Fri. political law links

WHAT’S UP IN WI.  NBC.  “Prosecutors have alleged that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — up for re-election this year and mentioned as a possible presidential candidate — was part of a ‘wide-ranging scheme’ that illegally coordinated fundraising for the 2011-2012 recalls in the state, newly released documents show.”

BITCOIN DONATION TOOL.  TechPresident.  “The Democratic campaign technology provider NGP-VAN has now integrated a Bitcoin contribution option to its fundraising platform.”

FEC GC UPDATE.  Yahoo.  “The Federal Election Commission soon marks a dubious anniversary: one year with nobody directing its legal department.”

LOBBYIST FOR $4.95.  WP.  “Now a recently launched start-up called Amplify’d plans to combine many of those things into one cleverly conceived business. All you have to do is pay $4.95 to get your own personal lobbyist — sort of.”

DE:  CFR LANGUISHES.  DE Online.  “Good government groups and lawmakers on Wednesday pushed for passage of legislation that attempts to provide additional transparency to campaign finance practices in Delaware before lawmakers finish their current session on June 30.”

FL:  COMPLAINT FILED.  Miami Herald.  “The complaint by Juston Johnson, executive director of the Republican Party of Florida, alleges a cause-and-effect between Crist’s appointment of a Morgan & Morgan partner to a judicial nominating commission seat and Crist taking a six-figure job at the high-profile personal injury law firm. That, Republicans say, violates an ethics provision that bars an official from taking any action with the ‘promise of future employment.'”

MI:  REFORMS THAT WON’T HAPPEN.  MLive.com.  “The political reform movement in the U.S. is broadly defined and mostly unorganized behind a single issue, but some common themes can be seen…”

NY:  CAR ADS IN RACE.  D&C.  “The ad does not mention that Funke is a Republican running for state Senate, nor does it contain any hint of politics or Americana. The balloons in the showroom from which Funke speaks are not even red, white and blue.”

NY:  CFR BLAME GAME.  WSJ.  “Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders said Wednesday they are no longer pursuing a broad overhaul of New York state’s campaign-finance laws, which allow some of the highest donations to politicians in the nation.”

SC:  REFORM UPDATE.  State.  “The Senate failed to take a vote on an ethics bill Thursday the final day of the legislative session, killing the biggest possible change in laws regulating legislators in two decades.”

WV:  NEW COMMISSION MEMBERS.  MetroNews.  “Governor Earl Ray Tomblin is working on a deadline. By law, he has just more than a week to appoint the nine people who will make up the newly restructured state Ethics Commission.”

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.

Thurs. political law links

PRE-VICTORY LEADERSHIP PAC.  Roll Call.  “In an optimistic move, a Congressional candidate has registered a leadership PAC before winning a seat in Congress.”

CFR STRATEGY.  Atlantic (Lessig).  “The single central flaw is the fundraising.”

COORDINATION POST-CU.  Roll Call (Ryan).  ” For example, the FEC should prohibit candidates from fundraising for groups making ‘independent’ expenditures in the candidate’s race. In doing so, the FEC would be following the lead of the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board, which earlier this year interpreted its state’s statute’s use of ‘cooperation’ to include fundraising.”

DEBT COLLECTORS AND DONATIONS.  InsideARM.com.  “Ordinarily, a company’s political contributions don’t make waves, unless they are of an unusual size. But when the largest government-focused collection agency is making the donations to a candidate running for the largest office in a state known for largeness, then you’ve got yourself a scandal.”

CA:  SB 1101 VIEW.  Merced Sun-Star.  “If the Assembly approves the bill and Gov. Jerry Brown signs it into law, officeholders could not wedge fundraisers in between considering the budget, and voting on hundreds of bills they’re supposed to be reading at the ends of sessions.”

MA:  DISCLOSURE BILL MOVES.  Boston Globe.  “The Massachusetts Legislature is poised to pass a bill that would dramatically increase disclosure requirements for the huge political action committees known as super PACs, a groundbreaking move that could shed light on the deluge of corporate and labor money expected to flood this year’s race for governor. ”

MI:  DISCLOSURE FOR NERDS.  Metro Times.  “Metro Times has confirmed a second corporate donor who backed Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s controversial New Energy to Reinvent and Diversify (NERD) Fund.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Wed. political law links

CFR DEAD.  Scripps.  “Almost all of the Watergate reforms backfired, had unintended consequences or were overturned by the courts.”

CANDIDATE LETTERS.  Newsday.  “The campaigns of Democrat Kevan Abrahams and Republican Bruce Blakeman were told that some contributions detailed in their first quarter filings appear to exceed federal legal limits of $2,600 from individuals per election.”

SUAREZ LETTER.  Cleveland.com.  “A letter written by the North Canton businessman accused of violating campaign finance laws was discussed in court on Friday.”

SUPER PAC PRESIDENT.  WP.  “President Obama will headline two fundraisers next month for House Majority PAC, the super PAC backing House Democratic candidates.”

SUPER PAC ANSWERS TO HIGHER AUTHORITY.  Clarion Ledger.  “The super PAC that ran an ad supporting U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in the Mississippi Link shares a lot in common with New Horizon Church.”

GA:  DEADLINES IGNORED.  11alive.com.  “11Alive News is continuing to hold local leaders accountable – local leaders who ignore campaign filing deadlines attached to them.”

MN:  DASH FOR CASH.  Star Tribune.  “Minnesota candidates, parties and political groups stockpiling money for the upcoming campaign gave a fresh look at their finances Tuesday.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.