Today’s political law links, 4/16/13

MONEY MOVES. Roll Call. “Former Rep. Allen West (R-FL) reported his campaign committee gave $400,000 on March 27th to the Allen West Foundation.”

MCCONNELL NUMBERS. Here. “U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s latest financial report to the Federal Election Commission shows he now has raised nearly $13 million for his re-election campaign, including more than $1.8 million since January.”

MACK IV MOVES. Story here. “Connie Mack IV, who lost a bid for U.S. Senate in November, is following his father to Liberty Partners, the lobbying firm.”

HI: SUPER PAC DISCLOSURE. Story here. “Super PACs that can spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections would have to disclose the names of top donors in advertisements under a bill before the state Legislature.”

MD: PRAISE FOR CFR. Here. “Little noticed by the general public amid all the clamor of the legislative session’s final day last Monday, lawmakers finally hammered out a campaign finance reform bill that advocates say is among the strongest the General Assembly has ever passed. It closes (mostly) some of the most egregious loopholes in the state’s campaign finance laws while also laying the possible groundwork for public financing of campaigns.”

MO: TIME SHORT. Story here. “Campaign finance and ethics reform have taken a secondary position at the Capitol, where much of the focus has been on economic development, taxes and the state’s Medicaid health-care program for the poor. Lawmakers have about a month left before their mandatory adjournment.”

NJ: ELEC PRIORITIES. Story here. “The list of eight ‘priority recommendations’ includes a combination of new rules, expansion of existing rules and the closure of loopholes in existing state campaign finance law. The list was included as part of the agency’s annual report.”

NY: OFA REGISTERS. Story here. “Organizing for Action, which has pledged not to take money from lobbyists and says on their website that they will not engage in lobbying, has registered as a lobbying group in New York state, according to public records.”

NYC: LIU ASSOCIATES TRIAL. Story here. “The trial of two former associates of a candidate seeking to become New York City’s first Asian-American mayor began Monday with jury selection in federal court in Manhattan.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Good morning, here are Monday’s political law links, 4/15/13

ETHICS COMPLAINT FILED. The Hill. “A government watchdog group on Thursday filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over the secretly taped strategy session that was leaked to the media this week.”

STOCK ACT CHANGES. Politico. “Congress has quickly and quietly moved to considerably scale back financial disclosure requirements that were mandated by the STOCK Act last year after a report released last month raised security concerns about posting the information online.”

TIMES ON THE FEC. Here.

AZ: REFORM DEFENDED. Story here. “Matt Benson said Friday that Brewer signed into law the measure that wildly increases campaign finance limits because candidates have become bystanders in their own elections.”

CT: GUILTY PLEAS. Story here. “Joshua Nassi of Fairfield and Benjamin Hogan of Southington both pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton on April 12 to one count of conspiracy to make false statements to the Federal Election Commission and to impede the FEC’s enforcement of federal campaign finance laws.”

MD: CFR REVAMP. News here. “An extensive revamping of Maryland’s campaign finance laws is raising donation limits for individuals, while emphasizing disclosure and enabling the state elections board to fine violators.”

MO: WHAT’S NEXT? Story here. “Time is running short for any legislative efforts to tighten Missouri’s campaign finance rules by limiting contributions and requiring more political organizations to disclose donors.”

NY: STATE AIRCRAFT USE OK. Story here. “Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s family, including his celebrity girlfriend Sandra Lee, can fly on the state aircraft with him when he’s on official business, according to a state ethics ruling Thursday.”

OK: DEPUTY DIRECTOR HIRED. Story here. “The commission’s board approved Friday the hiring of a deputy director and a part-time receptionist. The move gives the agency, which at one time this year was down to two employees, six workers.”

TX: STAFFER INDICTED. Story here. “The chief of staff for a Central Texas lawmaker was indicted on state jail felonies in connection with allegations of tampering with travel records, the Travis County district attorney said Friday.”

VT: REFORMS MOVE TO HOUSE. Story here. “A major overhaul of the state’s campaign finance laws has at last won the approval of the state Senate, after a unpredictable path featuring committee and caucus politics, an hours-long floor debate two weeks ago, and endless legislative tweaks.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Friday’s political law links, 4/12/13

CONTRACTORS PLEAD. The Post. “Two brothers whose defense business flourished with the help of Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) plan to plead guilty next week to overbilling the Defense Department for their work and paying kickbacks to win business, according to their attorneys and court records.”

5 CAMPAIGN FINANCE NUGGETS. Story here. “Now the guys behind Political Moneyline — a must-read new blog — are helping out by digging through campaign finance reports and coming up with dozens of interesting items.”

POLITICAL LAW BRIEFING ON HEARING. Here. “With uncertain enforcement prospects at the federal level and with no clear agency taking the lead, some states have chosen to take action targeting more politically active 501(c)(4) organizations and corporations through new donor disclosure requirements. The most recent is Utah, which earlier this month passed a law requiring disclosure of donor names by for-profit and nonprofit corporations that make political expenditures.”

INSIDE POLITICAL LAW ON HEARING. Here. “Mythili Raman, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, testified that DOJ’s primary challenge in the post-Citizens United landscape is showing coordination between Super PACs and campaigns. She said DOJ’s challenge is to understand when an independent expenditure is not independent.”

OGE CONCURS.  OGE.  “On April 5, 2013, the Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), Walter M. Shaub, Jr., sent a letter to congressional leadership concurring with the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) study recommendation to indefinitely suspend a STOCK Act provision that would require online posting of the personal financial data of approximately 28,000 federal employees…”

DAVID POST NOTES CASE OF INTEREST. VC. Post discusses whether a YouTube video constitutes a crime under extortion or bribery laws.

CA: FPPC SUPPORTS REFORMS. News here. “The panel voted unanimously to sponsor Senate Bill 27, by Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, to require more disclosure in certain situations from donors who make contributions intended to influence California politics.”

NY: J. SOROS ON CFR. Here. “No single change can eliminate corruption in Albany. There will always be those brazen or craven enough to break whatever laws exist. But the honest politicians in Albany deserve to be part of a system that inspires the trust and confidence of their constituents, and New Yorkers deserve honest politicians.”

VA: CALL FOR TIGHTER RULES. News here. “Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II said Wednesday that he favors requiring public officials to disclose gifts to immediate family members, such as the wedding reception a Virginia businessman helped bankroll for the governor’s daughter.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.