[Political Activity Law]

NEW PAC.  CD.  “Ohio Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell has formed a super-PAC to help spread the cause of conservatism.”

CA:  FULL INVESTIGATION.  LASR.  “The Fair Political Practices Commission will investigate spending by United Teachers Los Angeles on a public relations campaign supporting LA Unified school board President Steve Zimmer, who is running for reelection.”

CA:  GIFT REPORTING.  SB.  “Every year, lobbyist employers shower lawmakers and their staff with free meals, tickets and goodie bags – but no one got more in 2016 than Assemblyman Jim Cooper, according to a Sacramento Bee analysis of lobbying filings.”

CA:  WARREN TO FIGHT.  SB.  “Sacramento Councilman Allen Warren said Tuesday he will appeal a $1,002 fine by the state’s political watchdog agency for reporting violations during his City Council race in 2012, a day after he said he agreed to pay the proposed penalty.”

DC:  BOWSER COMPLAINT.  WCP.  “Public Citizen filed a complaint with the regulatory body today asking it to investigate 23 contributions amounting to $31,500 during the 2014 mayoral campaign that it says violated the legal $2,000 limit for donors.”

NH:  OK FOR AMENDMENT.  SCO.  “After a lengthy and sometimes tense debate, the City Council voted 7-2 to have the city attorney draft an amendment to a city ordinance that would force groups that spend money to endorse a slate of candidates to disclose where that money came from.”

NH:  ENFORCEMENT CALL.  UL.  “After spending way too much time looking at 2016 campaign finance reports, I am more convinced than ever that the New Hampshire Legislature needs to fix the problems with lack of enforcement of the state’s campaign finance laws.”

NY:  CORPORATE GIVING.  GG.  “The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics, an oversight panel, recently proposed legislation to increase the requirements for lobbyists to disclose their political fundraising. The recommendation would help show the ways in those seeking to influence policy by day are raising money for policy-makers by night.”

SD:  LIMITS RESTORED.  SDP.  “South Dakota lawmakers want limits on campaign donations… to stay at the level they were before Initiated Measure 22.”

TX:  TEC REFORM.  HCN.  “With the March 10 filing deadline approaching, Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) filed several more bills, including SB 612 – the Ethics Commission Reform Bill. The intent of the bill is to provide clear direction to the Texas Ethics Commission, the powers and duties of which are determined by the Legislature.”

TX:  SIGN TIPS.  NC10.  “The rules are set out by the Texas Ethics Commission.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

RUSSIA BANK HIRE.  DC.  “Democrat super-lobbyist Tony Podesta was paid $170,000 over a six-month period last year to represent Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, seeking to end one of the Obama administration’s economic sanctions against that country, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group has learned.”

ETHICS LAWS.  AJC.  “Atlanta attorney Stefan Passantino’s letter regarding Kellyanne Conway’s televised plug for Ivanka Trump’s line of clothing and jewelry is drawing some attention, in part because of a claim that the president’s inner circle may not have to abide by all federal ethics laws.”

CA:  PAY TO PLAY ALLEGED.  CWL.  “Yes on Measure S today releases a special report of official city information that has been released publicly, but unpublished to date. It reveals how LA City Hall works behind closed doors, on behalf of developers and usually without the knowledge of the public, to get around an area’s zoning rules.”

CO:  NEW RULES APPROVED.  DP.  “Long-sought changes to the Denver ethics code won approval from the City Council on Monday, making way for a firm dollar limit on the acceptance of some meals and event tickets.”

GA:  BILL DIES.  11A.  “The effort to make Georgia’s government a little more transparent is not doing well at the Capitol this legislative session.  Many of the bills designed to lend transparency and avoid conflicts of interest died on crossover day.”

KY:  HEADING TO HOUSE.  MC2.  ” Legislation increasing the contributions into political campaigns and political party’s cleared a House committee down party lines on Monday.”

NY:  ETHICS BOARD.  ND.  “Take the Town of Oyster Bay, which recently appointed a new five-member ethics board as part of what new Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino called ‘sweeping reforms’ after a new ethics code was adopted last year.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

AK:  VAGUE LAW.  ADN.  “A recent news story in Alaska Dispatch News detailed how some legislators are choosing to spend campaign contributions transferred to office expense accounts — on membership fees for Costco, Alaska Airlines lounge memberships, Rotary Club dues, campaign fundraising trips, campaign cellphones, a ceramic king salmon and a subscription to The New Yorker magazine.”

MD:  ETHICS SPOTLIGHT.  CG.  “The House of Delegates voted unanimously Friday to reprimand Morhaim for going before a state commission to advocate changes in the way licenses are awarded to medical marijuana producers, without telling the panel that he was also a paid consultant for one would-be licensee, and that the changes might benefit that company and himself.”

MA:  POSSIBLE CHARGES.  BG.  “State campaign finance officials plan to ask Attorney General Maura Healey to consider criminal prosecution of partners at Boston’s Thornton Law Firm, saying they have evidence that the firm illegally reimbursed lawyers and their spouses for up to $175,000 in campaign contributions to state candidates and causes.”

NY:  PUBLIC FINANCING ISSUE.   NYP.  “In a fresh sign of the perversity of the city’s campaign-finance system, it looks like the taxpayers this year will be subsidizing outright hate speech.”

SD:  NEW REGS WEIGHED.  KDLT. “State lawmakers are weighing new campaign finance regulations that would remove South Dakota from the short list of states that allow politicians to pocket the money in their campaign accounts.”

WA:  FEES ORDERED.  USN.  “A Thurston County Superior Court judge has ordered Grocery Manufacturers Association to pay $1.1 million in legal fees after it violated state campaign finance disclosure laws.”

---

LATIN AMERICA FINANCE.   Economist.    “Revelations of corrupt political donations in several Latin American countries by Odebrecht and other Brazilian construction firms are sparking demands to tighten the rules on campaign finance.”

---

HAVE A GOOD DAY.