12-12-12 political law links

BERMAN-SHERMAN A CA RECORD. Story here. “To no surprise to San Fernando Valley voters who were inundated with campaign ads, robo calls and political mail, Reps. Brad Sherman and Howard Berman set a record for spending by candidates in a California congressional race, shelling out more than $11.7 million between them, according to new campaign finance reports.”

MATHESON-LOVE TALLY. Story here. “A hotly contested congressional race narrowly won by Democrat Jim Matheson over Republican Mia Love was one of the most expensive in Utah history, new figures show.”

BALDWIN-THOMPSON TALLY. Story here. “Candidates and interest groups poured more than $78 million into Wisconsin’s recent U.S. Senate race that led to Democrat Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s Nov. 6 win over former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, making it the most expensive Senate election in state history.”

KOCH CONFERENCE DELAY. Story here. “National Review Online has learned that the Koch brothers will postpone their semi-annual meeting, which was originally scheduled to be held next month.”

LOBBYING AND JOBS. US News. “To truly improve competitiveness and growth, businesses need to return to true entrepreneurship: ever-improving products and services to increase customer satisfaction. This will require an end to all of the special deductions, credits, and exemptions that compel businesses to lobby Washington.”

“POCKET GUIDE TO LOBBYING.” The Times. “A major part of the Washington power scene, lobbyists range from people hired to advocate for certain weapons systems to those who want the government to finance more cancer research.”

TRADE GROUP SALARIES. Politico. “A new ranking out this week shines a light on an inflationary trend that’s been under way for years — and is transforming the economy of what was always a prosperous town but never one known for eye-popping salaries.”

NY AND CFR. Story here. “With the IDC members seemingly leaning toward enacting contribution limits without establishing public financing, it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to placate Mr. Cuomo.”

REFORM IN UK URGED. Story here. “British politics will remain tainted by corruption because the three main parties are refusing to reform the way they are funded, the head of Westminster’s anti-sleaze watchdog has warned.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links (12/11/12)

INAUGURAL ASK. Politico. “Fundraising for President Barack Obama’s second inauguration has kicked into high gear with organizers soliciting contributions up to $1 million.”

INAUGURAL TIP. FEC. “Apart from a ban on donations from foreign nationals, the federal campaign finance law and FEC regulations do not restrict donations to inaugural committees.”

LOBBYING DISCLOSURE. The Post. “Lobbying is not only illegal in India, it is also a dirty word.”

SEC PAY TO PLAY IN THE NEWS. Story here. ”The Einhorns’ contributions to Walker could trigger a rule enacted in 2010 by the SEC, the federal agency that regulates financial firms. That’s because Walker effectively appoints the executive director of WHEDA as well as eight of the 12 members of the board of the quasi-governmental authority. The rule could prevent Einhorn from collecting compensation on the $1 million for two years after the contributions were made. U.S. Treasury Department conflict of interest rules might also apply.”

LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ENGANCEMENT ACT. Politico. “Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) says he’s definitely putting forth a new version of the Lobbyist Disclosure Enhancement Act, which among other things, requires lobbyists to publicly report contacts with specific members of Congress, forces all paid lobbyists to register with Congress regardless of how much time they spend lobbying and mandates that lobbyists register within five days of making a contact with a government official.”

CA: SAN JOSE UPDATE. Story here. “Secret electronic communications between San Jose’s elected officials and lobbyists during public meetings is now permanently banned.”

MA: OCPF RULES ON GIFTS. Story here. “State Rep. Carolyn Dykema’s campaign committee did not violate state campaign finance laws by accepting corporations’ door prize donations for Dykema’s anual picnic for area seniors this August, the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Financesays.”

MN: POTENTIAL FEES. Story here. “A Minnesota campaign finance oversight board is weighing whether to impose new fees on lobbyists, candidates and political parties to address budget strains that have been exacerbated by added calls for investigations.”

SC: POLL ON ETHICS. Story here. “A majority of South Carolinians believe state ethics laws on politicians should be more strict, according to a new Winthrop University poll.”

TX: SUPER PAC CASE. Story here. “The ruling from Judge Lee Yeakel of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin prevents the Texas Ethics Commission from enforcing the contribution restrictions in Sections 253.003(b) and 253.094(a) of the Texas Election Code against Texans for Free Enterprise until the conclusion of the lawsuit. Notably, Judge Yeakel held that Texans for Free Enterprise has already established a likelihood of success on the merits of its claims.” The opinion is online here. Congrats to Chris Gober on the news.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here a today’s political law links (12/10/12)

WRAP-UP FROM THE TIMES. Here. “Friday overflowed with news about the inexorable influence of money in politics, none of it good. Every aspect of the post-election financial reports showed how this year’s campaigns took an irreversible turn for the worse.”

OCE, FEC, AND THE CLIFF The Times. “As Congress waits for negotiators to resolve the budget standoff, there is other worthy business that could be accomplished, particularly in political ethics.”

DETAILS FOR DONORS. The Times. “The financing arrangements are a departure from Mr. Obama’s policy in 2009, when he refused corporate donations altogether and capped individual contributions at $50,000. As in 2009, Mr. Obama will not be accepting money from lobbyists or political action committees.”

INAUGURAL CORPORATE FUNDING. The Post. “President Obama’s inaugural committee will accept corporate donations this time around, reversing a policy from four years ago banning such contributions, a spokeswoman said Friday.”

MCCONNELL WARNS. Here. “Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is so set on deflecting any new campaign finance reform laws that he is reportedly warning House Republicans against signing on to any bipartisan initiative to reform the system.”

L PAC RACE. The Hill. “Nearly a dozen newly elected members of Congress have set up leadership fundraising PACs before being sworn into office, with most planting the flag weeks before Election Day.”

CFR IN HBR. Here. “For all the talk of the fiscal cliff, however, I believe the US is facing a much more serious problem, one that has simply not been talked about at all: corruption. But this isn’t the overt, ‘bartering of government favors in return for private kickbacks’ corruption. Instead, this type of corruption has actually been legalized. And it is strangling both US competitiveness, and the ability for US firms to innovate.”

LAWYER/DONOR IN THE NEWS. Seattle Times. “A lawyer in Tennessee who is mysteriously linked to millions of dollars in campaign contributions steered to congressional candidates doubled his investments in the weeks before Election Day and quietly funneled $6.8 million more to a prominent tea party group, according to new financial statements filed with the government.”

AL: ATTACK ALLEGED. Story here. “Attorneys for convicted casino lobbyist Jarrod Massey are demanding information after claiming Thursday their client was assaulted while serving time in a federal prison in Montgomery.”

TX:  BLACKOUT BEGINS.  Story here.  “Ladies and gentlemen, close your checkbooks. Sunday starts the blackout on campaign contributions to Texas state officeholders,   a period of pecuniary protection that will last until after the legislative session that begins in a month.”

TX:  NEW FIRM.  Story here.  “Former Arlington state Rep. Kent Grusendorf has a new gig.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.