Political law links

FCPA FINE.  National Law Review.  “Bio-Rad Laboratories agreed this week to pay a total of $55 million to settle DOJ and SEC claims that its subsidiaries made improper payments to foreign officials in Russia, Vietnam, and Thailand to win business.”

SUPER PAC BURN RATE.  Buzzfeed.  “It’s not unusual for people running a campaign of some kind to make money.”

CRUZ SUPER PAC NEWS.  WT.  “Supporters of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have reportedly filed paperwork to create a super PAC with a goal of raising money to provide Mr. Cruz with financial support for a would-be presidential run in 2016.”

SUPER PAC DR.  Medpagetoday.com.  “A new political action committee (or super PAC), physician unionization, and safeguarding provider networks were all on the minds of physicians gathered here over the past few days for the American Medical Association’s (AMA) interim meeting of its House of Delegates.”

VIEW ON TRENDS.  Fresno Bee.  “It is past time for our elected representatives to put the people before their campaign contributors.”

HOLMAN ON PAY TO PLAY.  HuffPo.  “One of the most successful regulations for curtailing political corruption — restrictions on those seeking government contracts from making campaign contributions to public officials and candidates responsible for awarding those contracts — is under fire in the courts.”

MO:  PANEL LOOKING INTO ALLEGATIONS.  KBIA.  “A panel of state lawmakers has been formed to look into allegations involving lobbyist perks and campaign contributions going to Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.”

#WELCOMETOTWITTER.  Follow BNA’s Ken Doyle here.

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.

11-13 political law links

CASES TO WATCH. Politico. “At least a half-dozen major campaign-finance cases winding their way through the courts have the potential to shake up the political landscape in the vein of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling — or the more recent McCutcheon decision — forcing major changes in the way campaigns are financed and run.”

DA PLAN. WFB. ”A secretive club of wealthy liberal donors met this week to plan the disbursement of tens of millions of dollars into state political campaigns and to discuss how they can circumvent legal restrictions on political coordination to elect Democratic candidates at the state level.”

SARBANES AND CFR. WUSA. “Congressman John Sarbanes Democrat from Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District is working on legislation to change the way campaigns are financed.”

AZ: CASE HEARD. Tucson.com. “Maricopa County prosecutors want the Arizona Supreme Court to rule ‘dark money’ groups cannot anonymously say nasty things about candidates just because they don’t explicitly mention the upcoming election.”

AR: PLEA REJECTED. 4029tv.com. “Martha Shoffner tried to plead guilty Monday to a charge accusing her of misspending campaign donations on personal items. But U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes rejected her plea, saying Shoffner didn’t admit all elements of the crime.”

CA: FINE FOR EXCESSIVE DONATIONS. Sacbee,com. “Sacramento labor leader Bill Camp and the Central Labor Council have agreed to pay a $15,500 fine for accepting donations and making contributions to political candidates above the state-mandated limit in 2010.”

FL: BONDI ON OFFENSE. TBO.com. “Attorney General Pam Bondi adamantly defended herself today when questioned about news reports implying she has cozy relationships with out-of-state lobbyists and corporate lawyers.”

IL: INVESTMENT MANAGER GIVING. Business Insider. “Illinois Governor-elect Bruce Rauner accepted more than $140,000 worth of campaign donations from executives affiliated with firms in which Illinois pension systems have investments, according to documents reviewed by the International Business Times.”

OH: LINK TO LOBBYIST. Bizjournals.com. “The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that the ongoing federal investigation into State Street Corp.’s business with public pension plans has targeted a prominent Ohio lobbyist with close ties to the state’s former deputy treasurer.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links

CHRISTIE ON CFR.  NJ.com.  “It may offend purists, but Gov. Christie’s proposal to, in effect, deregulate the system by which political campaigns are financed should be seized as an opportunity to write fresh statutes and regulations that are enforceable, fair and able to survive court challenges.”

NEED FOR CFR CITED.  ADN.  “There is a real problem with campaign finance in this country.”

RENT ISSUE. Roll Call. “The 11-term lawmaker told OCE that he has never paid rent for use of the office space, and that he has never been asked to pay rent.”

THE INTERNET AND DONATIONS.  Gizmodo.  “Democrats and Republicans alike received over $8 million from the four major telecom companies and their trade group in the 2014 election alone. For some context, the top five pharmaceutical groups spent only half as much in the same cycle.”

SEC COMMISSIONER WRONG.  HLS Forum on Corp. Governance.  “As we explained in our recent Article Shining Light on Corporate Political Spending, SEC rules are not designed to give investors only the information demanded by a majority of shareholders. Instead, these rules are intended to make sure that information reasonably sought by a significant number of investors is disclosed. Indeed, current SEC rules require companies to disclose many types of information that would likely not be demanded by a majority of investors if the subject were put to a vote.”

CA:  LOBBYING FINES.  Sacbee.com.  “Richie Ross, a longtime Democratic campaign consultant and lobbyist, has agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and write off $160,000 he’s owed for violating California’s lobbying laws, according to a proposed settlement he reached with the staff of the Fair Political Practices Commission.”

CT:  FLAWS IN SYSTEM.  CT News Junkie.  “Good government advocates concede that the state’s clean election program may need some work after this year’s election cycle.”

TX:  LOBBYING AND STRATEGY.  Bizjournals.com.  “The political winds certainly change from year to year, but the lobbyist’s role remains: to inform, advocate, and persuade.”

CAN:  WHAT DISCLOSURE SHOWS.  CBC.  “Currently, there is no limit on how much individuals, businesses and unions can contribute. Candidates can spend as much as they want.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.