5-19 political law links

GUINTA CASE.  RC.  “Last week, the Federal Election Commission found Guinta violated campaign finance rules by accepting more than $350,000 in illegal campaign contributions, ordering him to pay back the funds along with a $15,000 fine.”

CONTINUED PROBE.  CSM.  “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid to stop an investigation in Wisconsin into possible unlawful coordination between potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker’s gubernatorial campaign and conservative advocacy groups.”

ANNOUNCEMENT THEORY.  Slate.  “Since a current senator can’t directly fundraise for, or coordinate with, his affiliated super PAC, he might as well jump in early and capitalize on the buzz created by being among the first actors on stage.”

16 AND SUPER PACS.  NYT.  “With striking speed, the 2016 contenders are exploiting loopholes and regulatory gray areas to transform the way presidential campaigns are organized and paid for.”

AZ:  RULE CLASH.  AZC.  “A proposal by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission to crack down on some ‘dark money’ groups has aroused the opposition of the Secretary of State’s Office and escalated the ongoing dispute over the extent of the commission’s authority.”

CA:  PULIDO FINE.  VOC.  “The collective reaction of most Santa Ana City Council members to the $13,000 fine slapped on Mayor Miguel Pulido by the state’s political watchdog for improprieties surrounding a property swap with a city contractor can be best described as a shrug.”

TX:  ETHICS PROSPECTS.  TT.  “The session dedicated to ethics by the new governor could still bear fruit.”

VA: NEW LAW.  Skadden.  “On May 1, 2015, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Senate Bill No. 1424 (the Bill). The Bill tightens restrictions on gifts, expands Virginia’s lobby law to cover attempts to obtain public contracts and adds a new pay-to-play provision.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Loopholes, the law, and the wild west in today’s political law links

RULES FOR INVESTMENT ADVISERS.  Bloomberg.  “Arguments last month before the D.C. Court of Appeals addressed the constitutionality of a rule adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010, which regulates campaign contributions by investment advisers.”

SNAPCHAT, CAMPAIGN LAW, AND 16.  Fusion.net.  “What is new, however, is the potential conundrum that an app like Snapchat uniquely presents. One of the key features that has made it popular with young people is the fact that its messages disappear within seconds — unless the user receiving the Snapchat takes a screenshot.”  I’m on Snapchat as ericsbrown, but I haven’t used it, yet.

OVERBY ON THE LAW.  NPR.  “Nowadays, the art of campaign-finance lawyering lies in determining what a definition fails to say — and then driving a cash-filled truck through the loophole.”

REFORMERS BUMMED.  SacBee.  “There is little to celebrate here, unless you enjoy the status quo of judicial elections and campaign-finance laws.”

WILD WEST.  USNews.  “Money has always been a force in campaigns, of course, but a series of court decisions in recent years has changed the landscape dramatically, even from the last two presidential campaigns, experts note.”

FIVE TESTS.  CBS.  “Here’s a look at some of the ways this election’s crop of White House hopefuls are pushing the boundaries of campaign finance laws.”

SKIRTING LAWS?  NPR.  “Are Jeb Bush, Other Undeclared Candidates Skirting Campaign Finance Laws?”

SUPER PACS, VIEW FROM ABROAD.  The Guardian.   “For now, though, the landscape is dominated by Super Pacs.”

CORRECT THE RECORD.  Newsweek.  “Major court decisions, like the famed Citizens United case that opened the door to unlimited contributions, focused on paid advertising and other kinds of media, such as an anti-Clinton documentary. The courts didn’t address the ability to coordinate rapid response online.”

CA:  DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.  SacBee.  “But when it comes to California campaign-finance laws, the nearly two-dozen outside groups that have injected more than $9.3 million into the East Bay’s 7th Senate District special election are covered by much different rules.”

MD:  CHANGED RULE.  Venable.  “Now, in addition to reporting direct contributions to candidates, contractors will also have to disclose contributions made to independent expenditure groups and political parties that are ‘for the benefit’ of covered candidates.”

NY:  DISCLOSURE ORDER.  Newsday.  “Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano Friday issued orders that for the first time require the disclosure of lobbying activity on every county contract and create a registry of all local lobbyists.”

VT:  BILL ON WAY TO PASSAGE.  VTDigger.  “A lobbyist disclosure bill that if signed into law would be one of the strictest in the country got a boost after clearing a committee of conference between the two chambers.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

pol. law links

THE BUSH PLAN.  Theweek.com.  “The thinking goes like this: He can help build a massive war chest for his super PAC, coordinate very closely with Right to Rise and lay out any strategy he wants, and then cut off contact and watch from afar as the super PAC acts on his behalf once he’s officially in the race.”

FEINGOLD IN.   USAT.  “Democrat Russ Feingold kicked off his Senate campaign Thursday by taking aim at the big money in politics. There’s every sign, however, that big money plans to take aim at him.”

KY:  SUPER PAC STIR.  CJ.  “Kentucky Family Values, the super PAC that for several years has been raising and spending big amounts for major Democratic Party races in general elections, has been stirring in recent weeks.”

MT:  DRAFTING RULES.  HIR.  “Montana’s political practices commissioner on Wednesday assembled a team of lawyers to work with his staff and him to draft rules to implement a major new campaign finance law.”

NC:  FIXING ONLINE SYSTEM.  WSOCTV.  “For years, North Carolina’s Board of Elections has been trying to fix an online campaign finance system in which lawmakers report money that they receive while campaigning — essentially a database for voters to,use to research candidates.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.