[Political Activity Law]

DONATION BAN FAILS.  TW.  “The Democratic National Committee on Saturday voted down a resolution that would have revived a ban on corporate lobbyist donations first instituted by President Obama.”

COMMISSION DEPARTURE NOTED.  WSJ.  “Amid the sharp ups and downs of the Trump presidency these days, it is easy to overlook good news, notably the real change inside Washington’s vast bureaucracy. The latest example is the loud departure of Ann Ravel from the Federal Election Commission.”

WATCHDOG WATCH.  Poliltico.  “The ethics vetting team is being run by an army of attorneys including four in the White House counsel’s office and several more at the Trump Organization in New York.”

AL:  OTHER PROBLEMS.  AL.  “A campaign account is not like any other bank account. Spending is restricted. Deposits, too. They are meant to be used for just what the name implies, but too often officials just don’t treat them that way, but use them as slush funds, instead.”

MI:  LAW LIVES ON.  NLR.  “Several other states (e.g. Pennsylvania, Texas) have begun attempts to pass similar laws restricting automatic payroll deductions for political contributions. The impact on political campaigning, if such laws became commonplace in many states, could be significant. Stay tuned.”

NH:  DISCLOSURE AND NH VALUES.  SCO.  “New Hampshire has consistently allowed for flexibility in campaign financing, depending upon disclosure to keep the electorate informed of who was investing in our elections.”

NY:  PROBE SOUGHT.  NYP.  “Government watchdogs on Friday urged the state ethics agency to investigate whether Keith Wright is violating New York’s conflict-of-interest-law by working for a high-powered lobbying firm while continuing to serve as the Manhattan Democratic leader.”

OK:  ETHICS INVESTIGATES.  KFOR.  “Documents obtained by NewsChannel 4 show the commission is looking into a number of ethics violations, including 21 donations from political action committees totaling nearly $30,000 that were not reported by Sen. Loveless’ 2016 campaign fund.”

PA:  REFORM URGED.  LP.  “One of the problems is that Pennsylvania is one of 12 states that have no limits on donations to PACs or individual candidates.”

TX:  NEW RULES COMING.  AM.  “Two City Council members, Ellen Troxclair and Jimmy Flannigan, are collecting campaign funds in anticipation of re-election campaigns that seem far in the future. Troxclair is likely to run for re-election in November 2018 for her District 8 seat, but Flannigan will not be up for re-election until November 2020.”

TX:  COMMISSION APPOINTMENT.  TI.  “Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced the appointment of Chris Flood to the Texas Ethics Commission today.“

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

KS:  HIGHER LIMITS KILLED.  HPPR.  “House Bill 2011 would have doubled the amount that individuals, political parties and political action committees could donate to candidates in races for everything from the House and Senate to the governor. But the House voted it down 22-101.”

OK:  STATE SENATOR INVESTIGATION.  KFOR.  “The commission alleges Loveless filed campaign finance reports late, inaccurately, or not at all.”

OR:  LOBBYING DISCLOSURE.  WW.  “The city requires organizations to register as lobbyists within three days of spending at least eight hours lobbying or preparing to lobby city officials, even if the groups spend no money.”

VT:  CAMPAIGN FINANCE FORUM.  USN.  “A new joint committee formed to analyze the current state of Vermont’s campaign finance law is holding its first public forum.”

WI:  LIMITS IN WI.  NLR.  “All state and local candidates in Wisconsin must abide by source restrictions and contribution limits, in addition to registration, reporting and other regulatory requirements. Corporations, cooperatives, labor organizations, federally-recognized Indian tribes and independent expenditure committees may not contribute to candidates.”

WI:  SUPER PAC REPORTING.  WHBL.  “In fact, Super PACs are required to disclose their donors.”

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AUSTRALIA:  REAL TIME DISCLOSURE.  BT.  “Real-time political donations for state government candidates and political parties will be online next month – but there is a catch.”

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HAVE A GOOD DAY.

FEC DEPARTURE.   NRO.  “The 2016 election was, for anyone who had eyes to see it, the most dramatic repudiation possible of the false notion that big donors determine the fate of our candidates or our politics.”

SMALL DONOR SMASH.  WT.  “As a candidate, President Trump raised more money from small-dollar donors than former President Obama did in either of his two campaigns, according to a study released Tuesday that shows just how groundbreaking the Trump operation was.”

NEXT FOR THE FEC.  NLR.  “The statute requires four votes for all significant agency actions, and with three Republican and two Democratic commissioners remaining, all decisions will still require a bi-partisan consensus.”

VIOLATION ALLEGED.  CNN.  “Cause of Action’s letter said Weintraub, a Democratic member of the six-member commission, may be in violation of government ethics rules for making the statement as an FEC official and called on the agency’s watchdog to look into the matter. The FEC is tasked with regulating campaign finance, and Cause of Action’s letter said Weintraub could have stepped outside of her authority by commenting about voter fraud.”

COMMISSIONER ALLEGATION.  Hill.  “The FEC commissioner who asked President Trump to produce proof of his voter fraud claims on Tuesday said she will not be silenced by a watchdog’s attempt to investigate her for the request.”

BANK BOARD HIRING.  CO.  “The San Francisco-based bank’s independent directors have hired Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, one of Washington’s top lobbying shops whose client roster has included giants like Anheuser-Busch, McDonald’s and FedEx.”

CO:  NEW ETHICS RULES.  DP.  “After months of haggling over details, Denver City Council members on Tuesday advanced an ethics proposal that would put a firm $300 annual limit on meals and event tickets from a single donor with a city interest.”

IA:  LOBBYIST STATUS QUESTIONED.  WT.  “A union official has filed a formal complaint challenging whether a lobbyist for a national conservative organization was registered properly for the first half of the legislative session.”

TX:  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY.  TT.  “State Rep. Ron Reynolds marks an unusual anniversary Wednesday: one full year without filing a single campaign finance report.”

WA:  LET’S TRY VOUCHERS.  MP.  “In January, residents received four $25 vouchers, paid for with taxpayer funds, that they can give to their candidates of choice for offices such as city council.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.