[Political Activity Law]

SHIELD DISTURBED. LAT. “A federal judge in Montana overturned an Internal Revenue Service rule that allowed many political nonprofit groups to keep their donor lists private.”

SOROS LAUNCH. POL. “Democratic megadonor George Soros is creating a super PAC, called Democracy PAC, to serve as a hub for his 2020 election spending.”

REFORM ATTACK. NR. “Left-wing efforts to efforts to ban or severely restrict lobbying and PAC spending would silence the average Americans whose voices they promise to amplify.”

NY: DRAWING SCRUTINY. CSNY. “Despite establishing an election finance commission in the state budget, recent reports on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s fundraising from firms with business before state agencies have illustrated how the current campaign contribution system in New York state can create a perception of conflict of interest.”

TX: TOWN HALL QUESTIONS. KXAN. “The campaign for Austin City Council member Natasha Harper-Madison has yet to face any punishment for violating local campaign finance rules.”

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CRYPTO AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE. AMBC. “Despite the hesitance of the political class in the United States to accept cryptocurrencies in the mainstream, many have been only happy to accept them in donations. And while the share of cryptocurrency donations is still minimal, growing numbers highlight their significance.”

RULING DELAYED. AJC. “The Federal Election Commission has kicked the can on a request from former Georgia congressman Tom Price to use nearlynearly $1.8 million in leftover campaign money to start a nonprofit think tank centered around the topics of health care and the federal budget.”

CAMPAIGN FINANCE SECRET. ATL. “For the time being, scam PACs seem to have found a clever way to get away with behavior that might be illegal in other areas simply by doing it in the election sphere.”

ID: COMPLAINT DISMISSED. MDJ. “The Idaho Secretary of State’s office has dismissed a campaign finance complaint filed by Brent Regan, chairman of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, against Reclaim Idaho, the group that spearheaded the Medicaid expansion initiative, finding no violations.”

IL: REFORM URGED. CST. “Protected by a grandfather clause in a 1998 campaign finance reform bill, at least 55 former lawmakers have transferred more than $5 million in campaign contributions to their private cookie jars since the law took effect.”

NM: TAKING COMMAND. MH. “New rules for funneling resources toward political races in New Mexico may provide legislative leaders and political parties with a stronger hand in influencing the outcomes of elections, as Democrats assert their control over the Legislature and key statewide elected offices.”

WV: MONEY SOLUTION. WVG. “There is an answer to the campaign finance quagmire caused by dark money, should our Legislature choose to implement it. What’s the quagmire? Some spending for candidates or issues are done without disclosure. So, we don’t always know who is supporting whom or what.”

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UNLIMITED DONATIONS. ATL. “The petition argues that the limits are too low under existing precedent, but Clement also drops a footnote suggesting that if existing precedent would allow such low limits, the Court should consider overturning such precedent. He hammers home the point, which Roberts reiterated in McCutcheon, that ingratiation and access are not a form of corruption.”

MONEY MIX-UP. WFB. “After introducing a bill that contained provisions geared towards tackling dark money in politics, House Democrats have a new dark money group in their corner.”

AD LOOK. LI. “It doesn’t get much more seedy and cynical than this.  The Democrat Super PAC Priorities USA is pouring millions into key battleground states to create political ads that look and sound like local news.”

LAST WEEK AT THE FEC. Last week’s weekly digest is here.

CA: MAYOR’S MONEY. KTVU. “Staff with the Oakland Public Ethics Commission has found that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s campaign accepted donations over the legal limit from the owner of several large properties in the city, and has recommended she return the contributions and pay a fine.”

VT: LIMITS ALLEGATIONS. VTD. “The Vermont Republican Party has accepted donations from the parent company of a conservative state news site that exceed the campaign finance limit.”

WA: CONTEMPT IN LAWSUIT. ST. “Initiative-filer and anti-tax activist Tim Eyman has been found in contempt of court for the second time, for refusing to disclose information in the long-running campaign finance lawsuit against him, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office announced Friday.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.