Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 5/7

LEVINSON ON SEC PROSPECTS. Here. “An unlikely government agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, may help to stem the tide of undisclosed money pumping through our political system in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC.”

KAISER’S NEW BOOK PREVIEW. The Post. If you’re a fan of these kinds of books like me, you probably can’t wait to read Robert Kaiser’s new book. The Post is running some excerpts chronicling Dodd-Frank’s 18-month “odyssey”.

MENENDEZ QUESTIONS. Story here. “All the while, a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into Menendez’s conduct persists, with many of the same questions about politics, money and influence that have dogged members of Congress through history: When does helping a supporter become a quid pro quo?”

AL: FOLLOW THE MONEY ONLINE. Story here. “The Alabama secretary of state’s office plans to launch a searchable online database of campaign donations by the end of May. It will replace the old system of candidates filing paper documents with the secretary of state, and then the secretary’s staff scanning them for display on the office’s website.”

CO: GESSLER FUND OK. Story here. “The state’s ethics commission voted 3-2 Monday to allow Secretary of State Scott Gessler to establish a legal defense fund to fight potential criminal charges over whether he used taxpayer money to attend a partisan event.”

GA: ETHICS DEAL LAW. News here. “Gov. Nathan Deal signed historic ethics reform legislation Monday that for the first time will limit what lobbyists can spend wining and dining elected officials.”

NJ: CFR OVERHAUL. Story here. “Two Democratic senators have introduced legislation to overhaul New Jersey’s campaign finance laws by requiring candidates, political parties and nonprofit groups to disclose all their donors, even those that make small contributions under $300.”

NY: CONSULTANT LOBBYIST BAN PROPOSED. Story here. “Any firms that provide campaign management, fundraising services, public relations, development of campaign literature and ads, and strategic advice to a campaign will be prohibited from lobbying state officials on legislation, regulatory changes, budget items and procurement of services.”

SC: ETHICS BILL REWRITE. Story here. ”State Senate leaders say more changes are coming to an ethics reform package that passed the S.C. House last week.”

TX: SESSION FUNDRAISING BAN IN THE NEWS. Here. “Last week, longtime Perry fundraiser Katie Herries contacted major Republican donors to set up times for Perry to call them today, according to a report from The Dallas Morning News.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are Monday’s political law links, 5-6-13

POST ON POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE.  Here.  “In an economy in which the federal government spends one out of every five dollars and influences the spending of many more, it’s no surprise that private-sector players would pay big bucks to find out what it’s going to do next.”  I’ll have a lot more on political intelligence news and resources once my new site gets off the ground.

AD BUY BOOST.  Roll Call. “A Republican group that backs immigration reform is shifting its advertising strategy as it prepares for the Senate to to take up the debate when it returns from recess this week.”

SITE HACK.  The Hill.  “The hack is observable when users type in ‘nrcc.org,’ but not when the group’s full web address is typed into a browser.

TIMES ON COURT DIRECTION.  Story here.  “In the eight years since Chief Justice Roberts joined the court, it has allowed corporations to spend freely in elections in the Citizens United case, has shielded them from class actions and human rights suits, and has made arbitration the favored way to resolve many disputes.”

PICK’S TIES.  Story here.  “President Obama’s nominee to head the Federal Communications Commission has an extensive history with the industries he would be in charge of regulating. But that experience has some observers wondering if Tom Wheeler was the best choice for the job.”

KS:  LOBBYIST SPENDING ANALYSIS.  Story here.  “Lobbyists seeking to influence state laws have spent $380,000 feeding, entertaining and giving gifts to legislators in the first three months of this year.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Friday’s political law links, 5/3/13

POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE PROBE. CNBC. “A Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into stock trading after a leak involving a government decision is a ‘very gray area,’ former SEC attorney Jacob Frenkel told CNBC on Thursday.”

CLIENT ALERT ON DOMA AND CONTRIBUTIONS. Perkins Coie. “Going forward, same-sex couples who wish to make political contributions out of shared assets may take advantage of their separate, individual contribution limits simply by giving from a joint account and instructing the campaign to attribute the donation between the two contributors.”

KOCH PLANS. The Times. “While awaiting an internal audit headed by a top Koch Industries executive, the brothers have rejected any notion of stepping back from electoral politics. Strikingly, after years of nurturing a political network and donor base largely independent from traditional Republican circles, the Kochs are planning to substantially increase their involvement in party affairs.”

“LOBBYISTS AT WORK.” Professor Beth Leech’s new book looks interesting and is available for preorder here.

ZUCK LOBBYING CRITICISM. Here. “But given that Mark Zuckerberg and the other technology pioneers who are behind FWD.us have risen to prominence by spearheading disruptive innovations, reverting to such traditional lobbying tactics seems like a missed opportunity for meaningful change. Technology companies live and die by how innovative their products are, our organizing and lobbying tactics should be no different.”

CA: GREUEL ACCUSATIONS. News here. “Los Cerritos Community Newspaper journalists claim they conducted a six-month investigation into Greuel’s day-to-day activities and claim ‘a majority of her official city schedule has been dedicated to political activities including the solicitation of campaign donations to her Mayoral campaign,’ according to a letter distributed by the group.”

MO: BILL UPDATE. Story here. “The Missouri Senate declined to vote on an ethics bill, including a proposal to reinstate campaign contribution limits.”

NY: ETHICS BUMPS. WNYC. “A former prosecutor in then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office is resigning her post as executive director of the state’s Joint Committee on Public Ethics. Ellen Biben has led the ethics panel since its launch in February of last year, and is the second member to resign in recent weeks.”

VA: AG CAN WITHDRAW. The Post. “A judge ruled Thursday to recuse the office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II from the prosecution of the former governor’s mansion chef, appointing a Norfolk prosecutor to handle the embezzlement case instead.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.