on hold after a federal court decision issued Friday.”

MO:  NEXT ON ETHICS.   STL.  “The gears of the Missouri Senate came grinding to a halt in the past couple of weeks primarily because a couple of Republican senators — namely Sen. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph and Sen. Ryan Silvey of Kansas City — want to connect the small things to the big things.”

MO:  FIGHT ON FUNDS.  NL.  “Representatives of several groups, mostly conservative entities such as Americans for Prosperity, said Schaaf’s bill would hurt private citizens by revealing them as donors to certain nonprofit organizations, which would decrease their personal privacy and possibly open them up to retribution.”

MT:  CHIEF CONFIRMED.   USN.  “Montana lawmakers on Thursday confirmed ‘one of our own,’ as one senator put it, as the next commissioner in charge of making sure they follow campaign laws and of enforcing any violations they commit.”

NY:  PLAN OFFERED.   ND. “Democratic Nassau County Executive candidate Laura Curran detailed plans Thursday to reform the campaign finance system, including barring county appointees from contributing to her campaign.”

TX:  ETHICS BILL PROVISION.  DN.  The bill would bar the appointment of campaign donors in certain circumstances.

HAVE A GOOD DAY.