Wed. top political law links

REFORMERS HIT SEC MOVE. WSJ. “Liberal groups, campaign-finance reformers and Democrats in Congress on Tuesday criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission after it apparently shelved a proposal that would have required publicly traded companies to disclose political spending.”

CHENEY SUPER PAC LAUNCH. NYT. “As for the super PAC, Liz Cheney cannot, by law, coordinate with the group.”

CO: NO EXPLICIT PHRASES, NO FINE. Story here. “City Clerk Valeria Skitt reversed her own ruling Tuesday, saying that a Longmont anti-fracking group did not break the city’s campaign laws and will not owe a $100 fine for a mailer it sent to voters.” Longmont municipal code: “Expressly advocating means promoting the election or defeat of a candidate through the use of explicit phrases, including but not limited to: ‘vote for’, ‘elect’, ‘support’, ‘vote against’, ‘defeat’ or ‘reject’.” According to the article, the mailer used check marks and circles with a slash through them.

MD: LOBBYISTS OF CHINCOTEAGUE. Story here. “The Chincoteague town council voted 5-0 to retain the town’s Washington, D. C. lobbyist for another six months at a cost of $5,000.”

MI: LIMITS MAY BE DOUBLED. MILive. ” A controversial bill that would double maximum political campaign contributions and protect unreported issue ad spending ahead of Michigan’s 2014 election could reach Gov. Rick Snyder’s desk by the end of the year.”

MO: GIFT SURGE. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “But thanks in part to the success of Missouri’s sports teams, lobbyist freebies rose to $71,800 in October – the most spending of any October during the past 10 years, according to Missouri Ethics Commission data.”

NJ: MARLBORO PAY TO PLAY PROPOSAL. News here. “The Township Council is considering an ordinance that could align Marlboro’s pay-to-play regulations with those of the state.”

NY: CFR IN DOUBT. Newday. “Lawmakers and analysts cast doubt Monday on a state commission’s recommendation that New York move to a system that uses taxpayers’ money to fund political campaigns.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Tues. political law links

WOMBLE CARLYLE ALERT ON IRS PROPOSAL. Here. “As most of America travelled over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Treasury Department and the IRS delivered their own holiday gift.”

POST ON IRS PROPOSAL. WP. “What’s not yet decided is the proportion of a social welfare group’s activity that can be devoted to politics. This is a delicate area.”

MCCUTCHEON THEORIES. WVTF. “Campaign finance disclosure may actually promote corruption.”

NEWSWORTHY WALKER ASK. UK Daily Mail. “Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s re-election campaign risked a Scrooge image last week with a Black Friday promotion asking parents to make campaign contributions instead of buying their children Christmas presents.”

OCE AT FIVE. The Hill. “Five years on, the independent office charged with probing congressional misconduct has weathered an onslaught of lawmaker criticisms and appears here to stay.”

AZ: EX-LOBBYIST IN COURT. AZcentral.com. “An ex-Phoenix lobbyist whose former clients included the Fiesta Bowl is set for a court hearing on conspiracy and illegal campaign contribution charges.”

KY: SUBPOENA POWER PROPOSED. Here. “Louisville Metro Council members are encouraging the Kentucky General Assembly to enact legislation that would strengthen the city ethics commission’s powers.”

MO: STATE REP. RESIGNS. St. Louis Post Dispatch. “Missouri state Rep. Steve Webb, who faces charges of alleged theft of $3,000 in campaign funds, has resigned from the Legislature.”

NY: PAY TO PLAY ALLEGED. NYDN. “State GOP Chairman Ed Cox is accusing Gov. Cuomo of engaging in pay-to-play politics on the issue of public financing of campaigns.”

NY: MORELAND REPORT. Capital NY. “A long-awaited anti-corruption report recommends further disclosure for lawmakers as well as a system of public campaign finance as the antidote to a litany of misdeeds, some of which are detailed over its 101 pages.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are Monday’s political law links

CLARITY AND CONFUSION.  The Post.  “For the first time since 1959, nonprofit advocacy groups face new Internal Revenue Service rules governing their political activities, an area of the tax code that has been crying out for greater clarity.”

IRS POWER GRAB.  CSM.  “In moving to clarify Internal Revenue Service tax rules regarding nonprofit groups that are active in politics, the Obama administration has opened a can of controversy over whether, in fact, the move is a power grab for Democrats.”

JUMPING ON ANOTHER LAND MINE.  Shreveport Times.  “After stepping on numerous land mines recently, the Obama administration jumped on another one this week with proposed rules designed to rein in campaign spending by nonprofit organizations.”

SEC RULE NOT A PRIOTITY. WP. “Missing from the Security [sic] and Exchange Commission’s list of regulatory priorities for the coming year is any plan to consider whether public companies should disclose their political spending, a setback for investor advocates who rallied behind the cause.”

FILIBIUSTER AND CFR.  Brindle.  “With a newly constituted D.C. court, reformers may have an ally in their cause.”

PANEL DEFERS.  Star Tribune.  “The House Ethics Committee is again deferring an investigation into Rep. Michael Grimm, a former FBI agent, for possible campaign finance violations — leaving the matter in the hands of the Justice Department, which is conducting a criminal probe.”

BITCOIN HEAD-SCRATCHING.  LAT.  “The FEC and other federal agencies have recognized that bitcoins hold value — they can be exchanged for goods and for dollars online — but continue to debate whether campaigns can treat them as currency.”

AD WARS.  Messenger-Inquirer.  “The chairman of the Kentucky Republican party wants radio stations to pull a Super PAC ad off the air.”

MCFARLANE PROBE ENDS. WP. “Federal investigators have concluded their probe of Robert ‘Bud’ McFarlane, whom they once suspected of having an inappropriate relationship with the government of Sudan, and will not file any criminal charges against the Reagan administration national security adviser, his attorney said Wednesday.”

DC:  ZUKERBERG REVERAL.  DCist.com.  “Well, that was fast.”

MD: PEOPLE’S PLEDGE UPDATE. WP. “Donald F. Norris, the chairman of the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s political science department, said he was skeptical that either Gansler or Brown is trying to accomplish his stated aims with the proposed pledges.”

MA:  CFR.  Boston Globe.  “One unwelcome change that the campaign ushered in, however, was a troubling increase in outside spending on the behalf of candidates.”

PA:  UNION ACCUSED.  NBC10.  “An investigation by the Berks County Election Board concludes that a powerful Philadelphia union appears to have funnelled $20,000 in campaign contributions through a Reading political committee to two Philadelphia candidates in violation of state election law.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.