political law links

SUPER PAC UP.  The Hill.  “A conservative super-PAC is airing radio ads hammering the top three House GOP leaders for negotiating a trillion-dollar spending package that didn’t directly challenge President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.”

LAW OF THE LAND. USAT. “Obama signed the bill without ceremony.”

BUSH TESTING AND/OR EXPLORING.  WSJ.  “Jeb Bush on Tuesday announced plans to launch a leadership PAC, a move that catches him up with other 2016 hopefuls who have already taken that step, as the former Florida governor announced he is actively exploring running for president.”

BUSH NOT EXPLORATORY.  Politico.  “Notably, Bush is not creating an exploratory committee. He said he plans to create a leadership PAC, a fundraising vehicle already used by several other potential candidates. An exploratory committee puts in place various legal tripwires and has the same official weight as being a declared candidate.”

$700 MILLION BRIBE ACCORD NEAR.  Bloomberg.  “The fine would be the largest criminal penalty paid to the Justice Department under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, overshadowing the $450 million that Siemens AG paid in 2008. Siemens paid an additional $350 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Alstom isn’t subject to SEC scrutiny because its shares don’t trade in the U.S.”

ENFORCEMENT WEAK.  The Hill.  “While complaints about compliance and enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is nothing new among professionals in that part of the K Street space, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) plans to issue a paper that details the law’s shortcomings and the prevalence of lobbyists flouting it.”

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LEGISLATION.  Kansas.com.  “U.S. House members who voted in favor of $1.1 trillion appropriations bill, which includes a controversial policy rider to roll back a regulation for major banks, received on average nearly three times more money in campaign contributions from banks than representatives who voted against it, according to a website that tracks the influence of money in politics.”

WHAT ELECTIONS COST.  NYT.  “The F.E.C., and most organizations that rely upon its data, report campaign finance figures in current dollars, not adjusting for inflation.”

TODAY AT THE FEC.  Today’s agenda at the Federal Election Commission is online here.

HOLIDAY LEVITY FROM LOBBYISTS.INFO. 12 Days of Lobbying.

NY:  INVESTIGATORS ON THE JOB.  Timesunion.com.  “The state Board of Elections on Monday speedily approved a resolution conferring ‘special investigator’ status on Chief Enforcement Counsel Risa Sugarman and three former law enforcement officers who have been hired to handle campaign finance probes.”

OH:  AKRON LIMITS.  Cleveland.com.  “Akron City Council voted Monday to increase campaign finance limits in time for 2015, when all 13 council seats and Mayor Don Plusquellic are up for reelection.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Tues. political law links

JOSSEY ON CFR. DC. Paul Jossey discusses the new law.

UBER LOBBYING. Theverge.com. “According to the Post, local lobbying registration records indicate the company hired private lobbyists in at least 50 US cities and states and has hired at least 161 people to lobby for its interests.”

CA: COORDINATION ALLEGATION. SFChronicle.com. “The possibility of a lawsuit is tied to a recent ruling from the Fair Political Practices Commission. The state elections regulator found in November that Farrell’s campaign consultant on his 2010 run for supervisor, political consultant Chris Lee, illegally coordinated with an independent expenditure committee formed to get Farrell elected.”

MO: MANY PRONGS. Columbia Tribune. “Seven bills filed Monday in the Missouri House are part of a multi-pronged strategy to win significant changes in ethics laws governing public officials, state Rep. Caleb Rowden, sponsor of four of the proposals, said.”

MO: BILLS FILED. StLToday.com. “Rep. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, has filed a bill that would ban lobbyists’ gifts to individual legislators, their staff members and families.”

MT: POSTCARD VIOLATION. Billings Gazette. “The state commissioner of political practices ruled Thursday that Kimberly Dudik, a Democrat who narrowly won a seat in the 2015 Legislature representing House District 94, violated state campaign practice laws by not reporting $900 worth of printing expenses for postcards.”

WI: GAB ISSUES. WTAQ. “A report issued by the Legislative Audit Bureau finds several problems with the operation of the Wisconsin board which oversees elections.”

CAN: NO REGISTRY. CBC.ca. “The Northwest Territories is one of a handful of jurisdictions in Canada that doesn’t have a lobbyist registry, which documents meetings between public officials and paid lobbyists, but some say it’s worth considering setting one up.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Mon. political law links

CFROMNIBUS TO THE PRESIDENT.  Politico.  “The Senate voted on Saturday night to approve a $1.1 trillion deal and avert a government shutdown, sending the legislation to President Barack Obama for his signature after an unusual weekend session and days of drama in the House.”

OBAMA AND REFORM. Bloomberg. “President Barack Obama in 2008 pledged to blunt the power of big money interests in politics. Instead, he’s overseeing the return of a gilded age with billionaires running their own parties out of high-rise offices and candidates spending more of their time mingling with them behind closed doors.”

CLC’S NOBLE ON CFROMNIBUS.  CLC.  “Currently, the maximum a person can give to a national political party is $129,600 per year. Although this limit is out of reach of all but the wealthiest citizens, cromnibus amends the campaign finance laws to allow an individual to contribute $777,600 to the national political party committees every year, or more than $1.5 million dollars over a two-year election cycle.”

FEC RULES AND THE HILLARY RUN.  WP.  “Another issue her aides are considering is a Federal Election Commission rule that requires a 120-day waiting period before an outside group can make an expenditure on a candidate’s behalf if they have hired a vendor or strategist who worked for the candidate’s campaign.”

HOUSE ETHICS MATTERS CONCLUDE. Four matters are listed here.

BUSH SIGNALS.  WP.  “Bush’s top strategist, Mike Murphy, has also been telling potential campaign staffers not to sign up to work for another candidate and to expect Bush’s announcement soon.”

VOGEL ON ELIAS.  Politico.  “A powerful Democratic lawyer helped craft a provision that was slipped into a year-end spending bill allowing political parties to raise huge new pools of cash — including some for legal fees that are likely going to be collected by his own firm.”

EDITORIAL VIEW ON CFR.  WP.  “If rivers of money are to keep flowing, voters should at least be able to detect the influence buying that’s likely to follow.”

DONORS AND SONY HACK.  DB.  “In the Sony emails, there are numerous correspondences of Sony execs complaining about being constantly harassed by movie moguls Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg for high-priced donations to back various democratic candidates, from Alison Lundergan Grimes to, yes, Hillary Clinton.”

FORMER MEMBERS LOBBYING.  McClatchy.  “Outgoing members of the House are barred from lobbying their former colleagues directly for a year. The Senate requires a two-year “cooling-off” period. Former lawmakers can, however, provide strategic advice to lobbying firms, and some continue to do so without formally registering as lobbyists.”

VA:  PUCKETT PROBE CLOSED.  RTD.  “Federal prosecutors will not seek criminal charges surrounding the abrupt June resignation of state Sen. Phillip P. Puckett, D-Russell, from the legislature.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.