Holiday political law links

Happy Holidays!HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  Today’s list of political law links will be the last of 2013.  Thanks to all and please accept my sincerest wishes for a happy and safe holiday season.  I’ll be resuming regular posts in early January.  Until then, enjoy some time off, recharge your batteries, and brace yourselves for a federal election year that promises to deliver exciting new developments in the ever-changing world of political law.  All of which, of course, will be noted at PoliticalActivityLaw.com.

BILL PASSES SENATE.  Senate Floor:  “Passed H.R.3487, the FEC Administrative Fines Program Extension.”

AL:  LOOKING FOR TEETH.  AL.com.  “A legislative committee is looking for ways to better police compliance with campaign finance disclosure law.”

MD:  OK TO RAISE DURING SESSION.  WP.  “The Maryland State Board of Elections ruled Thursday that the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Anthony G. Brown can continue raising money during the coming legislative session even though Brown himself is prohibited by law from doing so.”

MN:  DFL FINED.  Daily Globe.  “A $100,000 fine was assessed against the Minnesota DFL Senate campaign by the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board earlier this week after it determined Democratic campaign organizations improperly worked together.”

NH:  GRANNY D REDUX.  BoingBoing.  “Larry Lessig and friends are walking the length of New Hampshire for #NHRebellion, to reform campaign finance and try to end corruption in American politics…”

NJ:  RED BANK PAY TO PLAY CHANGE.  Asbury Park Press.  “The six-member council voted unanimously to amend the borough’s pay-to-play law to mirror a state law, citing concerns about potential legal action over a similar law in Monroe Township, which required developers before planning and zoning boards, and their professionals, to disclose campaign contributions.”

OH:  CHALLENGE TO PETITION.  Columbus Dispatch.  “The director of a liberal think tank filed a challenge this week to a ballot initiative that would provide casino tax revenue to help fund the campaigns of Columbus politicians.”

WA:  CLEARER RULES SOUGHT.  Seattle Times.  “A state ethics panel is calling for clearer rules about how often lobbyists can take lawmakers out for free meals.”

JAPAN:  DISCLOSURE ISSUES.  VOA.  “[Tokyo Governor] Naoki Inose said the nearly $500,000 payment he received was a personal, interest-free loan and tat the money has already been returned. Nonetheless, critics maintain the payment amounted to bribery and have pressured him for weeks to resign.”

ONCE AGAIN, HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Thurs. political law links

CILLIZZA ON LEVINTHAL REPORT. WP. “Average people — heck, average political junkies — have either never heard of the FEC, don’t really know what it does or both. But, remember this is the rule-making and rule-enforcing entity for all federal money in politics.”

CO: RULING IN CASE. CSindy.com. “The Colorado Court of Appeals has reaffirmed and expanded a lower court’s ruling that rejected looser campaign finance rules enacted by Secretary of State Scott Gessler, saying Gessler lacked the authority to make the changes.” The opinion is from a few days ago and is online here.

MI: SUPPORT FOR BILL. MLive.com. “One of the last bills to be passed by the Legislature this year offers a tremendous opportunity for Gov. Snyder. With one stroke of the pen, he can answer the calls of both Constitutional conservatives and liberal reform advocates.”

MT: FINE IN DISCLAIMER CASE. The Missoulian. “The Montana commissioner of political practices has found Missoula businessman John Suprock in violation of the state’s campaign finance and practices laws and rules – and fined him $100.”

NM: COURT RULES ON LIMITS. Artesa News. “The state Republican Party, GOP lawmakers and others have been handed a victory by a federal appeals court as they continue to challenge New Mexico’s cap on certain campaign contributions.” The opinion is here.

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

Wed. political law links

ARISTOTLE’S HOLIDAY ETHICS RHYME. Here. “At Aristotle, we’re always happy when people have fun with compliance.”

LEVINTHAL ON THE FEC. The Atlantic. “As the nation heads into what will undoubtedly be the most expensive midterm election in history and a 2016 presidential election that, in no small way, has already begun, the FEC is rotting from the inside out.”

CROSSROADS CASE CLOSED. Politico. “The Federal Election Commission has closed a long-running investigation into the activities of Crossroads GPS — the nonprofit group founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove.”

SPOUSAL LOBBYING ISSUE. Politico. “Rep. Ed Whitfield is leading the charge on contentious animal welfare legislation — a push that his wife, a paid lobbyist for the Humane Society Legislative Fund, is urging Congress to support.”

AZ: LIMITS UPHELD. Story here. “Higher campaign-contribution limits — up to $4,000 per candidate in a statewide race — are in force for the 2014 elections, in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling handed up late Tuesday.”

DC: CONTRIBUTIONS AND PARKING. WP. “Over the heated objections of Council member Vincent B. Orange (D-At Large) , who is also running for mayor, the council shut down an attempt by Orange’s biggest campaign contributor to win a $33-million contract to maintain city parking meters.”

MN: DATA PROBE. Star Tribune. “Minnesota lawmakers on Monday told the state’s campaign finance agency that it must move quickly to improve the accuracy and accessibility of state records on campaign donations.”

MO: NIXON SUPPORTS LIMITS. South County Mail. “Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon joined a bi-partisan group of three western Missouri legislators Thursday, Dec. 12, to renew his call to restore the voter-approved limits on how much any one person or organization can contribute to a campaign.”

NY: AIDE’S WIFE QUITS FIRM. NY Post. “The wife of a key aide to Gov. Cuomo has quietly resigned as managing director of one of New York’s most aggressive lobbying and public-relations firms amid questions of whether she was cashing in on her administration ties to the governor, The Post has learned.”

OK: FAMILY LIMITS MAY BE GONE. NewsOK.com. “Under the old rules, families (defined as married couples and their children who are under 18 years old and living at home) have been prohibited from donating more than $5,000 to a candidate during a political campaign.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.