[Political Activity Law]

TECH AND TRUMP.  Observer.  “These companies are engaging in activity that can quickly lead down a very dangerous slippery slope and this should concern all freedom-loving Americans—not just conservatives. If you don’t know when the election is, no problem! Just Google it and see for yourself what comes up…”

CLINTON HUSTLE.  B.  “Federal regulations prohibiting the use of an automated dialer to interact with cell phones have long ensured that campaigns that happily bombard voters with phone calls, direct mail, door knocks, and digital ads steer clear of unsolicited text messages, despite their obvious promise as a tool for political communication.”

RULES CHANGE?  Politico.  “The head of the group aiding the presidential transition process is urging President Barack Obama to consider killing his executive order restricting lobbyists from serving in the White House, saying it’s provided limited benefits and could hurt the next administration.”

GRANNY D LIVES ON.  UL.  “More than 100 people joined the third annual Granny D memorial walk Saturday to honor and further the legacy of Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock, who crusaded for campaign finance reform.”

MA:  RULES IN EFFECT.  M.  “Committees running election ads on TV, in print and on the internet already have to disclose the top five donors to the committee that paid for the ad. The new law adds an identical requirement for direct mail and billboards.”

MO:  REPORTING FINE.  CT.  “The Missouri Ethics Commission on Friday levied a fine against a former candidate for the Fourth Ward Columbia City Council seat over campaign finance violations in the weeks leading up to the April election.”

MT:  DEADLINE AND CHANGES.  WT.  “Tuesday marks 60 days before absentee voting begins for the Nov. 8 elections. A campaign finance reform law passed last year by the Montana Legislature requires an organization to register and make certain financial disclosures if it runs issue ads that name or show the image of candidates within that 60-day window.”

MT:  ALLEGATIONS AGAINST REGULATOR.  MTS.  “The filing, submitted by former Montana Republican Party attorney Jim Brown, asks a Lewis and Clark County District Court judge to reverse Motl’s dismissal and forward the ethics complaint to the Attorney General’s office.”

WA:  TURN OVER DOCS.  ST.  “A Snohomish County Superior Court judge has ruled that Tim Eyman and his political committees violated her order to turn over documents by a court-ordered deadline as part of an investigation of campaign-finance practices, but deferred ruling on whether to hold them in contempt.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

UT:  ATTORNEY’S FEES AWARD.  CCP.  “The state of Utah today told a federal court it would pay $125,000 in attorney’s fees in a constitutional challenge to its campaign finance laws. If the court approves the fees, as expected, it would mark the final step in a lawsuit filed on behalf of three Utah groups by attorneys at the Center for Competitive Politics (CCP). Federal civil rights laws provide for fee awards when states violate constitutional rights.”

APPARENT ERROR.  Insidepoliticallaw.com.  “Earlier this afternoon, the House Clerk’s Office sent out emails to a number of registered federal lobbyists and lobbyist organizations alerting them to a missing 2016 Mid-Year LD-203 contribution report (due on August 1, 2016).  It appears that this email was sent in error to a batch of registrants who properly filed their reports on time.  We have confirmed with the House Clerk’s office that they are aware of this error.”

DOWN BALLOT FEAR.  WP.  “Some of the country’s wealthiest Republican donors are targeting Senate and House races around the country, hoping a financial firewall will protect the party’s congressional majorities on Nov. 8.”

MORE REVIEW ON WILLIAMS.  Politico.  “The House Ethics Committee on Thursday released new details about allegations that Rep. Roger Williams used his position to privately benefit himself and a car dealership he owns in Weatherford, Texas.”

SUPER PAC FOR JOHNSON/WELD.  ML.  “[Kevin] Martin is the national co-chairman and co-founder of a new super PAC for Republicans supporting Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson and vice presidential nominee William Weld.”

HARD MONEY HIT.  WT.  “There are at least 6.1 million Americans working at U.S. companies with foreign ownership, from TransCanada to BMW. [Commissioner Ann Ravel’s] plan would bar those companies from helping American workers set up special funds like political action committees.”

CA:  LOBBYIST REGISTRATION.  SMDP.  “Individuals paid to influence decisions at City Hall will be required to publicly disclose their activities as of Sept. 19.”

NM:  COMPLAINT COMPLAINTS.  NMPR.  “In response to allegations of breaking campaign finance laws, Republican Secretary of State candidate Nora Espinoza said her accuser manipulated documents to create false accusations.”

NM:  QUESTIONING THE SYSTEM.  WT.  “One of the candidates running for secretary of state is raising more questions about the accuracy and transparency of New Mexico’s electronic campaign finance reporting system, saying the online searchable database is incomplete.”

NY:  BOAT TRIP.  GG.  “The use of campaign funds to pay for government staff to take a working field trip appears to be completely legal under New York State campaign finance law, but critics of the system say the law is too loose, including around blurred lines like the cabinet retreat.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SUPER PAC 101.  ET.  “Ever since the Citizens United ruling, super PACs have enjoyed the unique position of taking unfettered donations from millionaires in an effort to influence the eventual outcome of both state and national-level races.”

COMPANY CONTRIBUTIONS.  Int.  “The Intercept has determined that a corporation owned by a Chinese couple made a major donation to Jeb Bush’s Super PAC Right to Rise USA — and it did so after receiving detailed advice from Charlie Spies, arguably the most important Republican campaign finance lawyer in American politics.”

PAY TO PLAY ALERT.  Dechert.  “The selection of Governor Pence might have implications under the SEC’s ‘pay-to-play’ rule.”

LETTER:  STOP THAT.  P.  “The campaign of Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo sent a cease-and-desist letter Monday to a new political action committee that is fueling social media sites and raising money off of a false ‘unity’ campaigns that implies several Republicans are in line with Donald Trump’s campaign.”

NRA LAUNCH.  RJ.  “The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund launched a $3 million ad campaign in Nevada against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”

BLAGO UPDATE.  CST.  “Moments after learning his bid to reduce his 14-year sentence had failed, Rod Blagojevich stood alone in a stark prison room in Colorado on Tuesday while his family sobbed in a Chicago courtroom a thousand miles away.”

DO INCENTIVE PROGRAMS WORK?  EA.  “Field studies designed to assess the impact of promoting political contribution incentives, such as public matching funds and tax credits, showed that nonpartisan publicity did not affect the likelihood that individuals would make a contribution or the amount they would donate.”

DC:  SPENDING NUMBERS.  WAMU.  “An out-of-state super PAC supported by organized labor pumped thousands of dollars into this spring’s Democratic primary for the D.C. Council’s Ward 8 seat, in the Southeast section of the city.”

KY:  COMPLAINT DISMISSED.  CJ.  “Wilhoit said the most important factors in the decision were that two nonprofit corporations mentioned in the complaint do not lobby the General Assembly and are not state agencies overseen by the General Assembly. Moreover, Wilhoit said the investigation showed that the foundation gave free access to the tent to other elected officials who asked for it.”

MO(RE) COMPLAINTS.  STL.  “he complaint against Koster, who currently is the attorney general, focuses on $1 million in contributions by the ‘Jobs and Opportunity’ PAC. It alleges the group, which is linked to the Democratic Governors Association, failed to properly file a report with the Missouri Ethics Commission and, as an out-of-state committee, illegally gave Koster money within 30 days of the Aug. 2 primary.”

VA:  NEXT FOR MCDONNELL.  RF.  “Governor McDonnell continues to make the best of his time by surrounding himself with his family and friends, as well as operating a small business, as a consultant for local businesses.”

VA:  VOTING FELON UPDATE.  WP.  “Virginia election officials said Wednesday that they will reveal the names of nearly 13,000 felons who over the past few months have regained and then lost their right to vote, part of a still-raging drama fed by presidential politics.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.