4-23 political law links

HASEN ON BUSH.  Slate.  “The idea that Jeb Bush is not ‘testing the waters’ for a presidential run is absurd.”

OCE LOSES GOSS.  USAT.  “Former congressman and former CIA director Porter Goss resigned as chairman of the Office of Congressional Ethics this week and was announced as a senior adviser in the public policy and political law practice at the law firm Dickstein Shapiro.”

TACO FRENZY.  FL.org.  “On Tuesday afternoon, to thank congressional staffers for all they do on behalf of the fast food industry, franchisees hosted their annual reception at the Rayburn Office Building on Capitol Hill, a free food giveway in which staffers and interns gorged themselves on unlimited free Taco Bell tacos and nachos.”

AZ:  RULING IN DISCLOSURE CASE.  Tucson.com.  “Groups attacking politicians can’t hide their funding sources simply by claiming they’re “educating” voters on issues, the Arizona Supreme Court concluded Tuesday.”

FL:   FINE FOR ERRORS.  HT.  “The Sarasota County Republican Party paid $20,000 in fines earlier this year to the state elections commission, new campaign finance reports filed this month show.”

MT:  NEW LAW.  MTS.  “Sponsored by Republican Sen. Duane Ankney of Colstrip and backed by Bullock, the Montana Disclose Act will shed some light on anonymous money that began flowing into elections after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.”

OR:  LIMITS URGED.  OR Live.  “Staring down constitutional concerns, uncertain details and strong political headwinds, Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday urged lawmakers to pass a pair of campaign finance measures meant to ‘significantly curtail the role money plays in Oregon politics.'”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Wed. political law links, 4-22

NEXT LEVEL SUPER PAC.  NYT.  “This year’s exodus to super PACs suggests that the real action is moving further away from the traditional campaigns — and further outside the decades-old regulatory system devised to insulate politics from the potentially corrosive influence of moneyed interests.”

SUPER PAC EXPERIMENT.  STLT.  “Republican Jeb Bush may reshape the traditional presidential campaign with his plan to turn over some functions to a super PAC.”

NEW SUPER PAC.  WP.  “Donald Trump, the billionaire reality television star, may be the last person to need one, but a Florida man has a super PAC at the ready if Trump decides to run for president.”

JUNIOR’S SUPER PAC.  JPUpdates.  “The 29-year-old son of the liberal Soros has helped establish ‘Bend the Arc’ PAC, aimed at backing progressive candidates by making direct contributions to their campaign committees.”

CFR… LATER.  WP (E. Rogers).   “In the meantime, now would be a good time for the bipartisan congressional leadership and the leaders of both national party committees to come up with a consensus plan for campaign finance reform to be introduced in early 2017.”

MT:  UPDATE.  GFT.  ” Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl will need his confirmation blasted to the Senate floor and then a majority vote to stay in the job he’s held since 2013.”

PA:  CITY CFR.  Philly.com.  “The Philadelphia Board of Ethics is asking City Council and the Nutter administration to require local political candidates and committees to report their campaign finances more frequently than the current mandate.”

TN:  CONSIDERING BITCOIN.  Coindesk.  “A bill to allow political donations denominated in bitcoin has passed in the Tennessee legislature.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

4-21 pol. law links

DISCOVERING PROBLEM.  Atlantic.  “If the movement isn’t quite a victim of its own success, it now faces some disarray bred by winning so quickly and completely. Having triumphed, conservatives aren’t unified on where to go next.”

NRA DONATIONS ISSUES.  Yahoo.  “The NRA can’t claim to be raising money for the corporation — to finance such things as its lobbying or research initiatives — and then deposit that money into the account of its PAC.”

BEHIND HRC CFR PUSH.   Bloomberg.  “Why has Hillary Clinton taken up campaign-finance reform as a big issue in her presidential campaign?”

DEFENSE ON CHARGES.  Fresno Bee.  “Hillary Rodham Clinton dismissed swirling questions about her family foundation Monday as little more than political attacks from Republicans eager to gain an early advantage in the 2016 presidential contest.”

SINGLE DONOR SUPER PACS.  HP.  “A growing number of political committees known as super PACs have become instruments of single donors, according to a ProPublica analysis of federal records.”

IL:  SUPER PAC HELP.   CT.  “Two former campaign aides to Gov. Bruce Rauner have formed a new political fund to help the governor push his agenda at the Capitol, the latest effort to give the Republican leverage as his plans face resistance from the Democrat-controlled legislature.”

KY:  ETHICS MOVES.  KY.  “John R. Steffen, head of the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission, is leaving the post in mid-May to become head of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.”

MT:  MOTL HEARING.  IR.  “The committee will hear Senate Resolution 53, by Senate Minority Leader Jon Sesso, D-Butte.”

TX:  ETHICS UNIT MOVE.  My SA.  “House lawmakers on Monday approved legislation to create the equivalent of a carve out for statewide politicians and office holders to avoid being prosecuted by the ethics watchdog unit created specifically to investigate political malfeasance.”

VT:  ACCUSATIONS.  WPTZ.  “Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell is rejecting a request that he appoint an independent counsel to investigate allegations that he has violated Vermont’s campaign finance laws.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.