[Political Activity Law]

SHAREHOLDER MOVE.   IJ.  “Berkshire said adopting the shareholder proposal from Tom Beers and Mary Durfee on political contributions could expose it to ‘reputational and business risks’ and hurt shareholders.”

STOCKMAN ACCUSED.  BBN.  “Federal authorities arrested former Texas Congressman Steve Stockman on charges of using contributions intended for a non-profit in his political campaign. He is also accused of making false statements in an effort to cover up his actions.”

MA:  LOBBYING CONTROL.  TELE.  “A city councilor is seeking to increase the transparency and accountability of the city government by initiating an effort to regulate municipal lobbyists.”

MI:  STATE/FEDERAL ETHICS RULES.  ML.  “When Michiganders vote for their congressman and state representative on the same ballot, they’re sending them to two offices with completely different ethical standards — a gap people like U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint, are looking to narrow.”

NM:  ETHICS ADVANCE.  KTXS.  “A proposal to create an independent political ethics commission in New Mexico is headed to the Senate floor for a vote after winning a crucial committee endorsement.”

NY:  LOBBYIST SETTLEMENT.   TU.  “Lobbyist Fred Hiffa has agreed to pay $10,000 in a settlement with the state’s lobbying and ethics watchdog, in connection with his former firm’s arrangement with the son of now-deceased ex-state Sen. Tom Libous a decade ago.”

NY:  NO CHARGES.  RO.  “The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced last week it would bring no criminal charges in an investigation into complaints that aides to Mayor Bill de Blasio had funneled large campaign donations through Democratic committees in Ulster and other counties in 2014 to support Democratic state Senate candidates and bypass the state’s limits on how much could be given to them directly.”

OH:  JAIL SENTENCE.  WDTN.  “An Ohio judge is to serve 10 days in jail, give $2,065 to a food bank and undergo alcohol treatment after authorities say he improperly spent campaign funds, including more than $1,000 at an upscale restaurant to celebrate his opponent dropping out of the 2014 race.”

TX:  TRIAL SHEDS LIGHT.   DN.  “If you’re an outsider looking to win a local government contract and you don’t know any of the players or decision makers, you call a lobbyist.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

KING REFORM.   LSJ.  “U.S. Sen. Angus King is seeking to revise federal law to require that all campaign contributions of $1,000 or more be disclosed with the Federal Election Commission within 48 hours.”

RAVEL LANDS.  Twitter.  “Fed up with DC gridlock, #CAFellow @AnnMRavel is back in CA working on innovative ways to foster civic engagement http://bit.ly/2lYejJi ”

NEW EFFORTS.  Hill.  “While lobbyists have always cultivated contacts within federal agencies and departments, those relationships have become more important than ever before due to the slow pace of the transition.”

CA:  FACING INVESTIGATION.   MN.  “California’s Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating two Palo Alto council members elected in November for possible campaign finance reporting violations.”

CO:  REFORMS PROPOSED.   DH.  “Democratic lawmakers are trying to increase the transparency and equity of the system for financing political campaigns with four bills that were introduced Wednesday at the state Legislature.”

FL:  TROUBLE BUBBLE.   FLP.  “Daniels used $4,000 of campaign funds to promote her book, The Demon Dictionary, in a religious magazine called Shofar.”

IA:  TRACKING FUNDS.   DMR.  “After a campaign season where individuals voiced frustration over the political elite and powerful institutions, a Register analysis shows that political action committees, unions and wealthy donors played outsized roles in funding Iowa candidates during the past two campaign cycles.”

SC:  REFORM SNAG.  TS.  “An effort to require so-called ‘dark money’ political groups to reveal their donors hit a snag Tuesday when right-leaning advocacy groups asserted it would discourage S.C. residents from criticizing politicians.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.