Thurs. 4-24-14 political law links

MASON ON FEC.  CCP.  “When one side argues that the other side isn’t just wrong, but that their views and actions aren’t even legitimate (dysfunction or failing to enforce the law), that hardly represents the ‘effort to reach some compromise’ that Noble says is needed.”

CASE IS POLITICAL.  NYDN.  “Right-wing pundit Dinesh D’Souza says his prosecution on campaign finance charges may be political retribution for his railing against President Obama.”

MCCAIN PREDICTS.  The Hill.  “Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday said he predicts ‘a major scandal’ will happen as a result of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions to relax campaign finance laws.”

READY FOR SUPER PACS.  CNN.  “Hillary 2016 PAC, which organized with the Federal Election Commission earlier this year, is run by two young politicos – Eric Williams and Kelley Johnson – who have some local organizing experience but are new to the Clinton world.”

SUPER PAC IN.  WP.  “CREDO SuperPAC hopes to spend $2.5 million this year to help Democrats keep the Senate.”

SUPER PAC POSITIVE.  Politico.  “The goal of the buy is to add some badly-needed positive messaging around Cotton, allowing the campaign to stretch its own ad dollars into later in the campaign.”

CT:  DGA CHALLENGE.  HuffPo.  “The U.S. Democratic Governors’ Association on Wednesday sued the state of Connecticut, saying its laws on political spending are unconstitutionally broad and limit the ability of political groups to buy independent ads backing candidates.”

ID:  KETCHUM UPDATE.  Ketchum Keystone.  “Those seeking public office in Ketchum will not soon have to disclose information on campaign contributions, unless the Idaho Legislature changes state law to allow cities with populations of under 5,000 to require that candidates report such information.”

PA: UNIONS SUPER SIZE IT. New Pittsburgh Courier. “Indeed, the Pennsylvania State Education Association has alerted its more than 180,000 members that up to 12 percent of their dues money will be used on politics this year. That amounts to more than $7 million which could end up in the hands of super PACs like General Majority—and that’s just one of Pennsylvania’s many public sector unions.”

VA:  PROCRASTINATORS WIN.  Times Dispatch.  “The State Board of Elections this morning formally approved the change of the filing deadline for periodic campaign finance reports from 5 p.m. the day they’re due to 11:59 p.m.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Wed. 4-23-14 top political law links

TURN AGAINST TRANSPARENCY.  Atlantic.  “Krauthammer’s new opinion is that transparency in ballot initiatives is relatively unimportant…”

CAMPAIGN FINANCE HYSTERICS.  DC.  “Unfortunately, the self-described socialist from Vermont can’t even get through the first sentence without a factual error.”

SUPER PACS IN FL.  PBS.  “Voters in southwest Florida’s 19th congressional district head to the polls Tuesday to elect candidates to replace resigned Republican Rep. Trey Radel. Radel, the freshman member who was caught buying cocaine in Washington, D.C., the first member of Congress to hold that dubious distinction.”

TODAY AT THE FEC.  The agenda for today’s meeting is online here.

BITCOIN 2.0.  NJ.  “Who needs campaign cash? If one group gets its way, elections of the future might soon be funded by bitcoin.”

AK:  FINE THREAT.  ADN.  “State campaign finance regulators are threatening fines as large as $19,000 for some donors to the campaigns in Anchorage that have pushed for passage of bond packages in city elections.”

MA:  EXCESS ALLEGED.  TheRepublic.com.  “Three political action committees that state investigators said were under the direction of a top Massachusetts Republican official have agreed to pay $17,500 after making excess campaign contributions.”

NJ:  PAY TO PLAY ALLEGED.  PressofAtlanticCity.com.  “Democrats are calling foul on a contract awarded by Atlantic County to the Ocean City accounting firm Ford Scott & Associates, saying that contract may have violated pay-to-play laws due to a partner’s donations to Sheriff Frank Balles’ state senate campaign.”

YESTERDAY’S EMAIL.  Yesterday’s email set of links included some strange formatting due to a recent WordPress upgrade I didn’t account for.  I think I’ve figured out the problem.  Don’t know what I’m talking about or need to subscribe to receive a daily set of political law links via email?  Click here and follow the simple instructions to confirm.  Your email address won’t be sold, rented, or used in any other way and Feedburner handles requests to subscribe and unsubscribe automatically.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Tues. political law links, 4-22

BITCOIN BACK.  WSJ.  “A divided Federal Electoral Commission is being pushed to shed light on a question of great concern to many bitcoiners: How should political campaigns treat donations granted in digital currency?”

PAC FILING QUESTIONS.  WP.  “The Bacardi USA Political Action Committee left blank two sections of an amended statement of organization, prompting the Federal Election Commission to send the group a reminder note Friday that it needed to include addresses for its treasurer and affiliated banks.”

SUPER PAC SUPPORT.  Bloomberg.  “Billionaires B. Wayne Hughes, Paul Singer and Ken Griffin are among two dozen donors who together gave $5.2 million last month to American Crossroads, a Republican group aligned with political strategist Karl Rove.”

REID ON DISCLOSE ACT.  ReviewJournal.com.  “In response to the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision of 2010, Reid called for a renewed push to pass the DISCLOSE Act, a law that would have forced all political organizations to report their donors.”

AR:  COMPLAINT FILED.  Arkansas News.  “Leachville City Councilman David Ray Wallace, who is challenging Democratic incumbent Wes Wagner of Manila for the District 54 state House seat, reported earlier this month that he had accepted a $5,000 contribution from Labor Smart, a temporary employment service based in Hiram, Ga. Arkansas law limits campaign contributions from corporations and individuals to $2,000 per candidate per election cycle.”

ME:  WEBSITE WOES.  Maine Sun Journal.  “Maine Republican Party officials are fending off allegations that the party is deep in debt, saying that an inaccurate state campaign finance website has created a false impression that the party spent more money than it had during the most recent reporting period.”

MN:  LIMITS EYED.  Minnpost.com.  “Minnesota is the latest front in what has developed into a national fight over federal and state campaign finance laws whose ultimate target may be the laws restricting how much individuals can give to political campaigns.”

NJ:  LEGAL FEES RISE.  Philly.com.  “Legal fees incurred by Gov. Christie’s reelection campaign, apparently in connection with investigations into the George Washington Bridge lane closures, have surpassed the amount of cash in the campaign’s coffers, according to a filing with state election law officials.”

NY:  COMPTROLLER QUESTIONS.  Oneida Dispatch.  “Comptroller Scott Stringer, investment adviser and trustee to the $150 billion city pension funds, is questioning ‘both the magnitude and the corporate purpose’ behind the Clayton Williams Energy Inc. donations to the National Rifle Association and American Crossroads, a conservative political action committee. ”

NC:  AUDITS TIGHTENED.   Charlotte Observer.  “Mecklenburg County elections officials say they will tighten their procedures for auditing campaign finance records following disclosures about incomplete reports.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

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