Here they are, today’s political law links

UNIONS AND COMPLAINT. Dropoutnation.net. “The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust alleges in its 109-page complaint that the DNC, Democratic political campaigns, and progressive outfits such as the notoriously-shadowy Democracy Alliance, through the efforts of former Clinton Administration honcho Harold Ickes’ Catalist LLC and NGP Van (which manages the DNC’s databases), are sharing voter lists, fundraising information, and other data for their congressional and presidential election campaigning.”

NO NEW RULES. LI Press. “The Internal Revenue Service says it won’t come out with new proposed rules for so-called dark money groups until late spring at the earliest, increasing the likelihood that no changes will take effect before the 2016 elections.”

MA: SUIT FOR PARITY FILED. WWLP. “‘There is no legitimate justification for allowing unions to contribute thousands of dollars to candidates, parties, and political committees, while completely banning any contributions from businesses,’ the lawsuit says, according to a copy provided to the News Service.”

ME: DISCLOSURE PROPOSAL. BDN. “Nonprofit organizations that spend money on political campaigns in Maine could be required to disclose their donors under a bill proposed by Sen. Tom Saviello, R-Wilton.”

MT: GOV. IN DARK. GF Tribune. “Friday’s fundraiser has GOP critics in a froth over what they say is hypocrisy from a governor who criticizes the evils of unlimited corporate contributions and undisclosed ‘dark money’ in one breath, and then seeks out corporate donations in in the nex.”

NM: NO FINE. ABQ Journal. “The Secretary of State’s Office has decided against fining former Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Hall for his use of public financing in his unsuccessful campaign for re-election last year.”

NY: COVERING CUOMO. NYDN. “State legislators say they are willing to enact a number of new ethics reforms, but they argue Gov. Cuomo should subject himself to more public disclosure as well.”

OR: URGENT REFORMS. Eastoregonian.com. “Oregon’s new Gov. Kate Brown says her first priorities in office will include broad ethics and public records reforms.”

VA: BID TO END TAX CREDIT FAILS. Insidenova.com. “A measure by state Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34th) to eliminate a state tax credit for political contributions was killed in a House subcommittee.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

2.23 political law links

LONE BILLIONAIRE.  HuffPo.  “Ken Griffin, the hedge fund billionaire who once complained about the wealthiest Americans having “insufficient influence” in politics, has become the first — and so far only — donor to report giving the maximum amount to a national political party under newly loosened campaign contribution limits.”

DATA FIRM COMPLAINT.  WFB.  “A Democratic data firm run by supporters of a Hillary Clinton presidential campaign may be illegally supporting and coordinating with the Democratic Party and the offices of senior members of Congress, according to a legal complaint filed on Friday.”

CLINTON FOUNDATION SUPER PAC.  WSJ.  “Republican presidential aspirants are already launching political-action committees, gearing up for the expensive elections to come. They’ll be hard-pressed to compete with the campaign vehicle Hillary Clinton has been erecting these past 14 years. You know, the Clinton Foundation.”

VIRAL SUPER PAC.  NJ.  “Lucas Agnew wants his generation to hold more sway in politics. So he did what any college kid would do: He started a super PAC.”

CA:  REPORTING FINE.  SLO.com.  “The state Fair Political Practices Commission has fined county Supervisor Adam Hill $2,500 for failing to report 15 payments totaling $68,058.73 made by subcontractors on behalf of his 2012 election campaign.”

MT:  HIGHER LIMITS.  MT Standard.  “A Great Falls representative is proposing that candidates for the Montana Legislature be allowed to receive more money from political action committees.”

NM:  REPORTING TASK FORCE.  KOB.com.  “New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and Secretary of State Dianna Duran announced Friday they are forming a campaign finance reporting task force that will look into ensuring the reporting of campaign finance records are done in accordance with state law, and that the laws in place to enforce those rules are also enforced.”

UT:  BADGES?  WE DON’T NEED BADGES.  SLTrib.com.  “Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, is seeking to repeal the requirement that lobbyists wear special badges issued by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.”

ISR: COPYRIGHTS AND CAMPAIGNS. JPost.com. “A Jordanian rap group is incensed over the use of their song in Likud’s latest campaign video, which was released Saturday night.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

2.20 political law links

THE CAMPAIGN OF THE FUTURE EVENT. Today’s interesting event at Stanford will be audiocast live and the agenda and link to listen are online here.

CA: EXCEPTION REJECTED. LAT. “The state ethics watchdog panel adopted regulations Thursday banning political fundraisers in the homes of lobbyists, rejecting exceptions to the rule proposed by a group representing legislative advocates.”

MI: ADD IT UP. News Herald. “A lot of the campaigning in Michigan in 2014, especially television ads, was paid for by groups outside of candidates’ campaigns.”

NE: RESTRICTIONS SUPPORTED. Journal Star. “A bill to tighten up campaign finance restrictions in the wake of former Sen. Brenda Council’s misuse of campaign funds for gambling purposes gained broad support Thursday at a legislative committee hearing.”

NM: SANTA FE REWRITE. New Mexican. “As part of an ongoing effort to strengthen Santa Fe’s public campaign finance code, the City Attorney’s Office will draft an ordinance that attempts to define what actions amount to coordination between a candidate and an outside political group.”

JAPAN: FUNDS LAW LOOPHOLE. Japan Times. “The Political Funds Control Law bans political donations by companies and organizations within a year after they’ve received government subsidies.”

UK: WHAT DONATION REPORTS SHOW. UK Spectator. “While Labour have their big union donors, the Tories have their big business donors.”

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.