Tues. political law links

GROUPS APPEAL.  P&I.  “After being rebuffed Oct. 1 in U.S. District Court on procedural grounds, Republican state committees in New York and Tennessee asked a federal appeals court in Washington Oct. 6 to expedite the case and to overturn the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play rule, arguing it is both unconstitutional and that it gives an unfair advantage to federal candidates, who do not have the same constraints.”

M-16. WP. “Because of the vacuum of power within his party and the lack of a clear 2016 front-runner, confidants said Romney is grappling with this question: If drafted, would he answer the party’s call?”

WARNER DENIES.  WP.  “Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) said Monday that while he ‘brainstormed’ with a son of former state senator Phillip P. Puckett about ‘possibilities that his sister might want to pursue,’ he did not and would not offer a job to the daughter of a state lawmaker.”

HUNT ON POLITICAL FUNDS.  NYT.  “Dark spending provides the influence and access that comes with big money without the accountability or the attention from critics.”

IS “DARK MONEY” SCARY?  Althouse.  “Does the term ‘dark money’ sound scary because it — intentionally? — resonates with racism?”

MONEY IN 14.  NYT.  “The proportion of advertising flowing through nondisclosing groups is slightly lower than in 2012, a presidential election year with far more spending over all.”

12 DONORS.  NYT.  “Twelve years later, a series of workarounds and court rulings have allowed more cash than ever to flood the political system.”

INDEPENDENT MONEY IMPASSE.  ADN.  “Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is challenging his Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, to sign a new pledge that would likely reduce the amount of outside spending in their race by penalizing the candidates if they get support from groups whose donors don’t meet certain transparency standards.”

TEXAN GIVES.  Courier-Journal.  “Kentuckians for Strong Leadership, the potent super PAC that has bought millions of dollars in ads supporting the re-election of Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, raised $3 million during the quarter ending Sept. 30. And almost none of that money was contributed by Kentuckians.”

ID: CAMPAIGN SPENDING.  CDApress.com.  “In three statewide races, Democratic candidates enjoy a significant fundraising advantages heading into the final weeks of the campaign.

PA:  FEE RAISE. Newsworks.org.  “A state panel will consider hiking the lobbyist registration fee from $200 to $300.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

political law links

FEC VOTES. The Hill. “Commissioners voting in the majority cheered the step as a bipartisan breakthrough on the chronically gridlocked panel, which is made up of three Democrats and three Republican members.”

ACTBLUE POWER. NYT. “ActBlue has led the movement toward small online political donations.”

NEW SUPER PAC UP. Bloomberg. “As Republicans rush to save Senator Pat Roberts in Kansas, a new super-political action committee is aiding independent challenger Greg Orman.”

HI: REPORT QUESTIONS. West Hawaii Today. “A Honolulu political action committee that ran negative ads slamming incumbent Kohala County Councilwoman Margaret Wille is being looked into by the state Campaign Spending Commission, following complaints from a political activist.”

NH: UNION ISSUE. Concord Monitor. “Local Union 131 Volunteer PAC failed to follow state campaign finance requirements when it donated $25,000 to Gov. Maggie Hassan’s 2012 campaign, the attorney general’s office ruled in response to a complaint filed in August by the New Hampshire Republican State Committee.”

NJ: CHRISTIE AIDE TO FIRM. NJ.com. “A longtime member of Gov. Chris Christie’s senior staff who stepped down late last week is teaming up with a New Jersey lobbying group, officials announced.”

TX: ANONYMOUS GIVING. Chron.com. “Wendy Davis’ gubernatorial campaign during the last three months racked up close to another $1 million in contributions from small donors whose identities it has voluntarily opted to keep out of public view, bringing her total from anonymous contributors to roughly $4.25 million for the entire cycle.”

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND. I’ll send around the next set of links on Tuesday.

Political law links

TODAY AT THE FEC. The agenda for today’s Federal Election Commission meeting is online here.

SUPER PAC SUIT THREAT. Argus Leader. “The South Dakota Republican Party today threatened legal action against a political action committee for airing what the GOP calls ‘defamatory’ attacks against U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds.”

AD WILL AIR. Daily Caller. An NBC station will run a super PAC ad after an issue was raised.

ADS AREN’T IMMUNE. Courthousenews.com. “The Independence Institute, a nonprofit, libertarian organization, raised the challenge with respect to its endorsement of the Justice Safety Valve Act.”

APPEAL HEARD. Fox. “A former Nevada lobbyist asked an appeals court Monday to toss out his conviction for illegal campaign fundraising for Sen. Harry Reid.”

CA: GOING DIGITAL. Pasadena Star. “Campaign finance information could be more readily accessible in the upcoming municipal election after the Pasadena City Council Monday directed staff to prepare an ordinance for electronic filing of campaign disclosure documents.”

CT: COMPLAINT FILED. NBC. “In a short complaint filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission, Ted Kennedy, Jr.’s State Senate opponent alleges that the Democrat has skirted campaign finance law.”

FL: UNIQUE RULES. WLRN. “In an analysis of television advertising through late September, the Rick Scott and Charlie Crist campaigns hadn’t spent much on TV advertising. Political parties and political action committees known as PACs have done most of the spending.”

IL: LEAN SPARKS LOBBYIST RULE. NWI Times. “Lobbyists will not be able to talk to Cook County commissioners in the board chamber under a measure the Cook County Board unanimously approved Wednesday.”

MD: DELEGATE FINED. Balt. Sun. “A Baltimore County candidate for the House of Delegates acknowledged this week he wrote checks from his campaign account, a violation of campaign finance law that resulted in a $2,500 fine.”

MT: SHERIFF CANDIDATE ACCUSED. Missoulian. “Montana’s commissioner of political practices ruled Wednesday that Missoula County sherriff candidate T.J. McDermott violated three campaign finance laws before the primary election.”

TN: AUDIT RESULTS. Leaf Chronicle. “An audit ordered by the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance found that Montgomery County Trustee Brenda Radford violated a campaign finance disclosure law by failing to itemize $10,255 in campaign contributions to her own campaign before the Aug. 7 election.”

VT: COMPLAINTS LINGER. Sevendaysvt.com. “It’s been more than a year ago since former South Burlington city councilor Paul Engels filed complaints with the state alleging violations of Vermont’s campaign-finance-disclosure law.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.