Tuesday’s political law links, 10/16/12

TIME’S MOU SCOOP. The Obama/Romney debate MOU is available at Time.

FEC MEETING. The agenda for Thursday’s FEC meeting is online here.

K ST. AND RR. NJ.com. ”Industry insiders believe that Mitt Romney will unshackle the revolving door and give lobbyists a shot at the government jobs their Democratic counterparts have been denied for the past four years, a dozen Republican lobbyists said in conversations with POLITICO.”

UNIONS IN MA SEN. RACE. Story here. “Mark Erlich, executive secretary treasurer of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, said the worker was describing an annual assessment that is waived when members do community service, which can include attending a political rally.”

LABOR ORGS GIVE. Politico. “The Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision allows corporations and unions, whenever they please, to spend unlimited amounts of money from their treasuries to advocate for or against political candidates — or donate money to other groups that do. Corporations and unions need not volunteer a detailed breakdown of where this political money comes from.”

ROMNEY-BIDEN ADMINISTRATION? Point of Order. Michael Stern looks at the intriguing scenario where Romney and Obama wind up at 269 electoral votes each. I’ve been boring my acquaintances with the prospects of an electoral vote tie for months. I’m interested in the campaign finance implications of this scenario, as well.

KOCH COMMUNICATES. LA Times. “Distributed to 45,000 employees of Koch Industries-owned Georgia-Pacific, the packet, obtained by the political magazine In These Times, includes lists of candidates supported by the company stretching from Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to state representative hopefuls customized for each of the employee’s home states.”

WA: NEW RULES IN SEATTLE. Story here. “The Seattle City Council approved new campaign-finance rules Monday. Under the changes, candidates for local office can’t roll over campaign funds from one election to the next and can’t start fundraising until Jan. 1 of the year before an election.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Here are today’s political law links (10/15/12)

“FEEBLE” IRS.  Politico.  “If you’re looking for the cop on the beat for much of the outside spending in 2012 — when Republican-allied groups alone intend to spend upwards of $1 billion — stop by the IRS, one of the most feared and hated government agencies around.   Except when it comes to political spending, the IRS is more like a toothless tiger.”

COORDINATION ISSUE IN THE NEWS.  The Post.  “By all accounts, Romney’s campaign and the group spending millions of dollars on his behalf are not violating the law that prohibits campaigns and independent organizations from coordinating their efforts.”

ASSOCIATION CAMPAIGNS.  The Post.  “In an election dominated by negative advertising, one group of big spenders is determined to stay positive. Industry trade associations, from dentists to credit unions, are pumping money into races and spending it overwhelmingly on feel-good messages.”

FUND TRANSFERS.  Story here.  “Sean Noble, a former congressional aide, had an account ready when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that corporations could join wealthy donors and spend freely in federal elections. In less than a year, he had $62 million at his disposal.”

ETHICS ANNOUNCES.  Story here.  “The House Ethics Committee announced on Friday that it is investigating allegations against Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas).”

JACKSON INVESTIGATION.  Examiner.  “On Friday, it was revealed that another criminal investigation of Jackson is under way. This time, federal authorities are investigating the possible improper use of the Congressman’s campaign finances.”

REVOLVING DOOR ISSUES.  The Post.  “As the presidential campaign season enters its final weeks, the race among Washington’s elite law firms to recruit top talent from federal agencies, the White House and congressional staff is heating up.”

PEOPLE’S PACT UPDATE.  Story here.  “Independent political groups are finding ways around the pledge by Republican Senator Scott Brown and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren to keep outside money out of their hard-fought U.S. Senate campaign.”

GA:  LOBBYIST RULES IN THE NEWS.  AJC.  “While some states have absolute prohibitions on lobbyists giving gifts, they say nothing about gifts from the people who hire them.”

WA:  COMPLAINT DISMISSED?  Story here.  “Staffers for the state Public Disclosure Commission are recommending dismissal of four campaign finance charges brought against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee by Republican candidate Rob McKenna’s campaign manager.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Have a great Friday, here are today’s political law links w/#natitude

HOUSE BLITZ.  Roll Call.  “The juggernaut GOP-affiliated group Crossroads GPS will soon announce a massive $8.1 million television and radio effort for House Republicans slated to begin Saturday and run for three weeks.”

CALL FOR PROBE.  The Hill.  “Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday demanding an investigation into online campaign contributions to the president’s reelection campaign.”

FILING TIP.  FEC.  “Reminder: Quarterly reports are due Monday, October 15.”

HIDDEN VIDEO STAFFER UPDATE.  DC.  “The Democratic National Committee has terminated the employment of Houston, Texas, Organizing For America Regional Field Director Stephanie Caballero after she was caught on camera calling voter fraud ‘cool’ and ‘so funny’ while advising a presumably-liberal voter how to vote twice.”

OH: ASSESSING THE CAMPAIGN FINANCE SYSTEM.  Story here.  “The system for monitoring campaign spending in Ohio relies on honesty, which can make it challenging to pick out bad apples.”

VT:  SUPER PAC PROTEST.  Story here.  “A small crowd of protestors funneled through the streets of Burlington’s old north end on Tuesday, heading to the Henry Street home of Lenore Broughton, who has backed Vermonters First, a Super PAC.”

WI:  PLEA.  The Times.  “A former top aide to Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin pleaded guilty to one count of felony misconduct in public office in a deal with prosecutors Thursday, a week after Mr. Walker was subpoenaed to testify at the trial.”

ISRAEL:  FOREIGN DONORS.  Haaretz.  “More than half of the contributions to politicians in the past two years – 53 percent of the NIS 13 million – came from people who live overseas, cannot vote in Israel and are not directly impacted by the elected officials’ decisions, Haaretz has found.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.