pol. law links 4-29

BERG ON HRC CFR.  Thefederalist.com.  “This effort is ironic, given the cottage industry of third-party groups that have taken on important roles within the Clinton machine to help finance her bid for the White House.”

CONTRIBUTION PLANNING.  Reuters.  “If you want a picture with the next president of the United States, get out your checkbook. The sooner you give to a 2016 presidential campaign, the better your chance of premier access to the candidate of your choice.”

RECUSAL ISSUE.  ABC.  “The chairman of the House transportation committee on Tuesday said he never considered recusing himself from the panel’s work on aviation legislation after he began dating a top airline industry lobbyist.”

LOBBYIST SPENDING CONTEXT.  Fortune.  “The entire budget paid out to sway our heads of state is essentially a rounding error when viewed in comparison with the broader world of corporate expenses.”

FL:  EXCEPTION PASSES.  MH.  “The bill (SB 984) by Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, clarifies the law that a legislator using a public facility for a public purpose such as a town hall meeting is not a violation of the lobbyist gift ban. A number of legislators also have rent-free office space from cities or counties that lobby the Legislature.”

MT:  MOTL CONFIRMED.  MTPR.  “In the end, Jonathan Motl became the first Commissioner of political practices to be confirmed by the Montana Senate in nearly a decade.”

MT:  GRASSROOTS COMPLAINT.  MTPR.  “Recently a Republican official filed a complaint with the state’s Commissioner of Political Practices, claiming the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes violated the state’s lobbying law.”

TX:  MORE LOBBYIST DETAIL IN BILL.  Chron.com.  “Candidates for elective office across Texas would have to take a publicly disclosed drug test and lobbyists would have to disclose more detail about how they wine-and-dine lawmakers under a ramped-up ethics bill unanimously approved Tuesday by the Texas Senate.”

VT:  SUPPORT FOR INDEPENDENCE.  WCAX.  “Facing pressure from several fronts, Attorney General Bill Sorrell, D-Vermont, says he now supports an independent review of his campaign finances.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

pol. law links

SUPER PAC SHOW.  NYT.  “Federal law prohibits coordination between the candidates’ organizations and the super PACs.”

CO:  COMPLAINT ON MOVIE ADS.  CO Ind.  “On Friday, Colorado Ethics Watch filed a complaint with the secretary of state asserting that political documentary-film mill Citizens United last year failed to disclose the identity of funders who paid for ads that mentioned Gov. John Hickenlooper by name.”

IL:  RECORD DONATION.  CT.  “The contribution to the Turnaround Illinois super political action committee is one of the largest single donations in state political history.”

NY:  LLC BILL MOVES.  TU.  “The New York Senate Elections Committee advanced legislation Monday to close the campaign finance loophole for limited liability companies, but the bill’s Democratic sponsor said it’s still unclear whether the chamber’s Republican majority is trying to quietly shelve it.”

WI:  INVESTIGATION QUESTIONS.  WD.  ”The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Patrick Marley confirms he was the mysterious reporter Cindy Archer spotted as armed police swarmed her home during a dramatic September 2011 police raid, one of several in the Milwaukee district attorney’s secret war on conservatives.”

VT:  ELECTION COMMISSION URGED.  VTD.  “A group of senators wants to strip the Vermont attorney general of his authority to enforce the state’s campaign finance laws and cede that power to an independent commission.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Mon. political law links

CLINTON CASH QUESTIONS.  WP.  “The questionable transactions involving the foundation and Bill Clinton’s big speaking paychecks offer fresh evidence of how the Clintons skate close to the edge of propriety.”

CLINTON CASH QUESTIONS II.  WP.  “Foreign interests, like their U.S. counterparts, may give to the Clinton Global Initiative out of the goodness of their hearts and their commitment to the foundation’s many important works. They may also give motivated by the perception, whether reality-based or not, that the way to Hillary Clinton’s attention is through her family’s foundation.”

SUPER PAC SIGNS.  Breitbart.  “Shirley & Banister Public Affairs will be handling strategic communications for Walker’s Super PAC, the Unintimidated PAC, and providing historical context that will prove crucial for the campaign.”

LOBBYIST QUESTIONS.  Politico.  “The legislation wasn’t only a priority for Shuster: It was a top issue for Airlines for America, and for Shuster’s girlfriend, Shelley Rubino, the organization’s vice president and a top airline lobbyist.”

IN:  CHANGE DEBATED.  Indystar.  “The change would require lawmakers to separately list on their annual financial disclosure forms any businesses in which they own an equity interest of $500,000 or more.”

MI:  DONOR PRIVACY.  Mlive.  “Anonymous contributions are playing a growing role in U.S. politics, but private donations are not always a bad thing, according to Bradley A. Smith, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.”

OH:  TRANSPARENCY URGED.  Cleveland.com.  “Across the 10 largest counties in Ohio, only seven post data online: Cuyahoga, Franklin, Summit, Montgomery, Lucas, Butler and Mahoning.”

OR:  ETHICS RIFT.  RG.  “Already on the sidelines due to the strong Democratic majority in the Legislature, Republicans face the spectacle of two of their veteran House members feuding over ethics bills the GOP is pushing hard this session.”

PA:  BAN SUPPORTED.  PT.  “A proposed new law to tighten regulations on reporting the source of campaign contributions for local races is getting support from the two candidates accused of taking the most ‘dark money’ in the current race for mayor in Philadelphia.”

WI:  CFR DEBATE.  Theuptake.org.  “Republicans, who hold the majority in the House, blocked Winkler’s bill from being heard in committee and blocked it several times from being added as an amendment to other bills. Friday night was the first time it received substantial debate this session.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.