7.11 political law links

FOCUS ON ONLINE FUNDRAISING. Story here. “After Democrats trounced Republicans in online fundraising in recent cycles, the House GOP’s campaign chief has promised improvements for the party’s digital donor base in 2014.”

SUPER PAC MOVES. Story here. “The super PAC is being informally advised by some longtime Clinton insiders, including her former adviser Harold Ickes, and is looking to create for the former first lady what she lacked in her last campaign – a movement behind her.”

ABRAMS PROFILE. NY1.com. “Floyd Abrams is an ardent defender of free speech and a passionate proponent of the First Amendment. Except for the time that his 12-year-old daughter, now a federal judge, told her dad that she and some friends were going to an R-rated movie.”

INCUMBENT HAULS. Roll Call. “Republican and Democratic House campaigns continued to tout their second-quarter hauls Wednesday, but a handful of Republican incumbents posted striking sums around the half-million dollar mark.”

CA: MANTECA RETAINS FIRM. News here. “The return of federal earmarks such as the one that helped Manteca land $6 million for the Yosemite Avenue and Highway 99 interchange has promoted elected city leaders to continue retaining a federal lobbying firm.”

FL: DO NOT CALL, DO NOT REFUND? Story here. “A liberal veterans group called on Gov. Rick Scott to return a $500,000 campaign check from St. Petersburg mogul (and Vietnam veteran) Bill Edwards, saying Scott should not take the money following news of Edwards’ company being hit with a record fine for violating the ‘Do Not Call’ telemarketing rule.”

MD: GANSLER TESTING THE WATERS. The Post. “By the time they get around to the announcement — the formal announcement — it can feel like an anticlimatic ritual that is full of pomp but largely devoid of surprise, not unlike a national political convention. Timing is often dictated more by strategic calculations than a need to tell voters something that isn’t already obvious.”

MN: LOBBY LEADER. Story here. “Lobbying groups spent more than $11 million at the Minnesota Legislature this past session, according to Minnesota’s Campaign Finance Board. Now, there’s a new player at the top of the spending list.”

NM: VOTE ON ORDINANCE. Story here. “Officials hope that imposing a $2,300 individual contribution limit and implementing a campaign finance reporting schedule will help reign in candidates’ excessive spending on city elections.”

VA: PIVOT TO OFFENSE. RTD. “McDonnell says what he has done is legal. He says he has publicly reported gifts, in accordance with a Virginia law that leaves it entirely to him to decide what, if anything, to disclose. McDonnell is not saying what he has done is right. He may know that’s a tough, if not impossible, sell with a skeptical public.”

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

Wed. political law links, 7.10

FUNDRAISERS WITH PORTFOLIO. CNN. “President Barack Obama has tapped major fundraisers for two of the most coveted ambassadorships.”

STATE MARRIAGE LAWS AND CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. Roll Call. “In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, gay candidates and their spouses could face different campaign finance guidelines depending on their state.”

DOMA AND ETHICS. Here. “The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act could certainly have implications under House ethics rules.”

ILLEGAL GRATUITY CASE. Justice.gov. “A business manager for an Iraqi company pleaded guilty today to giving thousands of dollars in illegal gratuities to a U.S. pay agent from contractors while the business manager was in Iraq, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.”

CA: FPPC HUNT. Story here. “The California Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating a complaint filed last month by a southeast Bakersfield resident, accusing former City Council candidate Efren Martinez of targeting now-Councilman Willie Rivera with a hit piece during the recent Ward 1 special election.”

NC: CONTRIBUTIONS IN RATE PROPOSAL. Story here. “Duke Energy Carolinas has acknowledged that it mistakenly counted $450,000 in political and interest-group contributions in the Carolinas as charges that could be passed on to customers in its proposed rate hike.”

NYC: SPITZER FORGOING PUBLIC FUNDING. The Times. “The son of a wealthy real estate developer, Mr. Spitzer said he would pay for the campaign himself, forgoing the city’s public financing system. The race is expected to cost several million dollars.”

VA: MCDONNELL REIMBURSEMENT. RTD. “As legal and public pressure mounts over the use of Executive Mansion resources by Virginia’s first family, Gov. Bob McDonnell late last week reimbursed the state for nearly $2,400 in food and household supplies used by his children.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Tuesday’s political law links, 7.9.13

EX-LOBBYIST HIRED. WS. “Former health care lobbyist Chris Jennings has been hired by the Obama administration.”

CONTRACTOR LOBBYING ISSUES. NRO. “As you may know, in theory, all federal contractors are required to disclose the details of their lobbying activities, and it’s technically illegal for contractors to use any federal money to lobby for additional federal projects.”

SUPER PAC NUMBERS. Politico. “The Democratic super PAC working to elect House Democrats raised just north of $3 million in the first six months of 2013, the group announced Monday.”

BEN & JERRY & CFR. Here. “The Ben & Jerry’s co-founder has devoted himself to various political causes over the course of his career; this summer, it’s a quest to remove corporate money from politics.”

FEC AGENDA. The agenda for Thursday’s Federal Election Commission meeting is online here.

CA: BROWN AIDE NAMED FOR FPPC ED. LAT. “A top advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown was appointed Friday as executive director of the state’s campaign watchdog agency.”

FL: MESSAGE FINE. Story here. “Word to the wise aspiring politicians: If you omit financial information when disclosing your personal net worth to voters, you will get caught.”

NV: ETHICS ALLERGY. Here. “The five major ethics bills designed to limit politicians and provide transparency and accountability to the citizens of Nevada (Senate Bill 49, Assembly Bill 77, AB438, AB407 and SB194) all failed.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.