Mon. political law links, 6-9-14

VIEW ON CFR.  Clarion-Ledger.  “Citizens have every right to worry about the corrupting influence of money in politics. The proper response to that impulse is to aggressively prosecute instances of official corruption — not to give incumbent lawmakers sweeping new powers to regulate their competitors.”

SENATE TO CURTAIL.  Breitbart.  “Reacting to a series of recent Supreme Court decisions striking down provisions of federal and state campaign finance laws as violations of the Constitution’s free speech guarantee, liberals are increasingly pushing for a constitutional amendment to remove the First Amendment obstacle to broad campaign finance reform.”

ANDREWS CASE EDITORIAL.  NJ.com.  “The line separating personal use from legitimate campaign expenses must be more clearly defined.”

TARGET VAN HOLLEN.  HuffPo.  “Republican officials will soon file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., that accuses him of illegally accepting pro bono legal services, a senior party officer tells the Center for Public Integrity.”

SON-IN-LAW SAYS.  Cleveland.com.  “The third witness was called to the stand Thursday afternoon in the trial of Ben Suarez, a North Canton businessman accused of making illegal campaign contributions.”

REID SOLICITATION ISSUE.  ReviewJournal.com.  “The Clark County Republican Party on Friday filed a complaint with federal election officials against U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., for asking corporations to donate money to Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, a Democrat running for lieutenant governor.”

NAME OF ANOTHER ISSUE.  St. George News.  “Johnson said Swallow told him he was limited to individual campaign donations of $2,500. As amounts exceeding that violate campaign finance laws, the straw donor scheme was allegedly hatched between the two.”

LOBBYING REFORM LIKELY?  InsidePoliticalLaw.com.  “The government relations association’s support of reforms may be a sign that the industry recognizes the gaps in the current system, but Congress will likely need more to prompt action.”

NY:  LIMIT DECISION HIT.  NYDN.  “A top New York watchdog group says the state Board of Elections blew it when it decided to stop enforcing certain limits on political giving — but figures the immediate impact won’t amount to much.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links, 6-6-14

DAUGHTER TESTIFIES.  Akron Beacon Journal.  “Federal prosecutors on Wednesday called Stark County businessman Benjamin Suarez an ‘advertising wizard’ who personally directed a scheme to use 22 corporate employees in making illegal campaign contributions before the 2012 general election.”

CONTRIBUTION QUESTIONED.  Times Free Press.  “The Federal Election Commission is raising questions about Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Joe Carr’s latest campaign finance disclosure.”

CT:  FIGHTING THE LAW.  SevendaysVT.  “Sounding much like the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority, the DGA claimed in an April 23 complaint that the law ‘chills DGA’s rights of speech and association’ and ‘violates the First Amendment.'”

CT:  INTERVENTION OPPOSED.  NHRegister.com.  “The state Republican Party is seeking to intervene in federal court on behalf of the State Elections Enforcement Commission, which is being sued by the Democratic Governors Association.”

MA:  COMPLAINT FILED.  Masslive.com.  “Representatives of the Massachusetts Republican Party said they filed a complaint with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance on Thursday claiming Agawam City Councilor James P. Cichetti ‘violated multiple campaign finance laws.'”

MT:  MORE AUTHORITY SOUGHT.  Bozeman Daily Chronicle.  “Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl told members of the Legislature’s State Administration and Veterans’ Affairs committee Thursday that changes are needed for Montana’s campaign laws and financial reporting rules.”

NJ:  GET ME REWRITE.  PolitickerNJ.com.  “Yesterday’s primary elections offer more proof that New Jersey’s experiment to remove money from politics has failed.”

VA:  WITNESS IN THE NEWS.  ABC.  “Former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell’s chief of staff kept hidden a close relationship she had with a company’s CEO who is the star witness in the corruption case against McDonnell and her former governor husband, according to court documents filed Wednesday.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND. 

Political law links, 6-5-14

CRUZ CFR.  Sen. Cruz.  “U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today filed a pair of bills to protect the individual right to free speech in the wake of Democrats’ efforts to effectively repeal the First Amendment by allowing Congress to regulate spending on political speech.”

TESTER LOBBYING REFORM.  Sen. Tester.  “Senator Jon Tester is introducing the Close the Revolving Door Act to permanently ban retired lawmakers from lobbying Congress.”

WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.  Cleveland.com.  “Federal prosecutors called their first witness in the trial of North Canton businessman Ben Suarez Wednesday afternoon.”

PARTY FORUM.  Examiner.  “A huge wave of costly and restrictive elections laws and rules are hitting state and local Democratic and Republican parties so hard that many are closing up shop, unable to compete Washington’s regulatory demands and the growth of outside groups protected by the courts, top officials warned Wednesday.”

EAC, RIP.  The Hill.  “The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) may be one of the most beleaguered administrative agencies in the country, with many a Washington politician trying to axe it.”

FRANK COSTS.  WFTV.  “Tax dollars paid for U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Florida, who is running for re-election, to mail out a four-page letter touting his accomplishments, so Channel 9’s Tim Barber asked if it was his way to campaign using tax dollars.”

5 STEPS TO MAKE A SUPER PAC.  Boston Herald.  “It’s easier than you might think. Just a few easy steps and you, too, can be a super PAC mogul.”

CA:  INDICTED CANDIDATE PULLS VOTE.  LAT.  “Democratic state Sen. Leland Yee faces federal gun trafficking and political corruption charges, but still collected more than a quarter-million votes for California secretary of state in Tuesday’s primary election.”

CO:  CU DISCLOSURE.  Independent.  “Citizens United, the Washington-based conservative messaging group whose name has become synonymous with free-flowing campaign spending, plans to make a documentary and advertisements in Colorado this election season and wants to keep the identities of the people funding its work secret. On Tuesday, executives asked the secretary of state’s office to clarify whether doing so would violate Colorado’s campaign finance laws.”

FL: LOBBYIST INDICTED.  News13.  “A grand jury indicted three people Wednesday in the investigation into whether Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority officials violated Florida’s open meeting laws.”

IL:  CASH DEAL ON FILM.  Chicago Tribune.  “The deal allegedly went down a few days before the 2012 primary on a quiet street in the Bucktown neighborhood, far from state Rep. Derrick Smith’s stronghold on Chicago’s rough-and-tumble West Side.”

ME:  LIMITS LIFTED.  BDN.  “The Maine Ethics Commission has lifted the $25,000 aggregate cap for individuals donating to political campaigns, based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.”

NJ:  BIG FINE.  NJ.com.  “A former candidate for governor has been slapped with a big fine and a reprimand from the state’s campaign finance watchdog for misusing campaign funds and failing to file information.”

NJ:  CONTRIBUTION FROM PAC ON ICE.  Trentonian.  “According to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission website, ICE PAC called Initiate Civic Empowerment hasn’t filed a report with the state since July 2012.”

SD:  EX-CANDIDATE CHARGED.  ABC.  “South Dakota authorities on Wednesday arrested defeated U.S. Senate candidate Annette Bosworth and charged her with multiple counts of perjury and filing false election documents, saying she fraudulently attested to gathering voter signatures when she was really on a Christian mission trip to the Philippines.”

BRAZIL:  CONTRIBUTION LIMITS.  Lexology.  “It is election year in Brazil, and in such years it is very common that candidates and political parties seek donations from private companies in order to finance their campaigns.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.