Mon. 2-2 pol. law links

MONEY IN POLITICS PANEL.  BET.  “Last night’s episode of The Nightly Show was all about dark money, ‘and no, I’m not talking about my ’80s rap group,’ declared host Larry Wilmore. Rather, the episode focused on who controls the message in Washington, and whether money should be able to buy power.”

SUPER PAC NAME GAME.  NOLA.  “Gov. Bobby Jindal has renamed his PAC to match the name of a pro-Jindal super PAC — according to Politico — though the governor isn’t really supposed to coordinate with the super PAC at all.”

CT:  LOBBYIST CONTINGENCY FEES.  Courant.com.  “In a settlement with a lobbyist, the Citizens Ethics Advisory Board made clear Wednesday that contingency fees for lobbying are illegal in Connecticut, but that having to pay a fine also can be contingent.”

MT:  BILLS REJECTED.  Missoulian.  “Legislative panels have rejected a series of bills to beef up Montana’s campaign finance reporting laws, although a comprehensive disclosure bill by Gov. Steve Bullock is expected to be introduced this week.”

NJ:  PAY TO PLAY UPDATE.  Northjersey.com.  “The new governor of Massachusetts and his former venture capital firm did not violate New Jersey’s pay-to-play law when he made a political contribution to the Republican Party here in 2011, according to a New Jersey Department of Treasury audit released Thursday.”

OR:  TAX CREDIT CHANGE.  Oregonlive.com.  “For years, Oregon taxpayers could claim a credit (up to $100 for married filing jointly; $50 for singles) for donations made to political candidates, parties and political action committees.”

PA:  QUIT AND PLEA.  WP. “Pennsylvania state Treasurer Rob McCord, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for governor last year, resigned abruptly on Friday and said he would plead guilty to federal campaign finance charges.”

PA:  FINE POSSIBLE.  Timesonline.com.  “Union-backed Pennsylvanians for Accountability, which spent more than $1 million on political advertisements targeting Republican Gov. Tom Corbett and a handful of state lawmakers, failed to file a mandatory tax return, the Center for Public Integrity has learned.”

TX:  DAUGHTER TO STEP DOWN.  Texas Tribune.  “Following attacks from conservative activists over a possible conflict of interest, House Public Education Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock announced Friday that his daughter would step down from her role as an education lobbyist for the upcoming legislative session.”

VA:  UNFAIRNESS ALLEGED.  WP.  “The Republican challenging Virginia House Speaker William J. Howell has stirred up a tempest over a mailer that she says gives the powerful party leader an unfair advantage in their primary race.”

WA:  DISCLOSURE BILL.  Olympian.  “‘This bill is about bringing dark money into the light,’ Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, told a legislative committee that heard Senate Bill 5153 last week.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Thurs. 1-29 pol. law links

DONORS IN STATE ELECTIONS. Time.com. “Together, the two governors’ groups and other national political organizations gave significantly more than political parties, unions, multimillionaires or corporations that also contributed heavily to influence state-level campaigns.”

16 GUIDE TO COMMITTEES. WLKY. “What’s with this jumble of acronyms and numbers? Here’s a guide on the advantages and restrictions placed on each type of group.”

EVENT ON BRIGHT LINES. Am. Progress. “On Thursday, January 29, the Center for American Progress will co-host an event with Public Citizen, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and the Alliance Defending Freedom on the need for clearer Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, rules for nonprofit organizations. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will deliver the keynote address.”

NEED FOR COUNSEL NOTED. Lexology. “Because of the ever-increasing risk of enforcement actions, broadening shareholder scrutiny, and negative publicity that may cause adverse economic and reputational consequences, corporations in virtually every industry continue to develop and refine compliance programs to address laws regulating government affairs and government procurement activities. Common elements among these programs include implementing tailored policies, preclearing certain activities, providing protocols to ensure registration and ongoing reporting requirements are met, training programs for certain officers and employees, and procedures for keeping abreast of the latest developments in this area of law.”

REFORMER ANSWERS. Reps. Price and Van Hollen. “At a press conference earlier this week, we joined colleagues from the Senate to announce that we will be reintroducing legislation to require disclosure of contributions by outside spending groups and to tighten the rules that prohibit collaboration between candidates and super-PACs that support them.”

PARTY PAC MOVES. WP. “Mike Shields, the top aide at the Republican National Committee and a veteran political operative, is leaving the party committee to helm a super PAC dedicated to preserving and expanding the party’s House majority.”

IN: KOCH DROPS BILL. Indy Star. ”Rep. Eric Koch is backing off his push to prevent local governments from regulating oil and gas drilling after potential conflict-of-interest concerns emerged regarding his personal investments in more than two dozen oil and natural gas companies.”

NJ: TORRES RETURNS. Northjersey.com. “Recent campaign finance reports show that Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres has refunded $18,650 in political contributions that apparently exceeded state-imposed limits on such donations.”

UT: BILL HELD. UT Political Capitol. “After a lengthy discussion, the House Government Operations Committee decided to hold Representative Brian King’s (Democrat – Salt Lake City) Campaign Finance bill on Tuesday.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Wed. 1-28 links

16 527. WP. “[Scott] Walker’s committee is different than some others created by aspiring presidential candidates. It is not a so-called leadership PAC but rather is a ‘527,’ so labeled for the portion of the federal tax code that provides its tax-exempt status.”

SENATE TO VOTE ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE. NJ. “In a floor speech Tuesday, Whitehouse made it clear that the amendment was designed to get more disclosures about the flood of so-called dark money spending from the Koch Brothers and others in the fossil fuel industry.”

CA: CAP APPROVED. Seaside Courier. “The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to tentatively approve caps on the amount of money political parties can donate to candidates for county offices.”

FL: WAIVER ISSUE. Miami Herald. “Tally at least one victory for Uber Technologies over Miami-Dade County.”

IN: CHANGE OF PLANS. Indystar.com. “House Education Chairman Robert Behning announced in a letter Friday that he is no longer seeking to lobby on behalf of a student-testing company, following questions about the ethics of his proposal.”

KS: CHANGE SUPPORTED. Kansas.com. “People could spend up to $1,000 to sway lawmakers without registering as a lobbyist under a bill proposed Monday.”

TX: DONATION QUESTIONED. Mysanantonio.com. “Krista Briones, the estranged wife of local engineering firm owner and failed City Council candidate Rolando Briones, gave $1,000 to mayoral candidate Leticia Van de Putte, according to a campaign finance report. There’s one problem, however: Krista Briones said she never made the contribution.”

TX: PERRY CASE UPDATE. Bloomberg. “Rick Perry failed to persuade a Texas judge to throw out an ethics violation case on claims the state constitution protects a governor’s right to say whatever he wants about his official powers.”

TX: BACK TO COURT. Expressnews.com. “Empower Texans President Michael Quinn Sullivan and the Texas Ethics Commission are scheduled to tangle in state district court in Denton County for the first formal hearing in Sullivan’s appeal of a TEC ruling charging him with flouting state law by failing to register as a lobbyist.”

UT: WHAT UTAHNS WANT. UT Policy. “More than two-thirds of Utahns want some kind of campaign contribution limits in state elections, a new poll finds.”

VT: LOBBYISTS GOOD WITH IT. WCAX. “A tripartisan group in the Vermont House is pushing to close a loophole in the state’s campaign financing laws.”

UK: REGISTER LAUNCH. Guardian. A register will be launched within ten weeks, according to this report.

HAVE A GOOD DAY.