8.7 political law links

MAYDAY PAC LAUNCH. Yahoo News. “A dark horse in the New Hampshire race for the U.S. Senate who has been fighting big money in politics got a surprise boost last week from a like-minded group – to the tune of $2 million.”

USING MCCUTCHEON. In the Capital. “As a result donors will be allowed to give up to $200,000 to the newly formed committee, $32,400 of which would go to the NRSC, and $10,000 to be doled out to the Republican headquarters in Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia.”

AZ: COMPLAINT FILED. AZcentral.com. “Under Arizona law, political committees that makes independent expenditures within 60 days of an election must mail a copy of campaign literature or advertisements to candidates who are mentioned.”

NM: SUIT FILED ON LIMITS. Sun News. “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gary King asked New Mexico’s highest court Monday to resolve a dispute over whether his campaign accepted excessive contributions after the June primary election.”

NY: PUBLIC FINANCING UPDATE. WXXI. “Antonacci has to convince 2000 people to donate small amount of money to his campaign, by September 10th, and raise $200,000 from them, in order to qualify for a grant that will give him six times the amount of money that he raises by that date.”

NY: CAMPAIGN FUNDS FOR LEGAL FEES. Public Radio. “Governor Cuomo is using money from his $35-million campaign war chest to pay for a criminal defense lawyer in a federal probe of his office. Critics say while it’s legal to do so, it’s not an appropriate use of campaign money.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY. I’ll send around the next set of links on Monday. Have a great weekend.

8.6 political law links

SUPER PAC PARENTING.  More Soft Money Hard Law.  “Of course, one of the enduring questions about federal campaign finance law is why a member of a candidate’s immediate family cannot contribute more than $2,600 per election and must comply with the same contribution limit that everyone else must live by.”

INSANITY NOT STOPPED.  WP.  “‘The iconic musician Mick Jagger famously mused,’ she wrote, that ‘You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find, you get what you need.'”  The opinion is online here.

AL:  RSLC REPORT.  Politico.  “Never disclosed until now, the document detailed an investigation into alleged misconduct by multiple RSLC officials during the crucial 2010 election cycle: It charged that national RSLC leaders conspired improperly with the leader of the Alabama Republican Party to use the RSLC as a pass-through for controversial Indian tribe donations, essentially laundering ‘toxic’ money from the gaming industry by routing it out of state and then back into Alabama.”

AL:  RSLC REPORT.  AL.com.  “And from what I can tell, nobody else here – not donors, lobbyists nor candidates – knows it’s against the law either. If we begin enforcing this law, we would have to jail just about everyone in Alabama politics.”

AZ:  “DARK MONEY” COMPLETELY LEGAL.  AZcentral.com.  “For all negative headlines and attention paid by the media, the good-government set and those who aren’t benefiting from these efforts, the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of supposed ‘dark money’ campaign efforts are operating well within the tax and campaign-finance laws.”

CA:  PAC MYSTERY.  The Californian.  “California’s elections ethics branch closed a case investigating the mysterious political action committee responsible for a late-May mailer targeting Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller.”

MD:  CASINO CONTRIBUTION ISSUES.  WP.  “Maryland lawmakers made it illegal in 2012 for casino owners to make donations to political candidates, a move intended to curb the influence of a deep-pocketed industry new to the state.”

MA:  PATRICK SIGNS LAW.  Masslive.com.  “With no fanfare on Friday, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law increasing individual campaign contribution limits for state candidates and requiring additional disclosures for super political action committees.”

NJ:  PAY TO PLAY ISSUE.  NJ.com.  “Although one of the founding partners of a South Jersey law firm is also the treasurer of a political action committee that funneled $8,200 to Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson’s election campaign, a city attorney said the law firm can be granted a contact with the city worth up to $20,000.”

NY:  SUBPOENAS ISSUED.  NYP.  “A 5-year-old investigation of the Working Families Party is back on track with a special prosecutor issuing subpoenas in his probe for alleged campaign abuses.”

VT:  SEARCH SYSTEM LIVE.  Free Press.  “Later this month it should become easier for Vermonters to follow the money in state elections.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

8.5 political law links

POLITICAL LAW BRIEFING. Venable has collected some recent additions to its Political Law Briefing site here.

CA:  INVESTIGATION SHAPING UP.  KPBS.  “By most accounts, the government is using a timeless tactic in the federal campaign finance investigation of Mexican billionaire Jose Susumo Azano Matsura.”

CT:  JURY SELECTION STARTS.  WTNH.  “Jury selection is starting for the trial of former Gov. John G. Rowland on federal charges that he tried to create secret consultant roles with two congressional campaigns.”

MA:  FAMILY SUPPORT.  Boston Herald.  “The mother of state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman is among the top donors to a Super PAC backing his candidacy, his campaign acknowledged today.”

MS:  APPEAL TAKEN.  Business Journal.  “The state of Mississippi is asking a federal appeals court to overturn a lower court ruling that part of its campaign finance law creates an unconstitutional burden for people or groups that spend at least $200 to support or oppose a ballot initiative.”

MO:  COMPLAINT STUNS.  LakeExpo.com.  “he Lake Area Conservative Club is pushing back against an ethics complaint filed in the final days before the Aug. 5 election, in which a local supporter of incumbent Presiding Commissioner Kris Franken alleges that the club broke campaign donation rules.”

MT:  RULING AFTER ELECTION.  Independent Record.  “A court decision on whether individuals and political parties can give money to state candidates without limits isn’t likely to come until after the Nov. 4 elections, parties involved in the case said Monday.”

WI:  WALKER NUMBERS.  Fox.  “New campaign finance reports show Republican Gov. Scott Walker raised $1.2 million in July.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.