In order to accommodate the thousands of new filers who are required to participate in the LD203 disclosure process, we are developing additional guidance that we plan to release in the beginning of this week. This guidance will provide clarification and will assist new filers in the completion of the LD203 form.
As of this writing, the House Office of the Clerk’s website contains the above message; the message is not dated and it’s not certain when the guidance will be available.
State Sen. Mike Jackson took his campaign contributors to the cleaners, almost literally.
In a July 2 order, the Texas Ethics Commission penalized Jackson, R-La Porte, for spending $236.51 in campaign money to pay for dry cleaning in Austin.
Jackson reported the expenditures voluntarily on his January 2006, July 2006 and July 2007 campaign finance reports.
Texas campaign finance rules allow elected officials to spend campaign money on some living expenses, such as rent and utilities, while in Austin. Jackson said he mistakenly thought the dry cleaning was an allowable expense.
“I will not do that anymore,” he said, adding that campaign finance rules can be confusing.
The Galveston County Daily News has the article.
Governor Deval Patrick has scheduled a picnic fund-raiser this month at his vacation estate in the Berkshires, where he will once again exploit a method he pioneered for skirting state campaign contribution limits, a funding system the Legislature so far has declined to shut down.
The Globe has the story.