[Political Activity Law]

7TH INNING NIGHTMARE.  I’ll just leave this here on last night’s Nat’s loss.

DONOR INSPECTION.  CNBC.  “Only a dozen of an estimated 22,450 people employed at Trump’s companies have donated more than $200 to the celebrity businessman’s bid for the U.S. presidency, a Reuters review of federal campaign finance records through August shows.”

REFORM MOVES.  IVN.  “For America’s future, what counted was Hillary Clinton’s becoming the first major party presidential nominee pledging to work for campaign finance reform in the White House.”

DEATH THREAT AFTER CONTRIBUTION.  BNA.  “According to a police report read to Big Law Business by NYPD officer Arlene Muniz, Rush’s complaint was filed on Sunday evening, at 7:33 p.m., when Rush relayed the events to the police. ‘The complaintant fears for her life and safety,’ said the report.”

WHITEHOUSE ON REFORMS.  BM.  “When, if you are in my position, you can go in front of a crowd of people at a community dinner, and say, Citizen United and everybody in the room knows what you mean, now that’s a sign that people are tuned into the problem.”

CA:  VIEW ON PROP 59.  AJ.  “A YES vote on Prop 59 means you want to instruct California’s elected officials to use their authority to propose and ratify an amendment or amendments to the U.S. Constitution that would reverse the effects of Citizens United, allowing government to impose more limits and regulation on political campaign contributions and spending.”

MO:  AMDT 2 AND LIMITS.  SPR.  “There’s a good chance that Missouri’s unlimited system may indeed be coming to an end. The proposal, Amendment 2, has little organized opposition. And a prior ballot initiative in the 1990s that capped political donations passed without much trouble.”

NY:  STADIUM NAME A CONTRIBUTION, CLAIM.  TU.  “In energetically written court papers filed earlier this month in state Supreme Court in Suffolk County, Democrat Greg Fischer contends that the stadium’s name — plus the adjacent signage and the media mentions that come with it — constitutes ‘an obscene transfer of “soft money” political contribution from one group of government actors to another. It is such a gross and excessive amount of wealth transfer and unjust enrichment … that it shocks the senses.'”

TX:  INVESTIGATION DISMISSED.  SAEN.  “The Texas Ethics Commission on Monday dismissed a high-profile investigation into the state’s most powerful politically active nonprofit, capping a more than four-year saga that highlighted an ongoing policy debate in the state over disclosure of so-called ‘dark money.'”

TX:  4 YEAR PROBE OVER.  MS.  “The 7-0 vote, with new Commissioner Steve Wolens abstaining, closed the books on two complaints filed in 2012 by state Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, and then-state Rep. Lisa Truitt, R-Southlake, who said the nonprofit group should have to register as a political action committee and that its president and CEO, Michael Quinn Sullivan, should have to register as a lobbyist. Registering as a PAC would require the group to disclose its donors, whereas groups with 501(c)(4) nonprofit status, like Empower Texans, don’t have to.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

UPCOMING SYMPOISUM.  An upcoming symposium on corporate political spending, sponsored by the Conference Board Governance Center and the Conference Board’s Committee on Corporate Political Spending, will be held next Thursday, October 20th, at Altria’s offices in Washington, D.C.  More information is available here.

POTENTIAL SUIT.  TBT.  “The 30-second TV spot shows several images that depict Jolly standing next to Trump. But they’re all fabricated: Software was used to superimpose Jolly’s head over whoever was actually meeting Trump, making them seem buddy-buddy.”

WHAT IS MEDIA?  TS.com.  “Kim Savage, a Democrat from the Chicago suburb of Darien, argues in a Federal Election Commission filing that the DuPage Policy Journal is not an independent newspaper, but controlled by businessman and radio talk-show host Dan Proft through his political action committee, Liberty Principles PAC, which got a $2.5 million contribution last June from Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.”

CA:  PROP T UPDATE.  SFE.  “Proposed by the San Francisco Ethics Commission for this November’s ballot in a 4-0 vote, Prop. T would task lobbyists with identifying who in city government they intend to contact in the near future — and then bar lobbyists from making any gifts, including for travel, to those city officers and their families within 90 days of that activity.”

CO:  MEDIA AND CANDIDATE.  ST.  “A Steamboat Springs Democrat is crying foul over a Republican Colorado House candidate’s use of his own newspaper to support his political campaign.”

KS:  LOBBYIST MEALS IN THE NEWS.  WE.  “Rep. Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, is the recipient of the most lobbyist spending so far this year – $2,721 on meals and other itemized spending between January and August. Hawkins, who chairs two important committees, argues that lunch and dinner are the best times to meet with people and discuss issues.”

NM:  PATRIOT MAJORITY FILES.  SNM.  “They were a day late in filing, but the October campaign finance report for Democratic political action committee called Patriot Majority finally appeared on the Secretary of State’s website this morning.”

TN:  EXPANDING PROBE.  WBIR.  “State campaign finance officials are expanding their probe into former Rep. Jeremy Durham to include an examination of the money he made while working as an attorney.”

TX:  30 DAYS OUT.  AC.  “With 30 days to go until the Nov. 8 general election, the Office of the City Clerk has again compiled the latest campaign finance numbers for the five City Council seats on the ballot.”

TX:  TEC TO DECIDE.  HC.  “The Texas Ethics Commission could decide on Thursday the fate of a high-profile investigation into a politically active nonprofit in a case rife with ramifications for an ongoing battle between tea party groups and state campaign finance regulators over so-called ‘dark money.'”

VA:  LAST REPORTS.  RC. “The last Friday of September was the first pre-election filing deadline for city council candidates to submit campaign finance reports. For some contenders, it was the first chance for the public to see the inner financial workings of their campaigns, such as who gives them money and how much they spend.”

WI:  ETHICS PANEL OK FOR PAC.  Mad.  “The dismissal signals Knudson’s creation of the PAC, Wisconsin Liberty Fund, will be permitted under a new state law that dials back restrictions on cash flowing into political campaigns.”

NIGERIA:  LOBBYING LEGAL.  AA.  “The Senate on Wednesday began moves to legalise lobbying in Nigeria as it passed for second reading, a Bill seeking for law to register and regulate lobbying as a profession.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

HAT QUESTIONS.  BG.  “According to the police department’s dress code, there is no blanket statement prohibiting officers from wearing political attire with their uniforms.”

CRIST V. JOLLY AND CFR DEBATE.  WGCU.  “In this excerpt from this week’s Florida Matters, they were asked by an audience member what they would do to achieve meaningful campaign finance reform.”

WHAT MEMOS SHOW.  OBSP.  “Newly released emails from Wikileaks show that Hillary Clinton’s campaign taught staffers how to coordinate with Super PACs without ending up in jail.”

IL:  AG WEIGHS IN.  ILN.  “Subpoenas are going out to the bank, service station and campaign treasurers at the center of a Streator resident’s case against Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino, and the state’s attorney general is finally weighing in on the case.”

NY:  AIRBNB SPEND.  NYDN.  “With a month to go before the elections, Airbnb is set to dump a whopping $10 million into a Super PAC it created to help with its fight in New York, the Daily News has learned.”

TN:  REGULATORS WARN.  NPR.  “Tennessee campaign finance officials say their proposed fines against Stand for Children are not bluster. The Registry of Election Finance holds a hearing Wednesday to consider the evidence.”

TX:  BUSY LAWYERS.  AM.  “For Move Austin Forward, filings are very complicated because of Austin’s new dark money ordinance, which went into effect on Sept. 1. Since then, the campaign has filed six reports of direct campaign expenditures, with multiple pages detailing both expenditures and contributions.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.