8.4 political law links

RETHINK CAMPAIGN FINANCE. Daily World. “In a rare show of solidarity, the leaders of the Louisiana Democratic Party and the Louisiana Republican Party have joined forces in an effort to loosen restrictive campaign finance laws. And well they should.”

SMALL DONOR SOLUTION.  HuffPo.  “In the effort to sell solutions, [Public Campaign’s] Donnelly intends to focus on empowering small donors and diluting the power of big money.”

REID’S PLAN.  Examiner.  “Senate Democrats are ramping up efforts for a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at reversing recent Supreme Court decisions that loosened campaign finance restrictions.”

TRIP REVIEW SOUGHT.  Houston Chronicle.  “U.S. Rep. Ted Poe has asked the House Ethics Committee to review statements made by a group of nonprofits that the Texas Republican and nine other members of Congress relied upon before accepting all-expense paid trips to an energy conference last year in Baku, Azerbaijan.”

IA:  REFORMER STRATEGY.  Quad-City Times.  “So Mayday is using the rules that allow super PACs to raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals and spend it to overtly advocate for or against political candidates, to test its message and strategy in a handful of races this year. Among them is the open seat Iowa 3rd Congressional District race where Mayday is backing Democrat Staci Appel.”

IN:  INDOT AND ETHICS.  Indystar.com.  “At a press conference, Inspector General David Thomas said that even though no charges were filed against Woodruff, his case demonstrates why it’s important for government employees to openly and publicly declare potential conflicts of interest.”

MA:  BILL PASSES.  Country Gazette.  “With the end of formal session, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a landmark campaign finance bill that once again puts the Commonwealth on the cutting edge of legislative reform.”

WI:  LATEST ON DISCLOSURE.  Madison.com.  “Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board, the state agency that monitors elections, recently told a number of electioneering groups — conservative and liberal — that they are welcome to disclose their spending activity and donors, but are not required to.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

7.31 political law links

BRITAIN ON-LINE MAGAZINE VIEW ON US CAMPAIGN FINANCE.  Spike.  “When James Madison drafted the Bill of Rights, he and his enlightened peers believed their fellow men were potentially free-thinking, rational and autonomous agents, capable of enjoying ever-more freedom. Today we need a similar communal self-confidence; and we need to resist the calls to limit how much freedom we can handle, no matter the cost.”

FL:  LAWMAKER CLEARED.  TBO.  “The state Commission on Ethics found no probable cause that the lawmakers misused their elected position to benefit themselves in the Hardee County development project, according to a news release.”

IL:  ALDERMAN MOVE.  Chicago Tribune.  “The City Council today voted to give the job of campaign finance oversight of aldermen to a city agency that doesn’t want it, a move that the council’s watchdog said will be viewed as ‘a cynical ploy’ to avoid scrutiny.”

MD:  LOSING STEAM.  Gazette.net.  “As the Montgomery County Council heads on its monthlong August recess, a bill to establish public campaign financing remains unfinished, and some members are questioning what problems, if any, the reform bill solves.”

MA:  MODIFYING RULES.  Dedham Local.  “The bill would double the individual campaign contribution limit to $1,000 a year, but the first change to the donation limits in 20 years would not take effect until January. The bill also allows state committees to set up legal defense funds, and authorizes statewide candidate committees to donate up to $100 to another candidate, but not more than an aggregate total of $1,500 a year to other candidates.”

MS:  FILING AND SALARY LOSS.  Clarion Ledger.  “State Sen. Melanie Sojourner has been assessed a $500 fine for failing to file a campaign finance report that was due Jan. 31, and has been warned her state lawmaker’s salary will be cut off until she files it.”

NY: CUOMO WARNED. NYT. “In an escalation of the confrontation between the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over the governor’s cancellation of his own anticorruption commission, Mr. Bharara has threatened to investigate the Cuomo administration for possible obstruction of justice or witness tampering.”

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

7.30 political law links

ROCKEFELLER SUPER PAC SUPPORTER. WP. “Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller is retiring this year after 30 years of serving West Virginia. Although he’d probably like to retire to a peaceful, non-political life after decades of elections, a new potential hobby for the affluent (like Rockefeller) has popped up in the last few years that didn’t exist before he was elected to the West Virginia state legislature in 1966: Funding super PACs.”

MAYDAY SUPPORT. Time. “The Mayday Super PAC, a crowdfunded Political Action Committee designed to support pro-campaign finance reform politicians, announced two of the candidates it will support in the upcoming 2014 midterm elections.”

FL: LOBBYIST WITNESS. Miami Herald. “When Candia pleaded guilty in May, Pizzi described the lobbyist as ‘a liar who would say and do anything to help himself.'”

KY: FELONY INDICTMENT. Kentucky.com. “State Rep. Forrest ‘Ben’ Waide, R-Madisonville, was indicted Tuesday by a Franklin County grand jury on felony campaign-finance charges.”

MA: TISEI ALLEGATIONS. Boston Globe. “When Tisei cut four checks to the political consultant between June and October 2011 for a total of $20,540, he did not pay out of a federal campaign account. Instead, he tapped a state account he’d built over 26 years as a Beacon Hill lawmaker and candidate for lieutenant governor.”

NY: NO FILINGS SINCE 13. Niagra Gazette. “Council Chairman Charles Walker has not filed campaign finance reports since January of 2013.”

INDIA: GUIDE FOR FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. India Briefing. “While laws governing political contributions in the United States and Europe are relatively straightforward, restrictions in India are slightly more complex and effectively prohibit political parties and candidates from accepting contributions from foreign individuals and firms.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.