Political law links and Happy Thanksgiving

ROBOCALL RULING. WTHR. “A federal appeals court has reversed a lower court’s ruling limiting Indiana’s ban on political robo-calls to in-state telephone calls only.”

IPOS AND THE STOCK ACT. Legistorm. “Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) has received special access to initial public offerings since he hired his Morgan Stanley stockbroker in 2003. But as the freshman Democrat is now learning, elite access to IPOs doesn’t fly as a member of Congress.”

DC: BOARD CALLS FOR CAMPAIGN TO STOP. DCist.com. “Lawyer and former At-Large Council candidate Paul Zukerberg has hit yet another roadblock in his quest to become D.C.’s first-ever elected attorney general. Last week, Zukerberg was ordered by the D.C. Office of Campaign finance to put an end to his attorney general campaign.”

GA: TAXPAYER FUNDS FOR CAMPAIGNING. 11alive.com. “What happens when an elected official spends taxpayer money on her own political campaign?”

MA: PERSONAL USE ISSUES. Boston Business Journal. “Four-star hotels and gifts to supporters. Fees for some lawyers and payments for storage. Tickets for airlines and meat for the grill, these are a few of our favorite things … that is, if you’re a state lawmaker with campaign cash to spare.”

NY: CHALLENGE UPDATE. CapitalNY. “One of the most influential Republican lawyers in Georgia wants to join a fight to end contribution limits to political action committees in New York State.”

HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING! I’ll send around the next set of links on Monday. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

11-25-13 political law links

R’S AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE.  HuffPo.  “Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) on Thursday introduced legislation to provide tax credits and deductions for political donors making small contributions.”

FEC AND BITCOIN.  The Verge.  “The Federal Election Commission declined to approve the use of the virtual currency Bitcoin for political donations today. Despite an early advisory opinion that said the currency should be allowed as in-kind donations, the commission deadlocked when it came time to make the change official.”

DISCLOSURE ISSUE.  Cleveland.com.  “The Federal Election Commission on Thursday denied the request of a prominent Tea Party organization that argued it should not have to disclose its political donors because they might face harassment from the government or the public.”

STARK SUPER PAC?  SFGate.  “Former East Bay Rep. Pete Stark, ousted from office last year after 40 years in the House, said Thursday he may organize a SuperPAC — and go back to campaigning in his former district — to make good on his vow to to do ‘everything I can’ to defeat the fellow Democrat who beat him.”

AZ:  LATEST ON LIMITS.  AZ Daily Star.  “Reversing his earlier stance, Secretary of State Ken Bennett now wants to keep caps in place for how much money candidates can take from individuals and special interests, at least for the time being.”

IL:  SELF-FINANCING NEWS.  Herlad-Review.  “[Bruce] Rauner, a super-wealthy Winnetka businessman, blew the cap on campaign contributions earlier this month when he gave himself $500,000 to help pay for a new series of television ads.”

NY:  PROBE MOTIVE QUESTIONED.  Capital New York.  “Legislative leaders amping up their rhetoric in a fight over subpoenas from the Cuomo-convened anti-corruption panel, saying the investigation into their finances amounts to simple coercion.”

NY: DE BLASIO PAYS. NYDN. “To clean the slate, de Blasio — in a move that is perfectly legal — made use of a quirk in the campaign finance laws that allowed donors to give to both his 2009 and 2013 campaigns, at the same time.”

PA:  UNIVERSITY LOBBYING.  TribLive.com.  “Pennsylvania’s public research universities pour hundreds of thousands of dollars a year into lobbying elected officials.”

UT:  SWALLOW RESIGNATION UPDATE.  KSL.com.  “A report released Friday says ex-attorney general John Swallow violated Utah election law on at least five different occasions. The report are the findings of a special counsel in the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, which was hired to investigate Swallow’s campaign disclosure forms.”

WA:  AMENDED COMPLAINT.  KOMONews.com.  “An amended complaint against the Grocery Manufacturers Association increases from $7.2 million to $10.6 million the amount Washington says the organization collected from members to oppose Initiative 522 without complying with the state’s campaign finance laws.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Thurs. top political law links

CASSIDY STEPPING DOWN. Politico. “One of the Beltway’s premier lobbyists, Gerry Cassidy, is stepping aside from his official role at the iconic D.C. lobbying firm that bears his name, POLITICO has learned.”

DATA DEAL. Politico. “After nearly a year of discussion over the fate of reams of Obama campaign data, officials have decided to transfer some voter information to the Democratic National Committee, but to retain its email list and rent it out to Organizing for Action, party committees and other groups…”

CASH RACE. Roll Call. “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised at least $2 million more than its GOP counterpart in October.”

BITCOIN GIVING. NPR. “Bitcoin, the virtual currency that exists as alphanumeric strings online, is on the verge of getting into politics.”

DC: PROBE OBSTACLES. The Post. “U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. said pointedly that some of those calling on him to finish his probe are not cooperating with it.”

IL: CHICAGO ISSUES. Chicago Trib. “Last month the mayor recorded a $10,000 contribution from a development company just a week before the Emanuel-appointed Chicago landmark commission approved the firm’s request for a multimillion-dollar tax break to convert the Chicago Athletic Association building near Millennium Park into a hotel.”

NJ: FREEHOLDER ISSUES. NJ.com. “The state Election Law Enforcement Commission has filed a complaint accusing Morris County Freeholder William ‘Hank’ Lyon of four violations of campaign finance rules during the 2011 Republican primary campaign.”

OH: CFR ON BALLOT. Here. “The coalition wants the city charter changed so that council candidates who agree to spend no more than $85,000 and mayoral candidates who agree to spend no more than $350,000 would be eligible for a share of $300,000 in casino-tax revenue to help their campaigns.”

VT: GROUP FINED. Burl. Free Press. “Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has agreed to pay a $30,000 penalty to settle a complaint filed by group known as Let Vermont Vote.”

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