[Political Activity Law]

SMITH ON DEPARTURE.  WE.  “The five FEC commissioners besides Ravel are all ‘acting commissioners’ whose terms have expired, but whose replacements were never nominated by President Obama. President Trump now has the opportunity to replace all six commissioners. Whoever is nominated should learn from Ravel’s experience.”

CA:  E-FILING AND DATA TECH EXEC.  SFPP.  “Founded in 1998, NetFile pioneered e-filing in California. Today, the privately held company based in Mariposa, outside Yosemite, has a staff of 12 and provides software and support to more than 150 local agencies around the state.”

MN:  COMPLAINT DISMISSED.  RFJ.  “An ethics complaint was brought last fall against Scott J. Nelson, town of Hudson. The complainant alleged that since Nelson serves on the Public Protection and Judiciary Committee and since his wife, Ericka, is the register in probate, the nepotism clause in the county’s board of ethics is violated.”

NH:  HIT WITH COMPLAINT.  WMUR.  ” The state Democratic Party has filed a campaign finance law complaint against Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, alleging that during his 2016 Republican primary campaign for governor, he spent $73,490 that could only have been legally spent on a general election campaign that never materialized.”

NY:  PICK FOR BOARD.  NYT.  “With the primary elections in New York City just six months away, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday selected the former top lawyer for the City University of New York as the chairman of the city’s Campaign Finance Board.”

SD:  A CLOSE LOOK AT BILL.  SDPB.  “Senate Bill 54 is a measure that’s meant to rework the state’s campaign finance requirements. The bill narrowly passed through committee and was also a close vote in the senate.”

TN:  COMPLAINT DROPPED.  TN.  “The ethics complaint against House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Stewart has been dropped.”

WA:  STRICTER LOBBYING LAWS?   TCH.  “The PDC also found that the cost of establishing the link to the letter-writing campaign did not exceed $1,400 over three weeks — the amount that requires public disclosure.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

FACING A NEW PAC.  WP.  “After flooding his office phone lines with complaints and mocking him on social media, District activists are starting a political action committee to target a Utah congressman who has sought to use his powerful House post to overturn D.C. laws.”

CA:  ALLEGED UNION SKIRTING.  KPCC.  “United Teachers Los Angeles officials say that invitation is part of an ongoing pro-union marketing campaign. UTLA’s rival — the California Charter Schools Association’s political action committee — says the mailer is clearly a pro-Zimmer ad, and thus proof that the union is skirting campaign finance rules.”

MO:  BILL MOVES.  CL.  “The House amended, then passed a Senate campaign-finance reform bill after brief debate on Tuesday, with House leaders saying they’re hopeful the Senate will agree to the compromise and send it on to the governor.”

NJ:  PAY TO PLAY ISSUE.  CNJ.  “Pay-to-play laws prohibit state agencies from awarding contracts worth more than $17,500 to businesses that have contributed more than $300 to a governor, a gubernatorial candidate or any state or county political organization.”

NJ:  PAY TO PLAY STATE OF PLAY.  JDS.  “New Jersey is home to a multitude of overlapping pay-to play laws. The State has a default statute covering pay-to-play restrictions at the municipal level. In 2006, however, the State Legislature allowed municipalities to craft their own pay-to-play ordinances further restricting certain political contributions from vendors.”

NM:  COOLING OFF PERIOD PASSES.  AJ.  “A proposal approved late Tuesday would prohibit former lawmakers, cabinet secretaries and public regulation commissioners from serving as paid lobbyists within two years of leaving the government.”

OR:  EXTREME DISCLOSURE AND PUBLIC FINANCING.  EO.  “The Secretary of State’s Office says “miscellaneous” contributions, as contributions less than $100 are classified in the public database, added up to about $7.5 million in the 2015-16 election cycle.”

TN:  INVESTING CAMPAIGN FUNDS LIMIT.  WCYB.  “The state Senate has passed a bill seeking to prevent campaign funds from being invested in private companies.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

DISCLOSURE CASE WON’T BE HEARD.  NW.  “The Independence Institute was supported in the case by influential Republican and conservative voices including Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Judicial Watch legal activist group as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce business group.”

LAW UPHELD.  CF.  “The Supreme Court today affirmed without comment a ruling in the case Independence Institute v. Federal Election Commission, upholding the constitutionality of a campaign finance disclosure law. The Court’s order reflects agreement with the lower court’s result, but not necessarily its reasoning.”

PICK SIX.  NM.  “President Donald Trump could name all six members of the Federal Election Commission, according to the Washington Examiner.”

CA:  STATE OF ENFORCEMENT.  LAT.  “California’s campaign finance watchdog found fewer lobbyists and campaigns to sanction in 2016, while collecting more in fines as it focused on bigger cases.”

MS:  LOBBYIST EARNINGS.  CL.  “Two women led the list of the top earning lobbyists in the state in 2016 with overall compensation of more than $2 million each.”

MT:  WHY AXE COPP?  BG.  “The Montana commissioner of political practices is a watchdog whose work is bound to make some elected officials unhappy. This week, a Montana House majority of 54 expressed their displeasure by voting to abolish the commissioner of political practices.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.