2.19 political law links

#FTD15. I’ll be following today’s panels at the Hastings event, “The Future of Technology and Democracy”. Registration and a link to the webcast are online here.

NEW SUPER PAC. MSNBC. “Looking to loosen the GOP’s stranglehold on redistricting, Democrats are launching a new super PAC devoted flipping key state legislatures ahead of the next round after the 2020 elections.”

CLINTON FOUNDATION QUESTIONS. Townhall. “When Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State under President Obama, she and husband Bill decided it would be best if the Clinton Foundation rejected financial gifts from foreign countries. Now, it appears they have lifted that sensible ban.”

AL: APPLE LOBBYIST NEWS. Buzzfeed. “Apple recently hired Julius Kenneth Love, a former politician known by the name Jay Love, to work as a lobbyist in the 2015 legislative session, according to records posted by the Alabama Ethics Commission. The hire appeared to create an unusual relationship between a conservative lobbyist known for anti-gay views and a company run by a gay CEO, but the love for Love appears short-lived.”

CA: FIRST MEETING. Times Herald. “The Milpitas Campaign Finance Reform Committee, a new panel to review and potentially change the city’s existing campaign finance ordinance in order to curb the influence of special interest groups during local elections, will hold its first meeting at city hall at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19.”

MT: PROPOSALS TO BE HEARD. GF Tribune. “Montana senators are expecting to hear testimony on two bills that aim to revise campaign finance laws.”

NC: ETHICS OPINION. DB. “North Carolina has had what seems like an unusually high number of lobbyist-government official affairs become matters of public debate.”

NV: REVERSAL OF FORTUNE. RGJ.com. “The Nevada Supreme Court said it made a clerical error when it issued a campaign finance ruling last week against a conservative group, and on Wednesday replaced it with a ruling that came to the opposite conclusion.”

VA: COUNCIL APPOINTMENT. WP. “A state legislator who has seemed to embody the push and pull of ethics reform in anything-goes Virginia will represent the Senate on a new ethics council meant to usher in a new era.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

2.18 political law links

CHEVRON AND SHAREHOLDERS.  Triplepundit.com.  “Environmental groups, accusing the oil company of soaking the 2014 city elections with some $3 million in funding, are calling for Chevron to stop committing its money to local, state and federal elections.”

LINK ADDED.  I added a link to the Center for Political Accountability to my set of links (right).

MT:  BUDGET AND SALARY CUT.  Helena IR.  “A budget subcommittee this week voted to eliminate the in-house attorney in the state political practices commissioner’s office and to lower the commissioner’s salary by 23 percent.”

NY:   SUPER PAC SCARE.  Slive.com.  “District Attorney Daniel Donovan has changed course and will not attend a Manhattan fundraiser supporting his bid for Congress.”

OR:  WHAT’S NEXT?  Oregonlive.com.  “One of the most consequential bills would allow the Legislature to pass a resolution directing the attorney general to investigate accusations of legal or ethical wrongdoing in the governor’s office. The attorney general would have a 60-day window to investigate and pursue charges.”

RI:  DONORS UNKNOWN.   WPRI.  “We now know exactly who contributed to the outside group that backed Buddy Cianci in the final days of his failed comeback campaign, but we still don’t know who helped fund the group that attacked him.”

SC:  THE YEAR FOR REFORM.  Post and Courier.  “The bill, proposed by Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, would provide independent investigation of ethics complaints against senators.”

VA: ETHICS REFORM UPDATE. WP. “After two rounds of ethics reform and much handwringing by legislators, political patrons in Virginia can still give elected officials unlimited donations and perks through their campaign committees.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links

SARBANES PROPOSAL. Atlantic. “This emerging state of acceptance is making room for some new approaches: What if we stop focusing on containment, and start focusing on empowerment? What if we stop focusing on limits, and start focusing on opportunities?”

CHRISTIE SUPPORTERS CLOSE. Daily Record. “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s supporters are getting ready to launch a super PAC that could raise and spend unlimited sums of money as he moves toward a formal campaign for president in 2016.”

IN: CONTRIBUTION CONTROVERSY. Indy Star. “Controversial campaign contributions from an affiliate of beer distributor Monarch Beverage heavily benefited the campaigns of Indiana House Republicans and Gov. Mike Pence.”

LA: MUST-HAVE SUPER PACS. Shreveport Times. “The courts see it as an issue of liberties, that limiting how much money a super PAC can accept unconstitutionally limits its right to free speech. Yet in the world of political fundraising, lawmakers know nothing is ever truly free. If it’s not properly overseen, this brave new era could come at a great cost.”

MT: STATE REP. DESCRIBES PROPOSAL. FH News Group. “This bill gives the Secretary of State the ability to dissolve a corporation if they have been found by a court to have severely violated Montana’s campaign finance laws. The bill would prevent corporations who continue to blatantly ignore our laws from continuing to do business in Montana. HB 409 provides us one more tool to ensure that we make the message clear that our campaign laws are not negotiable.”

NE: DISCLOSURE CHANGE. KWBE. “The measure by Sen. Sue Crawford of Bellevue would close a loophole that allows candidates and office-holders to self-report the amount of money in their campaign accounts.”

NM: ENFORCEMENT QUESTIONS. ABQ Journal. “Many uncollected fines stemming from campaign finance violations show a lack of enforcement by New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran, a state lawmaker said Sunday.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.