Wed. Political Law Links

PETRI ETHICS UPDATE. Politico. “The House Ethics Committee will not move forward with a full-scale investigation into GOP Rep. Tom Petri’s (R-Wis.) advocacy on behalf of a defense company that he owned stock in, but will keep reviewing the case, according to a statement released on Tuesday.”

CRAIG OPINION. WP. “A federal judge Tuesday ordered former senator Larry ‘Wide Stance’ Craig (R-Idaho) to pay the U.S. Treasury $242,000 for improperly using campaign funds to pay for his legal defense after a 2007 sex-sting arrest in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.”

CA: MEASURE B ISSUES. Turlock City News. “Per Fair Political Practices Commission requirements, political candidates and committees are required to report any contributions of $1,000 or more within 24 hours.”

GA: CROSS FINED. Augusta.com. “Columbia County Commission Chairman Ron Cross has agreed to pay $2,750 in fines and fees to settle violations of campaign finance laws, according to a consent order signed Friday.”

MD: PUBLIC FINANCING PASSES. MC Media. “The Montgomery County Council today unanimously enacted Bill 16-14, which will allow candidates for County Council and County Executive to qualify for partial public financing for their campaigns. This is the first measure of its type for County elective offices in the Washington Region and in the State of Maryland.”

MT: IMPROPER LOBBYING ALLEGED. Western News. “The Montana Commissioner of Political Practices has accepted a formal complaint alleging improper lobbying by Libby City Attorney Jim Reintsma on the behalf of Libby Mayor Doug Roll. Filed by former City Council candidate Arlen Magill, a decision on the complaint is expected by the end of October.”

NM: SUPER PAC IN. Santa Fe New Mexican. “A Democratic super-PAC booked at least $345,350 in TV ads aimed at the New Mexico attorney general’s race last week.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Tues. 9.30 political law links

OHIO STAY. WP. “The Supreme Court’s conservatives cleared the way Monday for Ohio to restrict early voting in the state, on the eve of the day it was to start.”

HIGH LEVEL OF DONATIONS. Seattle Times. “The entrepreneurs of the young U.S. marijuana industry are taking another step into the mainstream, becoming political donors who use some of their profits to support cannabis-friendly candidates and ballot questions that could bring legal pot to more states.”

CONTRACTOR ISSUE IN COURT. WSJ. “A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday will consider a fresh challenge to campaign-finance rules, this time a 74-year-old law prohibiting government contractors from making political contributions tied to federal elections.”

ME: VIEW ON TREND. Press Herald. “The record is destined to get smashed every election cycle since the Supreme Court passed a series of freedom-of-speech decisions that allow essentially unlimited spending in races by wealthy individuals and corporations as long as the spending is done outside of campaign organizations.”

MT: COMPLAINT DISMISSED. Flathead Beacon. “The Montana commissioner of political practices has dismissed a citizen’s complaint that Attorney General Tim Fox improperly accepted $47,000 in excess campaign contributions during his 2012 campaign.”

OH: ANOTHER PLEA. Cincinnati.com. “Another Indian Hill lobbyist has pleaded guilty to failing to report a gift of Cincinnati Bengals tickets to outgoing state Rep. Dale Mallory, D-West End, who already faces investigation for neglecting to disclose gifts.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links

CAMPAIGN FINANCE ISSUE. Trib.com. “Among the issues facing the state and country, two stand out as most concerning to Curt Gottshall, an independent challenging U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.: money in politics and domestic spying.”

SUPER PAC HELP. Northjersey.com. “The influence of super PACs is evident in both campaigns, though Booker has decried their impact on elections.”

FORMER LOBBYIST WRITES. Mlive.com. “Try this: Kalamazoo’s George Franklin has spun a humorous and captivating tale that weaves politics, history and business into a surprisingly readable book.”

FL: FLIPPED LOBBYIST AVOIDS PRISON. Miami Herald. “Candia would embark on a journey that transformed him from a dirty insider who took cash in exchange for political favors to a humbled cooperating witness who helped the U.S. government win convictions of a local mayor and another lobbyist, according to his defense attorney and prosecutors.”

NY: LOBBYIST TRAINING. Times Union. “Registered lobbyists in New York are now able to take an online ethics training course that was mandated in the 2011 law that created the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.”

NY: WHAT’S NEXT. Gotham Gazette. “The CFB’s election report does indeed include the possibility of raising spending limits for participants in the program, along with the possibility of lowering the amount of money that any candidate, whether participating in the matching funds program or not, can accept from donors.”

MD: PUBLIC FINANCING PROSPECTS. WP. “Public funding has been in place at the presidential level since 1976. Nearly half of the 50 states, including Maryland, and a handful of cities have some form of taxpayer subsidy for campaigns. Montgomery’s plan, sponsored by council member Phil Andrews (D-Rockville-Gaithersburg), will come before the council on Tuesday and is likely to pass.”

OH: LOBBYIST PLEA. Dispatch.com. “Another lobbyist has pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to giving a Cincinnati Bengals ticket to a lawmaker. Eyes will now turn to the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee to see if any lawmakers find themselves in court soon.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.