2.10 political law links

SUPER PAC MOVES. Politico. “David Brock on Monday abruptly resigned from the board of the super PAC Priorities USA Action, revealing rifts that threaten the big-money juggernaut being built to support Hillary Clinton’s expected presidential campaign.”

HOME SALE QUESTIONS. Stltoday.com. “A watchdog group on Monday filed a complaint against Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock over his home sale to a campaign donor.”

TOMORROW AT THE FEC. FEC Calendar. “The Commission is holding a hearing … on its advance notice of proposed rulemaking regarding aggregate biennial contribution limits.”

AZ: LOBBYIST DONATION TIMING. AZcentral.com. “A state House committee endorsed a bill Monday allowing Arizona lawmakers to begin raising money earlier for office expenses, while striking language permitting lobbyists to contribute to sitting legislators.”

CA: BALLOT SPENDING. Dailycal.org. “Finance committees for the ballot measures of last November’s elections ultimately spent more than $3 million, according to campaign disclosure documents filed this month.”

NM: FINES UNCOLLECTED. KOB. “Most of the fines assessed by the secretary of state’s office for violations of New Mexico’s campaign finance reporting laws go uncollected.”

NM: STALLED. NM Political Report. “A House committee voted on Monday to table a bill that would require more information from lobbyists at the state legislature.”

PA: PAC IN THE NEWS. Philly.com. “Now, federal investigators who investigated McCord for strong-arming campaign contributions have subpoenaed records from the Treasury Department about The Enterprise Fund.”

PA: LAW IMPACTS FUNDING. Philly.com. “As a consequence, critics of the law say, candidates will be ever more dependent on the efforts of third-party campaign committees that have no limits when it comes to money raised and few requirements when it comes to transparency.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

2.9 political law links

POLITICAL DRONE LAW.  Politico.  “It’s hard to quantify how many political ads have been filmed using drones because the technique is still fairly new and its use remains limited to a relatively few firms.”

SUPER PAC MYTHS.  R. Lenhard.  “Few subjects in federal campaign finance law are so frequently garbled by commentators, the press and the public as what a Super PAC is and how it operates.”

CA:  PARTY FUNDS.  Sacbee.com.  “California political parties dominated fundraising in more than two dozen Assembly and state Senate races last fall.”

IN:  LLC IN THE NEWS.  Indystar.com.  “An election complaint against Monarch Beverage accuses the company of illegally funneling nearly $1.5 million in campaign cash through a little-known limited liability company called Vision Concepts.”

MT:  UPDATE REPORTING.  MT Standard.   “Last week, several important campaign finance reporting laws were tabled in committee, which means they are likely dead for the session. Fortunately, the ideas that inspired them may live on in Gov. Steve Bullock’s campaign finance reform package, which is being introduced this week.”

MT:  FIGHT ON BILL.  Helenair.com.  “Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and Republican Sen. Duane Ankney are teaming up on a bill to fight ‘dark money’ by requiring all political organizations to fully disclose who’s donating money to their groups and how they are spending it in campaigns.”

NJ:  WHO OWES WHO.  NJ.com.  “Five of New Jersey’s 12 U.S. House members finished their 2014 campaigns in debt to themselves.”

TX:  LOBBYING LAW SPOTLIGHT.  Dallas News.  “People lobby legislators without registering with the state. The rules are so complex that even lobbyists can get confused. There’s a lack of transparency about the legislation that lobbyists are trying to influence. And the state oversight agency routinely does not aggressively pursue alleged violators.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

2.6 political law links

COMPLAINT FILED. The Hill. “A liberal watchdog group has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission arguing that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has violated campaign finance laws.”

SEC RULE FIGHT. Bond Buyer. “The Republican parties of New York State and Tennessee will square off against the Securities and Exchange Commission in a federal court on March 23 over rules restricting finance professionals from giving money to political candidates.”

MT: DISCLOSURE PUSH. MT PR. “Montana’s governor has made good on a promise contained in last week’s State of the State Address, introducing a package of four bills designed to increase transparency in campaign financing.”

PA: FINE FOR REPORT. Triblive.com. “An obscure political action committee co-owned by the former top staffer of ex-Gov. Ed Rendell was fined for not filing paperwork disclosing where it raised $125,000 donated to former Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord’s failed gubernatorial bid.”

UT: NEW RULE POSSIBLE. Herald Extra. “If passed, House Bill 91, sponsored by Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber City, will require that anonymous contributions made to political candidates that are more than $50 must be donated to the state’s general fund or to a 501(c)(3).”

CAN: STRANGE BREW OF BEER AND DONATIONS. Globe and Mail. “The Beer Store’s corporate owners have funnelled more than $1.1-million to Ontario politicians in the past decade, as they successfully held on to their lucrative private monopoly.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.