Good morning, here are Monday’s political law links, 4/8

TAX LOBBYISTS IN THE NEWS. The Times. “At least 28 aides who have worked for Mr. Baucus, Democrat of Montana, since he became the committee chairman in 2001 have lobbied on tax issues during the Obama administration — more than any other current member of Congress, according to the analysis of lobbying filings performed for The New York Times.”

FEC UPDATE. Roll Call. “For many election lawyers, the FEC is less a scapegoat than one of many players in a campaign finance game that has become impossibly complicated. Laws have been rewritten and knocked down — leaving many scratching their heads over just what the rules are.”

HEARING TOMORROW. Senate Judiciary Committee. “The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing of the Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism entitled ‘Current Issues in Campaign Finance Law Enforcement’ for Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.”

OFA AND PACS. Politico. “Now, Smoot hopes to tap that Obama donor network for two separate causes: the new Organizing for Action nonprofit group and Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic super PAC tied to Majority Leader Harry Reid.”

CO: LOBBYIST WALKS. Story here. “A Colorado gun rights lobbyist who’s facing an ethics investigation for allegedly threatening a Republican lawmaker with negative mailers in her district has now denounced the committee looking into the charge as an ‘unconstitutional tribunal’ and is refusing to participate in the process.”

NJ: ITEMIZATION THRESHOLD IN THE NEWS. Story here. “Most states allow campaigns to keep secret only those donors who give $100, $50 or even less, according to a survey of election finance laws, and at least a half a dozen require them to make public the names of all donors. But in New Jersey, campaigns do not have to report any information about people who contribute $300 or less.”

NYC: PUBLIC FINANCING INVESTIGATION URGED. Story here. “So the bigger question is why Smith would go to such intricate and clumsy lengths to achieve Republican ballot status. What would make such shenanigans worth the risk?”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 4/5/13

POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE REGULATION. The Hill. “A new governmental study has found that efforts to curb the gathering and selling of political intelligence face tough challenges.”

DONORS’ SCHEDULE DISCLOSED. CPI. “A handful of donors to the nonprofit Republican Governors Association Public Policy Committee got a rude surprise when the Internal Revenue Service mistakenly outed them by making available part of a tax form that is supposed to be kept private.”

COLBERT AND SC. Here. “While Colbert is a comedian, the fact that he is blatantly using his television show to campaign for his sister clearly raises ethical as well as possible legal questions regarding his actions, if not for Colbert per se than certainly for Comedy Central and its parent company Viacom.”

HERTLING MOVE. BLT. “The former staff director and chief counsel of the House Judiciary Committee has joined the lobby shop at Covington & Burling.”

CO: LOBBYIST MOVE EYED. Story here. “A gun lobbyist is at the center of an ethics probe into whether he threatened an Evergreen lawmaker with political reprisal over her votes on recent gun bills.”

MA: SUBPOENA POWER TO BOARD. Story here. “A State House ethics committee looking into ‘serious allegations’ of misconduct against an unnamed state representative was granted subpoena power today.”

MN: BOARD MEMBER SUPPORTS TRANSPARENCY. Here. “This Legislature will have the opportunity to provide a more transparent campaign-finance system and increase the power of ordinary citizens.”

NE: BILL PROPOSED. Story here. “Now that Nebraska’s law to regulate campaign spending has been overturned by the courts, lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday to take the law off the books but make campaign finance reporting more transparent.”

UT: COMMISSION UPDATE. Story here. “Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has approved the creation of an independent ethics commission to review complaints against elected officials in the state’s executive branch.”

VT: REFORMS PROPOSED. Story here. “Now the Senate is considering a measure that would set the limit individuals can give to House races to $750, Senate races $1,500 and $3,000 for statewide races.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

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

KICKING THE STOCK ACT. Roll Call. “When lawmakers come back from spring recess, there’s really only one item on their ‘must finish’ agenda for the first week: legislation that would buy more time for Congress to figure out how to untangle some of the problems they created for the federal bureaucracy when they enacted the STOCK Act a year ago.”

ETHICS AND SC RACE. The Hill. “Party strategists believe there’s little to gain from harping on Sanford’s infamous extramarital affair because voters know all about it. They believe attacks on his alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars and other charges in a 2009 state ethics commission report will be much more damaging.”

LESSONS FOR LOBBYISTS. The Hill. “The one lesson that all LDA registrants should take from the audit results is the need to have a system of record-keeping, and to ensure that it is followed, in the event that the registrant is selected for an audit or enforcement action.”

WATCHDOGS WATCH. The Post. “After raising a record $1.1 billion for his reelection, the president is now involved in a behind-the-scenes effort to win back the House and hold on to the Senate next year.”

LATOURETTE UPDATE. Story here. “Since launching a government relations and lobbying subsidiary of the McDonald Hopkins law firm this year, former Bainbridge Township GOP Rep. Steve LaTourette and his wife, Jennifer, have amassed a roster of blue chip clients.”

WILLIAM GINSBURG, 70. CNN. “The attorney was known for being one of the first people to appear on all five major Sunday news talk shows on a single day during the Lewinsky scandal in the late 1990s, after the intern admitted to sexual activities with then-President Bill Clinton.”

FL: STRAW DONOR CASE. Story here. “Cereceda and brother Kemel Cereceda will have to pay over $100,000 in fines, plus another $40,00 each to two charities, according to the plea deal. The men will have to serve three years of probation, including 60 days house arrest — after serving three days in jail.”

NC: LOBBYIST LEGISLATION ON THE RADAR. More here.

PA: NO LIMITS IN PITTSBURGH. Story here. “Judge Joseph James voided the contribution limits in the Pittsburgh mayor’s race Tuesday, finding that an excess contribution by a candidate no longer in the race had triggered their suspension.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.