Good morning – today’s political law links

CACHET CASH. Roll Call. “Certainly some celebrities from the entertainment industry have been elected to office.”

RACE FOR JACKSON SEAT. Story here. “The resignation of Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. has opened a pipeline of aspiring Chicago Democrats eyeing the vacant seat.”

CEO CONNECT. Story here. “In an effort find allies in the business community, Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio and other House GOP leaders will meet with the CEOs of several major U.S. companies Wednesday morning as Congress begins serious negotiations on the fiscal cliff.”

VENABLE ALERT. Here. “This alert looks at recent developments with pay-to-play laws and identifies key steps for staying in compliance. ”

SCHAPIRO LEAVING. Politico. “On Monday, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro announced she would step down from her job next month, a move long expected.”

SHULER LEAVING. Story here. “Retiring U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler is staying in Washington, but he will have a new job as a lobbyist for the country’s largest electric company.”

LEAVE REFORM TO STATES. Hans Von Spakovsky explains here: “Even ignoring the possible constitutional problems with such a pre-emption of state authority, it’s a fantasy to imagine that federal bureaucrats would come up with better standards that would administer elections more effectively or efficiently.”

FL: REVOLVING DOOR. More here. “State law bars ex-legislators from lobbying their former colleagues in the Capitol, but only for two years. And there’s no waiting period for them to lobby executive branch agencies.”

IL: CURBING CASINOS CONSIDERED. Story here. “Members of the Senate Executive Committee are scheduled to debate legislation to impose a campaign contribution ban on casino and horse track owners as part of a larger package of reforms designed to bring Quinn on board with a plan to add five more casinos to the state’s fleet of 10.”

PA: SOCIAL MEDIA FINE. Story here. “The city Board of Ethics has fined Philadelphia Deputy City Commissioner Tracey Gordon $675 for posts on her personal Facebook page that violated restrictions on political activity for city employees.”

WI: WALKER CONFIDENT. Story here. “Gov. Scott Walker said Monday that he remains “absolutely” confident that he is not a subject of a criminal investigation involving former aides in his Milwaukee County office.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links (11/26)

EYEING EXITS. The Hill. “With President Obama’s reelection a done deal, headhunters are expecting worn-out administration aides to look for new jobs in the influence industry.”

SUPER PACS 14  & 16.  Politico.  “Shortly after Election Day, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and top White House aides spoke at a three-day secret meeting of major Democratic donors and officials from liberal outside groups gearing up for 2014, POLITICO has learned.”

INAUGURATION FUNDING. Story here. “President Barack Obama’s fundraising advisers have urged the White House to accept corporate donations for his January 2013 inaugural celebration rather than rely exclusively on weary donors who underwrote his $1 billion re-election effort.”

CFR COMPLICATIONS. Roll Call. “Unrestricted spending in the 2012 elections has created tantalizing openings for advocates of overhauling the campaign finance system, but it’s also fueled a rush of competing remedies that might complicate attempts to rewrite the rules.”

FASHION FUNDRAISING. Forbes. “One of the funnier story lines of the 2012 presidential campaign was Barack Obama’s decision—or rather, campaign manager Jim Messina’s decision—to inaugurate a fashion line that the campaign sold on its website.”

HOUSE TRAINING REMINDER. Here is a reminder for House employees’ annual training requirement.

CA: ALLEGATIONS. Story here. “Two San Joaquin Valley lawmakers have been accused of laundering $40,000 in a scheme to dodge California’s limits on political contributions.”

MO: TRACKING GIFTS. Story here. “How many lobbyist-paid outings disappear from the books is impossible to say.”

NY:  CALL FOR REFORM.  Daily News.  “Take it from an imprisoned felon who knew how to work the system, campaign finance reform is sorely needed in New York.”

OH: DANN SUSPENSION. Story here. “The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Marc Dann, who resigned as the state’s attorney general in 2008 amid a sexual harassment scandal, to give up his law license for six months.” The opinion is here.

TX: MURKY RULES. Story here. “The varying interpretations, stemming from loopholes and legal ambiguity, highlight a major weakness in the state ethics law: legislators are generally deciding for themselves what to disclose and what to keep secret. And the public is often left in the dark about important relationships between their elected representatives and the people who are paid to influence the Legislature.”

FRANCE: $192K DONATION ALLEGED. Story here. “Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy went before a judge today to respond to suspicions he illegally accepted donations from France’s richest woman to fund his 2007 election campaign.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Have a great Thanksgiving, here are today’s political law links

DC: TURKEYS AND DISCLOSURE. City Paper. “As in years past, Barry is declining to say who paid for the turkeys he’ll be giving away or whether those donors also have contracts with the city.”

REFORMER CONFLICT. HuffPo. “During a money-in-politics conference at UCLA on Saturday, Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig, a leading critic of privately funded elections, declared that the longtime Washington dean of the campaign finance reform community, Fred Wertheimer, was part of the problem.”

FIREFIGHTER FINE. Story here. “A Merrill fire captain and a Stevens Point fire lieutenant have been fined for their roles in illegal political contributions while they served as leaders in the state firefighter’s union, according to recently released federal documents.”

LOBBYING TIPS. The Post. “Lobbyists from Drinker Biddle’s government affairs team — including chair Ilisa Halpern Paul, Julie Allen and Erin Morton — share some of their tips for how business owners can most effectively lobby members of Congress and their staff.”

TWITTER’S ADVOCATE. The Hill. “Facebook and Google have built extensive lobbying operations to ensure that policymakers look out for their interests.”

EAC COOKED? Story here. “Republican lawmakers say it’s time to do away with the federal commission that has given states election-related advice for the past years.”

FL: WHO GETS LEFTOVERS? Story here. “Under state law, candidates can steer that money to political parties, to charity or return it to their donors. They also can steer money to their state office accounts, or if they’re feeling generous, donate the money to the state treasury.”

FL: REFORM OUTLOOK. Story here. “The incoming leaders of the Florida Legislature say they want to clean up the state’s murky campaign-finance laws by doing away with third-party funds that lawmakers use to accept giant checks from corporations, unions and wealthy benefactors.”

WA: RECALL RULES OPINION. Story here. “The commission insisted on equating a recall effort to a candidate’s election campaign, and it continued to do so; as a result, Farris’ efforts were hobbled financially for months.”

HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING. My sincerest best wishes to you and yours this Thanksgiving. I’ll send around the next set of links next week.