Your daily Political Law Links for Apr. 19, 2017

THE LATEST IN PAY TO PLAY.  Lex.  “Regulators and lawmakers across the United States have put forward new pay-to-play rules to further limit campaign contributions by companies and individuals that do business with or lobby the government.”

INAUGURAL HAUL.  Hill.  “President Trump’s inaugural committee raised a record-breaking $106.7 million to pay for his inauguration festivities, it announced Tuesday. ”

CA:  RESTRICTIONS REPEALED.  PT.  “A split City Council on Tuesday repealed a local campaign finance law that barred elected officials from contributing officeholder funds to other candidates running for local, state or federal elective office.”

FL:  ETHICS CHANGES UPDATE.   PBP.  “A major ethics package backed by House Speaker Richard Corcoran is dead for the session after the Senate refused to consider the legislation, House leaders said Tuesday.”

MO:  LITTLE ATTENTION.   KMBZ.  “A senate bill has been filed to require financial disclosure from non-profits that support political candidates. The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing.”

MT:  BILL REJECTED.  USN.  “A bill to raise campaign contribution limits for state candidates and allow decisions on campaign finance violations to go to mediation has failed on a tie vote in the Montana House.”

PA:  MESSY RULES.   PPG.  “This is the first election cycle in which candidates seeking elected office in Pittsburgh must abide by a 2015 campaign-finance ordinance, and at least one mayoral candidate appears to be stumbling over a requirement limiting how much a supporter can provide.”

PA:  PROBATION IN CASE.  Phil.  “For years, John H. Estey – former top aide to Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell – surreptitiously recorded Pennsylvania power brokers and cooperated with FBI agents running an elaborate sting probing a pay-to-play culture in the capital.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Tax Day Political Law Links

DOJ STANCE.   BNA.  “The Trump administration has urged the Supreme Court to uphold long-standing campaign finance laws that restrict unlimited ‘soft money’ contributions to political parties ( Republican Party of Louisiana v. Federal Election Commission, U.S., No. 16-865, motion to dismiss or affirm filed 4/12/17).”

MO:  LAW IMPACT.   KCUR.  “Amendment 2 limits statewide officials and Missouri legislators from accepting individual donations of more than $2,600 per election. State campaign reports from Jan. 1 to March 31, due Monday, document the impact since the constitutional amendment went into effect Dec. 8.”

MO:  MEC EDUCATES.  MT.  “On December 8, 2016, Article VIII, section 23 of the Missouri constitution went into effect, limiting campaign contributions to candidates seeking statewide office.”

MT:  NO NOMINEE.  USN.  “Gov. Steve Bullock has yet to name a new commissioner of political practices — calling into question whether Montana lawmakers will have enough time to vet a nominee before the legislative session draws to a close, possibly as soon as next week.”

MT:  BILL BATTLE.   MN.  “Montana’s contribution limits have become something of a moving target ever since District Judge Charles Lovell first struck them down as unconstitutional in an October 2012 suit filed by conservative groups including the nonprofit American Tradition Partnership.”

OR:  DONATION ISSUE.   PT.  “But it’s a $10,000 contribution from the school district’s classified employees union to newcomer Sara Pocklington’s campaign against incumbent John Wendland that has locals talking.”

TN:  FUNDS FOR PASSPORTS.   TN.  “Sens. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and Rep. Jay Reedy, R-Erin, used campaign money to pay for passports.”

TX:  STEPPING DOWN.  TT.  “Sherry Cook, the embattled executive director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, is stepping down from her post amid a series of spending controversies at the agency.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links for 4-17-17

POTENTIAL TAX BILL PROVISION.   WP.  “As Republicans struggle to craft a sweeping tax package — a process already rife with political land mines — they are preparing to add another volatile element to the mix: a provision that would end a six-decade-old ban on churches and other tax-exempt organizations supporting political candidates.”

AFTER YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA.   BB.  “Ravel claimed that the use of Facebook and other social media platforms by political campaigns is a problem.”

REFORM SOUGHT.   Hill.  “The Restoring Integrity to America’s Elections Act aims to structure a commission that is capable of — and designed to — enforce the laws on the books.”

CA:  ADMONISHED JUDGE.  PW.  “An Alameda County Superior Court judge was publicly admonished Tuesday by a state judicial commission in San Francisco for misconduct related to campaign financing.”

DC:  ALLEGED INFORMATION MISSING.  WP.  “A D.C. Council member who is facing possible disciplinary action for failing to identify the source of contributions to his 2015 campaign also filed reports with regulators for his reelection last year that omitted information on tens of thousands in reported donations, according to a Washington Post analysis.”

MO:  WHAT’S A LOBBYIST?   KSMU.  “…[W]e thought it would be helpful to offer a refresher on Missouri law regarding what defines a lobbyist.”

NH:  REVOLVING DOOR ISSUE.   NH1.  “The executive director of Maine’s ethics commission wants to prohibit all compensated lobbying by former lawmakers in their first year after public service.”

OR:  CAMPAIGN FINANCE DROP-KICK.   WW.  “The long, strange trip that is campaign finance reform in Oregon took a new turn last week, when the Multnomah County Commission voted to send a ballot measure voters passed 89 percent to 11 percent last November to Multnomah County Circuit Court to see if it violates the Oregon Constitution.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.