Tues. political law links

CONVICTION UPHELD.  CSmonitor.com.  “A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the conviction of a Nevada lobbyist, attorney, and developer for making illegal campaign contributions in 2007 to Sen. Harry Reid (D) of Nevada.”

KOCH PLANS.  NYT.  “The political network overseen by the conservative billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch plans to spend close to $900 million on the 2016 campaign, an unparalelled effort by outside groups to shape a presidential election that is already on track to be the most expensive in history.”

VOGEL HITS PACS.  Politico.  ” Since the tea party burst onto the political landscape in 2009, the conservative movement has been plagued by an explosion of PACs that critics say exist mostly to pad the pockets of the consultants who run them.”

CIRCUMVENTION ALLEGED.  Statesman Journal.  “Ostensibly, coordination isn’t allowed, but if you’re not a candidate there’s no candidate committee to coordinate with.”

OCE IS BACK.  Here (h/t Brian Svoboda).

MO:  ETHICS SILENCE.  Stltoday.com.  “Among other things, the bill would establish a two-year waiting period before lawmakers could become lobbyists, similar to the federal law governing U.S. senators. The bill would require much more disclosure among lobbyists. For instance, it would limit the rampant practice of reporting meals bought for entire committees instead of the individual lawmakers who accepted them. It would stop the practice of allowing lobbyists to obscure their clients by claiming to be lobbying for another lobbying firm. And it would ban the practice of sitting lawmakers also working as political consultants at the same time, as former Speaker of the House Rod Jetton did.”

MT:  SETTLEMENT.  MTstandard.com.  “A Republican state lawmaker has agreed to pay a $4,000 fine and not run for public officer for four years to settle a lawsuit that accuses him of breaking campaign finance laws.”

VA:  REVISITING ETHICS.  Roanoke.com.  “Virginia lawmakers will take a closer look at ethics legislation as the General Assembly session heads into its third week.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Mon. political law links

SUPER PAC WHYS. NOLA.com. “The following are some reasons a super PAC for Jindal has been launched now…”

NONPROFITS AND 16. National Journal. “The current flurry of undisclosed activity—already totaling in the millions—could prove only a prelude. Many expect every major 2016 candidate to eventually have an adjunct nonprofit in addition to a super PAC. What’s more, the same political strategists can run both shops simultaneously.”

BUSH ASK. Wash. Examiner. “Jeb Bush is inviting top Republican donors to join his National Executive Committee by pledging to raise $500,000 by March 31 for the potential presidential candidate’s leadership PAC.”

CU MISUNDERSTOOD. Daily Record. “Probably the most misunderstood case in modern legal history, Citizens United simply doesn’t stand for what many people say it does.”

DISCLOSURE OF CONTRIBUTIONS. Lexology. “The following describes the reporting requirements under Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island laws, which require certain corporate entities to file reports regarding their business relationships with state entities, as well as their political contributions and those of their employees.”

DPI LAUNCH. CA Newswire. “The new platform incorporates unique technology to provide a web-based automated crowd fundraising capability with cloud storage specifically designed for the complexities of political and nonprofit fundraising and micro-targeting advocacy.”

WILL ON SANDERS ON CFR. WP. “Sanders’s authentic passion enlivens our often synthetic politics. There is, however, some justice in the fact that his principled rejection of the connection between money and speech might prevent his other principles from being heard.”

CO: STIFLING SPEECH. Denverpost.com. “No fewer than two federal courts, one in 2010 and another again last year, have said that this state’s Fair Campaign Practices Act infringes on the free-speech rights of average Coloradans. The question is, will the legislature this year finally do anything about it?”

IL: FUNDS REMAINING. Daily Herald. “Close to $1 million is still sitting in the late Judy Baar Topinka’s campaign fund, leaving the fund’s officers to decide what to do with it.”

NY: MAYOR SPENDS. Buffalo News. “Mayor Byron W. Brown isn’t running for election this year, but his campaign fund spent more in the last 12 months than his primary and general election opponents combined in the last Buffalo mayoral race.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

pol. law links

HOUSE EXCEPTION. WP. “As with so many congressional ethics provisions aimed at the revolving door, there’s an exception — in this case, for ceremonial events such as the State of the Union.”

COMPLAINT ON TRAVEL. Mediaite.com. “An ethics watchdog group has filed a complaint against Rep. Louie Gohmert, accusing the Texas Republican of misusing campaign funds to foot the bill for a trip to England that included a 5-star hotel and a $200-plus taxi ride.”

D V. R ONLINE FUNDRAISING. NYT. “Some Republicans who have worked on presidential campaigns also see Democratic organizations as more adaptable and willing to forgo short-term gains for longer-term successes.”

BOBBY BUDDY SUPER PAC. Nola.com. “Republican supporters of Gov. Bobby Jindal are creating a super PAC to back a possible 2016 presidential campaign by the Louisiana governor.”

PATAKI PAC. Unionleader.com. “Former New York Gov. George Pataki, after announcing Thursday he has established a super PAC as he explores a run for president, plans to visit New Hampshire on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

NY: SILVER ARRESTED AND MORE. NYT. “Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the New York Assembly and one of the most powerful politicians in Albany, did all he could to derail and undermine an anticorruption panel established by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.”

PA: ETHICS BOARD V. SUPREME COURT. Philly.com. “The ethics board filed an application with the state Supreme Court on Dec. 26 asking the court to amend its December opinion regarding political candidates’ legal expenses and how it related to campaign finance laws, Creamer announced at Wednesday’s board meeting.”

TX: CITY PAC REPORTS. Chron.com. “This year there were three special purpose PAC (SPAC) reports that caught my eye and that I thought were worth examining, so here they are.”

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.